bj66

Harley does have clothing stores without a doubt. Next time you are in Las Vegas staying at the hotels. Go shopping in their stores. I bet you'll find a HD shop there somewhere. I've been in at least 2 of them when I was there last time. I bought a hat and T-shirt too....I hate to admit it too Deadwood SD has a shop on the old main street. If you want a bike or accessories/service you have to go to Rapid City. Sturgis has a shop as well, but you can get some bike accessories there as well. It makes sense if you are HD. If you promote the brand/lifestyle, those same people vacation. Keep your brand visible wherever your people go, and you will continue to sell merchandise. You want to decorate a man cave, yup they got that covered too. Pool tables, balls, cues. sofas, chairs, its endless. As far as the attitudes go, yes there are some people that are that way. But I would say that it probly isnt as bad as it used to be. People complain that Sturgis isnt what it used to be either. Now its commercialized and not the same wild party as it used ot be. I would agree with that statement, and its because their consumers have changed just as much as the way they promote their own product. I do buy an occaisonal t-shirt etc. But when I do, I try and buy HD brands only where I am not buying a shirt promoting a dealers store on the back. I usually buy on sale items. I purchased a really nice heavy leather coat for more than 50 percent off. So I guess that when it comes to drinking the HD kool-aid, I just sip it......

Where I live, most everybody waves regardless of what you are riding. Except during Sturgis time. If I waved at every bike I came across in SD during the rally I'd sure as heck crash. Maybe it has something to do with where you live. Midwesterners are usually friendly people to start with. Not saying other areas arent friendly, just that some are more friendly than others... Awhile back I was listening to a local sports radio show. They were talking about a college recruit that made a visit to a small SD college coming from California. He was with his dad and they drove here. When they got to SD his dad started to wave at oncoming vehicles to see what their reponse was. They were surprised by how many returned the waves. By the time they got to the college for their visit, they knew how friendly the area would be and had their minds half made up about coming to the local college. I am pretty sure the kid commited to the college before the end of the visit. They couldnt believe how nice the people were.

I walked through the Indian tent at Sturgis the day after the unveiling. The bike didnt do it for me. I didnt like the new fairing over the old Indian front fender. My initial thought was it reminded me of the visions fairing. The led eybrows just dont go with the fender styling in my opinion. Same with the rear bags, the lids look like they are flimsy and I dont like how they look when closed. I think Indian is real close with this bike though, a few cosmetic changes to make everything flow together better and it will be a home run. Perhaps all they need to do is figure out a better bag lid, and maybe ditch the traditional front fender keeping the Indianhead light for nostalga. But as it is, it isnt quite right...close, but not quite right. Now the Indian Chief or whatever they call it, that is a nice bike. The leather bags and styling are old school Indian all the way I didnt talk to any reps about the engine etc. I just couldnt get past the fairing. I'm sure they ride nice.

Phoneman1981 might still be there. He is from Scottsbluff Nebraska (pretty close). He might have an idea.

I just got home from there yesterday. I am 5 1/2 hours from there. I dont really know anybody out there. I would have to look for help online like you guys are already doing. They might be able to try checking in at some of the campground offices to see if there are some campers still there. Myabe they can hook up with somebody that way.

From what I saw, attendance was way up. It got crowded early, like about the thursday before the official start. About Monday and Tuesday you couldnt hardly walk down main street. People started leaving about Weds. Thursday of this week our campground had emptied by well over 1/3rd. I guess people are coming earlier and leaving earlier.

I went through the Indian tent at Sturgis to look at the New Indian. I wasnt that impressed. The new dresser just didnt seem right. It had the classic front fender with a more modern fairing. The fairing had recessed lights running out from the headlight, reminding me instantly of the Victory Vision. It didnt go with the front fender in my opinion. The saddle bags were top loaders and reminded me of the more modern Victory CCT. It just didnt seem right, the lids closing on the bag didnt seem to have the clean look. The Chief and Chieftain were ok though. The leather saddlebags and front fender were Indian all the way. I would like to have one of these someday. Cant say the same for the full dresser.

Eddie, I put on the HD Heritage style bars that fit the Road Glide. They cost about 80 dollars. They are about 2 inches taller than stock and give about 3 more inches of pullback if I remember right. I really like them. I recommended them to Don as well, not sure if that is what he went with. I also have done the stage 1 upgrade (exhaust, air breather, and tuner) it really helps the heat. There is also a mid frame heat deflector that you can attach right below the seat. I put a set on mine as well, it helps with the heat as well as covering up the space behind the motor where the crossover pipe used to be located. Now that the crossover is underneath there is a big space where there isnt anything and the shield helps in that regard as well. There are several companies that make the deflectors, I saw them at the Kuryakyn tent at Sturgis right inside the entrance. I think the cost is 40-50 bucks for that as well. These are the HD ones. Aftermarkets are somewhat cheaper. http://www.harley-davidson.com/store/mid-frame-air-deflectors

I came across a Venture on my way into Sturgis between the Full Throttle and town. I pulled up beside him in the 35 mph zone and hollered at him. He was a member here and I cant remember his name. I think he was from NY, and was wearing a neon green shirt with a pipe fitters union logo on the back. It said Lansing NY I think. He was riding a black venture. He said my Road Glide looked kind of funny and wondered where my Venture was. I would've liked to talk to him more, but 4 lanes of bike traffic at 35 mph didnt favor visiting. He turned off shortly after. I think that was thursday morning. I wish I could've made it to breakfast, but I already had plans and couldnt change them. Maybe next time.

I am leaving in about 15 minutes........

Another option.......Head for Sturgis. Leaving in about 15 minutes.

