2013 Road Glide Custom, Rockin the War Wagon on the Road to Sturgis

2013 Road Glide Custom, aka War Wagon

A new 2013 Road Glide Custom, some friends, eight days to burn, the Sturgis Rally, and a little Rocky Mountain detour, what’s not to love? Not much, I can tell you that. For those of you that have been keeping up on current events here at the Asylum, you know that my beloved Paint Shaker (aka 2006 FLHRCI, Road King Classic) and sick CVO Springer (2007 FLXTSSE) are no more, traded in to make way for a shiny, well not so much, as it’s black denim, new 2013 Road Glide Custom. Always wanted one of the shark nosed beasts, and given that the Motor Company had deemed it time to put the vaunted Glide on ice for a couple of years, I figured now was as good a time to score one.

Blacker than a Banker's Heart

The War Wagon is fairly trick; complete black-out treatment, Progressive Suspension front and rear (Monotube fork springs and 944’s out back), Klockwerks windscreen, Agitator wheels in black ice, braided brake lines, fully floating rotors up front, HD’s “DayMaker” LED lights with Custom Dynamics LED running/brake/turn lights, Vance and Hines True Dual headers with four inch round mufflers out back, and Screamin’ Eagle air cleaner and tuner. Le Pera seat is coming, and we’ll wait until the warranty is done before we start really working over the stock 103. All in all, it’s a pretty tidy rig. 

Lunch at Orlando's in Taos, yummy!

Our shakedown cruise began in the steaming cauldron of the Fort Worth Metroplex, when you think Texas in the summertime, think oven on self-clean mode and you get the idea. The sooner we could get to the high desert of New Mexico, the better. The three of us, Dan (my boss), Joaquin (e-com guru) and myself droned along the interstate just as quickly as John Law would allow. Staying overnight in Amarillo, we got a late start from work, have to pay the bills, right? Our goal at the end of the second day was Durango Colorado where we would meet up with renown bike builder/designer Jesse Rooke and a couple of his buddies. From there it was on through the Rockies for some great two lane tango.

The Wolfpack on the Great Divide

I’ve gotta say the Glide is such the better bike than the old Paint Shaker, and it really pains me to admit it, but truth is truth. Obviously being a post ’09 FLH model, it benefits greatly from the new frame and swing arm. For the most part the hinge in the middle of the frame is gone. Sure at really high speeds in long sweepers, if you hit a bump you’ll experience a little shimmy-shake, but nothing too dramatic. And if you have the good sense to install Progressive bits on both ends, you’ll be amazed at how well the beast will handle. The brakes are outstanding, to the degree that I doubt I’ll throw on aftermarket calipers, they are that strong. I gotta say I love the frame mounted fairing, not just for the sinister profile, but the wind protection is outstanding, as is the stability. Having grown up riding sportbikes, I prefer the frame affixed units to anything mounted on handlebars.

Hank and Doug on the Open Road

From Durango to Sturgis was a blur, Jesse and Doug set a blistering pace over one mountain pass to another, whether  it a goat trail or a four lane road, we were hauling the mail. And trust me, the weather never cooperated with our “optimistic” route schedule. But that’s the adventure of the open road, right?

DI5H Crew Sonny, Z, HD, and Flash (starting third from left)

 One turn it’s a  herd of mountain goats, the next it’s a black and white, or maybe Jesse’s Street Glide saying, I’m not gonna start at during a thunderstorm at over 12,000 feet. Its always something, and that’s what’s so great. Over Loveland Pass, through Trail Ridge Park and the wilds of Wyoming our little wolfpack was never passed by a single vehicle of any type; car, truck, motorcycle…..nothing. That includes sportbikes of every stripe. We were making some pace, and having a blast.

The Biker's Choice Big Rig on Lasalle

Rockstar Girls Rocking in Sturgis

Jesse Rooke hams it up in Deadwood

Once in Sturgis, it was the usual scene; Main St., Black Hills HD, the drags, flat track, Deadwood. We took it all in, while dodging (mostly unsuccessfully) some of the worst weather I’ve ever ridden in. As a matter of fact, it rained some part of the day for six of the eight days we were on the road……that’s a lot for this Cali transplant!! But as they say, there’s no bad weather, only bad gear. I’m not sure I fully buy into that, but my Firstgear rain gear did keep me dry, and the Road Glide was steady as a stone as we punched through some pretty gnarly precep.

