i think you will be fine with the America if your'e going to do as you say and take it easy to begin with , one thing though when your out with your mates don't be tempted to try and keep up with them if they are nicking on, just ride at a speed that your comfortable with, The more miles you get under your belt the easier you will find it,hopefully your mates will take it easy if you are out a run with them anyway..i bet you really are feeling like a kid at Christmas
I like that response because I get what I want.... Would much rather cruise and as you say, if my mates zip off they will just have to wait for me! No egos here! Thanks chaps BN
If you really fancy the America, have a look in the "for sale" section. I've got a very nice 2010 blue one which I'll part with. And welcome to the forum.
Welcome to the madhouse. You are so right, America is the bike to be on, especially a blue one, they all know it, but just don't have the balls to stand up and say (type ) it !!! As others have said, go sit on them, test ride a few if you can (be difficult with a fresh pass)=, but tell them you've been riding years, only just made it legal, worked for me at a Harley dealer). Plenty of low mileage bikes come up for sale, loads of people buy America for sunny days. Wait and you'll find a low mileage with exta's (panniers, etc, can cost £1k easy)) and save a small fortune. You are in the best time to buy now (winter, not many buying, prices go up when the sun comes out), and you can polish it till you get your DAS done. Loads of low miler's on Ebay, a few LT's as well, but make sure you can cope with footboards before you buy an LT, many people, including myself, don't like the footboards and they do restrict cornering more than footpegs, and the heel/ toe thing is just not nice. Good choice of forum, all daft as grass, but friendly. If you met any of them, you'd swear their parents were cousins !!! And only one rumoured serial killer !!!!
Just for the record , and to bring down the average age , I'm only 44 , ,,,, or has that just upped the average age ?? Doh !
Thanks for that, much appreciated. A question - is the America and the America LT the same bike with foot boards / screen / saddle bags added- if I took them off would it effectively become an America? Gonna dig my pennies out for Christmas! BN
Yes. Taking big screen off is easy (quick release), panniers are great things, love mine, especially coming from sportsbikes, where you struggle to stash a phone !!! Footboard removal is not as easy. Gotta buy a few bits and pieces to change over, costly if you get from Triumph, or find someone who's daft enough to swap ! I believe the cross bar, heel pads and levers are all different, not a case of just getting a pair of pegs and bolting them on !!!
Mr Orange Thanks! May leave the foot pegs alone then! Panniers / screen are all cool, its the back rest I want and the footboards....unless I don't get on with them as they seem to divide opinion? Just good to know when looking for "My" America!!! I'm guessing you are not a footboard fan...is that because it restricts turning/tilt/banking etc?
Footboards just set your feet at a strange angle, and you have no option to move around. Plus they do restrict the lean angle of the bike and if you do some research there are some horror stories of them catching and tipping riders off, but they are mostly Americans, and they mostly lack experience going around corners !!!! Heal and toe shift on the LT takes some getting used to as well, mate of mine took a hacksaw to his and removed the heal part of the lever! Just my opinion, go try and see how you feel, I chuck my America around like a daft sod and have even ground down the exhaust cornering ! Most people don't and that's fine. Just making you aware, especially as a newbie, after riding one of the schools bandit's or ER5's then to jump on a bigger, heavier bike with feet forward and footboards - is a hell of a change and might lead you to dropping it a bit sooner than you want to !!! (You will drop it, everyone drops their first bike!)
