I am not only a new Harley owner but a new rider. I felt great on my first day with my 03 Heritage (My first day riding after the MSF course). The only thing is really sharp corners, you can only lean the thing so far until the boards start scraping. I lowered my turn entrance speed and seemed to solve my issue but I wanted to run this by you all. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

That's one of the reasons I went from boards to forward controls on my Crossbones. On my Road King, I could put the boards down, but it was when I wanted to usually. On the Crossbones, it seemed like it was all the time. Taking the turns a little slower will help.

 

Congrats to you!

No advice specific to floorboards, but my wife is a new rider also. Sounds like you've got the basic principal down. Go slow and enjoy your ride. Your confidence will come with practice and time.

Only advice is to always "ride your own ride". Even with other riders, take your time and your own speed. Never try to keep up with the other folks. If they're your buds, they'll completely understand, if they're not, then who cares anyway.

On a side note, on one of my wifes first days, she stopped at a light, misjudged the distance with her foot (she's very little) and ended up laying the bike over. Had like 30 miles on it. She was at a dead stop and just stood off the bike and was looking at it laying there, lol. We helped it back up, got her back in action and she feels better now. The "shine" is off it, lol.

Kind of like when you buy a new car and park it 35 spaces away from other cars and then one day you just dont anymore...

It's just a machine, so be very safe and have alot of fun!

 

It's part of the ride. I sometimes hit them also on my Heritage. You have to be especially aware of any humps in the road when you turn. Also, don't panic, the boards will come up and you may lose a bit of chrome. I have the extenders on and I really have to watch on some roads. With more riding you will get more experienced and will recognize when you might touch and be able to handle it.

 

I scrap mine sometimes. Slow down and they wont scrape. Get more aggressive and they do. Its not really a big deal. Just make sure you ride in the manner that you feel comfortable.
MikeM

 

I too am a new rider and a new Harley owner. One of the things I have to work on is slow turns. I haven't scraped the boards yet...but it sounds like it's inevitable. "Humps in the road when turning"....one more thing to be looking for.

 

After a while, when you are riding, if you aint scraping, you aint riding. Well at least when I’m by myself. +1 with the wife on the back, she freaks out every time I scrap and slaps the back of my helmet when we come out of the corners...

 

That too! I feel the weight in those tight slow turns, all in due time I guess. I can't wait to have this crap figured out! Still, riding is an experience like no other- I am hooked!

 

Scraping is a part of life. The fact that you do scrape means that you are not afraid to make your turn. I think you'll be just fine, just don't let it freak you out when it happens....

 

I scraped mine on a turn a few weeks ago, and all I could think of was cool!!!!!!