Harley Davidson has been building the Sport Glide for three years and for some reason I just became aware of it. I have been traveling on my Stampede bike. Traveling long distances on a hardtail chopper can be done, but is a bit of a challenge.
I went to my local Harley dealer and they gave me a Sport Glide test ride. I've got to say that there is a lot to like about this bike. It's a slightly smaller than an Electra Glide and 100 pounds lighter. It comes stock with cruise control and anti-lock brakes.
I found only a few small things that I might change. The bars are "fat bars" and very "beach bar" like. Not terrible just something I'm not used to. Also the bike has forward pegs. I don't normally like forward pegs but these are quite comfortable, and combined with the very comfortable seat feel pretty good. I don't know if mid pegs could be installed or if the mufflers would interfere with the fit.
The fairing and saddle bags are easily removeable and the bike looks very good both with and without the bags and fairing. There is no stereo (so others cannot instantly recognize how cool you are) and there is no video screen, thank goodness!
The fairing is very small but it worked very well for its size. I could put my hand out and feel the air flowing over the micro windshield. I could trace with my hand the line between moving air and still air to where it hit at the collar. The airflow around and over the fairing was smooth. However a slightly taller windshield might kick the air stream higher, over the helmet would be ideal.
The bike seemed to have very good power, it seemed similar but slightly faster than my old Twin Cam, 88 ci vs 105 ci. There is a six speed transmission and it feels right, in fifth gear on my Electra Glide it always felt that it needed another gear.
Sometimes a bike is just so right it transcends being a machine and becomes art. I enjoy just looking at the Sport Glide, I think it may be a bike I could love.
It's all about science. You mix oxygen, steel and a little water and you're going to get rust. Now you can take any one of those parts away and No Rust.
Water vapor is in the air so one way to stop rust would be to use a desiccant to absorb the water. Trouble with that approach is that the moisture is still there, it's in the desiccant media, still on site so to speak.
Recently I learned about oxygen absorbers. An oxygen absorber is a packet of iron powder and a little salt to act as a catalyst. In the presence of any water (vapor) the iron turns to iron oxide and the free oxygen is tied up.
Which brings me to my bright idea. Stuff some oxygen absorbers into the tank, use up the free oxygen, tie that bad old oxygen in some iron oxide that's not part of the gas tank.
The tanks back on the wall waiting to see if its going rust or if Science will rule out.
Sometimes I see some little thing that makes a big difference. In this case I saw these replacements for the rear axle nut cotter pin and decided "now that's custom."
A custom motorcycle is really a load of parts made by others and assembled in an order makes the bike look just right.
A lot depends on little things that most people wouldn't even see. Sort of like an inside joke between the owner and himself, but I've got to say it's pretty satisfying when someone does notice one of those little things.
My newest "little thing" is a chrome rear axle nut spring. It's made by a company called Colony. A cotter pin costs maybe 50 cents at most. These are 3 bucks a piece. Now that's truly custom.
My friend, Greg, bought a new BMW GS Adventure, But owning a bike named Adventure without an actual adventure seems to miss the whole point. So he suggested a ride through the volcanic areas around Mt Lassen and Mt. Shasta, then North to the Columbia River and on to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Greg on his big, powerful, comfortable and fully loaded BMW and me on my hardtailed Sportster, we set off. The odd couple.
We rode to Redding, Ca. and left interstate 5. Highway 299 heads to Alturas and is a great ride through the volcanic mountains of Northern California.
At Alturas we hit Highway 395 which heads north and a little east, past Goose Lake. Near the lake we checked out the site of an old saw mill. The beehive burner was really big so the sawmill must have been a large one. The burners were fed scrap wood and sawdust by conveyor belts. Today none of that scrap is wasted and is used in one way or another. But in their day they were impressive especially at night.
Highway 395 in the area from Goose Lake north is a fairly lonely road so when we saw a guy changing a tire we stopped to see if we could lend a hand. Mike, a fly fisherman, had the tire change under control, and we were able to get enough cell signal to call ahead to the town of Riley in Oregon to make sure he would be able to get a repair before the shop closed. We stopped at The Nest in Riley for a burger and a beer.
Somewhere, after leaving Riley, we stopped at a possible camping place. It looked good, sage brush and sandy soil, but the mosquitoes were vicious. We took a couple of photos and took off for Bend, Oregon.
After leaving Mosquitoville, we were headed toward Bend on Highway 20 and after sundown, I ran out of gas. Fortunately the BMW has a huge gas tank and I carry a small siphon so after a short delay, we made it into Bend, Oregon. We had covered 600 miles.
The next morning we crossed the 45th Parallel. Then to the Columbia River.
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho is a 400 mile ride north of Bend, Oregon. It is a growing place, it's considered hip, cool, and Idaho conservative. Californians, fed up with the peoples republic, are moving there.
I had intended to leave but a rainstorm came in so I stayed another day.
When I left the weather had changed, it was cold and damp. There was a headwind blowing a gale along the Columbia River. I drafted behind some trucks to ease the pressure of the wind pushing my helmet into my face. I stopped for only one photo near the John Day Dam.
It was early afternoon when I arrived at Bend Oregon. It was still early so I called ahead to make a reservation in Klamath Falls a 140 miles further south.
In the morning I headed for Weed, California. This is an area of high mountains, covered by snow. Although on the cool side this ride is one of my favorites.
Highway 97 hits Highway 5 at the town of Weed, but here Highway 5 is not the boring Highway 5 of California's Central Valley. Not far south of Weed the highway passes Mt. Shasta and the town of Shasta.
The highway runs through beautiful forests, downhill, from Shasta to Redding. It follows along the Upper Sacramento River to Lake Shasta near Redding. At Redding it warmed up and I was able to stow my cold weather gear. In another 3 hours I was home.
Even though my bike is not named "Adventure"...maybe it should be.
Greg had still had more adventure in him so he headed east to visit friends near Boise, Idaho. Then South into Nevada where he has family in Virginia City. He sent a couple of photos of his ride.
