Hi folks,

New guy here. Wanted to introduce myself and how I got here! Background: Early 40s, owned a few sportbikes and sport tourers/standards (Jap 600s, BMW, Triumph Speed Triple) Got out of riding the last few years and decided to get back into riding with my new wife, who is also new to riding. I've been reading with interest the many recent stories about HDs declining market share, lack of interest from millenials, dying customer base, etc. So I thought I would share how I ended up (to my surprise) being the proud owner of a new 2020 Street Bob.

This all started when my wife mentioned to me she wanted to get into riding. So I went out looking at bikes with her, with the expectation that she would get a small jap starter bike, and I was focused on a sporty naked, something like the Speed Triple I last had. Literally the day after my wife completed her MSF course and got her endorsement we went to the local jap bike dealer. The salesman was fine, but they had a no test rides policy, and we were not too jazzed about spending money on a bike neither of us had ever ridden before. On a whim, we stopped by the local HD dealership just to kick some tires. We had never been to an HD dealership before, and was not expecting that they would actually let a complete newbie ride any of their bikes. To my surprise the first thing the salesman said was "Let's go ride and few and see what you think!". My wife demo'ed a 2019 softail slim and I rode a 2019 street bob and fat bob. I was really impressed by how smooth, stable, and fast each of those bikes were, and my wife really liked the smoothness and balance of the softail slim. They let us ride a few sportster models as well, but compared to the softails they seemed less smooth and my wife didn't like the lumpy engine or shifter. Over the next few weeks I rode a few other bikes, Indian, Triumph, Ducati. But I just kept going back to all of that low end torque of the HD. For example, The Indian Scout I rode looked fantastic, and was probably just as fast, if not faster, but to me it just didn’t give me the same feels riding it. Same for the others.

I couldn't get over how fun the street bob was, and truth be told I did feel like kind of a badass riding it! And I came to the realization that for the kind of riding I actually do, this bike is perfect. I've had sport bikes, naked streetfighters, sport tourers etc. But we livein Florida, and I'm in my 40s now. The fantasies I held back in my earlier riding days about dragging pegs in a sweeping turn never really came to fruition. We've straightened out all the roads here decades ago, and most of our riding will be along the beach or down a long straight state road from one towns restaurant or bar to the next. And I know I was never a good enough rider to tap even 30% of those bikes potential anyway. Now I just want to enjoy cruising with my wife and experiencing being on two wheels together. Yes, an HD is expensive, but to me it’s much more than what you see on a spec sheet. It’s gorgeous to look at, and the fit and finish is amazing. Every time I get off it I have **** eating grin and am looking over my shoulder back at it.

FWIW I spent $16,900 OTD for a 2020 Street Bob with ABS and I don’t regret a penny of it!

 

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HEY!.......WTF!?!?!?!?!?!........................wait a minute.............I am a little bz right now.
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ok. that is better.....
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G'day mate,

welcome to HDF.

I will be your tour guide. Be sure to read the manual before posting ok mate?

Or we will have discipline you and if you don't "get it" we will need to discipline you biker style.

Here is a gift for you… LOL! “I so funi!”


Now let’s get serious for your orientation. Go down the hall on your left to the 1st room. No, wait. The 1st room on your right. That is where the commissary is.

Then you will see doors marked for the mortuary, skeet shooting, a room where we make fun of In-Jun bikes, and of course we have a ahh, umm, oh yeah a across the hall.

We had a BOMB MAKING room but, well, ahhhhh, 1 of the guys just didn't understand Blasting Caps very well so..... you know.

We have our own pub .

There are several places where you can familiarize your self with the .

So don't be a wall flower watching others . Get involved.

See you around mate. I am going to the commissary now.



**** ON THE SERIOUS SIDE ****

**** I AM NOT ONE TO GIVE ADVICE ON HOW HDF WORKS BUT… ****
**** AND THE FOLLOWING IS UNOFFICIAL ****

You are in the “New Members Area” where you can introduce yourself and let us know what Harley Davidson bike(s) (if any) you ride/own.

If you have questions about engines, exhaust systems, audio issues, etc… then:

1) Please go to the upper corner and Roll Over “Forums”

2) Then come down to and Roll Over “Harley Davidson Tech & Mechanical Forum”

3) Then come down to the section that would be most appropriate for your question like Audio Systems, Engine Mechanical Topics, Exhaust System Topics, etc… and CLICK on the topic you have a question about.

You will find the knowledge here is EXCELLENT and these here mates are willing to help you in any way they can. ‘juss be careful. There are some “Trolls”, so I suggest just ignoring them ‘ole farts.

See you around HDF. Come often, we have a humor thread, game thread, and a LOT of other stuff.

Have A Great Day Mate,

BuzzCap7

 

Welcome..!...

 

welcome to another pre boomer HD rider.

 

Howzit and Greetings from Houston and a Displaced Cut N Shoot Texan

Haole

 

Welcome to the forums from Texas

 

Welcome to the forum from Minnesota!

 

Welcome to the forum from Canada.

 

Welcome from Winnipeg Canada 🇨🇦!
Ride safe!
....did your wife get her slim?

 

welcome from central FL congrads on the new bike