Well, finally, after a few years of debate, and budget juggling, I purchased a K9. 
On my initial list were a Harley (Rocker), a custom made-to-order chopper style bike, a K9, a Vengeance chopper style or a list of hand-picked parts so that I can take a year or two to build my own.
- The Harley rocker was more of an accessibility thing, plenty out there and wide tire kits readily available. Quite a few Harley dealers in the area.
- A custom made one would’ve been nice, hand-picked parts + paint to my desires. But obviously more dough too.
- The K9 caught a little more my attention because of the styling and the drivability reviews and it being deemed comfortable and balanced.
- Vengeance was more of a pure styling thing.
- Or just build my own dam bike.
Well, wanting a new bike from the beginning, Vengeance closed shop during the wait so that was out. I am mechanically inclined but the reality of 3 kids and all the works eliminated the time part of building my own bike for now. My must haves were a large rear (280 but 300 preferred) and chopper style and biggest engine possible (cuz I like power).
The harley rocker plus all mods would have brought me into custom price range so the rocker got the boot too.
In the end, the custom order was going to cost me 45 large cash, so that amount of cash money was out for me and the K9 was it. Went to the dealer, got an order in on some new one coming in and then that same week, “the news” came out… right from the get go, I was told not to worry about warranty as the parts manufacturers would honour their product. That leaves labour which if anything went wrong, we would cut a deal. But then, the dealer couldn’t get all the paperwork for the new bikes and proof that no loans/liens were left on them so after a 2 month wait and the season underway, I said to hell with waiting longer and took a used 2006 K9. Not my first choice but hey, at least I have a K9, a 300 rear and 117”.
Took it on Friday a few weeks ago. So everyone was telling me that I am crazy to get a chopper… not drivable, too much shaking, etc. First thought that came to mind when I hoped on and started it: this thing doesn’t shake much? Mind you, this is my very first bike. I haven’t ridden any other bike except for my friends XL1200 around the block… and the driving school’s 600 Vulcan. Courses are mandatory here. With all the monkey butt stories, I was thinking my butt would be shaking like booties on rap/pop music.
So I pull in the clutch and start maneuvering in the tight shop parking and I think, man, this thing is BIG. It kinda stands straight up, moves forward like it’s featherweight but when you turn at low speed or try to walk it in neutral, wow, it’s heavy.
So I am on the road now and pull away. The sound is sweet! Supertrap 2+2. My arms up and comfortable. Crisp throttle and nice torque. Two left hand turns before the highway, both effortless, although I found myself all of a sudden, concentrating on the task at hand and where I wanted to go. As if in a straight line, all is cool and smooth but when you turn, your brain sort of shuts everything off except getting around the corner. The good part is that I didn’t have to “unprogram” another bike’s driving style since this is my first bike. At the last light before the highway, my friend who gave me a lift and was following stops besides me and says, man your bike is SWEET, did you see all the people turning around? No, I missed it all because those were my first 5-10 minutes on my new bike. So off I go and hop onto the highway and I gun it (the joys of not having to baby it to break it in). Man, this thing moves… the front blinkers started flashing for no reason and I am thinking, there goes a WP this winter (finally just a short)… So I am up to speed and notice cars slowing down when approaching then pass and speed up. This thing gets a lot of attention, I was expecting it.
1st destination reached, no problems and already feel acquainted with the bike. My friend arrives and says that he could see flames comes out of the exhaust on up-shifts (when I was gunning on the highway), cool stuff.
My second day out was a little 20min trip to a store in 30mph zones so that time I noticed a lot more all the people looking at me and the bike (chrome German helmet…). I don’t mind the attention as I used to get some in the stang or I get some when just walking around (I body build some) but I never had this many thumbs up or second takes in so little time.
