In Your Opinion Nomad vs Harley

[ponch]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

I would have got a few punches in to that pig!

You know the cop wanted to

[jayc]

well, I have to admit, there are some things I can do on the Electra Glide that I can't do on my Nomad or Vaquero. I don't know if it's the ergonomics, the cable clutch or both.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by jayc

well, I have to admit, there are some things I can do on the Electra Glide that I can't do on my Nomad or Vaquero. I don't know if it's the ergonomics, the cable clutch or both.

I had the same experience between the Nomad and the Ultra.

I am not a very big person, so the ergonomics are better for me on the Ultra. Unfortunately, there are few tourers that fit short-people like me.

[ponch]

The Ultra has a steeper fork angle and shorter wheelbase, which helps and the bars are different too. The low speed handling was the first thing I noticed when I rode the Ultra. The Voyager is better than the 1600 Nomad, but not as good as the Ultra in terms of low speed handling. The interesting thing is that for a 96, it didn't give up anything to the 103 on the Voyager. Both bikes were stock. The Ultra had about 8K miles and the Voyager about 3000 miles, so they both were pretty much broken in. I found both bikes not optimal for the over 6'
tall set.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by ponch

The Ultra has a steeper fork angle and shorter wheelbase, which helps and the bars are different too. The low speed handling was the first thing I noticed when I rode the Ultra. The Voyager is better than the 1600 Nomad, but not as good as the Ultra in terms of low speed handling. The interesting thing is that for a 96, it didn't give up anything to the 103 on the Voyager. Both bikes were stock. The Ultra had about 8K miles and the Voyager about 3000 miles, so they both were pretty much broken in. I found both bikes not optimal for the over 6'
tall set.

I hear people say they feel the Ultra is too tight if you are over a certain height; but at the same time I see all kinds of people +6' (plus hundreds of pounds) riding them all the time without any complaints.

Most people I hear saying that are coming off of metric-bikes; which certainly splay a rider out much more than an HD does -- so no surprise for anyone in that situation to say that. It simply isn't what they are used to riding but it doesn't mean it is right or wrong.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by glwilson

I hear people say they feel the Ultra is too tight if you are over a certain height; but at the same time I see all kinds of people +6' (plus hundreds of pounds) riding them all the time without any complaints.

Most people I hear saying that are coming off of metric-bikes; which certainly splay a rider out much more than an HD does -- so no surprise for anyone in that situation to say that. It simply isn't what they are used to riding but it doesn't mean it is right or wrong.

It's a matter of what someone will put up with/adapt to. I see it with BMWs. People have certain beliefs and they adapt to things that objectively do not make sense. An extreme case are Walmartians. You've seen pictures of the freakshow, yet they think it's all okey dokey. The point is, as long as you believe, nothing else matters, right? So yeah, coming from the nomad the ultra and voyager are more compact. I suppose that if either bike had a center stand and I could mount it like a horse, that might help. Otherwise I'd be kicking the shit out of the topcase. :)

That said, I think the blackened cayenne sunglo on the Ultra is smashing. HDs definitely have character.

[eagle]

I have a Nomad and a Road King. Two different bikes. I still prefer the Nomad for any long distance trips. The harley is nice for day trips in my personal experience.