After numerous British, European and a few Jap bikes, I had virtually accepted that I would never get enough money together to buy the Harley that I had long dreamed of. Until, one day after lusting after Harleys in one magazine, my girlfriend told me to stop dreaming and go get one. After a lot of hassle, phoning and positive effort, largely on her part, we managed to find the bike, and get the money sorted.
From the first moment I sat on the bike, a 1981 FXS Sturgis, I knew it was right. As we rode home my smile was so wide that it filled the small mirrors» fitted to the pull-back bars. But the first corner nearly put me on the wrong side of the road. Was it long? The combination of long frame and forks meant that I had to take bends more carefully, whilst roundabouts (Milton Keynes is full of them) had to be taken quite wide.
But what lovely throbbing power. It pulled like a train, handled OK once you got used to it, the brakes were poor but the engine braking helped overcome that. It was economical, never doing less than 50mpg. It looked great, sounded great and was a joy to ride. The pose value goes without saying, but in use it was a very practical bike.With hydraulic tappets, electronic ignition, single carb, belt primary drive, electric and kick start (definitely a knack to that) it was virtually maintenance free. The only serious fault was with the tyres - American Goodyear Eagle ATs. The AT stands for absolutely terrifying - only average in the dry, they were like early Jap tyres in the wet. Mind you, they do last a long time.
Apart from the tyres, the only other faults are minor. The silly indicator buttons, one on each switch block, which have to be held in all the time to signal. And the finish on the calipers, but the rest of the finish was exceptional -the chrome was long lasting, the paint thick and lustrous.
The only breakdown was when the primary belt snapped. Not that uncommon on the Sturgis, apparently. The Phase Three belt conversion that you can buy is half as wide again and doesn’t break. However, when I phoned up Dave Martin, the HD importer, and complained, he sent us a cheque for the replacement belt without questions.
On the road, once used to the long wheelbase, it really was an easy bike to ride. Ample power, made the five speed box unnecessary. If vibration was always present nothing ever fell off. The tall cissy bar on the back shook so much it made the girlfriend’s eyes go funny, although the shorter cissy bar is better. There was a patch of vibration between 2500 and 3000rpm, which equated to 60-75mph in top, just where you don’t want it, but the ride was smooth enough either side. The new V2 engines are much better, and the rubber mounted Evolution Harleys are so smooth they make most Jap bikes seem lumpy.
People who say Harleys are slow are only comparing them to Japanese bikes of similar capacity. Having cruised in comfort, listening to the radio, at 100mph on a V2 Electraglide, and cruised at 110mph two-up with camping gear on our Sturgis, then I say anything faster is wasted on British roads. And 100mph on the speedo was only 5000rpm (the redline’s at 5500rpm) - it still returned 50mpg for the tun, which included going through Central London.
Another advantage of the Sturgis (and Lowriders) is the low seat height. At only 27 inches my 5’4" girlfriend (soon to be wife) could still ride it easily, yet my 6’4" frame was comfortable as well. The only other bike we both felt so comfortable on was our old Moto Guzzi.
In the end it had to go. I had been made redundant only 2 months after getting the Harley, and after nearly 18 months on the dole I owed too much money to justify having a £4000 motorcycle in the garage. The dealer from whom we purchased the bike had been hassling us to sell it, so when I saw a Harley WLA45 in MCN, I sold the bike for nearly what I’d originally paid for it, got rid of my debts and bought the old Harley. Now that’s a whole different kettle of fish.
Would I buy another one? Too right I would! If you ever get the chance book a test ride, leave your preconceived ideas at home and see what it is that Harley fans rave about. If only they would cut their prices down to a reasonable level, I'd buy another like a shot.
Brian Smith