2009 Harley-Davidson reviews

Still happy. Adjusted the rear shocks for two-up riding and she glides down the road. The Wife likes the glide and we spend more time together crusin the countryside. Little more road feel when it's just me but I like it that way. I get lots of compliments on the color and the style. Still planning out the extra chrome statement. I have added the rear turn signal modulator to have more lights on for night crusin. Got a few more lighting goodies planned to go with the chrome plan. Show less

I bought my nightster in January of 09 during the ride free promo. I had a sport bike and wanted to go back to a cruiser. After riding for a month, I determined it was necessary to upgrade my seat and rear shocks to improve the ride. That is why for a 2 star in the comfort department. The rear shocks are very firm, and there is hardly any padding in the stock seat. It would have been nice to have a sixth gear for highway riding. Another thing that bugs me is the rather small 3.3 gallon tank. My fuel light regularly comes on between 95-110 miles. I usually see about 45-48 mpgs. One thing that brought me to buying the bike was the old school styling. This is a very sharp looking bike. Show less

Love it! Forward controls are a MUST! Vance & Hines Slip-On's #16819 are PERFECT! Spuper sound! ForceWinder is next. The ride is Rough w/a stock seat (Biggest Complaint). Great, NO SUPER performance. Would recommend one to a best friend. Show less

One of the best bikes I've ever owned. Great sound, even with stock exhaust. The front tire loses air pressure fast, but that's most likely due to the fact the front wheel is spoked and uses an inner tube. Worth the money, and very, very comfortable! Show less

I purchased a 2009 FLTCU, after ridding a 2007 FLHTCU. The seating position is much different, you sit on the 09 and sat in the 2007. The valve stems on the wheels are located in a very difficult location to check tire pressure. The new throttle is different than the 2007 and has taken some time to get used to, as well. The fit and finsih are Harley all the way. It is the little things that make the bike less than prefect. Tire wear is greater, 13000 mile for the front and rear tire to be replaced. I was able to get 16000 on my front and 15000 on the rear on the 07 consistently as a sole rider. Show less

Ok so this is my first bike, so don't have much to compare it to, however, after listening to all my 'jap-loving' mates, I decided to ignore them and go with my desire rather than the flow. I headed down to the HD dealer and was bitten by the bug as soon as I entered the inner sanctum! After drooling over a couple of big twins, lows, fats etc, my eyes dropped onto this menacing little beast in the corner, which I was informed was the 'new-kid-on-the-block' 883 Iron. I was sold, ordered it, dreamt about it and waited...and waited...and waited. Eventually it arrived and was delivered to my door. I heard it before I saw it and have not stopped grinning since. This bike is fantastic as a first, last, second, first bike. The looks I get are constant, the comments too. It looks cool, rides beautifully and, with the V&H, sounds bloody awesome... Show less

I bought this in July on the advice of others after having crashed my bike. It's a pretty bike, that's for sure. It handles so much differently than what I was used to that for the first 50 miles I thought I had made a mistake. With more and more miles I began to like it better. I recently went 2800 miles in 6 days through Nevada, Utah and Colorado. Tight mountain roads require a good deal of effort to steer while long relatively straight roads are darn near effortless. This bike is immune to crosswinds and the cruise control works perfectly. My only complaint is that it leaves the factory with a severely restricted intake and exhaust. I had to travel in 5th gear heading westbound on I-70 out of Denver (even got passed by a BMW K750 pulling a tent trailer!!). On the flats, it's hard to get 3000 rpm in 6th gear - it feels like it's out of breath. You'd never know you that have 103 cu.in. of engine between your legs. So it's time to open the breathing passages and harness some of that power that I'm sure is in there somewhere. Fuel mileage for the trip was a consistent 33 mph with a few tanks at 40 mpg while riding through the twisties at 9000+ ft. - go figure. Overall, it's a keeper. My wife loves the comfort. Slow down, take your time and enjoy the scenary. Sorry for the long review but if you're considering spending this type of money for a bike, you deserve an honest opinion. Show less

O.K. I sold my 2003 Roadglide and when I learned H.D was discontinuing the FLTR, I went down to my dealer and came away with a superior bike in every way. Abs brembos, 6 speed cruise drive, 96 cu in., 6 gal.tank, big 180 rear tire, much stiffer and better handling frame, less heat as muffler is now under bike and not next to the passengers left leg, better cd, radio, better speakers, more watts, I can easily hear at 80 m.p.h., better looking tank console, seat is more confortable, all in all this 2009 will run circles around my 2003. The old frame is what realy is bad about pre-2009s, as it wants to flex and wobble in corners, and the way too small rear tire (130) does not put enough rubber on the road. The new 2010 Roadglide does not come with cruise control, has too short a windshield and has lowered suspension, so the ride is harsher. If you want the best, buy an 09. I am surprised it took Harley soo long to finally upgrade the frame after 28 years. An 800-plus lb. bike does not need to be rolling on a skinny rear tire! Thank you H.D. - you hit this one out the park! Show less

Ok so I'm not what you would call a veteran on bikes. In May of 09 I traded my first real bike a Kawasaki Vulcan 500, in on a new 2009 Sporter 883 Iron. I was a little leary but my husband assured me that I would be happy. I had done a demo ride on the Nightset 1200 and was fairly happy with that. But when it came time to buy I chose the 883. I really love it and would not trade it for anything. I just put 1200 miles on it and seriously can't wait to add another 1200. I did have some issues before the 1,000 mile check up. The engine seamed to have a bit of noise that I was not used to. The brakes were also squealing. I was told that both of these items were fine. My toosh gets a little sore after about 90 miles. But I try to stand up when ever I stop. No she is not fast but I'm not the type of person that has to get there now. I really just enjoy the journey. So I have to say that I'm really enjoying it on this ride. I more than likly will not be trading her in anytime soon. So from a womans perspective and a fairly new rider I LOVE THIS RIDE. Show less

I needed to get away from my Yamaha sport bike and find something more comfortable and less maintenance intensive. All roads led me to the Superglide. My local HD dealership was running a $1500 gift card promo with big twin purchase so I snagged that incentive and ended up with a well decked out bike for not too much money. The bike is rock solid. Paint and fit/finish are far higher quality than comparably priced metrics. The 96 ci twin pulls like a freight train, sounds awesome, looks cool, has given me NO indications that it might overheat in traffic, and only calls for oil changes every 5000 miles. The only beef I have with HD is that unless you get a model that already has accessories, it costs quite a bit to make the bike your own. I should also mention that the Sportster 1200 was my first choice. After discovering what short legs that bike has for highway riding the Dyna proved to be the way to go. That 6th gear makes all the differance in the world and the cost from Sporty to Dyna doesn't really break the bank. Oh, and I have to say each of the HD dealers here in N'ville are so much cooler accross the board that any of the metric shops. Customer service at mine would get 5 stars. Show less