Then my bike went back to the shop for a 585 and S&S dual. They do lots of twin-cams and small evos but they were all thinking I am crazy to swap it out on the 117” as it’s fast as is and it’s my first bike, They asked, why a cam so high? Not enough power for you? Nope! 585 isn’t that high, it’s plug-and-play. It’s fast but if I have the balls for more, let it be. Caution and respect the new found power, that’s all. Been there before on other vehicles.
Now with the new cam and intake, the idle sound is an awesome thump, thump. Take off is a little rough, throttle when coasting close to close position is hard to gauge (a little tiny twist and the bike jerks), upshift and decel pops are common now. Actually, it gargles a lot on decel and pops quite much especially when letting go at a higher RPM like 3k. I also need to blip the throttle when stopped if I want neutral, it won’t go without the blip.
When I gunned it the first time, I slid back on my seat and had trouble keeping up. I noticed a wobble at 100mph and let go. I thought it was the road so I tried again but got the same wobble so I let go again.
Now the power, for me, is right were it should be. I ride with my wife and will be riding a lot with her and she loves it too. I don’t even feel that my wife is on the bike, it pulls effortlessly. I am 200-210lbs, she is about 110lbs. The suspension travel is not much so I actually was bumped up right off my seat 3 times in one outing to the city. I was taken off guard but placed my butt back into position. Then with the wife, on softer bumps, she was bounced off 2 times while I was ok. Now we know…
I don’t know what size jets the shop put in so when I have some time, I will need to take a look. Also, it happened twice that I push to start the bike and it starts o turn but stops right away, as if the compression release was stuck but it isn’t. After 2-3 shots like that, it turns and starts…? I’ll search or post Q? in appropriate section.
So all in all, the bike is very comfortable, more than what I was expecting. The balance is awesome, the turns are not as hard as I thought they would be. Shifts are crisp and easy to make seemingless even on downshifts with a blip of the throttle. The power is good, the sound alone turns heads, the bike itself triggers a double take. I take a step back and consider myself privileged to be able to have one even though I worked hard for it. The wife found the sissy useful as her butt slid back on the seat on a mild acceleration pass. Must be careful with throttle with passenger.
On my initial list were a Harley (Rocker), a custom made-to-order chopper style bike, a K9, a Vengeance chopper style or a list of hand-picked parts so that I can take a year or two to build my own.
- The Harley rocker was more of an accessibility thing, plenty out there and wide tire kits readily available. Quite a few Harley dealers in the area.
- A custom made one would’ve been nice, hand-picked parts + paint to my desires. But obviously more dough too.
- The K9 caught a little more my attention because of the styling and the drivability reviews and it being deemed comfortable and balanced.
- Vengeance was more of a pure styling thing.
- Or just build my own dam bike.
Well, wanting a new bike from the beginning, Vengeance closed shop during the wait so that was out. I am mechanically inclined but the reality of 3 kids and all the works eliminated the time part of building my own bike for now. My must haves were a large rear (280 but 300 preferred) and chopper style and biggest engine possible (cuz I like power).
The harley rocker plus all mods would have brought me into custom price range so the rocker got the boot too.
In the end, the custom order was going to cost me 45 large cash, so that amount of cash money was out for me and the K9 was it. Went to the dealer, got an order in on some new one coming in and then that same week, “the news” came out… right from the get go, I was told not to worry about warranty as the parts manufacturers would honour their product. That leaves labour which if anything went wrong, we would cut a deal. But then, the dealer couldn’t get all the paperwork for the new bikes and proof that no loans/liens were left on them so after a 2 month wait and the season underway, I said to hell with waiting longer and took a used 2006 K9. Not my first choice but hey, at least I have a K9, a 300 rear and 117”.
Took it on Friday a few weeks ago. So everyone was telling me that I am crazy to get a chopper… not drivable, too much shaking, etc. First thought that came to mind when I hoped on and started it: this thing doesn’t shake much? Mind you, this is my very first bike. I haven’t ridden any other bike except for my friends XL1200 around the block… and the driving school’s 600 Vulcan. Courses are mandatory here. With all the monkey butt stories, I was thinking my butt would be shaking like booties on rap/pop music.
