Rider Review: 2003 Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide

Hello, fellow beginnerbikers! Contributing Editor Whizbang here with some more words about another Harley-Davidson ride - the 2003 100th Anniversary Dyna Wide Glide.

I LOVED this machine. If I was a rich man, I would own one and add her to my stable. You know, my stable: 2003 24V DOHC Ford Taurus, Yamaha V-Star Classic 1100, and Trek 7300 Multi track.

As many of you know, I'm not a big fan of Harley-Davidson bikes, the company as a marketing monster (though I respect their efforts and successes), nor the anti-foreign motorcycle sentiment that seems to come with their whole image. I've reviewed two other HD bikes, the Heritage Softail and the Road King and you will would find the same cons here as there...so I'm not going to type any. You just get the pros.

The first thing I noticed on this bike was the comfort. This bike fit me like a 639 lb glove. Easily the most comfortable motorcycle I've sat on yet. The seat is soft with a small amount of lower back support as you can see in the photo above. You practically lay on this bike. But what absolutely makes it are the forward controls, which some of you have asked me to define and explain. Not having used them before, this beginnerbiker is here to tell you why they rock.

Rider foot position is very different between bike styles. For sport bike riders, your feet are slightly behind your center of gravity. Standard bikes have foot pegs just under you, almost exactly in line with your spine. Cruisers' foot pegs are slightly in front of your center of gravity and are often replaced by floorboards for even more comfort. With forward controls, the foot pegs and brake and shifter pedals are set as far forward as the bike frame allows. It took me a while to understand how to relax my legs, figuring out where to rest the weight of my foot (ball, heel, center, etc), but only took an hour for things to settle in. Definitely the center of the foot. The controls work the same as with any motorcycle, but the riding position is SO COMFORTABLE! You feel like you're laying back with your feet up on the automan and yet there's something about the riding position that feels aggressive. Combined with handlebars that are considerably higher than I'm used to on the V-Star Classic, you just feel like a Hell's Angel. I thought floorboards would be the only way I could take a true Iron Butt run, but with an extra set of highway pegs just for variety, you could ride this bike cross country.

...not to mention the fact that the ride is glass smooth and the tank holds 5.2 gallons.

After spending a few hours on the Los Angeles highways, leisurely making my way from the rental place to Hollywood, I took her up on Mulholland Drive, one of the most pyscho-fun twisty-laden "not for beginnerbikers" roads in the area (note that I will ALWAYS consider myself a beginnerbiker, but you'd better have some serious miles under your belt before you take on this road). Sharp right angle sweeps. Repeating decreasing radius turns. No guard rails. Blind intersections. You never get over 40mph and you feel like you're on the Daytona Speedway track (which I have been ) The Dyna Wide Glide was right at home. She handled like a dream. Just carved those curves. I leaned HARD into turns and found myself with a perma-grin as Mulholland threw more and more challenges my way. Never scraped a peg or the engine guards, but got really, really close.

As with most Harleys, she rumbles a lot and the engine is loud, though the pipes are not. Being in Los Angeles, this bike set off parked BMW and Mercedes car alarms just riding down the street at 30mph. She's got a smaller frame than the Softail and Road King, so she's more nimble and stops on a dime, though it would have been nice to have dual disc brakes on the front wheel. Just for even more stopping power. She doesn't come with a windshield, which makes highway riding a blast - literally. You really have to like strong wind in the face and chest to take the highways.

As far as power is concerned, you can't ask for more. Well, you can, but why? The V-Rod must be insane. This bike just jumps into hyper space when you lay on the throttle. You want acceleration in the higher power bands, you've got it instantly. Unlike other windshield-less bikes your inclination is lean back when you speed up rather than lean forward into it. She exudes attitude when you go to pass vehicles on the road because you're leaning back and your feet are out in front of you like, "look out, man, here I come."

To me, this is the Harley to have if you're going to have one. I'd get into specs but you can look them up if you want details. Me, I just want one.

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