04-20-2015, 02:23 AM
Gentlemen,
Before I bought my CB11 the bike I thought I really wanted was a BMW 1200GS. The whole "Adventure Bike" thing appealed to me. So I went down to the BMW dealership with my sweetheart Renea and we took one for a long road test. Compared to my glass smooth Harley Road King that BMW was a paint shaker. Complete buzz kill as the ergo's were uncomfortable enough but the vibration at any speed was terrible. The HD motor shakes at idle in it's rubber mounts in a most pleasing way. Accelerating away from a stop you can feel every cylinder fireing in that low RPM, high torque motor. A feel that defines HD and most riders love. But at speed that rubber mount motor is leagues smoother than any BMW boxer twin and smoother than my CB11. I ride with other Harley's all the time and I don't ever see "license plates and saddle bags a vibrating blur".
The BMW is probably faster than a Harley but that boxer wasn't a real high performer either. Comparing air cooled BMW twins with air cooled HD twins, the HD is much smoother at speed. It's not even close. The HD is also more comfortable and the feel of the 45 degree V twin is much more satisfying than the feel of the boxer. Harley twins outsell BMW twins over 10 to 1 for a reason. Cheers.
Chip
Before I bought my CB11 the bike I thought I really wanted was a BMW 1200GS. The whole "Adventure Bike" thing appealed to me. So I went down to the BMW dealership with my sweetheart Renea and we took one for a long road test. Compared to my glass smooth Harley Road King that BMW was a paint shaker. Complete buzz kill as the ergo's were uncomfortable enough but the vibration at any speed was terrible. The HD motor shakes at idle in it's rubber mounts in a most pleasing way. Accelerating away from a stop you can feel every cylinder fireing in that low RPM, high torque motor. A feel that defines HD and most riders love. But at speed that rubber mount motor is leagues smoother than any BMW boxer twin and smoother than my CB11. I ride with other Harley's all the time and I don't ever see "license plates and saddle bags a vibrating blur".
The BMW is probably faster than a Harley but that boxer wasn't a real high performer either. Comparing air cooled BMW twins with air cooled HD twins, the HD is much smoother at speed. It's not even close. The HD is also more comfortable and the feel of the 45 degree V twin is much more satisfying than the feel of the boxer. Harley twins outsell BMW twins over 10 to 1 for a reason. Cheers.
Chip