I'm a Bagger!

I sold my 06 Softail Deluxe but not before I fixed it up to the tune of $5000 in add ons for the new buyer. I'm a nice guy. Something about the Street Bob caught my eye & a few grand had it not only running strong but looking good as well.
Saturday is demo ride day at my local Harley dealer & something about the 07 FLHT caught my eye. At first glance I thought it was a huge ugly sucker nerd type machine & nothing that HUGE & HEAVY could get out of its own way.
I made a mistake & took a test ride. But first a brief history. I started riding in 1955 & except for two years spent in Asia have always had a bike or two.

The demo ride on the FLHT woke me up to a new side of the apple that I had never had a bite of before. It was smooth and comfortable & if you worked the gears it would run as fast as you would want to go. The demo had a Stage #1 done on it & the sound was perfect. No more knap sacks on my back with all of the luggage space. I was falling in love with this big beast... I hope the kid that buys my Street Bob appreciates the way I took care of it.
I do 200 mile painless days & the back rest is just more icing on the cake. Getting old isn't all bad & neither is being a BAGGER.

[Buzz Kanter]

Congrats on becoming a bagger and for being one of the earliest to post on our new forum.

After years of making fun of the baggers I bought one too. A used 2000 Ultra, which I have warmed up (as you might have read about in past issues of American Iron Magazine). I like my Ultra so much I sold my hot rod FXDX (a fine machine) becuase I didn't ride it enough. Baggers are fun.

Yeah I just recently joined the baggers myself. After years of ridin' hot rod Sportsters I bought myself a Street Glide FLHX. Gotta watch that third gear acceleration in the rain cuz she'll break the back tire loose! Got V&H basic slip on's, V&H Fuel Pak, and an Arlen Ness Big Sucker stage 1. I have put 2200 miles on it since mid March (when it had 000001 on the odometer) and I love it. For a 750 pound bike it is very agile in the city and I love having the bags for my "stuff". I may get another Sporty someday, or maybe an FX, but I don't think I'll ever go without the bagger again.

Yeah bighorse. I've found out about baggers too. My wife and I bought one on our 28th wedding anniversary(Nov. 24, 2001- 02 Ultra). Stopped to browse at the local dealer and they were ready to negotiate price for a change. I always told the little lady I was too young for a bagger but she got pretty saddle sore on the back of my Sporty, and Superglide. One time on that plush passenger seat and she was sold. Of course I still kept the other bikes.

I started riding later in life. I started with a 2004 Sportster 1200. Then I went to a 2006 Street Glide when my wife and I saw one at a dealer. We thought this would be better to ride double. Then I went to a 2007 Ultra for even more comfort and the intercom feature. This spring I bought a 2007 Sportster Nightster for when I want to ride alone on the twisty roads around the lakes and through the forests of northern Wisconsin. For riding together and for long rides you can't beat a bagger!

Well now I guess I should add my name to be bagger pile. Of course, there is no such thing as a stock Harley, so my 98 FLTR has a few changes that seem to really wake it up. For comfort, I’ve added lowers and for longer trips an ultra tour pack – pushed back 2 inches so that two of us and the back rest can fit comforably. The GPS is ‘built in’ where the spedo and tach used to be housed. They – the spedo and tach – are now digital gauges in the fairing along with digital oil temp and oil pressure gauges. The fuel tank has been enlarged to 7 gallons and the digital amp and fuel level gauges are mounted on top of that along with the misc. switches that used to be on the trees. That bigger tank feeds an S&S 124 inch motor that turns a Baker 6 speed and BDL open primary. The wheels and breaks are PM units and exhaust is a Rheinhart true dual setup. It's been across the country a couple of times and is going again this summer - Portland, OR, Sturgis, Canada, and the NE from SC this time around. May see ya on the raod.

Congrats on your Bagger! It took me longer to get used to mine than it did my wife. I always had Sporty's but one ride on the bagger and there was no more Sportster for her. A couple years later and I realize I am quite spoiled as well. Now it is without a doubt my favorite machine. I hope you are as happy with yours as I am mine. Take care and ride safe.

Just to add to post #3. I just bought and installed XM Satelite radio. I went with a Sportscaster unit at Best Buy for $30. It is smaller than the unit at the HD shops and much cheaper. The bracket that came with it allowed me to mount it to the bars right where the HD unit would be and I ran all of the excess wiring (for a car) behind the fairing. I love the commercial and talk free jams. To quote Frisco, "yeah baby"

Hey amarkham, that bagger is wide awake for sure. Sounds like you've done some nicely executed upgrades.