This may be sound like a borken rekord or something, but I'd love to here from any of Y'all that either have or have had a Yamaha Roadstar 1600/1700, or a Harley of almost any kind. Or had both, or very similar bikes [V-Star, Radiar, Yamaha V- Twins Cruisers]. So I'm saving for a bike by the end of this summer, probably Aughust or so. I don't really know my exact budget. But I reckon it'll be at the least $5K, and possibly, if I get enough work, as high somewhere between $10K and $20K. Not a good estimate, but money ain't quite the only detemination, but a big factor. That aside. I love Harleys, there great bikes. My dad has one, I've put a few miles on it its an 07 Softail Deluxe, and I'm sold on this type of bike. I have a 85 Shadow 700, and even a 150 Scooter. Have ridden his Gixxer 1000, cool bike, too fast and not my style. So, it'll be a bigger Inch V-Twin Cruiser for sure. I was pretty sold on a Harley. But then I found more about the Roadstar, and see them all the time on CL as cheap as $3800, and up to $6K, clean titles, pretty low milage likes usually 20s-30sK, clean and beutiful. My uncle also has 2, and I'll tell Y'all, they sound BADASS! IMHO, they honestly do sound just a little better than most Harleys, they have a deeper, lower, more uneven sound to them. They sound SOOO good, its really like music to my ears, a Roadstar with a Dragpipe! Wow, for a Jap bike, holy shit! There beutuful also. A Big Black and Chrome Roadstar Silverado. What a bike! Harleys look great too. But the thing is. I've never ridden a Roadstar. I understand there Softail, which I like, not quite the same as H-D design but good as far as I know, probably modeled after my top H-D choice Heritage Softail Classic. Performance, I could care less. Torques a plus, they both got good torque. Comfort is a big thing. Now, if I went H-D, my Choice would be a Heritage, but my budget would likely put me on a Sportster. With the Roadstar, you get more bike for your money. With the Harley, you basically pay thousands of Dollars for it to say Harley-Davidson on the tank. So, how to they compare? I's re searchin em. I know the ultimate decision is up to me. BUt I'd like o here some first hand exerence with them. Can you H-D lovers live without tha badge? Thanks in advance.
btcn, Yamaha Raider is counter balanced and a lot of bike for the money. The Road Star is not counter balanced and I don't know if it is rubber mounted or not. The big Yamaha engine is a fine looker. I have owned several Sportsters and the rubber mounts are a fine ride. Much smoother than the solid mounts but a bit heavier. HD has an enormous aftermarket and a little higher resale. Metric bikes have a lower resale, thus making them a bargain when bought used. If you are over 5' 10", the Sportster might cramp you. Call local dealerships to find calender dates for demo rides. Ride them all and make your choice.
A newer dyna model can be had for the budget you mentioned and will ride better than most of the softail models. Are you riding solo or 2 up? The Yamaha's are fine bikes a friend of mine has a royal star with over 100000 miles with no major problems what so ever very reliable.
I just went from a star stratoliner to a fat bob and I couldn't be happier. I've had five Harley's altogether. Strat was great but really was kinda like a Toyota Camry or Honda accord. Going to the Yamaha dealer was a great five minutes. I can spend hours at the Harley dealer.
Thanks for the replies so far. sloryder yea the Sportster may be a little small. I don't know about them, I do think there a little small for me. Tests rides wouldn't hurt thats a good idea. Yea I'll likely be buying used ain't sure yet. But, usually used H-Ds in my budget are 80s-90s. ian03xl do they? Dynas are nice. But thought there a little small. But not sure. I'll be riding for now solo pretty much most of the time. Most in my area used right now are in the $6-9K range for 90s models. Not bad thats an idea. I'll look into Dynas too. Tilter thats one thing is, its a Harley! Thats what I'm thinking. I love H-Ds. Just trying to think if I could care much if I go with H-D or not. Also, I didn't meantion one thing. My riding style and what kinda riding I do. Pretty much all my ridings long distance, touring. At an easy pace, enjoying the ride. Almost everyweekend I ride. I do about 200-300 mile days on my weekend Cruises. In the last 2 Months, I've put on about 6-7K miles on my 85 Shadow 700. These are ALL non Freeway, daylight riding BTW, as I'm on a permit but when I'll have my Full License. Imagine the milage! With night and Freeway. I'll be doing Sturgis this summer, and lots of other week+ long trips and always weekend rides. So comfort is a plus. Low highway RPMs appreciated, one thing I love about Cruisers.
