Cruising with HD (is the S10 a good match for HD groups)

Harry Dresden PI

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I do a lot of riding with long term Harley Riders and wanted comments regarding how the power band, low speed stability, group riding of largely HD groups do when compared with the S10? (Group riding low speed city to near interstate speeds and well as Interstate 500 + mile days)

I assume the S10 low speed grunt matches well with the V Twin Harley Motor ... and interstate winds blow the S10 more than the lower heavier HD rides?
 

oldbear

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Well, you certainly won't have any trouble keeping up with 'em..... ::013:: I personally can't stand the "cruiser" seating position and straight pipes, but that's just me. Whatever folks want to ride is a personal thing. It will depend on the guys you're riding with. Some of 'em like to play pirate and dress up and you won't fit in, others just like to ride and are pretty decent guys.; I've got a good buddy on a 'Glide and we travel together on occasion. No problems 'cept I gotta slow down and wait on him when the road gets twisty....
 

coastie

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Starting on Tuesday morning I'll be riding for a week with Harley riders. It's going to be a slow week.
 

EricV

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Harry Dresden PI said:
I do a lot of riding with long term Harley Riders and wanted comments regarding how the power band, low speed stability, group riding of largely HD groups do when compared with the S10? (Group riding low speed city to near interstate speeds and well as Interstate 500 + mile days)

I assume the S10 low speed grunt matches well with the V Twin Harley Motor ... and interstate winds blow the S10 more than the lower heavier HD rides?
Low speed grunt? Your main problem would normally be getting bored going so slow, but you live in FL, so have no twisties to worry about. You won't have any problems keeping up with the on ramp acceleration of the HDs. Wind is a funny thing. HDs with batwing fairings will complain long before you will notice any serious issues. Ultras will start getting pushed around a bit earlier too. A lot of wind mostly goes thru the S10 with our fairly minimal fairings. Just because it's taller, doesn't mean it gets blown around. The naked HD guys and Road Kings/Softails will be about the same as the S10 in the wind. You might have to hear the question "what's that noise!?" when your fan comes on to cool the bike down in slow traffic/parade riding.

500+ miles days are about ergonomics specific to your fit/needs. You may discover a few things you might want to change. From as minor as bumpers under the seat to eliminate the forward tilt, to rotating the bars or controls a little. After that, it's just a matter of what bothers you and how to change it so it no longer does. Depending on how often they stop during those 500+ mile days, you may be just fine, or you may start thinking about custom seats and risers, etc. Not knowing you or how the group rides, generic statements that the S10 will handle long days is not really helpful. The bike is fine, it's about your comfort.

If the 500 mile day is 8 hours, you'll be staying on the bike and minimizing stopped time. If that's 12 hours, well, any bike that can get up to near interstate speeds will do the job. ;)
 

Sckill

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Instead of asking if the bike is a good match for a group of HD bikes, you should be asking, do you all have similar riding styles? You can putt around as slow as you want on a S10, or wring the crap out of a HD. It's up to the rider.
 

viewdvb

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Sckill said:
Instead of asking if the bike is a good match for a group of HD bikes, you should be asking, do you all have similar riding styles? You can putt around as slow as you want on a S10, or wring the crap out of a HD. It's up to the rider.
You CAN wring the crap out of a HD but not for long and not if you want to get to your final destination. And I know whereof I speak. To generalise because there are many exceptions, HD riders ride motorcycles for different reasons to the rest of us and have different perceptions of what motorcycling is all about. How else do you explain the universal loud pipes and the generally slow rate of progress. They want to be individuals standing out from the crowd but end up being all the same by buying into the Harley marketing myth and wearing the logo on everything from clothing to skin. Not a strong indication of independence of thought or spirit. You, on the other hand, displayed considerable independence in choosing an S10. The puzzle therefore is why you would want to ride with them at all. You obviously won't fit in either lifestyle or riding style so how comfortable are you going to feel on the road?
 

