Road Glide question

CB650F

Premier Member
#41
No, you haven't hurt my feelings. You've simply demonstrated your ignorance and inability to see beyond your nose, rendering your opinion worthless. As I suspected long ago, you aren't worth the effort required to have a discussion with. I briefly thought you might have turned over a new leaf, but you've just demonstrated that I was mistaken. So like I said, go fuck yourself.
 

Firstpeke

Well-Known Member
#43
A view from elsewhere!...

Wow.... things can get really heated due to personal opinion..... right or wrong personal opinion at that....

I don't ride a Harley, never will, but that's my choice....

I have ridden Honda for years and years and never had a serious problem.... one or two minor annoying ones but not game changers!

I now ride a BMW 1250RT, that's my choice..... I don't expect to have any problem with it..... it's under warranty though!!!

Not planning on entering any rallies in the near future, but have a 4 corners ride coming up in a couple of weeks.....

Also hoping to tour to Nordkapp next year, then attempt a Europe End 2 End, or top to bottom really, to finish that, then ride home in smell the flowers mode... that will be around 8500 miles, am I worried about not making it on the bike, not a bit.

If someone wants to buy and ride a particular bike to do a particular thing, knowing what they know, or don't know about that model, one can advise them, but if they choose to do it, who am I to question their choice?

Worse still, who am I to call them names????

So there, a view from elsewhere, from a high mileage rider who hasn't done an IBA rally, but who rides 400 miles to have lunch with the UK group.... then rides home after lunch..... or on my previous brunch run, slot in a SS1000 to get there.....

Enjoy your ride, whatever you choose, I for one would never say, "I told you so" if it breaks down, but I suspect there are some here who might......

Vive la difference! ( I think that's French!)

Each to their own.

There, that's my thoughts, or as you say in the US, my 2c worth.

Les, from Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland......
 

Firstpeke

Well-Known Member
#44
Should have said that for years, having a friend who had a 2008 BMW RT that was a total lemon and who got no joy with the final issues from BMW and so , traded it in for another smaller BMW, but had issues with that, right up to the warranty expired.... I chose then to NOT have a BMW... ever....
I made my feelings know of someone was singing the praises of the marque..... to their annoyance at times....
Then BMW had the 2014 stop riding recall..... fuel on the fire..... I never criticised anyone's choice if they bought one though, never told them they were stupid....

Here I am 7 years later, having re-examined where BMW are at, looked at the newer bikes..... and bought a 2019 1250RT..... to do longer rides in more comfort, now that's funny... and I am looking at a Russell seat!

I Like the bike, it is way better than expected, it is good on fuel.... and soon it will meet my comfort requirement..... service intervals are a bit short though!

What an idiot I am, trading in my Honda for a BMW!!!

Go figure.
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#45
Only time will tell what experience you have with your BMW @Firstpeke . Hopefully it will be a positive one and I wish you the best with that. I would consider the odds against you.

The critical difference in this thread is we are specifically speaking about a bike for riding the IBR. It costs a significant amount of money to enter and prepare for the IBR. The event is on the clock for 11 days, not withstanding the checkpoint overnights. Finishing is not a given, even if you have zero bike problems and ride the entire event, getting to checkpoints on time and arriving at the finish on time. To be a finisher you must plan and execute your ride utilizing the rally pack's info for bonus locations and scoring methods in such a way that you successfully gather enough points to meet the minimum goal set by the IBR staff. A goal you will not be told until the last leg of the rally, and even then one that is not absolute, but an approximate number that will allow you to be a finisher.

With this all in mind, riders can't afford to lose time during the event. If the rider or the bike has an issue that loses the rider hours, that singular event could result in the inability to meet the requirements to become a finisher at the end of those 11 days. More often it is a cascade of events that together result in lost time and thus opportunity to gather bonuses that result in a final score below finisher status.

This is not teasing your friend because their bike suffered a failure during a cert ride or a 400 mile day ride to lunch that required a tow truck and dealer service or their time and effort to order a part and repair it themselves. This is the loss of an opportunity that cost thousands of dollars to enter and prepare for and for some is a once in a lifetime achievement... now gone and either another attempt will be made, with the opportunity not at their convenience, but two full years away, and at another very significant cost all over again. Or it's gone forever, with time, finances and/or physical limitations preventing another attempt.

Choosing a bike platform that you simply like because you know it well or find it's seat height or other features appealing is fine for rides you can do any time, at your convenience, meeting your calendar needs and circumstances. This is not that kind of ride/event. If you are going to make the choice to do the IBR, it behooves you to give yourself every advantage to succeed. Including a bike that's proven to be more reliable than most, rather than one with features that are not easily repaired by the side of the road by the rider themselves.

People choose to ride the IBR on all sorts of bikes for all sorts of reasons. Ignorance of other brands and sticking with the brand you know best is not the best reason to choose a bike. A rider asked for info and opinions. I felt he erred in narrowing his request to one sub group of bikes and I said why I felt that way, based upon my personal experience as an IBR finisher with over a decade of rally experience on different bikes. with 30+ years of LD riding on a diverse selection of bikes, including HDs, the focus of the OP's choice.

Every IBR is different. The next one will have a different Route Master from the last one and it will be interesting to see how the tenor changes. Like all IBRs, you never know what to expect until the rally book gets opened. Then you hope you chose and prepared well for what comes next.
 

Firstpeke

Well-Known Member
#46
Thank you for your reply, I am well aware of the IBR, the costs and the pitfalls and so on as I am aware of folks from ST Owners who have participated in the past....
As my last comment on this thread I will say this.....

I think you missed the point of my post.

I'm done.
 

BigLew55

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#48
I don't think they came from the factory with the tender plug until 2014ish. Before that you had to add one yourself. They're pretty inexpensive and only take about 15 minutes unless you have a bunch of stuff on top of the battery
 
#49
I've only ridden and finished one IBR. I also have ridden one MERA 10 day event where I rode more miles than my IBR and DNF'd for time barred. Both were on Yamaha bikes. In both cases I never had any issues during the event. Because of my choice to run a Japanese bike, well set up and sorted ahead of time, no added stress due to mechanical issues or the threat of mechanical issues was ever a part of my thought process during the events.
Eric,

I think the key to your post is the part that I highlighted. I think that an HD, and most any bike, that is well set up can succeed.

Would it be optimal? Maybe not. I think that the Hoka Hey has shown that HD are more capable than many people (including me) think they are.
 
#51
Hey Road Glide owners, do we have a plug on the 08's somewhere to plug in my battery tender? I have kind of looked under the seat and stuff, but have not seen anything. Maybe I am missing something. I had a Softail and it just plugged into the right side, but don't see anything on here!
You might check behind the left side cover, that's where they are in the factory harness, if not there you most likely don't have one.
 
#52
Hey Road Glide owners, do we have a plug on the 08's somewhere to plug in my battery tender? I have kind of looked under the seat and stuff, but have not seen anything. Maybe I am missing something. I had a Softail and it just plugged into the right side, but don't see anything on here!
Your bike probably doesn't have one.

It's easy enough to run the battery tender terminal harness from the top of the battery to the right side, just above the transmission. That's where I ran the harness on my '06 FLHTP.
 
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