Rooke's Super Sick Street Glide, Fast!

For three days we met with industry folks, looked at bikes, ate food, lots of food, and were more or less chill. We didn’t do a lot of local riding, but we did cut through Rushmore (how appropriate given the new 2014 HD’s huh?) and Custer Park on our way back to Tejas. Given time constraints we pretty much took a straight shot south, two lane when we could, interstate the rest of the way. And oh, yes, the rain continued to the last day, with the worst of it as a matter of fact in Kansas. By that time we were all done with the wet stuff.

Why We Ride

All in all, I’ve got to say I’m loving me the War Wagon, it’s smooth, reasonably quick (we’ll work on that later) and stops better than any Harley I’ve ever owned. But I have to say, without a doubt, it’s the badass stance of the machine that puts it over the top. It’s got class and style in spades……..ace of spades, as in blacker than a bankers heart. This is the start of something good…….

Vince and Paul Sturgis Bound

Harley Davidson 2014 Prognostications

With less than two months to go before the Motor Company’s 2014 Dealer Show, we thought the timing was just about perfect to jump in with some “WAG’s” as to what the Motor Company was cooking up for 2014. Best to get in all the juicy, pie-in-the-sky, no basis in fact rumor mongering we could; rather than wait to report on real “after the fact” news. Where’s the fun in that? So in no particular order, the best and the brightest at the Asylum (OK, me, the dog, and an intern….an unpaid intern) have put together the following list for your speculative pleasure.

1) No liquid cooling for 2014. This one has been coming up every year for the last decade, and sadly one of these days it will be true, just not this year. That said, we hear there’s a chance that some of the big twins maybe equipped with some sort of additional oil cooling of the heads ala the late great XR1200x. Expect to see true liquid cooling when the Road Glide reappears in one to two years.

          2) There will be an introduction of a truly new model or platform this year. There’s lots of buzz in the aftermarket, rumors of a “major announcement” coming, much more intense than in recent years. We know for a fact that Harley has been in talks with IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) about activating some sort of promotion at this years MotoGP. No details, but there was concern about timing relative to their August Dealer Meeting, that tells us there’s more to the story than “bold new graphics”. In addition, we talked to an XR1200 race team owner at Daytona this year, and he indicated that the factory hinted that this would be the last year for the XR’s to compete in the series, even though there are two years left on the V&H agreement with the AMA. Could this mean another “sport bike” for the Motor Company? Highly unlikely, given the recent demise of the XR1200x, but it is interesting. Stay tuned on that one. What we see is the real possibility of the introduction of a “sport touring” machine with a completely new frame, state of the art suspension and brakes. We think Harley is looking to get after the metric guys in their own backyard without alienating the faithful. Remember, you read it here first people.

3)  CVO’s to 120. This is a no brainer, the only question is will it happen this year or the next. Harley simply can’t have its flagship premium model line-up sport a displacement that’s literally just inches away from the now common place 103, the preferred lump of the great unwashed. Also expect  the 103 to creep to 110, maybe with the intro of the water jacketed powerplants.

4)  Look for some new touring model to pick up the slack left in the line-up with the elimination of the Road Glide and Road King Custom. Those two bikes alone accounted for way too much revenue just to let them go without a near term replacement. Most likely the new rig will be based on the existing chassis to keep it cheap………..expect the words “Road” or “Street” to be incorporated into the name. Just sayin’

There you have it, our best guess as what’s in store for 2014……….but as a wise man once said, “…..predictions are tough, especially about the future”.  So don’t be “that guy” and bust our chops when none of the above pans out……….unless of course we nail it, in which case, we like Jack, we’ll supply the Coke.

