2008/2009 HD Rocker, What's The Difference

Lucifer, you're a man of wealth and taste, we want to hear your opinions. And I still want to play with my shiny new cattle prod! Just don't lay my soul to waste..........:roflmao:

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: Sure thing RedRider:roflmao: :roflmao: Prod away.JMHO

sorry hellboy never meant to imply that any concerns or questions you have in any way assend to a level of being unworthy. merely meant to make a point and really ended up unfairly singling you out; for that i'm truely sorry, you didn't deserve it and i really didn't mean for it to end up that way. as far as opinions go certainly we as americans are certainly entitled to them. i think you will note over time on this forum some of these members only have that to offer(opinions, or jokes) and not much else. there are sections on this forum for that. as chuck noted you did start with a truely tech ? which some chose to make a joke of. again i'm sorry i unfairly blamed you for this you deserved better responces. and certainly not mine

Thanks Skull, I've always enjoyed your posts. I have a friend whose opinion I trust that has very long term riding experience on numerous types of bikes. Currently he's riding the Blackout Dyna wideglide AND the Screaming Eagle fatboy. He test rode the Rocker this weekend and had some interesting comments to make. He felt it was very strong and would make a good highway ride, but when cornering it took a lot to control because of the wide rear tire. He said that he thought anyone with less than five years experience might kill themselves on it, and that I should be patient and work my way up a bit slower. He felt I should at least keep the Sporty for this year and perhaps go with a Dyna next season if I still want to move to a bigger bike.

Those 05 Dyna's do look nice, hmmm...

no bike ever feels or looks right from the steelership. we're the ones who always turns them into real harleys. we the rider are the last man on the assem. line. don't be afraid of the bigger bikes, in alot of ways they handle better, but will never corner like a smaller one. i looked at a couple of rockers looked like they have alot of promise. imo i'd stay clear of the newer bikes, thinking there's going to be alot of bugs to work out. interchangability of parts would be very important to me. good luck with your choices. good to see you're considering things before rather than after the sale:devil:

Interchangability of parts has pretty much gone out the window other than cranks, barrells, pistons and heads. The bikes are set to a basic program due to the EFI and every two years lately there have been some wholesale changes in parts that keep them from being able to down rev to the older bikes without going to a different efi controllers (ECM) or going to alot of expense. As for the 09 Rocker, get a copy of the new model brochure and it gives a pretty good breakdown of what's new. From what I've seen in setup. the bikes that changed the least was the Dyna and the softails weren't messaged very much. The baggers are a different story but I can tell you that they do handle quite well with the wide tire in back and the 17 in front. Now when HD realizes that every baggers could use the 110 motor we'll be getting somewhere. Sorry guys for giving my opinion

Thanks HRK, I followed the link on your post and it was great to see. It looks like Harley hasn't changed much on the new Rocker, but new rear shocks might improve the ride a bit. I'm curious about the new tire tread direction. I wonder if the 08 tires affected handling negatively.

Consensus here is that Metzeler and Avon make better tires than the Dunlop's Harley uses as stock. On my Sporty, the Dunlop tires like to follow the grooves in the road instead of going where I point to. I'm due for a 5,000 mile tune up and should change tires and perhaps the pipes. This is one reason I'm thinking of changing to a newer bike now. Instead of investing somewhere between $300 -$1500, I could put that toward a newer bike.

I don't know what the dealers do out your way , but here they will have "Demo Days" .What they do is have the new models set up for demo rides and you can try out several models and see which one feels good to ride.

Hellboy I think most of the Dealers have "Demo Days". Check with your dealer and ask if they're having one, that way you can take any bike you may be interested in out for a run. You just need a valid license and DOT approved helmet.

I missed the demo day here at NYC Harley. I'm not sure they actually allowed riders to try any bike. I'd love to try the Rocker. I've been checking out ads and websites to see if there's a demo day nearby I can make it to, but haven't seen any yet.

Hey Hellboy
The question that you're asking is really best answered by the moco. The rocker is a fairly new model, and to be honest not to many bikers are really interested in it. I happen to be one of them. IMO if I was going to up grade I would check out the dyna models. They happen to be one of the most road worthy scoot's out there. I just happen to love softails, but dyna's are great. Just my 2... "JAZZ"

Thanks Jazzhog. That brings another question to mind, (forgive my inexperience here guys). Since I have only ridden the Sportster, Dyna's and the Screamin' Eagle fat Boy, what is the main difference in the feel of the ride on Softails, since the Rocker is a Softail family bike.

I get to ride the inventory and the biggest point to the feel of a softail is you sit down in the frame so there is a lower center of gravity. Because the shock setup being hidden under the transmission, there isn't much room to get much travel so there is a bit harsher ride and it is much easier to drag parts when in the turns. The basic theory is the MOCO has a bike to meet your style of riding and the best thing to do is find out where and when the Harley Demo Fleet will be in your area and go ride as many bikes as you can before putting down your hard earned cash. Most dealers have a few demo bikes on hand that they will let folks test ride them if they feel you are a serious customer. Usually a bagger, softail, dyna and sporty are available so you can feel the differences. Talk to the sales manager at your local dealership and see what they offer. Another way to test the bike that you think you want is to go rent it and take a good weekend ride to really see if it is truely all that you love.

Thanks VYBR8ER, that explains a lot. No wonder I feel comfortable sitting on the Rocker. I will definitely keep searching for a demo day and will try renting a few models. No real rush, perhaps I'll upgrade next season ( cash flow permitting