New owner 1st impressions
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Thread: New owner 1st impressions

  1. #1
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    New owner 1st impressions

    I purchased a 2013 F6B last month. After a 1 way flight, I had to drive it 8 hours from Las Vegas back to Carson City, NV. My first thought was "I made a mistake, this motorcycle has a VW beetle bolted onto the front forks". The size was intimidating but honestly, by the time I was out of his subdivision I felt fine. It's true, the LCG does make for easy handling. Record high temps. Saturday it reached 118. I saved my arse by reading a bit about surviving a desert run in the heat. A trick that saved me: one bag of ice between my thin leather jacket and my wicking t-shirt, plus another on my handlebars...both bags picked with holes from a pen. The ice water cooled me well. The bags last about an hour. It was essential for comfort. My impressions of the F6B are in bullets for brevity; and other car forums have an unwritten rule about how posts should include pics to tell your story. Feel free to skip down to the F6B impressions.

    My Experience
    Started in dirt as a kid. I am a retired Road Racer (Privateer). Qualified for 3 pro races (Loudon, Daytona, Mid-Ohio) in the 90s, but admittedly, when in the national pro level races, I was a back-marker. Humbling experience.

    My current bike
    2014 Harley Breakout CVO w/ V&H Big Radius

    Past bikes
    Sucker Punch Sally's bobber
    2009 Street Glide
    2006 Road King
    2013 Road King
    2014 Ducati Monster
    A boatload of sport bikes trashed on the tracks


    My F6B
    2013 Black 14k miles
    Cobra exhaust
    Madstad
    Chrome added to lower area


    F6B Pros
    Wind protection
    LCG handling, agility
    Madstad is rad; I could smoke a White Owl back there
    Acceleration (wow)
    Looks like a bullet train
    I am shocked at how many people comment on the bike's looks. Everywhere.
    I love my F6B; just as much as past HDs.

    F6B Cons
    By far worst thing is Cobra pipes; WAY to loud. Sounds cool up to 40mph. Then it is like a low drone roar in my ear as if a baritone tenor was on the pillion blasting in my ear. I plan to put stock pipes back on. HD tour bikes I've had delivered a smooth sounding rumble at speed.
    Plastic looks like stolen from a Honda Accord (wonder if anyone modified this)
    Not digging the lack of a 6th gear. In the desert at 90mph I was at 4k RPMs if my memory is correct. But I know the Honda flat six will be fine.
    Stock seat. I recall in 7th grade being propped up on a pommel horse. Same feeling. Help! I want the Saddlemen RoadSofa but lists show fitment for 2014-2017 for F6B. Why not my 2013? . I do see the Saddlemen Profiler available. Also read about difficult fitments on aftermarket seats.
    I'd pay more for better looking plastic on the dash. I think HD wins in that category, but Honda wins in the engineering category. IMHO.

    That's it. I am pleased with my purchase. Thanks for having me here, and I look forward to contributing.
    Last edited by glengarrygr; 07-26-2021 at 12:06 AM. Reason: repeated sentence twice

  2. #2
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    Last edited by glengarrygr; 07-25-2021 at 03:16 AM.

  3. #3
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    I’m on a long trip right now. The seat, to me, is fine. I have to wiggle around every once in a while, that’s it. This bike is so solid on the highway. I listen to that purr all day long. She doesn’t miss a beat. I actually feel bad for her. I’ve been averaging 5-600 per day. Been on the move for a solid week. This is why I named her Gibraltar. Solid bike. Some minor faults, yes, but as Teach always says…best bike ever.
    “Gibraltar” 2016 white deluxe has been sold.

  4. #4
    Senior Member JackB's Avatar
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    You have a great collection of bikes.
    Hope your other bikes don’t get jealous of the F6B.
    I have some stock mufflers that I might sell.
    Enjoy your new ride.

  5. #5
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    TBR pipes and Torq loopz, to eliminate your drone, for sure anything better than "stock" and you never get off the bike

    Welcome on board.

  6. #6
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    wjduke; Fall River? My dad grew up in New Bedford...our family grew up in Lakeville, MA. on Long Pond. My dad passed in 1980 and my step father was a State Trooper stationed out of Fall River. That's a lot of miles per day! I bet the stock seat would be fine if I was taller...(I am 5'7")
    Last edited by glengarrygr; 07-25-2021 at 12:58 PM.

  7. #7
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    Ok Jack, I am in the middle of a job relo that will take me from Carson City NV to Atlanta. Movers come end of July. So I'll be looking to sell the Cobra 15-piece band pipes after that.

  8. #8
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    Maxrider; After reading your post I looked at several vids of Two Brothers; thank you...I may then just keep the Cobra 6 pipes given this post I found: "The Torq Loopz will eliminate the drone sound on any aftermarket muffler system & will sound that much better with torq loopz. However, installing torq loopz involves removing the crossover pipe and the 2 cat converters."
    Last edited by glengarrygr; 07-25-2021 at 01:35 PM.

  9. #9
    Senior Member willtill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by glengarrygr View Post
    ~Snip~
    Record high temps. Saturday it reached 118. I saved my arse by reading a bit about surviving a desert run in the heat. A trick that saved me: one bag of ice between my thin leather jacket and my wicking t-shirt, plus another on my handlebars...both bags picked with holes from a pen. The ice water cooled me well. The bags last about an hour. It was essential for comfort.
    ~Snip~
    Interesting. Can you explain more about a bag of ice on the handlebars? I've never heard of that hot weather technique before...


    21 years Army (retired)
    ...been everywhere, seen everything, done almost everything.

    IBA 80537

  10. #10
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    HI willtill. I spent 12 years in Silver Spring, MD. I hadn't heard of the ice bag trick either. I found it looking for survival tips. But trust me it worked. The turbulence in that area of the bike resulted in a continuous sprinkle of ice cold water droplets on the face (Shark full face helmet with movable jaw part slid to back) and neck...I let the jack zipper down 1/3 to let water drops hit chest too. I could vary it by the number and size of the punctured holes. I also kept a cube in my mouth. The bag stayed in place perfectly. Here is a pic.
    11934D45-3713-420F-AC38-A911F36479C3.jpg
    Last edited by glengarrygr; 07-26-2021 at 12:10 AM.

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