I thought some of you guys thinking about making the fury your first bike would appreciate feedback from someone in the same shoes.
This was the first time i had ridden a street bike on a public road. I had ridden a dirtbike (80cc's) a couple of times about 20 yrs ago. I attended an MSF safety course last week at the local HD dealership where i learned a LOT about riding and safety. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone, newb or veteren. We had two full days on the track practicing on some Buell blasts.
I hope that gives you a perspective on my opinion.
Although i've heard a lot of negative talk about the 56hp, this thing has plenty of power and speed. I had zero problems with onramps, merging with limited space into 70mph traffic with my wife riding also. I weigh 185 and she's 110.
The throttle was a little too touchy for my opinion. The engine is VERY torquey. When taking off from a stop the bike lurched a few times until i really got a feel for it. A little throttle would cause it to kinda jump forward, causing me to accidently give it more gas. Almost dropped it turning around once.
The ride was smooth and soft without being like a waterbed. Cornering was a little tough for me to get used to. Like said above, at slower speeds i kept accidently "rolling on" and pushing myself a little to much to the outside of corners. I'm pretty sure it's all got to be just my inexperience showing through.
The bike did get stuck in neutral once, which left me me looking pretty stupid at a red light. That aside it shifted very smoothly with the tranny giving a satisfying clunk when going into the next gear.
I spent about 3 hours on it straight both open road and stop and go traffic. I'm 5'9" and and the bike fit me perfectly. No sore back or sore ass to speak of. The wife did complain of a tired lower back after a while, but nothing a sissy bar wouldn't fix.
Overall, after a few hours riding the bike felt like second nature. Slow speed turns were all i had problems with but hey, it's my first day on a street bike. And the thing is 15ft long!
Lots of comment on the bike and we had a great time riding. If your worried about it being to much for your first bike, have no worries. If i took to it as easily as i did with my limited experience, i think most every other "newb" will adapt just as easily.
Go and buy one of these things right away. Then you can brag to that you learned how to ride, on a chopper. How cool is that!?
This was the first time i had ridden a street bike on a public road. I had ridden a dirtbike (80cc's) a couple of times about 20 yrs ago. I attended an MSF safety course last week at the local HD dealership where i learned a LOT about riding and safety. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone, newb or veteren. We had two full days on the track practicing on some Buell blasts.
I hope that gives you a perspective on my opinion.
Although i've heard a lot of negative talk about the 56hp, this thing has plenty of power and speed. I had zero problems with onramps, merging with limited space into 70mph traffic with my wife riding also. I weigh 185 and she's 110.
The throttle was a little too touchy for my opinion. The engine is VERY torquey. When taking off from a stop the bike lurched a few times until i really got a feel for it. A little throttle would cause it to kinda jump forward, causing me to accidently give it more gas. Almost dropped it turning around once.
The ride was smooth and soft without being like a waterbed. Cornering was a little tough for me to get used to. Like said above, at slower speeds i kept accidently "rolling on" and pushing myself a little to much to the outside of corners. I'm pretty sure it's all got to be just my inexperience showing through.
The bike did get stuck in neutral once, which left me me looking pretty stupid at a red light. That aside it shifted very smoothly with the tranny giving a satisfying clunk when going into the next gear.
I spent about 3 hours on it straight both open road and stop and go traffic. I'm 5'9" and and the bike fit me perfectly. No sore back or sore ass to speak of. The wife did complain of a tired lower back after a while, but nothing a sissy bar wouldn't fix.
Overall, after a few hours riding the bike felt like second nature. Slow speed turns were all i had problems with but hey, it's my first day on a street bike. And the thing is 15ft long!
Lots of comment on the bike and we had a great time riding. If your worried about it being to much for your first bike, have no worries. If i took to it as easily as i did with my limited experience, i think most every other "newb" will adapt just as easily.
Go and buy one of these things right away. Then you can brag to that you learned how to ride, on a chopper. How cool is that!?