Article By: Roadside Marty
Originally Published In The March 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
FXRs–I don’t think there has ever been an H-D model that has been so loved and so hated as much as they have. I remember the first time I ever rode one. It was back in the summer of ‘91 at my older brother’s dealership in N.C. A customer of his that I had been having a conversation with started to tell me how much he loved his FXR and that it was the best bike that he had ever ridden or owned: Period! Well that got my attention because I could tell that this dude had ridden much more than I had at that time in my life. His enthusiasm intrigued me so much, and it must have been obvious to him because he smiled and said, “Take it for a ride, and don’t be afraid to run it through the gears.” Needless to say, I didn’t abuse his trust, but I also didn’t realize I was doing over 100 M.P.H. until I glanced down at the speedo. Man, you wanna talk about a rush: high speed handling and little to no vibration! Where do I sign to get one of these?
After that, I was hooked for good, but due to situations of everyday life, i.e. marriage, kids, Army career then divorce and child support, it took me until 2001 before I managed to get my first one. It was a ‘94 FXRP that I traded a ‘77 Shovelhead and some cash for at Ft. Lauderdale H-D. It was still cop white and I even got a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty with it! Man I was on top of the world. My first Evo and it was a last year FXRP at that; talk about scoring big! I rode that bike all over the country and never once did it leave me stranded. It took everything I threw at it and more. After 5 glorious years together, I got Twin Cam fever and sold her to a fellow local rider who in turn sold her to one of his employees that I’m good friends with. I still get to see the ol’ girl every once in awhile which always brings a smile to my face.
One day, as luck would have it, I was having a phone conversation with Pockets, one of my good brothers from AZ. He told me about a neighbor of his who had a ‘93 FXRP that he wanted to unload. Well, a little bit of hustling and that baby was mine! Pockets and Andy were gracious enough to bring the bike to Santa Rosa, NM to the Smokeout West. Hammer and the rest of The Horse staff loaded it into the trailer and delivered it to N.C. where Big Josh and Matt carried it back to FL for me. They’re true brothers who never asked for or would accept a dime for their help in getting my RP to me. Thank you all again!
I also managed to score an ‘82 Shovelhead (a first year FXR) a few years back. Now that was a great story…and after plenty of TLC she was a solid runner that was pretty much my everyday rider as well as my distance bike. During an interview for Garage 71 with Jeremy Johnson and Eric aka Time Bomb, Eric told me if I ever wanted to sell the ‘82 to let him have first shot at it. That was his birth year and he had always wanted one. Needless to say, that’s where it’s parked now and I couldn’t think of a better home for it. As far as my ‘93 goes, let’s just say it’s here to stay! I’m glad to see the FXRs gaining resurgence in popularity; they are fantastic motorcycles that have a very loyal following. There, I said something nice so all you haters can’t say I’m an ass all the time—ha ha!
