| Author | Message | ||
     Mikej |
    Post pictures when you do the task.  I wouldn't mind having another XLCH some day. | ||
| Strokizator |
Don't tell Michael Parks aka Then Came Bronson that he was riding a girls bike. If you ever get to see the pilot episode watch for him to start a hill climb on his sportster and then crest the hill riding a 2-cyclinder 2-stroke. Ahhh, the magic of hollywood. | ||
| Tommy_black_shark |
Don't tell Michael Parks aka Then Came Bronson that he was riding a girls bike. He was such a good mechanic that he could rebuild his bike after it went in the water with a pair of pliers and a crescent wrench! | ||
| Xl1200r |
FXDF (Fat Bob) 54.14 HP, 703 pounds Sportster XL 1200 60.16 HP, 562 pounds Road King 61.7 HP, 777 pounds I am digging the new Dyna Fat Bob, all 54 HP of it!  These all sound a bit low to me. The only one I know for certain is the 1200 Sportster, which does 70hp stock (hell, my stage 1200 with nothing more than a/c and exhaust made 78hp at the wheel). In any event, I think it's important to remember that the big-twin HDs aren't built for speed. Would you buy a Buick to go racing with? | ||
| Xl1200r |
I started on a Sporty, which I Cafe'd. People used to tell me it was a girls bike, but in truth, the Dyna is the real girls bike. Sportsters, especially pre-rubber, were NOT a good beginners bike as "girl's bike" would suggest. Sportsters also have a very high center of gravity, which makes them difficult to handle for a new rider. I had 100hp on mine, the last Dyna CVO guy to say I was on a girls bike got smoked from the stoplight. --Sean Sean, you still got that thing? Super-nice looking bike. I still remember the pinstripe write up in the magazine way back when. And amen for cafe sportsters - I loved mine, I just coudln't stand to spend anymore cash on the thing to get the suspension to a point where I'd stop dragging parts on the ground in the corners! Hell, I even had your old air cleaner on there for a few months ;) | ||
| Kuuud |
Here's my 'girls bike'. 1966 XLCH...the baddest mo'fo' on the block in '66. All original engine, frame, suspension, sheet metal and most of the rest. Magneto, right-side shift and KICK start. If your under about 170 you can't even kick it thru! Sorry for the crappy cellphone pic. Bret  | ||
| Chasespeed |
Would you buy a buick to go racing with? Yeah, i would buy and build another one in a heartbeat.... My little v6 buick was ran 12.7s in stock trim, with street tires.... 2 years later, it was running 10s on street tires, and still completely streetable....  That will ALWAYS be my most beloved and missed thing with wheels.... Chase} (Message edited by chasespeed on July 18, 2007) | ||
| Mikej |
Very, very, very nice bike. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Yeah, i would buy and build another one in a heartbeat.... My little v6 buick was ran 12.7s in stock trim, with street tires.... Ok, the Grand Nationals were not typical Buicks. And Buick did have a good stint in NASCAR way back in the day. The point still remains, if you want to go fast, there are much better choices than Buick, Grand National or not. | ||
| Chainsaw |
These all sound a bit low to me. Use the COMPARE BIKES feature on Harley's web site. Torque x RPM / 5252 = Horsepower. There is a reason they don't tout the HP numbers on anything but the VROD's. | ||
| Chasespeed |
Ok, the Grand Nationals were not typical Buicks. And Buick did have a good stint in NASCAR way back in the day. The point still remains, if you want to go fast, there are much better choices than Buick, Grand National or not. It was a T-type...couldnt find a GN that wasnt ragged out... Got this from a middle aged lady... Second, There arent many street cars that can keep up with them to this day... Third, nothing is more fun than roasting some kids in a "buick".... Before the exhuast, the car was quiet... load the convertor up, and you could watch blood drain from their faces when that turbo started singing.... DAMN I miss that car... Chase} | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Grew up with a kid in South Florida. His dad gave him a new GN for his 18th. Man that car boogied. I'd like to find one now. (MONEY!) Oh yeah, let somebody call my sporty a girls bike. It attracts them quite nicely, Thank you very much. (Message edited by wile_ecoyote on July 18, 2007) | ||
| Chasespeed |
Well, I had the advantage of knowing Jack Cotton... and... well... Oh well, I have been trying to get a grasp on another one(almost any condition as long as the the rotating assy is intact and good to roll).... I would probably sell the bike to build another on... Chase | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Some I guess could call a Sportster a girls bike but I'd like a girl to try and kickstart my old 1970 XLCH 86 cu.in. cafe racer, pictured below, I had in the early 70's. If she could I definitely would not date her. Thespive, do you have a picture of yours?  | ||
| Djkaplan |
