Bought a Harley - why, why, why!!!

[g_e_young]

Originally Posted by wannabe1

bueller, very well stated.

+1

[g_e_young]

Originally Posted by tri650

Friend asks, "So you bought a Harley".
I reply, "Yes I did".
Friend says, "So how do you like it?".
I reply, "Well, the suspension sucks, brakes are bad, low on power and it's really uncomfortable. And one more thing, It's leaking oil. But, other than that I love it".
Friend says, "Awesome" - thinks to himself, "What a dumbass"

For some inexplicable reason I went from sport touring bikes, sport bikes, adventure bikes to a Harley. Found an 02 Road King in great shape and low miles and felt the need to do something different. I started with Harley's back in the early 90's and then graduated to real bikes. Way too many posers and the whole cult thing was too wacky for me so I had no problem leaving the Motor Company behind in the 90's. More about dressing up pretty than riding.

Did a 500 mile road trip over the weekend through some of the finer roads in Missouri - 19, 8, etc., with lots of twisties. Lugging this pig around a turn is a major ordeal - heavy, slow to respond, bouncing and wallowing all over the place. I was worn out by the end of the day. Way too much work. These things go in a straight line - period.

After 3 weeks of ownership wanting to get rid of this thing and back on a sport touring bike. Will probably take a hit but really don't care at this point. Need to find a nice Sprint GT or another VFR.

If you are seriously looking at a Road King disregard everything I just said above and buy mine. Great deal - and I'll even throw in a quart of oil for when you need to replenish on the road.

Check your tire pressure and shocks. Something aint right. g-

[vernon dent]

my new anti-harley harley.

[oldhippie1]

The only people that bad mouth Harleys are the people that haven't ridden a new one. They are the only motorcycles left that actually look like a motorcycle instead of a plastic space ship!

[Zippydapanhead]

Originally Posted by tri650

Friend asks, "So you bought a Harley".
I reply, "Yes I did".
Friend says, "So how do you like it?".
I reply, "Well, the suspension sucks, brakes are bad, low on power and it's really uncomfortable. And one more thing, It's leaking oil. But, other than that I love it".
Friend says, "Awesome".

Friend decides, "One day, I'm going to get a Harley, too." Go figure.

[EetsOK]

Originally Posted by oldhippie1

The only people that bad mouth Harleys are the people that haven't ridden a new one. They are the only motorcycles left that actually look like a motorcycle instead of a plastic space ship!

Well no, some people just don't like bikes that weigh in at 700+lbs and make sub 70 hp out of the box.
It's like saying the only people who hate sport bikes are th eones who haven't ridden one.

[EetsOK]

Originally Posted by SimpleSimon

I hate mindless Harley bashing. Harley make nice bikes....just too damn expensive for my budget.

Bikes are like shoes. Different ones for different activities.

Who's "bashing"? He bought a bike and doesn't like it. He still lives in a free country, doesn't he? He is still entitled to an opinion, is he not?
I hate mindless cries of "bashing".
BTW just WTF is "bashing" anyways? I see the term thrown around by people as a concept they can't define.

[EetsOK]

Originally Posted by axis power

my new anti-harley harley.

I loved the Street Rod. Shame they wouldn't let me have an extended unsupervised ride. I promised to bring most of the bike back too.
AND I don't care what ANYBODY says: THAT is a FUCKING Harley Davidson!

[iBiker]

I bought a Harley-Davidson Sportster by complete chance 2 riding seasons ago. I have owned Jap bikes in the past and was looking for a bike when this one came along. The only Harley I ever sat on before was a late 70's Electra-Glide of my uncle who was a 1%'r. Not a poser, not a pirate, just a biker thru and thru. Now his brand new Electra-Glide was a piece of shit and all you had to do is ask him. He bitched about that thing all the time, but he never stopped riding it until cancer took his life away. AMF was the worst thing that ever happened to H-D as the quality reputation continues to suffer some 30 years later.

My Sportster, considered a starter-Harely by many who wear leather and black t-shirts, has been fun for me and I enjoy the biker friendly community it has and laugh at those who go to great lengths to present themselves as a 1%'r. I guess I am just one of those dumbasses who enjoys the subculture of H-D and I wear a black t-shirt on most occasions.

I am so looking forward to getting a dual sport this spring so I can sling mud and get dirty. I can also ride in the rain without having spend countless hours of polishing chrome bright enough to shave with if necessary. It would be nice for a simple trip to the car wash vs meticulous cleaning the H-D requires.

I most relish the fact that when I place them beside one another in the garage, I can listen to them call each other a "bitch" and/or a "pussy" as they fight.

I have a Suzuki 4 wheeler in the garage near my Harley but they don't fight that I know of. The Harley usually compliments the Suzuki for her "wide ass "and "snow plowing" abilities despite the weather outside. The Suzuki appreciates the chrome on the Harley so she can look at herself without having to take a trip down to the river.

