I purchased this bike from the original owner just over a year ago with 46k on the clock, so it already had some great stories. One that he shared was that he and his son had headed out to Yellowstone a number of years ago, dad on a Softail and son on a Sportster. When they were somewhere in the plains, they received an urgent call from home; a relative was gravely ill, and they needed to return immediately. They turned their scoots around, with the promise that the trip would be completed another day.
A couple years went by, and they were back on the road. Dear old dad had traded the Softail for what would later be my EG, but the boy…well, the deal with that family was that you had to do a “real” ride on a Sportster before you could upgrade. And, since said boy did not complete his ride, on the Sportster he must roll. Tough tittie, Junior.
I bought the bike from him, and promptly took it on a solo journey to West Virginia. All went well, and I was liking the bike. However, it had to be de-geezered. Oversized Zeppelin seat, bye-bye. Black out air cleaner and horn, dump those stupid stock bars for some Chubby Wild One Apes, and lose the riot shield in favor of a blacked-out shorty. Now we’re talkin’. Stamp of the signature was having some stripes laid on it. Now, it was my bike, my canvas, my platform for stories.
I rode that beast to the Sturgis rally. The night before the trip, I found a spike in my tire. I was able to plug it up with my repair kit, but rolling on patched tires on a bike is not a good idea. The good folks at Wolverine HD helped me out and got me out on the road with only a five hour delay.
Once on the road, I just felt that the bike wasn’t tracking right. I couldn’t feel stable. Somewhere in Nowheresville in the UP, I figured out the problem. My seat bolt had fallen out and I was sort of free floating going down the highway. Exciting! Roadside repair time….
As great of a platform as it is, the bike started to show its age. Latches breaking, suspension requiring replacements and upgrades, but really nothing crazy. There was, however, the lack of ponies for two-up riding, and the fact that it was really turning the rpm at high speed highway riding. I’ve been seriously considering upgrades like big bore kits, heads, cams, and even upgrading to a six-speed trans.
After careful consideration, I decided rather than dumping a ton of money into the EG, it was time for a new canvas, and upon analysis of all the facts, that canvas had to be a new Rushmore bike from Harley’s 2014 lineup. As I stated in the beginning, 
I’m not really a gadget and gizmo, latest and greatest guy, but these newest generation of bikes are really a leap forward. I’ve ridden every generation of the twin cams, in lots of different configurations. Most of the upgrades from year to year are minor, but there are so many fundamentally different things about the 2014’s that it was finally worth it to me.
There have been over 800 changes to the EG platform since my bike was released, and I certainly won’t bore with details, but there are a couple personal highlights. Obvious upgrades for my riding style are the engine and trans. The original 103 was great, and very ridable from the factory, but the new “high output” have hotter cams and more flow, which is really cool. The six speed tranny, while I realize has its detractors, I really like. I have a six speed in my Dyna, and I love it. Gearing is different in the current touring line, but it is very effective.
There are a couple not-so-obvious things that helped win me over and get me to pull the trigger. First is the lighting. Yes, lighting. The bike comes standard with Harley’s Daymaker LED lights. They’re unbelievable, and since they are both very bright and create a whiter light than incandescent, rider visibility is increased dramatically. Plus, I can actually see shit at night. The rear lighting on the tour pack is also LED and is integrated to the brakes, so rear visibility is also increased, decreasing likelihood of some cager plowing into the stopped bike.
Harley has offered ABS brakes for a few years now, but they have released an integrated braking system that compensates for incorrect relative brake application. Basically, if you’re rolling at 60 mph, and stomp on the rear brakes, the system will automatically actuate both front and rear brakes based on speed and pedal pressure. This technology coupled with the ABS goes a long way towards keeping riders safe.
Now, all you old school brothers, I hear ya. It’s complicated, it’s computer stuff that can break, and maybe you’ve got a million miles of experience on your machines. I don’t have this stuff on my Dyna or Ironhead, but on a bike that weighs 900 pounds set up to be loaded down for major highway trips, I’ll take every edge I can get so that I can live to ride another day.
So the story begins…