I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!!

The dealer database is just WRONG, I don’t understand why!!!

Debbie and I took an 890 mile weekend ride over the 4^th of July holiday.  It was here that a VERY surprising weakness with the built in GPS appeared. The motorcycle GPS has a database of HD dealers. During our ride I selected Freedom HD (Canton, OH) from the list of local dealerships in the GPS and we rolled out.

After about a 15 minute ride the GPS announced that we had reach our destination “on the right”. “Technically” it was correct, Freedom HD was on the right, but we were in the middle of the interstate and the dealership was about 300 yards, a large ditch, a fence and another roadway away. It was no better when we attempted to go to Adventure HD. You could see the dealership as we traveled down the interstate but, the GPS lady directed us in the opposite direction when we hit the exit. Following her directions we ended up in the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station.

Thank you for using the crazy GPS lady tours of eastern Ohio, my name is Harley I hope you had a good time.

Not only did it fail to find these two dealerships, it also failed to find Steel City HD on our trip home, placing the shop about a mile away on the wrong side of the road. We only found this store because there was no place to turn around along the road. To give the GPS system database of dealerships some credit it did find Valley HD and Neidengard’s HD with no issue. This is a brand new 2014 Ultra Limited with the most current software load. To only find 2 out of 5 dealerships listed in the database is poor quality control at best and plain stupid at worst.

Another weakness of the database is how the dealers are displayed.  At one point in the trip I thought let’s see what dealers are in the area… when I went to the database everything displayed as “Harley Davidson of” that’s it, just “Harley Davidson of”.

Now the reason for that is that all the dealers in that area were Harley Davidson of XXX city.  With a lot of the dealers named in that manner it would take some effort to make them display in a manner that was usable to the rider. There may be a way to see the entire name, but it is it was not an easy to find selection.

So, I state with some energy, the GPS in the new Rushmore motorcycles is crazy in the head, the head unit that is!

All in all I have to give the bike a big thumbs up over the 2011 model.  Yes there are some weaknesses, but there is no reason that HD cannot overcome them, IF THEY DESIRE TO.  That last part is what worries me.  Are they going to leave are GPS and other items as is or are they going to make our rides better?  I have no idea.

You can read part 4 of the review here!

I want to go to HD of ????

Continuing with my thoughts on our new 2014 Ultra Limited. In Part 1 I discussed the overall appearance of the bike and the new front end.

Headlights: Boy are they bright!  I believe that people are seeing me more than in the past.  I now know that you can apply a computer update or “flash” that will allow you to keep the passing lights on when the high beam is applied.  I am going to ask for this flash to be applied when I get the 5K mile service.

Inner Fairing, dashboard and infotainment system

Dashboard: I like the new inner fairing layout.  The gauges and the infotainment system are easy to see. The USB device “glove box” to the right of the infotainment system works as it should, no issues.

Rider/Passenger comfort: We had the stock seat on the 2011 and we do as well on the 2014.  From my point of view the rider portion of the seat is a little more comfortable.  I am not sure if they are using a slightly different configuration or different padding but I seem to seat better in the saddle.  The floorboards are good but I do think the heel shifter requires a longer reach, my feet are not oversized but I am often sliding back against the lever. 

As far as the highway pegs go, I am not sure that if the new design of the lower fairing are the cause, but I cannot get them to long distance comfortable position.  I have moved both the highway pegs multiple times and still do not have it right.

Debbie is quite happy with the changes to the Rushmore passenger seat.  All the changes they made for passenger comfort have been met with approval.  As far as nits to pick she would like to have longer arm rests (I think she want’s that for extra security in case she falls asleep).

In the next part of the review I will give you my opinion on the Tour Pak, Saddlebags, Rear End, Engine, Transmission and Linked Braking.

Click here for Part 1.                                                                                             Click here for Part 3

Day trip to Solomon Island, MD

We have had our 2014 “Rushmore” Ultra Limited motorcycle for less than 90 days.  We have put on just over 3000 miles which are mostly my commute and some longish weekend motorcycle rides.  The longest single ride was an 889.3 mile ride to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and back.  We just finished the 1000 mile service so I believe I have enough time and miles under the belt to give a knowledgeable review of the bike….so far.

I am going to do this over a few posts so as not to bore folks with a long diatribe. I am going to move front to back and break down what I like and what I don’t like about the bike.  I will tell you now I have way more likes then dislikes.

For background, I traded a 20011 Ultra Limited for this bike so I have a recent comparison point for these comments.

Appearance:  Most of the changes to bikes appearance are understated. I do like that they made major changes to the aerodynamics of the bike without a major impact to the appearance.  The times I have mentioned that the bike is water cooled folks have walked over to the bike and marveled at how the radiators are hidden! 

The ugly air vent… it works… but it is UGLY

The one visual feature that I do not like on the bike is the air vent on the front faring.  My dislike is not because of its function nor the fact that it is there at all, I do not like it because it is a piece of flat black plastic that detracts from the wonderful paint scheme of the bike.  It might work on a bike that has a black faring but not on any that have color.  Would it be so much more to make it chrome, or offer a color match option?

Front end:  The larger front forks do make a difference.  There are a few bridges on the way to work that have, what I would call ”less then smooth transitions” between the roadway and bridge.  On the older bike I would rise up off the seat to avoid the jar, but with the new forks I do not feel the need to do so, I still do but I think it is habit more than necessity. 

The fairing does it job.  I “feel” that there really is less wind buffeting because of the new design and the air vent.  My wife has stated she feels no difference between the old bike and the Rushmore motorcycle as far as the wind is concerned.  I just need to remember to close the vent before the rain starts flying through!

In Part 2 I will give you my thoughts on the new Headlights, Dashboard, and Rider/Passenger comfort.

Click here for Part 2.