tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post526143281362019230..comments2023-10-28T19:42:01.039+01:00Comments on Going fast, getting nowhere: The Dance-off beginsRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-11864059100545720642010-03-23T23:45:59.537+00:002010-03-23T23:45:59.537+00:00Oo-er. I shall look forward to your observations....Oo-er. I shall look forward to your observations.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-17061305605902854032010-03-23T23:37:34.428+00:002010-03-23T23:37:34.428+00:00Actually, that's one of the things I love abou...Actually, that's one of the things I love about biking - the tremendous variety of it all, and the way different people can have completely different takes on the same machine. But I think it more appropriate to comment properly against the later post...endemoniada_88noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-65780986764065853732010-03-23T20:48:51.794+00:002010-03-23T20:48:51.794+00:00Glad we agree on the Harley! Brakes, handling and...Glad we agree on the Harley! Brakes, handling and riding position all outside my usual parameters, for sure.<br /><br />But I don't think we are going to agree on the Bonnie - see my next post.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-90241401959357649862010-03-23T19:09:10.638+00:002010-03-23T19:09:10.638+00:00That is actually the Harley review I would have wr...That is actually the Harley review I would have written, had I got there first! The engines are far and away the best part of the experience, with a bit of character and a surprising degree of nimbleness. Sadly, that small advantage, for me, has always been more than cancelled out by the woeful brakes, vague and sometimes terrifying handling and a riding position seemingly designed to make life as awkward as possible. I found myself, more than once, having to hang off the bars (and involuntarily opening and closing the throttle) trying to cope with rough roads.<br /><br />That said, I'd take an 883 over the Bonneville any day. I had a loaner for about three weeks - although it seemed longer - and I have never come across any bike so utterly anodyne before or since. Sum of memorable characteristics: it was a hideous pale blue colour. I couldn't bring myself to hate it, but that would probably have been an improvement over complete indifference. The whole thing seemed like a fraud: a bike purely based around looks, with nothing to back them up and no fraction of the character of the original.<br /><br />But, honestly, I wouldn't spend my own money on either. It'd be a tough call if they were being given away free...endemoniada_88noreply@blogger.com