The picture accompanying this entry was taken the day after one of my best friends bought himself a new-to-him Road Glide. Beautiful bike.
For years, he had ridden a Softail that belonged to his dad. He kept that bike, but after we clicked off a couple hundred miles together a few days earlier, something must have started working on him. Somewhere along the way home, he decided it was time to get himself a big bagger.
I understood.
I've owned several different motorcycles in my life, but at fifty years old, I'm no longer interested in finding out how hard I can shove one into the pavement through a corner. I want enough room for a coat, an extra shirt, helmets when we aren't wearing them, and whatever multitude of things my copilot thinks she needs to pack to make the ride bearable.
Mostly, I like being able to hop on the bike, point that big Indian Chieftain down the road, and click off a couple hundred miles—or more.
I never really did that on my standards or naked bikes. They were fun, quick, and nimble, but they always felt like motorcycles meant to take me somewhere nearby. A big bagger feels like it was built to keep going after the reasonable stopping point has already passed.
Maybe we have entered a period when fully dressed motorcycles are cool again. Or maybe we have simply reached the age when the comfort, storage, wind protection, and price tag finally make sense.
There was a time when motorcycles were supposed to be stripped down, loud, and slightly uncomfortable. Comfort was something you sacrificed to prove you were still young enough not to need it.
Now I look at heated grips, cruise control, floorboards, a stereo, and enough luggage space for several questionable decisions, and I don't see an old man's motorcycle.
I see range.
The bikes are heavier. So are we. They take a little more planning to maneuver around a parking lot, but once they are pointed down the highway, they settle in and ask only one question:
How far do you want to go?
Maybe that is the real age of baggers—not the age of the motorcycles, but the age of the people riding them.
We are old enough to appreciate comfort, young enough to keep looking for the next road, and finally wise enough to bring a jacket.
More from the road