Yes they do for the most part, I've ridden a duece, heritage, deluxe,and a crossbones the crossbones was the only one that rode as good and maybe a little better than my dyna, but it also has a spring seat which contributes greatly to the ride quality. As for the size the softails are a little better for 2 up due to a bit more room in the passenger saddle, but the dyna is excellent for solo riding and even touring. The best thing to do is test ride everything that you can most harley dealers will let you take any bike out for a spin, I've yet to come across a yamaha dealer that will allow a test ride without first purchasing the bike.
20 yrs ago I had an FXR-S Conv, put 50k on it with no trouble - loved that bike. Took me all over the west and up into Canada. Few years ago I had a Roadliner, and it was excellent. Tons of motor, brakes, great handling chassis - and not a plastic piece on the bike. Lots of character. If I was shopping metric cruisers, hands down it would be the Stratoliner or Roadliner. Tough to go wrong either way either way though, could boil down to the deal you run into when you have your shoebox full of money ready to spend. in two-up touring mode 99% of the time it looked like this
You might not want to count out Victory. 15k for a new loaded cross country. I test road one and it is really an incredible ride. I also like the cross roads for 13k. But The Harley makes a good bike, I just don't like the way the tank sits below my knees, Suzuki is the same way. Go and sit on them all, then ask for test rides, then pick the one that fits YOU best. You are paying for it, YOU will be riding it, doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.
Back in 2003 I was going through the same thing. Harley prices were pretty inflated at the time, but deep down that is what I wanted. I can't explain why, I just did. The thing was, the Harley I really wanted at the time was the Road King and I couldn't find one in my price range that wasn't in pretty bad shape. I had pretty much resigned myself into getting either a Sportster or a metric bike. For the money of the Sportster I could get a much bigger metric cruiser. Then I ran across my Super Glide Sport (a Dyna). It was only three years old and had been lovingly maintained. It was at the top of my budget (a bit over actually) but I bought it anyway. Now, nine years later I still have it and still ride it, although not as much as my Buell now. As far as your situation goes, I say get the bike that excites you the most. None of the cruisers are particularly fast or sporty, so I wouldn't worry about a horsepower or two different. None of them handle like a sport bike either, so I wouldn't really buy on handling. Buy on emotion. What makes you feel good. With the aftermarket out there, you can fix a lot of shortcomings any bike may have. I have changed seats, handlebars, and windshields on my bike over the years, but I have it pretty much dialed in for me now. It is not as comfortable as a touring bike and doesn't handle like a sports bike. It really is pretty much a good looking standard. I have done a couple of Iron Butt rides on it and ridden it on numerous trips. I have about 50,000 miles on it now and it has been very reliable.
Bang for the buck I think it would be hard to beat an import cruiser, but theres more than meets the eye or words said about a bike that wears the Harley Davidson badge. IMHO I'm just talking about the world of cruisers
I Have had 3 Harleys, an Indian, and a V-Star 650. The only comparable bike to the V-Star would be the 883 Sportster. The V-Star was better than the Sportster in every way except how the engine delivered it's power. IMO, at the lower end of the spectrum of smaller inexpensive bikes, the metrics are better in function, quality, and value. At the top of the line with the big expensive bikes, then Harley offers better quality and value, function being a wash.
