So, I rode a 2000cc Harley Davidson.. See page 6..

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Redwolf

Race Dog
Joined
Aug 8, 2008
Messages
4,944
Reaction score
162
Location
Pretoria
Bike
KTM 1290 Adventure R
For a while now I have looked at the odd Harley here and there and decided today that it is time to take one for a spin. I had a brochure at home and was specifically interested in the Road King classic.

Anyway I pitched at Harley Zambesi with a very dirty KTM but was received like a king.. :peepwall:, told them I would like to see a Road King classic and 5 min later 2 of them stood outside for a testride. (Testride was offered not asked for). One was a 2014 model and the other one a 2013 model, both 103 cubic inch or 1690cc..

I took out the 2013 one (the white one) and struggled initially. The clutch is very fast and the seating position very very weird. But once I got going everything was good. About 5km further the bike started to stutter and then died on me (felt like it was running out of fuel). Got it going again, but it died another 2km further. I called Harley and they were there in a few minutes with the 2014 model and a car and trailer. I swopped bikes and took the 2014 model onto the Rustenburg N4 highway.

I took the bike up to 140km/h and activated the cruise control, sat back and just cruised for a good 20km before turning around.. :drif: :drif:.. I MUST SAY, I TOTALLY GET IT NOW.. WHAT A NICE SENSATION..

But...
The power was a serious let down. The bike couldn't really accelerate in 6th gear at 140km/h on a flat road.. It did pick up speed but just so slow.
The gearbox is also very clunky
The brakes could be improved
It get's very very hot sitting on that engine at a robot
And why the hell does it cost R280,000?

The postives:
The seat is awesome
The cruising is awesome
The bike feels a lot lighter than I expected and actually handled great for it's weight
Service was awesome
Cool sounding engin

General:
It will take me some time to get used to the engine vibrations.
I got a lot of attention from other drivers.. Way more than I get when riding the KTM

If I had the bucks now, I probably would have bought it but would put other filters and pipes on and will take it for a dyno. Apparently it makes a big difference according to the sales lady.
 
Top