Texas Tales.....Riding the Lone Star State

As most of you know I relocated to the Republic of Texas nearly two years ago, and while I’m moving steadily on a path to citizenship (figured it’ll take about a decade to get naturalized) it’s still an almost daily adjustment when it comes to acclimating to the day to day in the Lone Star State. This is doubly true when it comes to riding out among ‘em in a state where the unofficial motto is; ”….hey honey hold my beer and watch this”.

But before we get into last weekend’s two lane escapades; a major announcement.  We’re rolling a new sled, sinister black denim 2013 FLTRX, the last of its kind as a matter of fact, at least for now. No doubt the Motor Company will bring the Glide back at some future date; it sells to damn well to kill it off for good……shareholders wouldn’t stand for that, no way. The machine is really trick with lots of Chrome Asylum touches, which ironically include a total black-out treatment, and very little, if any actual chrome. Expect a complete review of the War Wagon, including the not so pleasant purchase experience at one of HD’s Platinum Bar and Shield “stealerships”, along with tons of pics in the near future. 

A tasty tease...........War Wagon, my new '13 FLTRX

Sadly the only way to score the Road Glide was to sell my beloved Paint Shaker (’06 FLHRCI) and the Springer (’07 FXSTSSE). Very bummed to see them go, but the fact is I don’t get much time to ride one bike, let alone two, and with the daughter at one of those over-priced palaces of “higher” learning, it was the right time to downsize. One thing I know is there are a couple of Texans out there that scored some choice tricked out Milwaukee iron……….best treat ‘em right gents!

So yea, that whole riding thing. Yo Texas, can we get some lane splitting (ah, “sharing”) down heh!? What’s the deal, you’ve got traffic jams that would make five o’clock in Beijing seem like a spin in the country, surface of the sun heat for six months of the year, and NASCAR wannabe morons in their pick-ups tailgating (sorry, my bad, “drafting”) about an inch and a half of my fender. We need an “out” people. If they can allow the great unwashed the privilege of lane splitting in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, let’s show them what a free state can do. It’s time.

 I’ve heard that legislation has been introduced a couple of times in Austin over the last few years, so what’s the hold up?………I say get ‘er done dammit!! Of course as one wise local cop told me, he said, “son (which shows you how damn ancient he was) I wouldn’t advise you doing any of that lane spitting stuff around here, you’re liable to get a knee full of fender or a face full of Skoal”. Wise words indeed, maybe Tejas isn’t quite ready after all.

The stereotype is that nearly everyone in Texas drives a pick-up truck, maybe not entirely accurate. What is true is that every twisted, demented, Shiner swilling, road raging cowboy freak in Texas drives a pick-up truck. There’s a difference. Here’s what the chamber of commerce won’t tell you, every other one of these bozos is towing some sort of grapes of wrath flatbed trailer (which by the way slows them down not a single mph) stacked to the moon with all manner of mowers, blowers, grills, couches, lawn chairs, coolers, ladders, duck blinds, kiddie pools, and the occasional recently deceased white tale. All of which means when Bubba/Pedro slams into one of Texas’ famous, and numerous pot holes (these babies are deep and steep, they can taco a motorcycle rim faster than you can say “Red State”) at beer thirty qualifying speeds, it’s gonna be raining yard sale……….right in front of you and your machine. You best be on your game, constant “object avoidance” skill building is a must.  Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Lastly, enough with the artificially low speed limits on rural roads. I doubt Texas invented the speed trap, but I think it’s fair to say they’ve perfected it. It’s such a joke that when I was recently caught on radar doing 52 in a 30 (I was) the cop let me go. He was understanding about the natural tendency to twist the throttle a little harder on two lane twisties (a rare find indeed in God’s Country….ah, that of course would be Tejas, right!?), and all but admitted the speed limits were not “appropriate” for boondocks nature of the road. It’s kind of a drag having to constantly keep one eye on the speedo, and the other scanning for John Law when cruising through the countryside. No doubt I see a hefty ticket in my future…….I’m pretty sure I burned my get out of jail free card with Officer Rider (I swear, that was his name!).

That about wraps it for now, stay tuned for more, assuming I survive Death Race Texas………where it’s not just a ride, it’s blacktop ops survival school.