ian03xl yea test rides is a good idea. H-D dealers seem to be pretty cool about it, in my area the H-D Dealer is great. Blakebird I agree. They looks real nice. Thats a nice bike! Yea the deal and such is a big part of it. See red hmm, I never even thought about a victory. Those prices don't sound too bad! I'll have to check them out! I've herd of them before, they look pretty cool, a bit different. But thats not out of the question. DynaSport honestly, you sound a lot like me. Thats exactly what I'm thinking. Yea I keep thinking maybe I'll get enough, don't know, then I know I'll have $5K or so, could get a Sportster, but then again you get MUCH more of a bike from metric for Sportster prices. Yea I'm starting to think I kind of want a Harley deep down, but just ain't sure if a Yamaha wouldn't be ok. I mean damn, there really nice! And not THAT different. But then I think its still not a Harley! Yea I don't care about performance at all, as long as it can cruise at 70-75 MPH all day, have enough power to get up to speed ok, and a little torquey feel, thats just fine for me, and all bigger Cruisers meet this. Handling, well twistys aren't really my thing. But I got a 230 pound 150 or that, if I feel like taking some fast corners. Dynas aren't bad, actually I kind of like them. Just wasnt sure if they was big enough to be comfortable touring. Well, I'm sure there fine, I do it on my 700 Shadow just fine. With a winchsheield, bags, your shit tied to the passenger seat, and hwy pegs most any bike is ok for touring I reckon. EricD10563 yea thats well said. Best Bang for your bucks definitly a Jap Cruiser. But, its still not a Harley Davidson unless it is a Harley! windmill thats about what I think it is. Yea Sportys are nice, but seem a little small and I don't know about vibrations and all that. Some say its ok some can't deal with it over 65. I think a test rides good to find that. I'm kind of leaning towards a Harley, I mean I's always wanted one since I was young. But, a Yamaha still ain't out of the question! I mean for $3,800, its HARD to choose! I mean I'll think H-D all the way, but on CL, a Roadstar like that at $3,800-$4,000, when from H-D a Sportsters all you get at that, and a nice Dyna even runs around $7K+. But I'll think some test rides, and research, and seing whats better for mes the way to go. But I like hearing from some of Y'all that have experence with either or both. Helps I appreciate it, keep it goin if anyone has ideas. And I'm not in a big hurry, have till like the end of the summer. So I'll know I has the right time to make a good decision.
New the prices aren't that different but used harleys are lots more. There is a reason for that. Ya can pick up a used non-harley pretty cheap and they ride pretty good with low mait. But, for me, and most cruiser riders, Harley really has the whole cruiser thing down. Every one else keeps trying to catch-up/copy them without success imho. If ya want a cruiser, Harley is the real thing! Amazing how many metric cruiser riders I see wearing harley shirts and bragging about their non-harley.
BTCN, get a Harley, save as long as it takes, its what you really want in your heart. You may score a loaded out Roadstar and you can enjoy it but deep down it won't satisfy you. How do I know? because I am going through the same decision process right now. I will rent an electra, streetglide, etc. just to make sure I like it and then if so I will have to settle for a higher mileage 99-03 bike. I can score a buddies star 1300 tourer for sportster price, but I know that is just a temporary fix. Good luck.
Ditto to the above. As one who has been there, done that....scratch the Harley itch and don't waste time and money on the metric clone. Once out of your system you can then proceed to a GS!
If you'd even consider a Road Star over a Harley then you don't know much about motorcycles in my opinion. I certainly don't know everything but don't think your Harley material. Thats not all bad.
Let's keep this discussion civil and avoid the not-so-subtle jabs.. or yet another HD related thread will end up in the dustbin of threads; Head Explody.
The finish, particularly the paint, on recent HDs is as good as I've ever seen. That said, until you get down to a specific model or two, all you'll get here is conjecture. Some Star and HD products do certain things better than others. I don't know that there is a wrong answer.