Welcome from South Dakota! Kinda busy up here too. Heading for Sturgis in the morning. But will look for ya when I get back. Check out the chat room. There is usually somebody around there as well. More often in the winter though, us northern guys have to try and stay sane. Of course around here that is a bit of a stretch. Sanity and this site are'nt normally used in the same sentence. Somehow I just pulled that off.

HAHAHA. Well at least I offered.....You know me, always thinking of others!!!

I know about the webcams. I was just trying to make him feel better......NOT!!!

If it makes you feel any better, when I am walking down main street I will call you on the phone so you can at least listen...........

I have done the stage 1 after the first year of riding mine. Glad I did, bike runs better. I have more power and torque, plus it runs cooler. The 103 motor's stock numbers are approximately 66 hp and around 86 ft pds. torque. After doing the stage 1 to mine, my numbers are 78.05 hp and 97.44 torque. It gives the bike quite a bit of help. I dont plan on going any further with cams etc. This is it for mine. The Stage 1 upgrade is exhaust, air breather, and tuner. Once you do the breather and exhaust you have to retune. Most guys go to a true dual setup, and get rid of the stock pipe with the cat in it. The cat is located basically beside you right foot.......HOT. Several companies now offer a ceramic coated headpipe to help even more. Mine is not ceramic coated and the difference is huge. Some other guys cut the stock headpipe in half and gut the cat. Then they reweld it together and reuse it. My RG Custom gets about 48 mpg on the highway, about 8 to 10 mpgs better than my RSTD did. It is much more comfy for me over my old RSTD. My son bought my RSTD from me and runs it now. It still sits in the garage beside my RG. As far as comfort upgrades on mine, I did the luggage rack, driver backrest, and highway pegs. Just a few weeks ago I changed my seat to a HD Hammock seat (touring). My stock seat was comfortable enough, but on hard bumps, it could of used some more cushion. The RG Custom is lowered one inch in the rear vs. the Ultra and it makes a difference on the hard bumps. So there are a few things I've noticed with mine, and now Freebird can compare and see how his will shake out. I think he made a great choice in a new bike.

Nice bike.....Of course, I am biased. More and more of them RG's on the road every day. I have a neighbor who rides a wing, and he took mine for a spin the awhile ago. He said that it is a really nice bike and that he really likes it. BUT, for years he's been ribbing all the HD guys about their bikes and he'd never hear the end of it if he switched. But I have him thinking now. Guessing that maybe now the HD guys will get their own section in the forums! It wont have to go in the Tech section either, cuz everyone knows that you never have to wrench on a HD.......Figured I'd throw that out there before somebody else did

I feel bad for the guy, but it was his decision. Terrible outcome. But if he went into the store to buy it, its on him not the dealer. When does a dealer say "you cant buy because of......", and the next guy can. Sorry I just dont see it. If a guy lost his drivers license for a DUI or something, could'nt he go buy a new truck/car? I would think so. That guy obviously doesnt have a license etc., and I know the circumstances are different. If a dealer had to have guidelines, then all motor vehicles would have to follow same guidelines. Boats,Jet-Ski's etc. not to mention cars/trucks. Heck if I weighed 350 pounds when I should weigh 165 and I went to a fast food place, I am sure I would get served. That probly isnt the best decision either, but its my choice. Its just too bad that this thing happens. But unfortunately some people just dont THINK of the consequenses of their actions. I have ridden motorbikes since I was 7 years old. My wife wont ride with me at all because if something did happen to me on the bike, It wouldnt be both of us and leave our kids without parents. It frustrates me some times that she wont, but shes overly cautious and I can respect that. Other people throw caution to the wind....thats the way it goes sometimes. As stated in an earlier post, I do agree a dealer should try to fit a rider to his machine, and try to talk some common sense into a buyer as far as a starter bike. But looking back at the pic, that bike was no full dresser either.

Road Glides are hot sellers right now. If you would end up getting rid of it, you shouldnt have any problems. Hope you get it, they are a nice bike. But I may be a little biased.......

I am going. Staying at Iron Horse Campground.

Years ago when I was a kid, we had a 1 ton chevy supercab dually. We pulled a 32 foot Kountry Aire 5th wheel camper and a 18 foot Sylvan boat. That outfit was long, but it was legal. The 454 gas motor was thirsty with that set up......I still see alot of boats behind 5th wheels. Here in SD the Missouri River is a great walleye fishery, and you see a lot of boats etc. heading west through here going to the river.

The RoadGlide.org people are guessing that in 2015 the Road Glide will be liquid cooled. Of course that is rumor, but it has been going around for sometime now. They are saying radiator hidden in the lowers. Of Course the only one who knows is H-D itself. The Road Glides are really selling now, so discontinuing the RG doesnt make sense. The other thing that I have read is that the fairing needs to be retooled. They have some quality fitment issues, so new tooling is needed. Some of the inners arent passing specs, so they need to retool. Of course you read alot on the internet....Time will tell.

I watched a bit of it this morning. They were running sidecars, absolutely crazy.

I am planning on taking it out there. I bought the toy hauler so my wife would come out and stay. The scooter would be handy to run up to the showers, and get ice etc. It would be fun at the campground.

I have a 1980ish Honda Pasport 70 Deluxe scooter. I just got it running after several years of sitting. It is in good shape, not great. It is complete minus the mirrors. It even has the wire basket on the front. The seat has been recovered but not professionally. It wouldnt take much to make it really nice. I have made mention of this scooter a few times while geting a new sparkplug etc. The first thing I hear people say is "Want to sell it?" And by the tone of their voice, they are dead serious and would pay darn good money for it sight unseen. So my question is a 2 part question 1. What is something like this worth? 2. Are they that rare/collectible? I have no plans to sell it, but thought it was kind of cool because of the reaction I get from people when they hear that I have it.