I had some time today between appointments, so on a lark I went and test rode a '14 Limited.

In a word, wow.

Everyone's obsessing about the engine, and that's big news, but the bigger news is the front end. "Transformative", "revolutionary", and "game-changeing" don't begin to convey what a massive difference the new triple trees and forks make. The front end is like a scalpel compared to the older bikes. It transitions right-to-left with absolute confidence, and there's no juddering over surface imperfections. I'd wager the damping and spring rates have been changed too, as it seems to handle large bumps much better than my bike.

Gotta give a big shout-out to the brakes as well. The "Reflex" system does exactly what it's advertised to do. I didn't beat on it too hard, but the bike stops much quicker and feels much better doing it. I was able to trail brake through a handful of corners and never felt like there was too much rear bias. Similarly, even pounding the rear brake at low speeds didn't activate the fronts. These 900 pound bikes finally have world-class brakes. They also now have all the pieces in place to add stability control. At this point, it's a software update away.

The fairing......Oh my. I wasn't planning on doing this today, so I had no riding gear. I had an ill-fitting loaner helmet from the dealer and my Oakleys that I keep in the car. At 80mph with that vent open, the helmet was still, my glasses were still, and there was so little wind noise that I didn't miss my earplugs. This is with the stock 7" (or so) windscreen. By way of comparison, I've got a 10" recurve and the dog dish on my bike, and I could never do that. The air management is superb. It's also more stable when you're in the wash of a tractor-trailer.

And then there's the engine. I had the bike out for 40 minutes in 85 degree air. The water cooling works. There's dramatically less heat coming off the right side of the bike. I even let it sit and idle for 5 minutes, and it never got close to as hot as my bike (with a coated headpipe and a tune). The big news though is the cam and the increased compression. The power difference is noticeable. Not game-changeing, but noticeable. There's a lot more midrange punch, and the bike just feels more lively throughout the tach. Slap a tune and an exhaust on this and you'd have a really nice combination that I can't imagine would ever get hot.

I didn't futz with the stereo, as it's far down my list of important things. I could easily hear it at highway speeds. The clutch is fantastic, as are the lights. The hand controls are different enough that I had to look at what I was trying to do a couple of times. That's a muscle memory thing though, and would cease to be an issue after a week or so.

The fit and finish, as well as the overall look are stellar. The reshaped fairing(s), bags, and Tour Pak make what was already a beautiful bike look even better. The design is evolutionary, and it's a really positive step. Park a 2013 next to a 2014, and the '13 looks frumpy in comparison. On top of that, they've changed little details that improve the look. The passenger switches for the intercom and volume are recessed under the Tour Pak now. The structure supporting the TP and holding the tag are all finished, and look a thousand times better than the older stuff. The passenger area is huge, and they've finally done away with that ugly flap between the seat and the backrest.The saddlebag supports look a ton better. The bags are simply brilliant. You can tell that a lot of thought went into this redesign.

Negatives? The seat sucks for me. I felt like I was sitting on the tank. The bars worked OK for me, but if I was sitting where I wanted to be, they probably wouldn't. For all of it's goodness, it still needs new mufflers and a tune. That's about it. The dash is busy, but that's by design.

So when am I picking it up? Well aside from the fact that the salesman offered me $22,000 in trade for my CVO (had to fight not to laugh in his face), there's a couple of problems. First and foremost, this is the first year for all of these changes. That's a deal-killer. Secondly, I'm convinced that the 2014s are going to end up like the 2008s.....A halfway-between bike that's not quite the old one and not quite the new one. I think this is less of a big deal than it was with the 2008 bikes, simply because the changes are so good, but I think we're very close to something new. And finally, I'm just too curious about what the Roadie's returning as.

At any rate, Harley hit this thing out of the park. I'm even more jealous now of y'all that got new ones. They're excellent machines.