Out of the various 2009 Harley Davidson models on offer for a test ride this was the only one that looked to provide adequate pillion comfort and room (more on that later). Harley please note – a sloping stubb on the back of the riders seat is not a pillion seat.

Harley is not alone in providing inadequate pillion provision on their standard bikes a lot don’t have a pillion seat at all meaning that the purchase of an additional seat is necessary.

This to me is taking the p*ss when I consider the cost of a new motorcycle. Manufacturers please note this is not on.

Dear motorcyclist reader/buyer, can you imagine what would happen if car manufacturers only made their standard models with the drivers seat?

That’s right they wouldn’t sell those cars. Food for thought maybe next time you are in the showroom?

The riders riding position is classic Harley – high bars, feet forward, footboards. There is a rocker gearshift which Pete liked and found easy to use. The screen did an adequate job but as speeds increased to 70-80mph it created a vortex which pushes the rider forward.

The engine is a smooth 1581 cc. It has a light clutch and the gearbox is easy to use and very responsive. The bike is very torquey and you could pull away in any gear. The bike has the well proven belt drive. It picked up speed easily up to 80mph but any faster than this and you would be getting away from the true nature of the bike.

The route which we took was very twisty with roundabouts and country lanes, which given the predominance of these types of roads in the UK has me pondering the popularity of Harley Davidsons in this country. I say that because it didn’t handle as well as we would have liked, nay demanded of a bike. Part of the problem was the footboards, we were barely off vertical before they were scraping on the ground. Aside from how this effects the smoothness of the ride would you really want to be doing this on a bike that costs as much as these do?

It was OK when we found smooth bits of tarmac – which is getting increasingly like hens teeth in this country – and is why the bike is more suited to straight American highways.

Pillion view: the seat looks comfy but isn’t. The available room between the rider and the backrest felt cramped.

As an extra note – this was the only bike we tested where we both had backache afterwards and that was after only thirty minutes riding.

Motorbikin verdict: 6 /10 when used on straight roads

Your comments welcomed below