What I’m Looking For In A New Motorcycle

I've been looking at a few different motorcycles for the last few years, waiting to save up a little money and for the wife to put her stamp of approval on the idea.

Up until a few months ago, I've just been casually looking around, checking out what's out there, looking at everything from Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda to Harley, Triumph and Victory.

So far, I haven't seen any metric cruiser-style bike with looks to match the Honda Shadow Aero's. That bike is a little too small for me, however.

Since business has been good, I've been seriously looking at bike manufacturers that were previously out of my price range, namely Harley-Davidson.

At the moment, I'm really leaning towards Harley-Davidson's Road King Classic. Why? Because from what I can tell, it's got just about everything that I'm looking for.

So what am I looking for?

My Personal Motorcycle Style Preferences

These are only my personal preferences, everyone has a different opinion about what they like, and I can respect that. I'm not sure why I like what I like, I only know what I like when I see it. there are a few common factors in what I like, however:

Fenders - I'm a big fan of and really like full fenders. I've never liked the small, chopped fender up front.

Fairing - No fairing. Please. Yeah, I know it's great for long trips. Yeah, I know it's great to have a fairing in the wind or rain. Yeah, you can put a radio in it and listen to your tunes while you ride. I just don't think that it looks right on a bike. It's just me. Maybe in 10 or 20 years I might change my mind.

Windshield - Having one available is good. If there's one on the bike, I'd like to be able to take it off easily, however.

Engine - I'm not going to be racing anyone, but I don't want to feel like I don't have enough power to move when I need to move.

Size - I've got a 30 inch inseam, so I need to keep things close to the ground. I'm open to lowering things an inch or so, but I don't know how much I can drop a bike without causing problems for the ride.

Seat - I'd prefer the leave the back fender bare, so a solo seat, or something that would convert easily to a solo seat would be great. Don't intend to take anyone with me for the most part, but having the option is nice.

Saddlebags - Kind of need these if I'm going to be riding to work. I'd like the option to take them off relatively easily, but the bike has to look good with them on.

Features - Cruise control would be nice, but I don't plan on making a whole lot of long trips. ABS would be nice, but not essential.

Visually, here's a few bikes illustrating what I like:

I've also been looking at the 2009 Harley Softail Deluxe - which is probably the best-looking modern Harley out there right now, in my opinion.

The only reason I'm wary of that model is that it doesn't come with the windshield or saddlebags, it doesn't have cruise control and it has a 5-gallon fuel tank as opposed to the 6-gallon fuel tank that Harley Tourers have. And because the Softail Deluxe has just about the same MSRP as the Road King Classic, I'd have to spend a bit more to get the Deluxe as decked out as the RKC.

Although, this 2005 Softail Deluxe has just about the look that I'm going for:

And because it's May 2009, and the 2010 Harley lineup will be announced towards the end of July, I'm curious as to what changes are in store. When you consider how much of a change there is between a 2008 Road King and a 2009 Road King, I don't want to buy something if it's going to go through an extensive re-design in the next few months, you know? So I'm going to wait to see what changes the 2010 Harley's bring before I pull the trigger and make my decision.

In the end, I know I'm going to have to get on more than a few of these bikes and ride them at length before I settle on something in particular. I look forward to it.