Glad you had a relaxing trip. Nice comparison. My personal decision to buy a R* over the RK was strictly economic when I was bike shopping last fall. Respect/like 'em both. Maybe renting something for a trip like yours is really the way to go and I have the roadie for daily life. Thanks again for an unbiased report.

I really think renting a bike is a great way to see how it fits and whether the ride is suitable. From what I can see there are few rental options outside HD. There are others, but I did not see a Yamaha dealer that handled rentals.

I would be remiss if I failed to comment on EFI. Gotta say I loved it. No warm up required and the bike was ready to go right away.

I've owned a Road* for the last 12 months and an 09 Ultra Classic for the last 2 months. I've put almost 11,000 miles on the Road* and over 2100 miles on the Ultra Classic.

Both bikes are great, but you really can't compare the two. Ones a cruiser and the other a touring bike. Riding around locally either bike is fine but out on the road the Ultra Classic really shines. Sure, it vibrates at idle, but once you are above idle the engine is silky smooth. The Road* vibrates very little at idle, but vibrates much more at speed.

At the end of a six hour ride I'm much more relaxed after riding the Ultra Classic than the Road* due to the Road* vibrating at speed. Also the more upright seating postion on the Ultra Classic is less tiring on a long day of riding.

I'm not bashing either one. Both have their place and loyal followers, and like some others have said I don't care what anyone rides as long as they are out there riding safe and enjoying themselves.

The only reason I do not own a Harley is I previously owned 2 of them at different times when I was in the Navy, both bike were stolen and I was told by the cop's they strip them and send the parts over to Europe and make a kill'n.
I started riding Yamaha's after 1986 (that was when my last HD was stolen) and I have never had a problem with my bike being stolen sense.
I had the HD's locked and chained both times and even though insurance picked up the slack it was a real PITA.
I'll stick with Yamaha, it has always been there to get me home!

I test drove an Ultra..twice, both owned by FBI agents, one of them died recently, God Bless Author. I had a chance to buy his bike, but passed on the opportunity. It was a 1996 Ultra with every HD add on you can imagine. Turn signals are weird, top heavy etc. Believe me I would not stand in front of bunch of Outlaws "sharing my experience" but I just need to stick with my Roadstar. I have kind of learned how to work on it, and to be honest so busy lately had not had a chance to ride much.

A Blue Angel (law enforcement biker gang) ended up buying Author's bike. I think any bike takes a while to get use to.


Buck 01 RS