Enough staring-we were ready to ride. With an overall length of 115 inches (that's over 9-1/2 feet), sitting in the seat for the first time can be a little intimidating as you stare down at the long frontend. With a quick flip of the switch, the bike fired to life and it was time to roll. The combination of the low stance and 54 degrees of rake made maneuvering out of the office parking lot a little nerve-wracking, but it became easier to handle as we picked up speed. As expected from the 111ci S&S motor, horsepower was smooth and reliable with a strong powerband practically all the way through the throttle. While we didn't throw it on a dyno, the slight pull we felt in our neck as we shifted through the gears from first to fifth was a good indicator of the torque the two-cam motor was generating. Backing up the S&S mill were other high quality components such as a Baker RSD six-speed trans that shifted from gear to gear like butter, a Rivera Brute III primary, and handling exhaust duties was a Supertrapp 2-into-1 exhaust.
Running at highway speeds, the bike was smooth and steady with some vibration at the feet (shifting into sixth helped the vibration somewhat). The frontend did a fine job of handling small inadequacies, but with the extreme angle of the forks to the road the frontend wasn't really able to compress over the bumps, and more or less popped over them. Nothing too crazy, but a good wake-up call if you're not expecting it.
Set up the way it is, the bike likes to go straight, and really gets noticed doing it. Heading into curves or slight turns is another story. Even though the bike is well-balanced overall, even at higher speeds it still took some muscle and leaning to keep it tucked into turns. As stated earlier, slow speed parking lot cruising is not what this bike is meant for, but then again, what motorcycle is? We quickly got the hang of tight turns, and flipping U-turns was just a matter of keeping a handle on the frontend and smooth clutch, throttle, rear brake operation.
In its stock trim, the Intrepid's 50 state EPA/CARB approved Resolute chopper has a base price of $33,900. Our bike came in at about $1,000 more because it had a polished motor-a very impressive price for what you are getting in looks and top of the line components. Of course, there are upgrade options such as 117ci and 124ci S&S motors and custom paint. As of press date, Intrepid had two new models to release later in 2008, and plan on having all models running EFI in 2009. For more information, check out www.intrepidcycles.com.