My son has a Suzuki DR125 that is often ridiculed for not being able to see after dark. It doesn't talk much but has on occasion miffed the Harley when he couldn't come out and play in the snow.

They all get along and they serve their purposes for now. I suppose they will welcome the dual sport whenever he or she arrives to appease my dirty side of life.

At the end of day, who the fuck cares what you ride or what you prefer!!!!????? As long on as you are on two wheels (maybe three) life is good while enjoying that celestial plane!

[gymply]

Originally Posted by iBiker

AMF was the worst thing that ever happened to H-D as the quality reputation continues to suffer some 30 years later.

It would be nice for a simple trip to the car wash vs meticulous cleaning the H-D requires.

AMF's infusion of cash (and the tarriff on 651cc and larger bikes) is what saved HD from bankruptcy. True, there were many quality problems created by AMF bean counters and employee attitudes towards the new management. Ultimately, AMF bankrolled most of the Evolution engine development, which was the defining factor in Harley's comeback after the employee buyout from AMF. IMHO, the worst thing that happened to HD was killing Buell. Never owned one but the Lightning was on my short list of future bikes.

...And believe it or not, your Sportster will run fine when dirty.

[Jim K.]

Originally Posted by Bueller

Just like there used to be a whole bunch of very loyal buyers of Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs, and most Chrysler products, no amount of marketing could save any of those brands from bankruptcy or dismemberment when they built vehicles that didn't excite their customers. .

The customers of those brands continued to be excited by them, right up to the day they were laid to eternal rest. They never wavered in their devotion. The brands mentioned never wavered in the sort of vehicle they built. Unfortunately, they never attracted any new, younger, adherents. When the old customers passed on, so did the brands.

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by Jim K.

The customers of those brands continued to be excited by them, right up to the day they were laid to eternal rest. They never wavered in their devotion. The brands mentioned never wavered in the sort of vehicle they built. Unfortunately, they never attracted any new, younger, adherents. When the old customers passed on, so did the brands.

Apparently you don't know a heck of a lot about Oldsmobile. Not only did I used to work for them, I have a very good friend who was a large Olds dealer. His Dad started the dealership and between the two of them they had the franchise almost 40 years, owning it to the day GM cashed them out. All GM did when they killed the brand was take a brain dead patient off of life support. The products were absolutely boring and uninspiring, and many lifelong customers abandoned the brand for other GM brands during the last decade of Olds's existence.

As for Chrysler - Challenger and one or two other models in the last decade aside please tell me what they've made throughout the last two buyouts and financial collapse that's exciting. Keep in mind I say this as a 5 time repeat purchaser of Jeep Wranglers, my latest being an '09 Rubicon. Chrysler's offerings are about 3% fun and engaging, and 97% boring, suckass, nauseating vehicles that are mostly sub-standard in quality compared to Ford and GM. Chrysler's been going out of business since the '70's for a variety of reasons, but the last decade of vehicles has been pretty damn lacking.

[P 0 P E Y E]

A fine choice. Harley makes an awesome machine. Top of the genre. It is what is is.

I ride mine almost every day to get to work. 50k miles of bliss.

It's a cadillac. Plush and cushy. No wheel hop, no head shake....Absorbing the road as the machine becomes an extension of my body

Another reason to ride it is I don't feel like I have to deal with the urge to drift, wheelie or stopie on it. I simply ride it.

I can't contain myself on my other bikes...always looking for the limit of adhesion and traction.

The dew rag, leather chaps and look at me 195 db exhaust system are a personal choice I have steered clear of. I use my fox racing helmet and textile enduro gear as I wave at all other forms of two wheeled comrads....just ride.

[iBiker]

Originally Posted by gymply

AMF's infusion of cash (and the tarriff on 651cc and larger bikes) is what saved HD from bankruptcy. True, there were many quality problems created by AMF bean counters and employee attitudes towards the new management. Ultimately, AMF bankrolled most of the Evolution engine development, which was the defining factor in Harley's comeback after the employee buyout from AMF. IMHO, the worst thing that happened to HD was killing Buell. Never owned one but the Lightning was on my short list of future bikes.

...And believe it or not, your Sportster will run fine when dirty.

Yeah it runs fine dirty but gets better MPG when clean.

As for AMF, they were brilliant at outsourcing components and centralizing them into a.manufacturing process. Unfortunately. They had minimal quality standards and less oversight which equaled JUNK. Their marriage did save them financially but as i said before, it still haunts them today.

[scapegoat]

Originally Posted by nskitts

A newer Harley leaking oil is not common, that issue was pretty much solved in the mid-eighties and now only exists in perpetual bashing threads.

What he said, Shovelheads stopped coming off the assembly line long ago.