With the release of the 2009 Harley bikes, I have been both pleased and dumbfounded at people's reaction to them. The many changes for next year have either irked or excited all of us in one way or another. Personal preference has much to do about what is to love or hate about the new bikes asanything, but the one that has always gotten me since the release of the V-Rod has been certain people's need for a water-cooled bagger. I am sure it is coming and will be a great machine when it gets here, but aren't all the other advancements the bike is coming with in '09 good enough?
I guess I am a purist, because at first sight of a radiator dangling from the front framerails, I am 100 percent turned off to the looks of the bike. Trust me, I have ridden and liked the various Gold Wings and Boulevards that I have thrown a leg over, but if I am going to plunk down my own hard-earned money and have to look at the bike sitting in my garage in 2009, it's going to be on an air-cooled bagger. Sorry, but that's just the way I roll. With all this said from my soapbox, now all I have to do is convince my wife that I really need that new frame, two-into-one-into-two exhaust and 180 rear tire ... wish me luck, ladies and gents!
Jeff G. Holt, Associate Editor