[StoneTrekker]

I'm reading between the lines here.... Where's your condo and what do you rent it out for during the warmer riding months?

Lol! My strategy is to have friends with condos, bass boats and box seats.... 🥰

 

[twowheeladdict]

Have you bought the bike yet?

Or, are we going to see how many posts this thread will accumulate until you decide?

 

[StoneTrekker]

i don't think that the people who are saying 'you only live once' are advocating for him to be foolish with his money, i think that it is just a shorter way of saying, 'live like you are going to die tomorrow, plan like you'll live to be 100'.

Precisely. It probably comes down to the individual and how they look at such purchases. I think it should be understood that buying irresponsibly is a bad choice unless you simply have the means to do it. I do not have those means. The driving force behind my desire for a new bike is my heart. The deciding factor in whether to purchase it will always be my brain.

 

[DanHappy]

Outer Banks has that Zephyr Blue scooter. And I'd bet you could be putting hands on it at Gaithersburg later this week.

They also have this for the rest of youens. I thought all of the limited production stuff would be gone by now.

View attachment 420855

If that is still there, there much want CVO money for it.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

 

['05Train]

Been there done that on the 110. The crank is probably not good. Not good enough to put 130 pounds foot through for any length of time. So add $1650 for the crank and Timken setup. Problem is, it doesn't end there. You'll end up putting more than a couple Cleveland's in the drive line before its said and done.

Yep, been down that road with other bikes. If I need a new crank, why stop at 110? Why not get an S&S, get the cases bored, and go for broke? Which leads to all the other stuff that'd need to be addressed. Suddenly I'm over 10 grand in the motor.

All that's left to do is wait until I get this damned splint off my hand so I can ride.

 

[Big_gary]

Yep, been down that road with other bikes. If I need a new crank, why stop at 110? Why not get an S&S, get the cases bored, and go for broke? Which leads to all the other stuff that'd need to be addressed. Suddenly I'm over 10 grand in the motor.

All that's left to do is wait until I get this damned splint off my hand so I can ride.

So that's what brought this whole M8 thread to light . All you need is to jump on that sweet 16 and ride , and all these thoughts of wanting an M8 will disappear with the road dust you kicked up.

 

[mastergunnera8]

Well...if the 16 is still around in the spring....it aint RDRS but we could always take a road trip to Fuel Moto...

 

[TennesseeRoadGlide]

Broken pinky on my right hand, so I can't get a glove on. No riding until the beginning of January. Which means that the 2021 bikes will be nearly out, which changes things a bit.

I've resisted a M8 test ride since 2016 when the '17s came out. I may be giving in in January.


Dammit.

I'd have done it already if I didn't love this thing so much.....


View attachment 420817

I like that color. What seat is that?

 

[Thermodyne]

Yep, been down that road with other bikes. If I need a new crank, why stop at 110? Why not get an S&S, get the cases bored, and go for broke? Which leads to all the other stuff that'd need to be addressed. Suddenly I'm over 10 grand in the motor.

All that's left to do is wait until I get this damned splint off my hand so I can ride.

110 vs 120+ on a twin cam is not hard to decide. Piston velocity and expected piston life being the two big tells. The 110 is the same as a 103 or 96 on both counts, so no trade off.
The longer stroke 120+ piston has less skirt area, moving at a higher velocity for a given rpm. So piston fit becomes critical and they wear out of spec faster.

The raw numbers say a 110 @6200 is pushing the pistons at 4520fps. A 120 with 4 5/8th stroke is pushing the pistons at 4780fps at that rpm. The standard for street motors is 3500-4000fps.

Even Nascar tries to keep piston velocities under 4800fps. And they run $500 perfectly fit slugs that only need to live for 600 miles. For the tracks where they never let off, they usually keep the pistons under 4500fps.

 

[DanHappy]

While reading all of this, I am thinking my situation. I will what you go and go from there...

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['05Train]

I like that color. What seat is that?

It's a C&C Fastback.

 

[TennesseeRoadGlide]

It's a C&C Fastback.

Here is my vote. But I may be hung up on the color.

 

[Bigmeat45]

I'm a "you only live once" kind of guy when it comes to motorcycles and motorcycles only. My family thinks I am insane as I ahve 6 bikes and live alone. They're sure I'm going to end up homeless with 6 motorcycles. I've had a few close calls in life (waking up in the hospital from a coma and remembering nothing) 15 years ago and a long list of other things I've done, provoked, or been involved with.

After that coma, I got the "I'm lucky to be alive" spark and changed a lot of things about my life. That's when I got my first Harley. Not my first motorcycle or anywhere near, but I was suddenly invested in what I wanted in my life as I realized...life is short and I best do what I want before I die.

So, I'm your trusty devil on teh shoulder. Forget how much you spent on teh 2016. I know I keep track of the ridiculous amount of money I spend on mods. I was a NON M8 person up until I bought one in July. My twin cam is good and I know all about it and all the potential issues and can deal with it all myself without any research etc. People would ask me if they should get an M8. I would say no. Get a Twin Cam as the bugs have all been worked out.

Cue me riding up on my M8 to said people and them with a look of disbelief on their faces. My bike was used but all stock except for slip ons and bars. Let me tell you, for a stock bike it has some giddy up. Not near enough for me (That's a story for a different thread) but I am regularly pleasantly surprised by the M8. I have not put anywhere my usual miles on it this year with the insanity, but I am confident with a few simple changes it will be the next bike I put 100k miles on.

I'm still a bit uncomfortable owning a bike that I am yet to get into the motor personally on, however that day is coming soon and once the work is done I will be comfortable with it.

