Summary of California Trip

Finally, what did I think of the bike?

In some ways, as you approach the bike, it is reminiscent of a Road King Classic. However, if you see them together, you quickly realise the Heritage Softail Classic is a much smaller ride. As I said earlier it is low with 27inch seat height and altogether softer than the King. There is no cruise control on the Softail which might be an omission for US roads although I didn't find it a problem. The supension on my bike was very soft which, I quite liked. My Road King Classic rattles my teeth on some roads, whatever the suspension setting. The rental bike had 14,000 miles on the clock so it may well be that it had bedded in somewhat. No Harley is going to handle anything like a sportsbike and quite frankly, we don't want it to. I found it great fun hauling the bike round tight bends and bottoming the footplate. I'm sure a more agressive rider would have scraped the exhaust/muffler as well. The fuel consumption is quite high but at the end of the day, this bike is nigh on 1500cc with no fairings. Our average speed was about 50mph on open roads with very little "stop/start", so I guess the consumption might drop further at motorway speeds.
The bottom line however, is that this is a pure-bred Harley. These roads and conditions are exactly what it was designed for. It eats the miles up during the day and is a smart boulevard cruiser by evening. No bike on earth gives you the same feeling of comfort, confidence and pride as it blatters down Main Street, USA, completely at home in its role as a twentieth-century American icon.