On Highway Number One: Two cylinders and a man’s dream: With a Harley through the USA

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On Highway Number One

Two cylinders and a man’s dream: With the Harley through the USA

On Highway Number One: Two cylinders and a man's dream: With a Harley through the USA-cylinders

Robert Eckert
Traveling the American way: Riding a Harley through California. Starting from the beach in Huntington Beach, we have 1700 miles ahead of us

On Highway Number One: Two cylinders and a man's dream: With a Harley through the USA-dream15

Robert Eckert
Highway Number One: With the Harley through the USA

It’s one of the big dreams of men: to ride a motorcycle through the vastness of the Wild West. Over deserted and dead straight desert highways, through bizarre mountains and along legendary coastal roads like Highway Number One.

Highway number one! For fans of the American Way of Drive, this sounds at least as wistful as Route 66. That’s why only one motorcycle comes into question for such a trip: a Harley-Davidson. If you want to cruise American roads, you don’t need a nervous Italian or a high-revving, four-cylinder Japanese. Only one of the heavy devices from the cult brand from Milwaukee is stylish. Who tear off many kilometers in a few days and the "American Way of Drive" want to feel should opt for one of the touring models. Ok, a Sportster or V-Rod looks a lot cooler, but hardly any other two-wheeler offers more comfort and reliability than an Electra Glide Ultra Limited.

One of the heaviest motorcycles in the world

The first encounter with a Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited is daunting. In front of you is one of the heaviest motorcycles in the world. Ready to drive, it has a curb weight of 414 kilos. The permissible total weight of the machine: a monstrous 617 kilograms! To make it short: Maneuvering is torture with this two-wheeler. When stationary, the Harley is a real iron pig and can only be moved with a lot of effort. After a few tries, you think very, very carefully about where and how to park your motorcycle. Once driven into a slightly sloping parking space, the bike can hardly be moved backwards.

On Highway Number One: Two cylinders and a man's dream: With a Harley through the USA-number

Robert Eckert Traveling the American way: Riding a Harley through California. Starting from the beach in Huntington Beach, we have 1700 miles ahead of us

So: always park in reverse so that you can casually drive out the front again with engine power. There is no reverse gear! With this weight, the side stand should only be extended on hard concrete ground. When the machine sinks into gravel, the driver turns pale. Because getting this beast back up from the sloping position is almost impossible to do alone. It is all the more astonishing what is possible with this two-wheeler – once it is in motion.

Bossy power development ensures a permanent grin

However, the engineers at Harley-Davidson seem to have somehow tricked the laws of physics. Unsurprisingly, the machine impresses with stoic straight-line stability and comfortable suspension on the seemingly endless highways that wind their way through the American West. Cruise control in and glide along relaxed. The Harley even swallows nasty grooves and joints on American roads with reassuring composure.

On Highway Number One: Two cylinders and a man's dream: With a Harley through the USA-number

Robert Eckert The Tioga Pass Road runs through America’s most popular national park with magnificent forests, waterfalls and rock faces up to 1600 meters high

What is really amazing, however, is the driving behavior of the road cruiser on two wheels on winding roads. Gentle it can be surfed with the Harley through mountain roads like those of Yosemite National Park. Admittedly, you won’t break records with the Ultra Classic and if you overdo it, components that touch down will quickly remind you of the limits of possible leaning. But the good-natured cornering paired with the powerful power delivery of the engine drives a permanent grin on your face.

Slim Harley with fat V2

On Highway Number One: Two cylinders and a man's dream: With a Harley through the USA-highway

Harley-Davidson Softtail Blackline: Slim Harley with fat V2

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On Highway Number One: Two cylinders and a man's dream: With a Harley through the USA-number

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A strong friend for life

If you turn the ignition key, you immediately get the pension notice or the license to practice dentistry – my mocker. It’s true: the bike, which weighs over 400 kilograms, doesn’t come across as particularly youthful. But when the V-Twin starts and makes its typical sound, then you know that you have found a strong friend for life. The Twin Cam 103 – the engine’s factory designation – is currently the last evolutionary step in the more than hundred-year history of engine construction by the Harley-Davidson brand, which is mainly dedicated to the two-cylinder engine in V-shape.

The engine with its chrome-plated cooling fins and contrasting black, powder-coated cylinder heads is a work of art cast in metal. The 1690 cubic centimeter engine delivers 87 hp (64 kW). Considering the bike’s monstrous weight, that’s not an impressive figure.

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