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Harley-Davidson Gear In Belgium.

No, I don't have the XR1200 yet. But I made a test-ride with it a few weeks back. New bike, rides well, of course. At first though it felt a bit awkward. I rode a Road King before and knew how to sit on it but I've taken lessons recently on a Kawaski ER-6f or so where I was told to sit as close to the tank as possible for better control.

Yeah, when I tried this on the XR1200 it felt as if I was riding one of those fun bicycles with oval wheels. Very awkward, my right legt didn't fit well under the tank and my right ankle was continuously scraping against the oil cap. After moving my bum back to sit nicely in the "saddle" it went smooth. I had fun. It was cold though... so I told the dealer that I'd go for a ride first in my perforated leather jacket and then come back and try one of the FXRG jacket. Wind and waterproof. It even felt bulletproof with the body armour tucked away everywhere.

All geared up I went for the 2nd part of my test-ride and did highway at 130km/h to see whether I'd feel any wind. Nothing. Didn't feel a thing, other than my helmet getting yanked off of my head. I have an open helmet with a little "spoiler" in front... Like a touring helmet. Mind you, I rode a Road King... so it was appropriate. OK, I told myself, this spoiler has to go. I pulled over and yanked it off, which helped my riding a lot. Still though, an open helmet catches wind and I couldn't maintain driving at "high" speed comfortable. This will all get better with an integral helmet.

Back at the dealership I decided to buy the jacket seeing as they were so nice to let me try it out for an hour or so... Plus the fact that they gave me a brand new Harley knowing I don't have a license to ride it (more about that later maybe)

Back home, curious as I am, I checked out the price of the same jacket at the official Harley-Davidson website. Turns out I paid twice as much for it! Dayum. The "shipping" from USA argument to yank up the price a bit doesn't hold up because all of this is produced in China anyway. Alright, let's add 21% VAT and keep in mind that prices in USA usually are advertised without the 6% sales tax (though on this website they were VAT in it seems) that still doesn't justify a 100% price increase. A slight rip-off I'd say, but then again they were friendly enough to give me a bike and jacket to test.

Bottom line is... don't buy Harley gear in Belgium, and tell your dealer that you know the real price. Get someone that travels to the US and back bring it for you. Much cheaper.