Just under 1K on the new SESG. Took my 2005 Road King out the other day for a ride and that prompted this report.
New frame is great. Much stiffer and more solid feeling. This bike rides really nice and handles great. The four-point engine mount is a nice improvement and dampens vibrations better.
The 110 engine is strong but hesitates occasionally when just cracking the throttle. The Super Tuner improved that but it still does it somewhat.
The drive train in general is smoother but also seems to have much more "slack" in it that my Road King. I suspect this is the result of the compensator and the compensating rear sprocket. It is still my opinion that these are just band-aids for an antiquated engine design. Harley needs to put less emphasis on sound and more on drive quality. A double-pin crankshaft and counterbalancers would obviate the need for all this stuff.
The valve train is noisy, especially when cold. The valve noise varies with RPM which points to harmonic resonance. I suspect the camshaft profile has a lot to do with this. Louder pipes help mask the noise but it's still evident, especially at certain RPM's.
The bike looks incredible. I get a lot of swivel-heads driving by. Nice paint job, they seemed to have resolved the orange-peel issue although there's a little on my front fender. Chrome looks good and thick.
All-in-all it's a much better bike than my Road King (which I love) and I'm actually surprised by how much better it is. The Road King feels old in comparison (old like comparing a 57 Chevy with a new Corvette).
I'm a bit torn between wishing Harley would put a big Revo motor in the touring bikes and the nostalgia of the big air-cooled Twin. On the one hand the big Twin sounds great, looks great and has plenty of torque, but on the other it's noisy, hot and unrefined.
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Topic: 1000 mile review (Read 2129 times)