I have been spending a considerable amount of time thinking about my little stable of rides.  I have been spending most of what little riding time I have had  over the last year or two on Brutus.  Not that riding my R1200GS has any negativity associated with it.  It was more an issue of not riding Rufus and JDsHog. 

Over the years JDsHog has morphed into what my wife says is a piece of  two wheeled jewelry.  It’s just too pretty to get dirty.  I won’t ride it if there is any chance of it getting wet any more.  There is just too much chrome to rust and too many custom doodads to get screwed up.  On top of that the 95” carbureted Twin Cam engine is a bear to start if it has been sitting for a while.  I am experiencing my fifth starter clutch failure in 36,000 miles. 

I haven’t had an an  opportunity to do any touring with Rufus  in a couple of years.   Rufus is difficult to handle at low speeds due to it’s top heavy design and I am not getting any younger.  There is also an infrequent but disconcerting clutch slippage issue occurring.  I suspect the hydraulic clutch actuator is about to give up the ghost.  That would probably translate into an expensive repair in the not too distant future.

Then there is the maintenance, licensing and insurance costs on two rides I am just not using that much.  That’s all the  practical side of the story anyway.  I am also working on getting back into more “biker” related activities by re-joining Combat Veterans International.  I won’t try to explain or debate the whole “biker” versus “motorcyclist” mentality because I am comfortable mixing at any two wheel related function or activity.  Not that CVI is motorcycle brand specific but the majority usually ride cruiser style machines and black leather is seen more often than Gucci gear.  Again I have it all and frequently can be seen cross dressing with Harley Davidson t-shirts under an Aerostich jacket or wearing leather with a BMW belt buckle or t-shirt.     

There have been a number of things on my mind and I had enough of a fun money fund built up that I could pretty much do anything I wanted to do if I wanted to consider a different or even a new motorcycle.  My initial plan, based on the practical issues, involved getting down to two motorcycle.  Getting rid of Brutus was never one of the options.  That left getting rid of either JDsHog, Rufus or both.  If I got rid of Rufus I wouldn’t have a good two up long distance touring bike.  While a lot of people ride R1200 GS or GSAs two up for touring it wouldn’t be my choice.  Getting rid of JDsHog had some real emotional concerns for me because having a custom HD was a realized life long dream of mine.  Not having any kind of HD was also a negative from my “biker” world inclinations but I was on a quest.

I am nothing if not practical and thorough so looking for a different motorcycle was something I had to consider even if JDsHog was part of the sacrifice.   I labored on the short list of bikes that would scratch the most itches for me.  That list boiled down to the venerable Honda Goldwing, the new high tech BMW K1600 GTL and the  HD Road Glide Ultra.  I won’t go into my reasoning but I wasn’t surprised that others were looking at these same three bikes for reasons that parallel my own.  At this point it probably wouldn’t surprise many reading this that the Road Glide Ultra would probably be the best itch scratcher in my particular situation.

One issue for me with Harley Davidsons is the starter clutch problem that I have personal experience with  The primary difference in the 2011 and 2012 Road Glide Ultra models was the move to the 103” Twin Cam.  All the 103” Twin Cams come standard with automatic compression releases which should resolve the starter clutch carnage.  While I could look for a used 2011 I was leaning towards the idea of a new one.  I have owned one new motorcycle in my whole life, a 1972 HD XLCH Sportster I bought when I got out of the Navy. 

Last weekend I stopped by Downtown Harley Davidson to try and get a look at a 2012.  As luck would have it they didn’t have any in the showroom but they did have a couple 2011 models.  I looked them over real well and talked to one of the sales staff for quite a while.  I picked up some literature and continued my quest. 

I hadn’t discussed much of this with my wife so Saturday morning we talked about my quest and the reasons behind it.  She was good with whatever I did but her only request was that if I could I should try to keep JDsHOG.  She said she knows what it meant to me and she likes it too.     I love this woman!!!  . 