So I pull in the clutch and start maneuvering in the tight shop parking and I think, man, this thing is BIG. It kinda stands straight up, moves forward like it’s featherweight but when you turn at low speed or try to walk it in neutral, wow, it’s heavy.
So I am on the road now and pull away. The sound is sweet! Supertrap 2+2. My arms up and comfortable. Crisp throttle and nice torque. Two left hand turns before the highway, both effortless, although I found myself all of a sudden, concentrating on the task at hand and where I wanted to go. As if in a straight line, all is cool and smooth but when you turn, your brain sort of shuts everything off except getting around the corner. The good part is that I didn’t have to “unprogram” another bike’s driving style since this is my first bike. At the last light before the highway, my friend who gave me a lift and was following stops besides me and says, man your bike is SWEET, did you see all the people turning around? No, I missed it all because those were my first 5-10 minutes on my new bike. So off I go and hop onto the highway and I gun it (the joys of not having to baby it to break it in). Man, this thing moves… the front blinkers started flashing for no reason and I am thinking, there goes a WP this winter (finally just a short)… So I am up to speed and notice cars slowing down when approaching then pass and speed up. This thing gets a lot of attention, I was expecting it.
1st destination reached, no problems and already feel acquainted with the bike. My friend arrives and says that he could see flames comes out of the exhaust on up-shifts (when I was gunning on the highway), cool stuff.
My second day out was a little 20min trip to a store in 30mph zones so that time I noticed a lot more all the people looking at me and the bike (chrome German helmet…). I don’t mind the attention as I used to get some in the stang or I get some when just walking around (I body build some) but I never had this many thumbs up or second takes in so little time.
Then my bike went back to the shop for a 585 and S&S dual. They do lots of twin-cams and small evos but they were all thinking I am crazy to swap it out on the 117” as it’s fast as is and it’s my first bike, They asked, why a cam so high? Not enough power for you? Nope! 585 isn’t that high, it’s plug-and-play. It’s fast but if I have the balls for more, let it be. Caution and respect the new found power, that’s all. Been there before on other vehicles.
Now with the new cam and intake, the idle sound is an awesome thump, thump. Take off is a little rough, throttle when coasting close to close position is hard to gauge (a little tiny twist and the bike jerks), upshift and decel pops are common now. Actually, it gargles a lot on decel and pops quite much especially when letting go at a higher RPM like 3k. I also need to blip the throttle when stopped if I want neutral, it won’t go without the blip.
When I gunned it the first time, I slid back on my seat and had trouble keeping up. I noticed a wobble at 100mph and let go. I thought it was the road so I tried again but got the same wobble so I let go again.
Now the power, for me, is right were it should be. I ride with my wife and will be riding a lot with her and she loves it too. I don’t even feel that my wife is on the bike, it pulls effortlessly. I am 200-210lbs, she is about 110lbs. The suspension travel is not much so I actually was bumped up right off my seat 3 times in one outing to the city. I was taken off guard but placed my butt back into position. Then with the wife, on softer bumps, she was bounced off 2 times while I was ok. Now we know…
I don’t know what size jets the shop put in so when I have some time, I will need to take a look. Also, it happened twice that I push to start the bike and it starts o turn but stops right away, as if the compression release was stuck but it isn’t. After 2-3 shots like that, it turns and starts…? I’ll search or post Q? in appropriate section.
So all in all, the bike is very comfortable, more than what I was expecting. The balance is awesome, the turns are not as hard as I thought they would be. Shifts are crisp and easy to make seemingless even on downshifts with a blip of the throttle. The power is good, the sound alone turns heads, the bike itself triggers a double take. I take a step back and consider myself privileged to be able to have one even though I worked hard for it. The wife found the sissy useful as her butt slid back on the seat on a mild acceleration pass. Must be careful with throttle with passenger.
