Stuff to irk you.

[kraven]

I don't know why anyone gives a crap about what a bike salesman says, in terms of bike quality or whatever.
In 2012 if you can't do your own homework and arrive at a choice, then you deserve to have your head filled with the above misinformation. Use the Google machine. Use Duckduckgo. Use ADVrider.

The only thing that the sales guy should be consulted on is "what's the out the door price?" That's it.

[Bueller]

You should have avoided listening to his words and instead listened to his message, which quite simply was:

"Regardless of which motorcycle you choose to buy, you don't want to buy it from me. Our business relationship is built on falsehoods from the ground up".

Bashing the competition with lies and baseless claims (I love the claims about mirror distortion) thinly represented as "fact" doesn't sell bikes. Getting someone excited is what sells bikes. Function, image, sound, look, feel, emotion. Different buyers place different priority levels on each of these items, but if you appeal to the majority of the buyer's list you sell the bike. Conversely lies, misrepresentations, and statements claimed as fact that can easily be dispelled with a simple google search on serve to make the salesman look like a fool and lose credibility.

Buy somewhere else.

[Badge320]

"Indiana"...mention that particular Ducati work of art if you happen to stop by that dealership again.....

[single]

I do have to say it is fairly annoying how the only motorcycle companies in America which actually care about technology are producing electric bikes (Zero, Brammo). I would love to buy an American made sport motorcycle. I don't care about air cooled twins. That leaves me exactly zero options (well, I guess there is that one Buell).

[DannyZRC]

Originally Posted by single

I do have to say it is fairly annoying how the only motorcycle companies in America which actually care about technology are producing electric bikes (Zero, Brammo). I would love to buy an American made sport motorcycle. I don't care about air cooled twins. That leaves me exactly zero options (well, I guess there is that one Buell).

http://www.erikbuellracing.com/

They're getting ready to announce some stuff, building up a dealer network etc.

[McJamie]

I am by no means a cruiser guy, but there are lots places where a Harley would make WAY more sense than a Ducati. The U.S has plenty of places like that, Canada too.
A number of my instructor friends ride Harleys that seem to go, turn and stop just fine. They would probably have your new Ducati friend scratching his head, looking at his bike trying to figure out which one of spark plug wires just came off.
I have found veery, very few people who spout off about how superior a bike or brand is, can actually back it up when the rubber hits the road.

[ka5ysy]

Duc's are nice. Kind of like a high-maintenance girlfriend. Fun, but very, very expensive to maintain, and you probably don't want to marry one.

[ssmschulz]

I had a sales guy at my local bike shop tell me. "buying a motorcycle is an emotional purchase, rational has nothing to do with it, buy what gets you going.". Let's just say he gets all my business.

[mrbreeze]

Originally Posted by Bueller

You should have avoided listening to his words and instead listened to his message, which quite simply was:

"Regardless of which motorcycle you choose to buy, you don't want to buy it from me. Our business relationship is built on falsehoods from the ground up".

Bashing the competition with lies and baseless claims (I love the claims about mirror distortion) thinly represented as "fact" doesn't sell bikes. Getting someone excited is what sells bikes. Function, image, sound, look, feel, emotion. Different buyers place different priority levels on each of these items, but if you appeal to the majority of the buyer's list you sell the bike. Conversely lies, misrepresentations, and statements claimed as fact that can easily be dispelled with a simple google search on serve to make the salesman look like a fool and lose credibility.

Buy somewhere else.

good advice!

[Taelan28]

The real sales guy who he referred me to to show me the bikes was more down to earth. His english was non existent but if i asked him a straight question he would answer plainly. Asians are very superficial and seem to be bigger status mongers than the rest of humanity. The original guy i was taliing to probably got that way as a means of selling bikes to korean people who wanted flash and status. I want flash and status too but i proritize it behind safety and economics.

Paying for anything expensive is an emotional experience. I did hours and hours of research before i bought am Nex 5n camera and i couldnt be happier. I did weeks of research on waterskis and water skiing locations in korea before i sink 3000 into it fpr the summer. Wish i had the money back but if i didnt do it my summer would have been boring.

[sargev55]

Originally Posted by single

I do have to say it is fairly annoying how the only motorcycle companies in America which actually care about technology are producing electric bikes (Zero, Brammo). I would love to buy an American made sport motorcycle. I don't care about air cooled twins. That leaves me exactly zero options (well, I guess there is that one Buell).

there are a lot of american companies that care about technology.

except, and fortunately,

the majority of the motorcycle crowd (in the US, and worldwide,) does not, and probably will not ever give a real crap about electric bikes.

cause, you know, us motorcycle/automotive/gearheads...we tend to like stuff like pushrods, desmo-dromic valvetrains, pistons, flat plane and cross plane cranks, gasoline, exhaust sounds, shifting, etc.

[scrannel]

Originally Posted by Taelan28

Asians are very superficial and seem to be bigger status mongers than the rest of humanity. The original guy i was taliing to probably got that way as a means of selling bikes to korean people who wanted flash and status.

Well... I was going to say this right from the start but didn't want to be accused of being a racist asshole. About half my friends are Koreans and they joke about this super-posing all the time. Sometimes when we sit down to dinner one or two will get into a mock argument about who knows more about everything on (and off) the menu. Actually, I think Koreans are very Italian in their sensibilities. Which is to say, very artistic. Korean cinema is among the best in the world. I can't wait for them to start making motorcycles.

[mrbreeze]

well I have said it before and I will say it again - it seems to me the more you know about motorcycles, the less likely you are to ride a Harley. I am throwing a bit of mud on myself by saying that, as I am now riding a metric cruiser, or as some would call it, a "Harley wanna be".

I have several friends who ride Harleys, we all met the other night. We were talking about taking a road trip this coming June. Two of them came to me later to talk privately, because they have less than 2 yrs experience and have never been on a long ride. They were concerned about what they would need to be prepared for. We were outside, and I was wearing my Mobile Warming vest. One of the ladies asked me if I was cold "just wearing a vest". I told her it was a heated vest. She obviously had no idea what I was talking about...

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

well I have said it before and I will say it again - it seems to me the more you know about motorcycles, the less likely you are to ride a Harley..

The more you know about Harley-Davidsons the more likey you are to own one.

Let the dead dog lie. 25 year old jokes are

[zataomm]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

I have several friends who ride Harleys, we all met the other night. We were talking about taking a road trip this coming June. Two of them came to me later to talk privately, because they have less than 2 yrs experience and have never been on a long ride. They were concerned about what they would need to be prepared for. We were outside, and I was wearing my Mobile Warming vest. One of the ladies asked me if I was cold "just wearing a vest". I told her it was a heated vest. She obviously had no idea what I was talking about...

Thank you for this irrefutable evidence that Harley owners don't actually know anything about motorcycles.

I've been riding for about 40 years and have owned at least one of every Japanese brand (3 Yamahas, 3 Hondas, 1 Kawasaki and 1 Suzuki), several Triumphs (8), two BMWs and now have my first Harley, an XL1200R. I think I know a little bit about motorcycles. I got the Sportster because A.) I'd never owned a Harley and wanted to see if the modern ones are as good as everyone has been saying they are and B.) I wanted a bike with lots of local support and easy to get parts. So far the Harley has been by far the most trouble-free bike I have ever owned and a lot of fun to ride. It's a modern vintage classic.

The fact that you can find idiots on any brand of motorcycle proves nothing.