"Would you buy a Buick to go racing with?" Surely, you jest. Buick built some legendary fast cars. You still see Buicks that haven't increased in value to a point of ridiculousness running at dragstrips everywhere. Don't even get me started on the turbos... | ||
| Hughlysses |
(Then Came Bronson) He was such a good mechanic that he could rebuild his bike after it went in the water with a pair of pliers and a crescent wrench! Ah, but you're forgetting his most important tool: the legendary "Bronson Rock". This is in reference to the episode where he ran the bike off a cliff in Yellowstone (Yosimite?) and managed to repair the bike using the pliers, adjustable wrench, and a rock, and then ride it out of the wilderness into civilization. Evidently this rock can straighten bent wheels, heal broken spark plugs, etc. | ||
| Microchop |
Not totally on topic but... I was at the dealer once and I told the "salesperson" that I rode a Buell Lightning. She then walked me over to the V-rod and told me that the V-rod was a faster version of a Buell. I'm not making this up. | ||
| Rainman |
I had a salesperson tell me that he didn't know that much about Buells but that they were designed to go faster and turn better than a Harley. I thought that was pretty straight forward and honest so when I got ready to buy my Blast, I called him. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"...my old 1970 XLCH 86 cu.in. cafe racer, pictured below, I had in the early 70's." Geez, Bob. That bike could have inspired Willie G. to style the fabulous XLCR. | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Dan, thanks, but I do not think I inspired Willie G. at all but I know of someone who might have and I have my order in for his latest creation, thanks much Erik. | ||
| Saintly |
I got a girlie bike, 1967 vintage:  Here's Gary's 1968:  | ||
| Percyco |
 Here's my girl (13 years old) on my girlie bike (1991 chain drive & first year 5 speed)..............Damn it, my skirt keeps blowing up when I ride it ! | ||
| Bmonty72 |
My sporty was a girls bike, but then she sold it to me...LOL | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Tin primary and magneto is where it's at! My 67 XLCH,about 30 years ago.......  | ||
| Tom_b |
my uncle had a 70 buick gs that would run 12 flat in the 1/4 mile and was still fairly streetable. the buick gs series was a powerhouse in the early 70's. most of them stock would whip a ss chevelle. my dads 65 riviera would surprise a LOT of people. | ||
| Djkaplan |
The Buick 455 was unusual not for the power and torque it put out, but for it's extreme lightness compared to a Chevy, Olds or Pontiac big block. With a few mods, it wasn't hard to wake up those early 70's low compression 455's into drag strip terrors. I used to see quite a few Buick race cars at dragstrips thoughout the southeast in the 80's. They had the reputation for going fast on budget if you knew what you were doing, but if you wanted to spend some money, Kenne-Bell could make you as fast as anything if your wallet was big enough. Then of course... the Buick turbo era, which actually got started much earlier than most enthusiasts can recall. Buick had been experimenting with turbos in the early 70's and actually released a turbo V-6 in that decade... years before the T-type. | ||
| Hughlysses |
DJ, Yep, and I had one of them. My first new car was a 1978 Buick Regal turbo coupe. 3.8L V-6 with turbo and Quadrajet carb, rated at 170 (net) HP. There was a lower-powered version with a 2-barrel that was rated at 155 HP IIRC. It wasn't a barn burner by any means but it was a pretty neat car back then. That was more power than many V-8's put out at the time. I remember Hot Rod did a project car based on a 1979 (?) Century with a turbo and managed to get pretty impressive power with it. One of the funniest things I ever saw with that car: I took it back to the dealer one week after I got it because one of the rear deck speakers was MISSING (from a brand-new car). I was standing outside the service bay as a guy installed a new speaker. An older guy drove up with his wife in another 1978 turbo Regal and said he had a problem with his turbo he wanted them to look at. The service manager said "What's wrong with it?" The guy opened his hood with the engine idling, pointed at the turbo and said "The turbo isn't spinning- see?" The service manager, mechanic, and I all looked at each other and tried not to burst out laughing. The service manager tactfully explained that the moving part of the turbo was enclosed in the housing he was pointing to and spun at up to 15,000 RPM (IIRC). This dude was obviously NOT mechanically inclined... (Message edited by hughlysses on July 19, 2007) | ||
| Djkaplan |
I love it when threads wander way off topic. Sportsters, to Wille G, to Buicks... | ||
| Anonymous |
Microchop, Well, that's a classic uneducated salesperson isn't it? So now you can walk her over to the 1125R and say it's a faster version of a V-Rod for $5000 less! | ||
| Percyco |
Better a "girls bike" than a "Geezer Glide"  |
