Post 15: The Search

Back from the Fourth, I went to test ride a Harley Sporster and a Victory Vegas to see if I could handle them. I actually was surprised how easy they were to drive compared to my 77 Honda 350 Chopper.

I didn't like the Sporster much, too forward, and rough running, sounding like a bunch of loose parts in the engine at idle, and rather unexciting.

The Vegas was much smoother running, and although heavier and longer, was easier to drive. And it is of course much more beautiful, as designed by Arlen Ness in 2003. The only thing I was not crazy about was the play in the gearbox, which makes it a little rough to ride slow in a parking lot. I tried a 2011 with the new helical 6 speed gearbox, and it was perfect, but that meant spending over 15 grands on a new bike. The 5 speed with straight gears would have to do.
I started looking on eBay and on the Internet, and found a 2008 orange Vegas 8 Ball(black engine)up in Wisconsin for $8000:

I also found a 2006 black and metallic pink 8 Ball in West Virginia with 1600 miles for $7000, with black wheels, and Arlen ness black exhaust pipes which I considered very seriously:

Then I found in Enterprise, Al a plain classic black 2004 with only 10300 miles, spoke wheels and a nice rear seat for $6000:

I liked the spoke wheels better than the aluminum wheels, so I called, got the price down to $5600, went down to look at it, and bought it on the spot after a test drive. Drove it over 2 hours to my brother in law in Georgia to spend the night, and 5 hours back up to Birmingham the next day with no problems at all. It is now in my driveway:

It is a long heavy bike at 8 feet and 700lbs wet, and the massive 1500cc V Twin develops 85 HP, so it has tremendous accelerations. It runs great, it is well balanced and remarkably light to steer. You just have to be very careful to keep it level and balanced when you stop. I practiced slow speed maneuvers on Sunday in the bank parking lot, and it is a lot more nimble than the chopper, but of course not quite as much as the Honda Rebel because of the length and wider turning radius. A real joy to drive. I have registered for the advanced class in Montevallo to take it though emergency braking and obstacle avoidance.