My baby bro just bought a 07 harley davidson night rod special with 300 miles on it. He got his license a couple months ago and I thought he was gonna get something more beginner friendly. then what you know, without consulting anyone in the family, he went to bought himself a 1250cc harley. don't get me wrong, the harley is beautiful and is in brand new condition. I am very worried that he is not going to be able to handle this beast. Since I have never ridden a harley before myself. so I have no tips for him other than "be careful"..any thoughts guys?

 

Well you don't have to worry about speed being a factor

 

Haha. So true.

 

be more worried about him slipping on his own oil leak.....

1250cc is not big for a harley, and hd doesn't use the cc's as efficiently as honda. how much hp does it put out, 60? the old 1340 evo's put out like 66hp stock...

 

and also double the weight.

The speed would probably be close to a Ninja 250 or so.

The main problem would be making sure he doesn't drop it from the weight.

 

Indeed this would be my main concern as well. But he has to make his own decisions. I know he's your little bro so you're worried about him but he has to make his own choices / mistakes. You never know maybe he will be great with the bike. All you can do is preach to him about safety, be alert out there, always give yourself an out, etc. Other than that let him ride and learn.

 

i love the night rods, probably the only harley id ever own. My friend has a sportster and we traded bikes once and we took off, it had some decent torque and wasnt as much of a slouch as i thought at first but then it was just a dud. He was stopped on the side of the road waiting for me to catch up. As long as hes careful and is capable of riding hes not any more likely to do something stupid and cause himself to crash than you are id say. But hes just as likely to be hit by some teen texting while putting on lipstick as the rest of us.

 

He'll be fine. If he obtained his license meaning completion of the MSF safety course...it's ok. The thing about buy a new/newer bike....when it's THAT NEW! Likely the rider pays tons of TLC...and will very careful....

At the least he purchase a use one and not new.

 

I'd blame sons of anarchy. That damn show gets me thinking Harleys can be cool and fast. Reality sets back in every time I see one broken down which happens often.
That leads me to the advice part. Make sure he's got a good cell phone. Chances are he'll need a rescue one day. Other than that it's a slow bike that is easier to ride than a sportbike. He should be okay.

 

The new Harleys aren't bad bikes, if over-priced. The leaky/slow stereotype, is just
that, a stereotype. Do they handle like a sport bike, well...duh, no. Are they
an effective/reliable way to get around town on two wheels, yeah.
Not the way I would choose, but still and all, it IS two wheels.

They actually have a pretty low center of gravity, and if you don't subscribe to ape-hangers
they handle decently.

If he dumped as much cash as I bet he did, he might even be a safe, catious driver.
For fear of his baby, if not himself. ;-)

Wouldn't hurt to give him "The Talk" though, You know the one....
Dude, you are INVISIBLE, the only ones that actually SEE you are TRYING to run you off the road.
Be aware, ALWAYS have a PLAN and an hole-shot. And get some gear,
bro. Those jeans and tank-top ain't cutting it! ;-)

Ern