Hi folks, Saturday 30 October saw me at the Harley Heaven outlet in Ringwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne. I had booked a test ride on a Road King at 10 and a Ultra Classic Electro Glide at 11. The weather was cloudy and temp in high teens nudging 20 degrees C. Both bikes were low mileage, the Road King had 255kms on the clock and the Ultra 1667kms. Several riders, including I, took a supervised run for about half an hour each time.

The Road King: Felt good when I sat on it, the handle bars felt right even though the switch gear is ordinary in medium gloves.....and then I started it! Well the sound of it running was a bit like the sounds my 20 year old ride-a-mower makes. And at idle it gave me the best ball massage I have had in years! Almost a 110 years in business and Harley Davidson have managed to make a motorbike that sounds like it has a Briggs & Stratton engine! Once underway it was surprisingly agile. It took a few minutes to get used to the foot-boards and pedal arrangement. I ended up using the gear lever as I would on a normal bike. Stopped at the lights a few times and passed the time trying to find neutral! Also learned that changing gears is better done if you let the revs die down a lot before crunching the lever. Also learnt that it's best to keep your leg away from the primary cover on the left to avoid burning your leg and funnily enough the air cleaner on the right, which heats up a lot! Nothing you can do about the heat coming off the engine whilst stationary at the lights....but I now know why a lot of Harley riders ride in T-shirts and leather vests! Despite that the Road King isn't so bad out on the road at legal speeds. In the twisties the handling is OK, the acceleration is good and the brakes are good. Would I buy one? Well. if they were half price (Au$16,000) honestly I would have to say no. I don't see it as a realistic alternative to a ST1300 or 1400 GTR or BMW.

The Ultra Classic Electro Glide: Given what I had learned on the Road King I thought it maybe more of the same, but I was wrong! This one had a 6 speed gear box as well as the topbox, radio, cruise control. I don't know if it was the extra weight but there was no hope of releasing the clutch and idling off from the lights. I tried it and stalled it both times! The seat was even more comfortable than the Road King. But less air getting over the engine meant it was hotter to ride. And I wouldn't buy one of these either!

So yer, I am disappointed. If I had never ridden them I would still think these were amongst the top range of the touring bikes out there. But silly me, I had to go and test ride em!

Tried 3 Harleys so far: Dyna, Street Glide and Nightrod. Only Nightrod impressed me, the other 2 were disapointing.

Goldwing, GTR 1400, BMW GT/LT series, FJR 1300 or Honda ST 1300 are great choices for serious and comfortable long distance touring.

Hi Crobiker, the Kwaka GTR 1400 looks d@mned impressive on paper. Any of the touring BMW's are a lot dearer and their service costs are 2 to 3 times the cost of a Honda or Kwaka. Strange since the service guys are on much the same wages as the Jap service guys!