The bike causght my eye when it was still awaiting manufacture for the first time. I knew I would invest both time and money in the 35th Anniversary model. From the moment I received the bike to date, I still feel a sense of personalised ownership as I have one of only 3500 bikes of that type. More...
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The bike causght my eye when it was still awaiting manufacture for the first time. I knew I would invest both time and money in the 35th Anniversary model. From the moment I received the bike to date, I still feel a sense of personalised ownership as I have one of only 3500 bikes of that type. More than that, I have one of the few to reach the UK. The bike in its stock format was too small for me. The seat height is aimed at those who enjoy buying jeans easily, where I have to find the long section. I kept the bike stock for the first 5000 miles and completed a tour of Scotland on it. Then after months of planning I changed what needed to be changed. I put the 180 on the rear and what a difference it makes to both the handling and looks. It fills the rear mudguard in nicely. A set of HD forwards helped stop the issue with my legs cramping as did the changing of the saddle for a HD Tallboy saddle. The pipes were a bit too quiet so I changed them for a set of Cobras, with a Terry Components Terminal Velocity II tuner. That turned out to be a mistake. The SE air cleaner does its buisness just fine, but the International models were set out with the O2 sensors removed and the ECU reprogrammed, therefore no closed loop system. The pipes are producing a 138db noise that although pleasing to hear, deafening to ride. The performance has deteriorated. Funny though, the fuel mileage is up by 30 miles over stock. I get around 180 miles out of the 5 gallon tank rather than the luck to get the 150 it gave from stock. A chrome inner primary case has cleaned up the left side and the chrome swing arm has tidied up the rear. I love to ride it as it handles very well. The addition of the detachable windscreen has made the journey less tiring. Some of the negative issues are the spalling of the front fork lowers under the clear coat. The flaking of the chrome at every single nipple point on the rims was also an issue. Was being the key word as the Dealer sorted them out under warranty. Also an issue and waiting to be sorted is the failure of various parts of the bike when it rained. The alarm siren has become mute, and the speedo simply stops when it rains. I have had the bike stall when in stop and go traffic. Despite that, when I ride it still turns heads, and not just car drivers.
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