JohnB

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Interesting topic. A friend on a Triumph and I attended a charity poker run sponsored by a local bike club. Since neither of us had a GPS on our bikes and nor did we want to try and follow a route taped to our gas tanks, we searched for a group that was leaving that we could follow. A friend from the host club suggested we ask a group from another club if we could tag along with them. So, we did and they agreed. When it came time to head out on the tour we realized that every member of this club was on an H-D. Thoughts similar to what have appeared in this thread ran through our minds. How slow can we go? Will we be able to hear anything when we’re done? Where can I get some pirate clothes in a hurry?
As it turned out, I was amazed at how spirited a ride it was. While I didn’t have any trouble keeping up, I was pleasantly surprised how well they could haul ass through the twisties on those Hogs. While they didn’t have stock exhausts, their rumble wasn’t annoying and was actually entertaining. When it came time for a break, they didn’t ignore us because of our “adventure gear” and, as a matter of fact, when the run was over, they invited us to join their club! So, my opinion of H-D riders was forever changed. Who would have thought?
 

Northernstar

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Was visiting a Friend in Seattle early this summer come to find out that he had Alaska on his bucket list and he had two bikes - an Ultra Glide and a beautiful chopper that didn't have any rear suspension at all. Since I was headed up to Fairbanks, Alaska anyway told him to saddle up and we could ride together but to bring the Ultra Glide. I had my doubts but he proved me wrong; he turned out to be a very capable rider on the smooth as well as on the rough stuff; as a matter of fact this was the only HD that I saw catch some air on those nasty bumpy gravel roads in Yukon Territory between Destruction Bay and Beaver Creek ::015::!!!!!! Had a great time showing him how to "bandido camp" in the backroads among other things ::012::

Couple of issues that developed was that these HD's have a 5 gal tank but has lousy mileage so we had to stop about every 100 miles or so to fuel up ::010:: another was that he was always playing catch up since it took forever for that heavy beast to accelerate and in British Columbia there are stretches and sweepers that just begged to go north of the century mark and on the S10 this was almost instantaneous ::022::

This story has a great end to it - after about a week back from our trip he ends up buying a Vstrom 1000 (he looked for an S10 but couldn't find one that fit his budget) and says that he can't wait for him and his boys to take another trip to Alaska but this time he will go all the way to Deadhorse ::018::
 

mrpete64

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riding in a long line of bikers...

My suggestion would be to ride last and leave at least an eight of a mile distance between you and "the pack." That way when one of them falls down andy he rest run into them you will be able to avoid a nasty situation. I saw this in person. It was...ugly!
Also, one night on ABC news they had a pile up in Oregon? where the leader scared some old lady in her car...she slammed on her brakes...a lot of people ended up dead...many injured...and the interstate highway, where it occurred, had to be closed.

Riding in groups of bikes scares the hell out of me. Too often bikers ride beyond there abilities and that is when everything goes wrong. If I ride, with anyone, I ride last and give myself "plenty" of room to maneuver in case of a wreck.

Mr. Pete------->
aging hippie
 

offcamber

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Most of my friends ride HDs....although I one I have just about convinced one to sell the road glide and buy an FJR...

When I lead they tend to drop back as I ride quicker than they do, mostly because they have wives and girlfriends on the bike and I'm solo (my wife doesn't like to ride) I tend to have to slow down now and then to let them catch up....when I follow it gets a bit boring but that's me and nothing to do with the bike.....

When in traffic on hot day you can at least keep your engine running while they shut theirs off.

If any of them have drag pipes make sure you're in front of them or your going to get a headache...... :))
 

OldRider

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One really good thing about it is how safe you will be. As it's a proven fact that loud pipes save lives, this may be the safest ride you've ever been on.
 

Marty

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Harleys are the fastest bikes on twisty mountain roads. See for yourself. Visit the Dragon and you will observe a long line of sport bikes behind every Harley that pulls into the parking lot. The Harleys always get there first.
 

2112

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Marty said:
Harleys are the fastest bikes on twisty mountain roads. See for yourself. Visit the Dragon and you will observe a long line of sport bikes behind every Harley that pulls into the parking lot. The Harleys always get there first.
::015:: Like it ::008::
 
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