I had a brief rethink on my options but in the end I didn’t see any reason to change my mind on the direction I would go.  I decided to dust Rufus off and take a ride to Downtown HD and see about getting a 2012 Road Glide Ultra ordered.  I bought JDsHog used from them in late 2002 and I have done a lot of business with them over the years.

I ride into the dealership and run into a good friend and co-worker of mine.  The HOG chapter was having one of their meetings and the dealership BBQ was in full swing.  He happened to be doing some parts dealing, picking up a used Tour Pak for his Road Glide he purchased from another HOG member.  We had already been talking about my quest at work so when I told him what I was doing he wanted to tag along.  We walk into the showroom and I start looking for the salesman I had been talking to before.  I didn’t see him so I started talking with the first salesman that asked if they could help.  His name was Kurt.

I told Kurt he didn’t need to do any selling because I knew what  I wanted and we just needed to work out the details and get one ordered.  I told him I wanted to get a 2012 Road Glide Ultra in Ember Red Sunglo ordered.   At this point he starts leading me to the other side of the showroom and stands next to a beautiful red metal flake Road Glide Ultra.  He points at it and says, “You  mean like this one?”  Apparently they had gotten several in since my last visit. 

I was blown away by the paint.  The illustrations and pictures on the HD website are totally inadequate.  It is spectacular in the sunshine.  Even my pictures didn’t capture the metal flake very well.  The color seems to change with the lighting conditions.  The paint on JDsHog does the same thing.

I wasn’t mentally or organizationally prepared to ride out on one that day but four hours later that is what happened.  I ended up trading in Rufus so I needed to go home and offload my stuff and get all the keys,  etc., etc..  I needed to have my wife come down anyway to get her name on the title and registration, so it all worked out.  With all the overtime I have had the last three years I was able to simply write a check.  Getting through the paperwork and Downtown’s new owner process took about an hour and a half.  This isn’t a  criticism because they do a great job and the orientation is probably real helpful for first time buyers.

Sunday was the August CVI Chapter 5 general meeting and if I wanted to ride it to the meeting I would need to get through the 50 mile low speed break in period.  That way I can at least use the freeway getting to Tacoma for the meeting.  I left the dealership and rode 75 miles on back roads to take care of that part of the break in. 

It handles very well and is much better in the twisties than my softail.  JDsHog leaves a trail of sparks from the floorboards on anything approaching aggressive riding during hard cornering.  At speed the Road Glide it is smooth  and tracks like it’s on rails.  There was very little vibration at the hand grips.  While it may not be up to the handling and comfort characteristics of Rufus it isn’t a huge  compromise either.  The low center of gravity, lower seat height, low speed handling, low end torque and the stock headlight of the Road Glide are areas where it is  superior to the K1200LT.  The 103” motor seems to have a broad torque band and I didn’t have any issues with the response of the electronic throttle control. It ought to make two up riding and/or pulling the trailer a lot less  clutch intensive activity compared to the K1200LT.   With the compression reliefs the engine turns easily when the starter is actuated.   Hopefully starter clutch failures will never be an issue with this motor.

It did take a little trial and error to get many of the buttons and controls figured out.  Reading the manual would probably help in that endeavor. 

The brothers at the CVI meeting liked the new ride.  I kept telling everyone that someone broke into my garage, stole Rufus and left this bike in it’s place.  It got a few laughs anyway.

I got a very pleasant surprise at the meeting.  They voted on my membership reinstatement and I am once again a member of Chapter 5.  I went to Eagle Leather in Lakewood after the meeting to to get my vest back in it’s proper condition.  Thank God for CVI!

The plan at this point is to leave it relatively stock and ride the wheels off it.  By that I mean is that it will not morph into a garage queen like JDsHog.  I have been  trying to figure out what to name it.  Not that the title of this post hasn’t already been a spoiler but the obvious choice is JDsRoad.    I think that is what it will be unless something else sings to me later.