Handling Characteristics

The first time I drove the bike after installing the chopper kit, I'll admit, I was apprehensive. Sitting on the bike, looking out over the front wheel is something else. The front wheel looks like it's about ten feet in front of you. I was thinking that, "there's no way I can lean this sucker with out the front wheel coming unglued from the pavement!". PLUS, the stock VStar never did turn on a dime,...after all, it's a cruiser not a sport bike. The turning radius is much larger with the chopped version to be sure! So, off I went! As I tried to steer through low speed turns on my first outing, the bike was really heavy handling and I had to allow for the much larger turning radius. Then what I realized was, in my fear of leaning the bike through the turns, I was trying to hold it upright as much as possible throughout the turn. Ever tried to make a turn without leaning? Once I realized that this thing was rock solid and I became more comfortable with its drivability, it is a breeze to ride. In fact, after driving it for a couple of months, I can honestly say that it IS rock solid. Even with the front frame raised 1", I have scraped the pegs a couple of times,...that's how far you can lean the bike over! The bike DOES like to lean through turns. As I said, It's hands off stable and the long wheel base is very smooth riding. I've seen some choppers that only a gorilla could ride. The front wheel wanted to snap left or right when starting from a dead stop and was impossible to push or backup using good old fashion muscle power. This bike has no bad characteristics. It doesn't tire you to drive it. I just lean back and cruise! At 5'9" and 165 lbs. I'm not a big guy and I don't have a problem at all driving this bike. If anyone decides to do the AME kit, the most important piece of advice I can give is to TAKE IT SLOW AND EASY until you get used to it. Driving the chopper kit is hard to describe to someone. IT IS NOT HARD by any means, but,... it is DIFFERENT. I would never go back to the stock setup!!!