I know its hard to believe but its true.

Recently a few of us have been thinking do we really need to go insanely fast in order to enjoy or have a fun ride? Reflecting at the number of mates who have gone down in the recent past some of us have already swtiched to bikes that are more forgiving that what they had. 1 got a Buell XB12S from an R1, another got a KTM Duke 990 from an R6, and the recent addition Triumph Speed tripple from the 07' 600RR, the same bike that I sold after spending 3 months on it going insanely fast enough to loose my number plate from the back never to be found and a fine of AED 1500 with an impound of 7 days and license seized for 3 months, Wow that was 1 hell of a bike and today I got to ride it again, still haven't lost its feel.

So here it is Amrit who generally does a lot of bike reading sees a picture and does not believe it its possible, he sees it again and gets inquisitive how is it possible, so he does some bit of research on the bike and then 1 weekend a couple of weeks back I see him rented a Harley.
Now I know he has been contemplating geting a more comfortable bike for sometime now if he isn't going to be doing track and for regular rides his R1 (Black Raven as we call it) ain't going to help him, but a harley for GOD sake that is too much.
We catch up in the evening for a coffee and I see a green Ninja and a Harley parked side by side, I park mine on the side on and get in Amrit and Arnab are both seated and and i see both carrying their basic ride gear so I think that Amrit came as a pillion until was told that the Harley outside has been rented by Amrit, why? Because the images and his research compelled who to feel it for real if it is possible.

Amrit starts to explain, all about the reviews and his personal feel on it and is much complimenting the bike and I am enthralled by his views. Now like every other bike it has its pro's and cons, but for a Harley it has more pro's than cons. Of course you may not be able to keep up with the other SBK's that do like 280's and 300's but you would certainly would not feel left out on the fun factor, you can certainly go on full throttle through Kalba where generally ride if not the tracks at speeds of 200 where it max's out.

Now I need to try this for myself so on the way back home Amrit and I switch, first look at the bike it looks just like any other harley, straight handles a little high set but not too much, a comfortable seat and ride position, twin exhaust whoose pipes rise up and the harley davidson sound and thump. Looks like a sportster but can it do the job? MY last experience with a straight handle sports bike wasn't good (the FZ6) it felt like the handles of Pulsar fixed onto a bigger bike with no feedback from the front. First round about am turning in and didn't go too well the feedback said, you're not doing enough speed to bring it in turning in quicker and the grip on the handle was light, but it was good because I got that message the next round about a little better and the next couple of round abouts was like flowing through so much that Amrit who is riding behind was feeling that I may go off coz I was taking it fast.

The finale was when approached a fly over an interchange which has a good right hander that you could speed and try your cornering in and we three take it together, and not at 1 moment did I feel that **** am riding a harley am not suppose to be cornering. We take it flowing at speed of 102 cornering it in as the speed increases and the turn is tightening, the bike holds it line well, is stable and feels light.
I am impressed the bike is the Harley Davidson XR1200 and its fun to ride, and smoke em Harleys with a Harley.
Downfalls: It has very low rpm levels which means it requires more frequent gear change than a sports bike and one can't rev it a lot. the foot rest is positioned low and straight so you cant move back on your toe wanting to get a greater grip when cornering tight turns. The indicators are complicated, the fuel tank is compact so you don't get that proper tank grip and sitting straight but then harleys were not meant to ride gripping the tank.
All said and done its still better than the others, the next best thing to sportsbike without punishing yourself.

here are some pics !