Hardley a review...

Got an XR1200 back in March and never really felt like I was certain enough in my opinion to write a review until recently. I always felt like there was going to be another shoe to drop, and that sometime in the near future I was going to be the butt of a very un-funny joke. I've since put close to four thousand miles on the bike and feel like I need to explain my relationship with this chunk of iron and aluminum to the asylum.

To put it simply, this Harley is hardly a motorcycle. More art than machine this mockery is, that's for sure. The steady drip, drip, drip of 50 wt. on the garage floor rings in my head like one of those cymbal banging monkeys. It sits there, a heap of shining, smoking, stinking machinery. It mocks my sensabilities, reminding me every time I look at it that I make bad decisions based on short sighted lusts and a bad case of the "me first's." It reminds me that I'm a schmuck, and an incureable one at that.

The downside is that as soon as I swing a leg over the abnormally low seat (well, at least abnormal to my sport and dirt bike accustomed legs,) it also tends to remind me that I so enjoy riding it. It's everything my sportbikes couldn't be to me. It's comfortable, spacious, and slow enough to make me not feel like I have to set pole at the local Isle of Rockside TT. Yet it also retains the heart of the sportbike. It accelerates fast enough to make any Buell Blast or Kwaker Ninja 500 jealous, easily leaving Ford Fiestas and Honda Civics in it's wake as it adequetely powers away from the intersection. It corners like a Harley possessed, as if the marriage of lightweight swingarm, alloy wheels, upside-down forks, and dual shocks from the 1970's has yielded something all together evil in it's ability to surprise you just how far this Harley will lean, how stable it feels, and how much it's willing to let you push it. It brakes like...well...better than any other Harley I've ever ridden, at least.

But as soon as I get back to the unwelcomeness of the garage, it's harsh florescents washing the sparkle out of it's pretty orange paint, I'm torn back to the fact that I own a Harley. A Harley that lives up to it's reputation. A half an hour later I've finally completed my post-ride work. I've topped the oil off, cleaned the exhaust leak up, tightened all the nuts and bolts that worked loose on the ride, charged the battery, filled the blinker fluid, etcetera etcetera, ad naseaum.

Since the day I first looked at the bike I've been unhappy with the dealer and it's employees, the sales process, the customer service, and the delivery process as a whole. I've seen a line of ants accomplish more in ten minutes than these people got done in weeks. Post delivery my experience got worse. The bike leaks oil, it has since the first ride. The exhaust leaks at those horribly gimmicky and all-around tacky silencers, and four repair jobs have done little to rectify the problem. The battery and charging system has left me stranded twice, far from home, cursing my foolhardiness. Up until June the dealer had put more miles on my bike test-riding it, looking for problems, than I had.

So, a true love/hate relationship exists within me now and I've been brought to a crossroads. Do I keep this archaic design that despite it's obvious flaws still inspires me to crack a smile every time I toss it into the next bend. Or do I toss the bike that inspires me to crack someone's neck everytime I look at it? I guess the answer is still up in the air. Ask me again in six months.

Ian

Well…….you did knowing walk into a H-D dealer when you bought this bike, right? <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o></o>
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The oil leaks and the fact that the dealer isn’t willing to work with someone who doesn’t own one of their cruiser’s shouldn’t surprise you. I’m sure you’ve read how many of the dealers treat Buell customers and your XR1200 is just one step up from a Buell. It has modern suspension on the front and TWO WHOLE discs on the front. It’s alien to them and they could give a shit less especially since you probably don’t ride in every Saturday morning and buy the “doo-rag of the week”.<o></o>
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Oh, and I’m not so sure the EX500 should be so envious of your acceleration. Looking at the interwebs, I’ve seen quarter-mile times for the XR1200 range from 12.5 to 13.4. The original Cycle World test for the 1987 Ninja 500 clocked it at 12.73@102. My guess is that both bikes ridden by professional riders would be neck-to-neck which is a bit sad that a 1987 EX500 with a 700cc deficit will run dead even with the almighty HD XR1200.<o></o>
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Now that I’ve ripped on the bike, I’ve loved the XR1200 since it was originally released in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1lace w:st="on">Europe</st1lace> and hit all the cycle mags and it’s the only HD I’d ever consider owning. However, I’d never buy one new and if I did buy one it wouldn’t be my one and only bike. I’d treat it like a vintage Italian bike and ride it on weekends when I know that my non-riding friends who own pickup trucks are off work and available to give me and the bike a ride home. <o></o>

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone said that.
It's the only Harley I'd ever own as well.
But it's still WAY down the line of bikes I actively seek to purchase.
If it lost 100# and gained 75hp I'd be mildly interested.

Perhaps a silly question but have you tried a different dealer? I've had two warranty issues with my Harleys and both times it has been "Right away sir!" The dealer in Vegas pulled parts off a bike on the floor and rushed us in because they knew we were traveling. Just my .02.

I put 40,000 miles on a 2000 XR1200'S' (if you don't know what the "Sport" model is, look it up).

