I am back in the fold — I bought another Harley Davidson

So yeah, it’s a great time to buy a bike.  An awesome time actually…such a good time that I took advantage of it myself, LoL.  You see during my research of calling up different dealers to see what kind of deals were to be had, I came across a bike that I’ve lusted after since I first saw it back in 2007 – Harley Davidson Fat Bob.

 I loved those twin headlights and that beefy look.  I love the split drag bars and the internal wiring.  And I love that it’s a Dyna – to me the best of all the Harleys.  Now I know that there’s people that swear by their Road Kings or Softails, and  while I could definitely see myself on a King I’d need to put too much into it right now to get it the way I like; whereas the Fat Bob hits me where I really need it.  A Softail is a terrific bike too, but the Dyna fits my riding style a lot better with its dual rear shocks and more aggressive motor.  Anyway it’s kinda funny – that Fat Bob I first lusted after was in some magazine on the sales guy’s desk the day I was taking delivery of my 2007 Road King Custom back in the day.  I remember looking at it and being kinda bummed – I instantly got buyers remorse and ended up throwing a ton of cash at the Road King to get it my way.  Didn’t work and I sold it two years later.

Anyway here I am searching for info on bike deals for you guys (and gals) and I come across a Denim Black 2010 Fat Bob at the Harley dealership’s website.  It was awesome looking.  I could just see myself rolling down to French Creek and getting some wings and beers, or going to the Tavern in the Pines on the weekend for the outdoor steak night (man, I can’t wait till the summer).  I imagine myself riding the Twisties with it, taking advantage of the awesome torque and gunning through the straight-aways.  Too expensive though – so I started looking for cheaper rides, like an older Road King or maybe a relatively new Super Glide Custom, but that Fat Bob stuck in the back of my head.

After a few test-rides – critical by the way; I would NEVER buy a bike without riding it – I was really torn between the two bikes.  I couldn’t make up my mind and I couldn’t figure out why.  I called the dealer with the Fat Bob and just for fun told him what I was getting the Super Glide for.  He told me I was way off, so I just figured I’d live with it – damn that Harley resale value!  I was about to pull the trigger, loan and insurance already in-hand, when literally five minutes before calling to agree to the Super Glide, the Fat Bob dealer calls back and asks me how much higher I could go.  I figured I could swing a few more dollars to get the bike of my current dreams, so I told him so, never thinking he’d agree to the smallish number.

Well he agreed, and I’m the proud owner of a 2010 Fat Bob with 1,700 miles on it.  He gave me a great trade on my Yamaha Stratoliner S (great bike BTW) and a fair price on his bike too.  Truth is that I never would have even thought about buying the Fat Bob except that the winter really IS a great time to buy a bike, and I guess the fact that I sold my Moto Guzzi Griso at the same time let me go a little higher in budget than I normally would.  What I love about the Fat Bob so far is that it has some similar riding characteristics with the Griso – great mid-range, good handling, excellent looks – and also with a few upgrades can be turned into a competent light touring bike.  We’ll delve into the customization of Bob later on – I’m very excited as Harleys have a million options – but next time we will be saying good-bye to Mr. Griso and wish the new owner the best of luck with a truly wonderful bike.  I will own another Griso one day, I promise that.