"Your room isn't ready yet but you can sleep in the kitchen if your tired," explains the women at the front desk of the Red Nest Hostel.
"No thanks, I'll sleep in the park like an adult" I say, leaving my luggage in a closet and walking back outside. This Harley was halfway between my hostel and the park I would call home for the next four hours.
Harley Davidsons' are few and far between in Europe. Blame the price of gas or their lack of versatility but when I did see a Harley is was always a Sportster. Unlike their gaudy kin, the Sportser is a paired-down Harley with only enough parts to go and none of the ornate chrome that is synonymous with Milwaukee iron.
The narrowness and minimalism of an air cooled motor is impressive even if the bulky, clumsy transmission makes the bike look fat. Save a wrapped exhaust pipe, clubman bars, steel braided brake lines and a seat this Sportster is stock but it shows how a little styling goes a long way.
The bike has a post-war feel to it and the only thing I disliked about the bike is the excess throttle cable and front brake line as a result of the lowered handlebars. It just looks wonky to have an extra foot of cables looping into the air but then again I'm sleeping in a public park so who am I to judge.
"No thanks, I'll sleep in the park like an adult" I say, leaving my luggage in a closet and walking back outside. This Harley was halfway between my hostel and the park I would call home for the next four hours.
Harley Davidsons' are few and far between in Europe. Blame the price of gas or their lack of versatility but when I did see a Harley is was always a Sportster. Unlike their gaudy kin, the Sportser is a paired-down Harley with only enough parts to go and none of the ornate chrome that is synonymous with Milwaukee iron.
The narrowness and minimalism of an air cooled motor is impressive even if the bulky, clumsy transmission makes the bike look fat. Save a wrapped exhaust pipe, clubman bars, steel braided brake lines and a seat this Sportster is stock but it shows how a little styling goes a long way.
The bike has a post-war feel to it and the only thing I disliked about the bike is the excess throttle cable and front brake line as a result of the lowered handlebars. It just looks wonky to have an extra foot of cables looping into the air but then again I'm sleeping in a public park so who am I to judge.
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