It vibrated, I lost turn signal lenses, the tail lamp, corroded a ground wire that left me stranded (at my Chiropractor's office), abused it like a Japanese inline 4 and added oil frequently, never got used to a mere 1,500 miles out of the soft compound rear Dunlops, and did it all at no better than 35 mpg (intake, SE ignition, exhaust).

Since the Sporty, I put 60,000 miles on a R1150Ra, 20,000 miles on a Sprint RS, 40,000 miles between two '05 Bonnies, 58,000 on a first generation FZ1, and have but a mere 16,000 on my Bandit 1250.
No bike has left a fonder memory of having more visceral 'fun' than that year and a half I partied on the Sporty.

Sounds like you have a lemon. Modern Harleys don't leak oil. Did you break it in properly? I had an '05 Sportster that was trouble free and virtually maintenance free. There were no vibrated-out bolts. Sorry about your luck on this one.

You gotta love these folks! My HD leaks, its to slow, it shakes, it left me stranded. Sorry but give me a FUCKING BREAK!!! Find yourself a Good Dealership to work with and get it fixed. It's a machine!! And any machine can break. Want to here about my 07RT BMW that smoked the final drive,NO. Sadd thing is my Electra Glide runs great Oh well its a machine!!

You're right. Your response was hardly a question. I'll address it anyway.

My Harley does leak. However, I didn't say it was too slow anywhere in my review. In fact, I commend it on it's lack of balls. It's overall pace tends to make the ride more enjoyable. Rather than feeling like I'm riding my old 636 cheater middleweight which felt like it had to be rev'd to the moon before you were doing anything even vaguely exciting. This machine strums right along at a pace befitting the type of riding I enjoy at the present moment. Also, I didn't say my bike shakes either. I said tightening bolts seems to be a post-requisite to the ride. In fact, my regularly scheduled maintenance book evens mentions torqueing fasteners as a required step, so perhaps it's not only my bike that's loosing it nuts all over the road.

Next, the any machine can break idea. Yep, you're halfway to becoming an employee at my local Harley Davidson dealership. Add a splash of general mechanical knowledge, you know, just enough to get you in trouble, and you're there. I've heard those exact words come out of the mouths of two seperate employees at the dealership, on two seperate occasions. I've continued to go to the same dealership for two reasons. One, I was dumb enough to buy the prepaid maintenance that's only to be done there. This is not their fault, to be clear, I made this choice all on my own and hold myself accountable for it. Two, MO lemon law states that the original selling dealer must be given three chances to make right any problem.

And sure, I'd love to read about all the issues you've had with your BMW final drive. In a thread that you start in the appropriate place, you know, like I did.

Anyway, to be 100% clear about the review since it was apparently somewhat ambiguous. The bottom line here is, I love riding this motorcycle. I just hate owning it.

Ian

Nice writeup, Ian.

When you're done with all that bullshit, you might give St. Joe a try. I've heard good things about them.

But then, I've heard good things about you.

Considered or ridden the Monster 1100?

Very interesting. Somebody has a negative exprience with a HD and we get responses that suggest it was the OWNERS fault. It reminds me of when I had my 98 883 Sporty. It leaked oil, the electrics didn't work, stuff rattled off, etc etc, yet it was my fault. Well I guess it was my fault to a degree, I mean I bought the bloody thing, didn't I?

1. Modern Harleys don't leak oil. You don't have to accept that. If your dealer won't fix, contact HD.

2. Harley dealers live in fear of HD. They get discounts from HD based on good customer service, they lose discounts if they give bad customer service. When I go in for service I get a letter from my dealer that says "you will be getting a survey from HD about your recent service. If you cannot give us an excellent review, call me personally. We will make it right."

My advice is if you are not 100% satisfied, CALL HARLEY!

M

Actually, new Harley's DO leak oil. Mine did, this guys did.

I had a Nightster for 10,000 trouble free miles. No leaks, no electrical failures, no loose bolts. It sounds like your dealer sucks which could go back to a bad setup when they pulled it from the crate and then bad service when it goes back for leaks.

Are you recommending getting it fixed correctly? What would I have to bitch about than?

Ian

At least it floats your boat when you're riding it. That's worth sumpin'

That you still have a Harley!

Hey, a new one should not leak oil.
Now the mechs at the dealership may or may not know what they'r doing, and H-D is not putting the bikes together with as much care as they once did, but it still should not leak.

Oh yeah... my 03 Softail Deuce did leak...once... when I dropped it on a hilly gravel mountain road in Virginia...<G>
Mary

Sorry to hear you're not happy with your bike. Sounds like you need to find a new dealer and take advantage of that two year warranty! Then do a stage 1 upgrade and ride the wheels off it

I bought my '09 Road King in October and am approaching 10,000 miles.
It's been trouble free other than a primary gasket leak, which the dealer promptly fixed. I undid the EPA's damage with a Powercommander V and stage 1 air cleaner. The bike runs much stronger and cooler as a result. Amazing handling for a 700+ pound bike, no problem keeping up with most of my friends on rides.

I'm still mystified as to why you simply didn't buy the standard Roadking, which comes with tubeless tires and hard bags.

1) True.

2) Absolute bullshit.