I’m fortunate to own more than one motorcycle. I’ve been fortunate for a lot of years to have more than on bike in my stable but that hasn’t always been the case. Way back when, I only had one bike. During those times I had to use the one bike I had to fit all the needs I had.

In my world motorcycles fall into three categories: touring bikes, sport bikes and profilers. Unless you can afford several bikes, you generally choose your ride based on your primary usage and then modify it to satisfy your expectations in the other two categories. For instance, if your primary purpose is touring, you might start with a bagger, modify it to enhance the handling (i.e., sport bike characteristics) or add custom paint and chrome (i.e., profiler characteristics). You’ll make tradeoffs in these three categories to obtain the best of all worlds in a single machine.

These categories can be characterized further by noting a few examples. Sport bikes handle well in tight corners, accelerate and brake well and generally carry only a modest amount of luggage. A touring bike is comfortable for extended rides, carries a large payload but sacrifices handling, performance and looks. A profiler provides its owner a platform to make a statement, to be seen and to stand out in a crowd. The best Harley profilers are undoubtedly based on a hard-tail frame. A profiler carries little or no payload and is demanding, with respect to handling and wear and tear on the rider. In fact, profilers often have negative handling characteristics. Their long front ends are difficult to manage at low speeds, they “pogo stick” while cornering at speed, they drag foot pegs or floorboards, primary cases and kickstands in even the most gradual turns. But profilers look bitchin’ when they’re goin’ slow or standin’ still.

If I only had one bike I’m sure it would be some sort of touring bike. Over the years, I’ve ridden mostly Harley’s but I’ve got a healthy respect for all of the major manufacturers. I currently ride an Anniversary (2003) Road Glide that I’m quite fond of. It’s got big hard saddlebags and detachable tour pack and a fairing that’s mounted to the frame, not the front forks. I find the frame mounted fairing more stable in cross winds and less prone to wallowing around in figure eights when in tight corners that I’ve gone into hotter than I should have. Over the years I’ve owned several touring bikes, with both frame and fork mounted fairings so I’ve got quite a bit of experience on Harley touring bikes. One of my Club brothers rides a Gold Wing which is a bike that commands a great deal of respect. It’s big and therefore very stable, it got six cylinders and is powerful once you get it rolling, plus it’s got reverse. For a young rider reverse is a novelty, as you get older and lose some of your physical strength reverse becomes a real luxury.

I love my Road Glide and usually ride it to out of town rallies and events. It carries a good payload, easily packs double when the need arises, handles well and is capable of maintaining speeds well in excess of posted limits all day long. It’s been incredibly reliable and has been a lot more enjoyable since I built a ninety-five inch motor and installed a six speed transmission. The 2007 Harley Big Twin models are all equipped with ninety-six inch motors and six speed trannys.

My profiler is an old Harley FXR that I’ve owned since 1991. This bike was purchased for my darlin’ wife (at the time) but proved a bit too much as a “starter” bike. I thought so highly of the bike that I kept it, rebuilt it from the frame up and put a ninety-six inch S&S motor in it. I kept it lean and mean, it’s all business with only the essentials … it’s not even got a speedometer, only a great big Autometer tach that is mounted “in your face”. It’s a handful but a lot of fun and has surprised a number of riders who thought their bikes were pretty fast. I’ve raced Ninja’s and VTX’s and lots of Harleys over the years. If I can sucker my opponent into my power band I can stay in front of most bikes and can run with the remainder. I will admit to not being able to touch the sport bikes when they’re on the freeway. I’m good to about a hundred and ten and these bikes will stretch out to a buck fifty or more without much strain. I was also pretty embarrassed by a Hayabusa that I got the jump off the line with but passed me sounding more like a military jet and doing it with the front wheel about three feet off the ground. Wow, that’s a lot of bike.

Currently, I’ve got one more bike in my stable that I shouldn’t have bought but I couldn’t pass it up. It’s a 2004 VROD that’s had the Cyclevisions Road Glide kit installed. This kit allows the installation of Road Glide fairing and hard saddle bags on a custom long rear fend and includes floor boards. I find that it makes a stock VROD far more “roadable” and a lot less fatiguing. For really long trips, i.e., anything more than a few hundred miles a couple of features make the VROD less attractive: fuel capacity is limited … it’s a hundred mile bike, second, the stock seat is nearly unbearable. I had a high tech foam insert installed that eased my pain considerably but the comfort level is a far cry from my Road Glide. The only passenger that will ride on a VROD for a significant length of time is one that is truly committed to the sport and a real trooper. The VROD is considerably lighter than my Road Glide and thus it gets buffeted around in the wake of an eighteen wheeler, but it’s got incredible performance. The VROD is quick and fast at the same time and is capable of top speeds in the one-forty range. Far faster than anyone with a lick of sense would want to ride for more than a couple of minutes.