TacomaJD
04-22-2019, 11:23 PM
Well, I'm at a crossroads so to speak.
Little history on myself to preface this discussion topic: I am 32 yrs old, grew up riding dirt, got into sportbikes, done trackdays, had a freak accident on interstate on a 2007 Kawi ZX10R on March 7th, 2010 and lost my left leg below the knee. Took nearly a year to recover, and to this day I cannot bend my knee past 90 degrees on the amputated side due to damage, so I'm stuck riding cruisers, which turned out to be okay afterall. So after I recovered and was ready to get back into riding, I went through 2 different Yamaha Road Star Warriors and then ended up with my current Nomad....
So....I have a 2006 Vulcan Nomad 1600 I bought around 4 years ago from the original owner. Got around 25k miles on it now, been an amazing bike. Zero problems out of it, aside from the V&H head pipe that is cracked currently that needs welded up before it's rode again. Well I got to wanting something newer, nicer, more powah!, etc....so I dropped some coin on a mint used 2014 Street Glide Special about a month ago. I'm finding out that I wasn't really missing anything with the "Harley Experience"....few weeks after I got it, freakin' saddlebag fell off going down the road, and that's when I found out the pins that hold the bags on were recalled and come out easily. That cost me some money to replace, as Harley refused to cover it.
I also just don't feel "comfortable" on the bike like I do the Nomad. Comfortable defined as everything just feels right when I am riding. I described my 2007 Kawasaki ZX10R sportbike the same way. Whether I was on the street or riding in advance class on the track, I felt 100% comfortable on it. I rode several other sportbikes over the years that my friends had and never rode any as comfortable as that ZX10R. Now I'm seeing the same thing happen relative to my Nomad 1600.
It doesn't have as much leg room as my Nomad (big factor there). The throttle is jerky, it feels awkward in the corners (and I like me some corners!), seat isn't as comfy, having a radio isn't really as cool as I thought it'd be, having difficulty finding a windshield that provides good wind protection that also looks cool, front rotors are warped and it only has 7800 miles which is odd but upon reading up on it seems to be common, and I read of so many things that tears up on them that I am paranoid waiting on the next expensive thing to fail on it.
It sounds so good! The power is nice! Although it handles a little different in the corners, it does feel more nimble than my Nomad. Looks awesome....but I have yet to feel like it's a keeper. That's a bad feeling having $16k tied up in something I'm not completely happy with.
I have been interested in the Vaqueros for quite some time, but opted for the Street Glide because in my mind I always viewed it as the premium top tier dream bike, etc. So now I'm seriously contemplating selling and buying one of two newer Kawi bikes. Not interested in the Voyager btw...
1.) 2017 Vaquero in that candy dark red color
2.) 2014 Nomad 1700 in that matte black/white color combo.
My thinking is I should get that "comfortable" feeling that the bike is everything that is right for me, that my previous Kawi's have been known for, and with a little extra style and power of a newer Kawi bagger.
One question I do have is this: I do not know as much about those two specific model bikes I listed as I do the 1600's. I know the older Nomads are bulletproof riding machines. Friend of mine's grandpa put over 100k on a 1500 Nomad and never replaced anything other than consumables. Is the 1700 platform the same? I seem to recall a Facebook friend really have a big problem with his transmission in his Voyager a year or so ago. Don't remember the specifics, but seems like Kawi was jerking him around on replacing it too, and he bought the bike new a couple years back. That's the same tranny in the Nomad and Vaquero isn't it? Are there any things to consider when buying either of the two? I am fairly mechanically inclined, just not sure what to look for / avoid. Any info will be appreciated, this thread may help convince me to post the Harley for sale. Lol
Little history on myself to preface this discussion topic: I am 32 yrs old, grew up riding dirt, got into sportbikes, done trackdays, had a freak accident on interstate on a 2007 Kawi ZX10R on March 7th, 2010 and lost my left leg below the knee. Took nearly a year to recover, and to this day I cannot bend my knee past 90 degrees on the amputated side due to damage, so I'm stuck riding cruisers, which turned out to be okay afterall. So after I recovered and was ready to get back into riding, I went through 2 different Yamaha Road Star Warriors and then ended up with my current Nomad....
So....I have a 2006 Vulcan Nomad 1600 I bought around 4 years ago from the original owner. Got around 25k miles on it now, been an amazing bike. Zero problems out of it, aside from the V&H head pipe that is cracked currently that needs welded up before it's rode again. Well I got to wanting something newer, nicer, more powah!, etc....so I dropped some coin on a mint used 2014 Street Glide Special about a month ago. I'm finding out that I wasn't really missing anything with the "Harley Experience"....few weeks after I got it, freakin' saddlebag fell off going down the road, and that's when I found out the pins that hold the bags on were recalled and come out easily. That cost me some money to replace, as Harley refused to cover it.
I also just don't feel "comfortable" on the bike like I do the Nomad. Comfortable defined as everything just feels right when I am riding. I described my 2007 Kawasaki ZX10R sportbike the same way. Whether I was on the street or riding in advance class on the track, I felt 100% comfortable on it. I rode several other sportbikes over the years that my friends had and never rode any as comfortable as that ZX10R. Now I'm seeing the same thing happen relative to my Nomad 1600.
It doesn't have as much leg room as my Nomad (big factor there). The throttle is jerky, it feels awkward in the corners (and I like me some corners!), seat isn't as comfy, having a radio isn't really as cool as I thought it'd be, having difficulty finding a windshield that provides good wind protection that also looks cool, front rotors are warped and it only has 7800 miles which is odd but upon reading up on it seems to be common, and I read of so many things that tears up on them that I am paranoid waiting on the next expensive thing to fail on it.
It sounds so good! The power is nice! Although it handles a little different in the corners, it does feel more nimble than my Nomad. Looks awesome....but I have yet to feel like it's a keeper. That's a bad feeling having $16k tied up in something I'm not completely happy with.
I have been interested in the Vaqueros for quite some time, but opted for the Street Glide because in my mind I always viewed it as the premium top tier dream bike, etc. So now I'm seriously contemplating selling and buying one of two newer Kawi bikes. Not interested in the Voyager btw...
1.) 2017 Vaquero in that candy dark red color
2.) 2014 Nomad 1700 in that matte black/white color combo.
My thinking is I should get that "comfortable" feeling that the bike is everything that is right for me, that my previous Kawi's have been known for, and with a little extra style and power of a newer Kawi bagger.
One question I do have is this: I do not know as much about those two specific model bikes I listed as I do the 1600's. I know the older Nomads are bulletproof riding machines. Friend of mine's grandpa put over 100k on a 1500 Nomad and never replaced anything other than consumables. Is the 1700 platform the same? I seem to recall a Facebook friend really have a big problem with his transmission in his Voyager a year or so ago. Don't remember the specifics, but seems like Kawi was jerking him around on replacing it too, and he bought the bike new a couple years back. That's the same tranny in the Nomad and Vaquero isn't it? Are there any things to consider when buying either of the two? I am fairly mechanically inclined, just not sure what to look for / avoid. Any info will be appreciated, this thread may help convince me to post the Harley for sale. Lol