[aron77]

Of course there was a chance of rain on my first day to ride to work in my new 2011 vaquero but it was like 50/50 so I rolled the dice, of course the report changed and got worse throughout the day. On the ride in I got rained on but it was light to moderate and the bike road like a champ and I didn't get that wet other than my lower pant legs and my leather jacket kept me dry up top. Then it was a freaking down pouring all damn day and I was kind of freaking out dreading riding a bike that I'm not used to 30 miles home in rain and wind. The rain subsided but the wind was blowing hard with flags fully extended. My C50 would get blown all over the place in high winds so that was what I was expecting and on wet roads, I was quite unsettled. I could not be more impressed with this bike as I took it easy on the wet roads and didn't notice the wind at all, not even a little. The C50 rides at a high rpm with only being a 5 speed and I would be almost numb after a good ride but this vaquero rides so smooth I could go all day.

I looked at this bike for quite some time before I got one and I expected that I would like it but I had no idea that I would fall in love with it so hard and so fast. I've only been riding it for two days now and it is so comfortable that I feel like I've been riding it my whole life. If you are in the market for a nice bagger/cruiser you have to check this bike out! I thought I would one day work my way up to a Harley but I cannot imagine a Harley could be any better save for the marketing machine.

 

[Porky]

Rain???? I thought you live in Kansas City, Missouri?

Sam:biggrin:

 

[aron77]

Rain???? I thought you live in Kansas City, Missouri?

Sam:biggrin:

I know, crazy weather in the Midwest, who would have thunk it? :icon_mad:

 

[hogcowboy]

Weight and power make all the difference in the world. When I got my first Harley there wasn't the choices for a touring type bike as there is today. Ya'll got choices. You may not EVER see a reason to go to a Harley unless you got that itch. But be darn sure you test ride one first. Especially a used one. People do some rather crazy things with suspensions plus not all Harley's ride the same. But the choice out there now is amazing. Brand means nothing. Get what you like in the future if anything. You may not find a reason. Except for that darn itch.

 

[Porky]

I have had all of the premier touring bikes as in a BMW K1200LTC, Goldwing's and A Harley Electra Glide and let me tell you, the Harley is just as capable providing touring comfort as any of the others. The rubber mount engines, once over parking lot speeds allow the bike to be supremely smooth.

At one time, I had the Electra Glide and a new Goldwing and rode both all the time and people would ask which was better on the road??? I'd tell them that if I was rolling down the Interstate and closed my eyes for a bit, both bikes felt exactly the same.

Of course, the BMW and the Goldwing's had much more power but that was about the only difference.

****** Aron, I'm only 150 miles due south of you and I see some more rain, hail and lightning coming your way right now, from the west.

Love that Vaquero and test drove it and came very close to buying a new 2012 but decided on a Goldwing instead.

Sam:biggrin:

 

[Dodsfall]

It is great when you find the motorcycle that fits you.

 

[aron77]

Weight and power make all the difference in the world. When I got my first Harley there wasn't the choices for a touring type bike as there is today. Ya'll got choices. You may not EVER see a reason to go to a Harley unless you got that itch. But be darn sure you test ride one first. Especially a used one. People do some rather crazy things with suspensions plus not all Harley's ride the same. But the choice out there now is amazing. Brand means nothing. Get what you like in the future if anything. You may not find a reason. Except for that darn itch.

You are definitely right about choices. I haven't been riding that long but I'm 37, and I used to work at a biker bar through college, so I've seen a few bikes in my day and if you would have asked me 10-20 years ago about a bike I wouldn't have considered anything but a Harley if for no other reason than styling and image but these metric bikes have come a long ways and I haven't seen a bagger/touring bike out there that I think looks as nice as this Vaquero. I wouldn't mind riding a Harley now that I have experience on two metric bikes just to see if the hype is just that or if the Harley is more than just the image and marketing. I'm blown away by this vaquero, both style and performance, so the Harley electra/street glide would have to really blow me out of the water to get me to shell out thousands more for essentially the same bike.

I may get the chance as I have a friend at work with essentially a perfect Harley match to my bike, electra or street I can't remember, and I'm pretty sure if we ever ride he will want to take mine for a spin. But I do know this that my bike has less miles but his is a couple of years newer and he paid at least double what I did. If we ever swap I'm sure I'll post my thoughts.

 

[aron77]

I have had all of the premier touring bikes as in a BMW K1200LTC, Goldwing's and A Harley Electra Glide and let me tell you, the Harley is just as capable providing touring comfort as any of the others. The rubber mount engines, once over parking lot speeds allow the bike to be supremely smooth.

At one time, I had the Electra Glide and a new Goldwing and rode both all the time and people would ask which was better on the road??? I'd tell them that if I was rolling down the Interstate and closed my eyes for a bit, both bikes felt exactly the same.

Of course, the BMW and the Goldwing's had much more power but that was about the only difference.

****** Aron, I'm only 150 miles due south of you and I see some more rain, hail and lightning coming your way right now, from the west.

Love that Vaquero and test drove it and came very close to buying a new 2012 but decided on a Goldwing instead.

Sam:biggrin:

My grandpa rode a Goldwing and loved it but that leaves me always thinking of the Goldwing, and probably the BMW too, as my grandpa's bike but I've looked at them in the dealers and I can see the allure and I've been told they are the most comfortable bike out there. I just hate the look of the trunk, on any bike, and yet I would love to have that kind of storage; I seem to always be having that style vs comfort debate with myself. So for me I don't think there was any other bike I wanted but this Vaquero for the combination of style, price, storage and performance. I do have to say that if the Goldwing and BMW have more power than my 1700 then I'd be curious to see how that feels because going from an 800 to 1700 I'm having trouble getting that huge grin off my face as it is.

I know go figure I buy a new bike and there is nothing but rain coming :icon_mad: I rode to work yesterday and got rained but decided to not chance it based on the forecast this morning and it hasn't rained at all. But at least if I do get caught in the rain I now have a bike that I feel can handle it. My grandma is still kicking and she used to ride on the back of that Goldwing so when I started riding she rushed out and got my some rain gear so I'm prepared.