So, life is short. Take advantage of the options that you have before it's too late, as we never know when our last moment will come. Seize the day. Buy the bike. Don't worry about anyone else but you.

This may be the best, most relevant post of all time.

 

['05Train]

Here is my vote. But I may be hung up on the color.

View attachment 420904

It's the best paint on any Road Glide, and that's all there is to it.

 

[freakfxr]

@Bigmeat45 glad you enjoyed that. That is how I continually rationalize buying another motorcycle without selling any of the others. One day I woke up and went over all the bikes I had owned, I think I'm up to 20 now. And I imagined a garage with all of them inside. Which would I ride today? Think of the history of these specific machines. Where had they been prior to becoming mine? Where would they go in the future?

That's one aspect of motorcycles that I really enjoy, and taht is why I always buy used. To be able to see this history lined up and ready to roll would be magnificent in every way. Most people dream of being rich beyond belief or with "the most beautiful girl in the world" however I only dream of motorcycles and where they will take me. Everything else in my life fills itself in on it's own.

 

[thedude]

I bought a Zephyr Blue Limited over a year ago. About 7500 on it so far but I don't think I have really felt the RDRS kick in. There is nothing about this bike that is not way better than the 13 X that I still have. I am probably the only guy with a RG who actually likes the bars. Carplay is great once you figure it out. Suspension doesn't seem bad compared to the X. I ride like an old man so comfort had become a priority for me. Put a Lepera Rt66 on it. Slipons, air cleaner and tuner. Did boom for amp and speakers this time which I said I would never do but I hit some sales and had some rewards money on the HD card. I am very happy with it. 114 has way more guts than the 103 I had. I don't need any more, like I said I ride like an old man. Good Luck Train.

 

[SteadyEddie]

Suspension doesn't seem bad compared to the X. I ride like an old man so comfort had become a priority for me. Put a Lepera Rt66 on it. Slipons, air cleaner and tuner. Did boom for amp and speakers this time which I said I would never do but I hit some sales and had some rewards money on the HD card. I am very happy with it. 114 has way more guts than the 103 I had. I don't need any more, like I said I ride like an old man. Good Luck Train.

Same.....well, sort of ....but same

 

[smitty901]

Here is my vote. But I may be hung up on the color.

View attachment 420904

had a 2016 in that color. looks great.

 

[BoozefighterEasy]

I have a 2016 Ultra which is paid for. I love the color, and would argue that it's the best ever put on a Road Glide. I've done minimal mods....Bars, seat, windshield, Stage 1, hidden antenna, A&S clutch, detachable TP, filler lights, CD front turns, and suspension. The ESP just expired (thankfully after replacing the water pump), and I was planning on doing a Stage II this winter. I am extremely happy with the bike, and it's as comfortable as it gets.

But.........I really like the idea of RDRS. And the new head unit is nice. And the rumor around the campfire is that the M8 makes some nice power. There are a couple of colors I could live with.

I could move the windshield, shocks, turns, and seat. I'd need to do at least a Stage 1, preferably more so I don't get bored. So out of pocket, that's a H-D Stage 1, a new hidden antenna, detachable TP kit, and a set of bars. List price around $38,000 on the road. If I'm lucky, I can get $12,500 in trade for my bike. Add a 5-year ESP and I'm pushing $40 grand.

So I'd be giving up my bike, and owe $26k on a new bike. I paid $26k for the 2016. And I'd have a Stage 1 bike. That cool 131 kit? Add at least another $6k. That's an incomprehensible amount of money for a new bike.

But..........

I've just changed jobs, and my commute has gone from 3 hours a day to 40 minutes. The "get off work and go for a quick spin" is much more realistic (and longer) now. And I've got some disposable income, so I can either write a check for the difference in my trade, or make a substantial downpayment.

So to my questions:

- For those who have it, is the RDRS really worth it?

- Is the M8 worth it? Is it reliable? Is the power bump noticeable?

- Would I be insane to ask them to swap out my tins?

- Should I stop with this crazy talk and just do a build on my Twinkie?

Dude the Twinkie just doesn’t live up to its own hype over the years. My first M8 was a Road King. It literally blew all the Twinkies in my club in the weeds. So I decided I needed a new FLTRU!
I’ve done a few things to fix the factory cheap shortcuts. I replaced most of my internals with S&S. I thought it was fast before the upgrades! Now it’s just stupid fast.
Trust me, you will NOT MISS THE STINKY TWINKIE!
KEEP THE UGLY SIDE UP!

 

[Blackadler]

Well '05Train sounds like you are weakening, so here is my penny's worth. I put a SE204 touring cam in my 103 and it now dynos much the same as a 107 M8. In a race, two-up, the winner would be determined by who got the jump, not which bike was more powerful. Since the change, I have to be very short of room to drop a gear when overtaking. Fuel economy is better now as well. The numbers $ you quote is a lot of money to drop on a bike that will be "last years model" very shortly. Here in Oz the 103 are holding their value and seem to be increasing a little, so that would be worth checking on you side of the pond as well. For my money, which is limited as I am now retired, that is a big outlay so close to a new model release. A short delay whilst the finger heals may save you heaps as there will be a very low milage 2020 available as soon as the 2021 are available. Others more committed to annual upgrades, will upgrade just because that is their habit, and you will get their low mileage, near new 2020 at a large saving. Here is a thought... now the company with the fancy feathered headdress has thrown down the gauntlet/arrow /bow or whatever, with a monoshock tail, maybe there is a monoshock TREX in the wings for HD as well? Good luck with your deliberations. Bottom line... only you can decide what is right for you..