Why buy a Harley

[p0diabl0]

Originally Posted by hexnut

Yeah, all the bikes he claims to have owned and all the miles he claims to have put on them, he would have to be riding 24/7.

I think we're pretty sure by now that he's older than dirt since he keeps saying standard bikes have such uncomfortable rearset pegs

[ukiboy]

Why buy a Harley? I have to say that i'm not sure why.. I bought a brand new Sportster last month, and while it has some qualities that I like, it has many that I dont.
Put simply, a Jap bike, or BMW or Triumph etc, is ready to ride straight out the crate.My Sportster wasn't; suspension upgrades needed to be done, stage 1 tune etc just to get it to perform at the same level as a rice burner..
Harley's (at least in the UK) are seriously expensive and having to spend more cash on them to get them to a decent level of rideability is not on.
They look good, sound nice and appeal to the non biking public but I can't help thinking that HD's marketing dept is where most of the budget is spent..
Take a R1200RT, ST1300, FJR1300, Triumph 1050GT etc out for a long test ride and then take out a Harley for a spin and judge them objectively as motorcycles and see what conclusion you come up with..

[eatpasta]

Originally Posted by ukiboy

Take a R1200RT, ST1300, FJR1300, Triumph 1050GT etc out for a long test ride and then take out a Harley for a spin and judge them objectively as motorcycles and see what conclusion you come up with..

the only thing I could come up with after two Harley test rides was that Harley owners never go around corners with much momentum. I dragged the pegs leaving the parking lot....

....oh and welcome to the nuthouse

[EricD10563]

Originally Posted by ukiboy

Why buy a Harley? I have to say that i'm not sure why.. I bought a brand new Sportster last month, and while it has some qualities that I like, it has many that I dont.
Put simply, a Jap bike, or BMW or Triumph etc, is ready to ride straight out the crate.My Sportster wasn't; suspension upgrades needed to be done, stage 1 tune etc just to get it to perform at the same level as a rice burner..
Harley's (at least in the UK) are seriously expensive and having to spend more cash on them to get them to a decent level of rideability is not on.
They look good, sound nice and appeal to the non biking public but I can't help thinking that HD's marketing dept is where most of the budget is spent..
Take a R1200RT, ST1300, FJR1300, Triumph 1050GT etc out for a long test ride and then take out a Harley for a spin and judge them objectively as motorcycles and see what conclusion you come up with..

They do have a good marketing department department, got you to buy one didn't they?

[UnsureFooting]

Originally Posted by ukiboy

Why buy a Harley? I have to say that i'm not sure why.. I bought a brand new Sportster last month, and while it has some qualities that I like, it has many that I dont.
Put simply, a Jap bike, or BMW or Triumph etc, is ready to ride straight out the crate.My Sportster wasn't; suspension upgrades needed to be done, stage 1 tune etc just to get it to perform at the same level as a rice burner..
Harley's (at least in the UK) are seriously expensive and having to spend more cash on them to get them to a decent level of rideability is not on.
They look good, sound nice and appeal to the non biking public but I can't help thinking that HD's marketing dept is where most of the budget is spent..
Take a R1200RT, ST1300, FJR1300, Triumph 1050GT etc out for a long test ride and then take out a Harley for a spin and judge them objectively as motorcycles and see what conclusion you come up with..

I owned a 2007 Sportster for four years and never upgraded squat. Best bike ever. I still miss it. If it's not ready for YOU right out of the box, that's one thing, but it's not an objective observation.

Originally Posted by eatpasta

the only thing I could come up with after two Harley test rides was that Harley owners never go around corners with much momentum. I dragged the pegs leaving the parking lot....

....oh and welcome to the nuthouse

You just have to learn to ride it. Going quick around a corner is not about lean angle, it's about where your center of gravity is. Riding one bike is not the same as riding another. Harley's and other cruisers require a different style to hustle them around corners... a more... active style, we'll say.

[Rinty]

I only own one bike, a sport tourer, and don't wan't any more bikes, but if I did, the next one would be a cruiser and one would be a vintage bike.

The cruiser would be a SuperGlide Sport. I once rented a Harley Low Rider for a trip, and it was a lot of fun.

[ukiboy]

Well, I weigh 185 lbs and as stock the bike's suspension bottomed out front and rear. That was on normal roads, riding in a normal way.. And the fact that hardly any Harley remains totally stock speaks volumes about the shortcomings.

Most jap, German, Italian or Brit bikes remain in the same condition as when they left the factory; most Harley's don't. That's just a fact.. As totally standard they can't compete with the competition.

[ukiboy]

Originally Posted by EricD10563

They do have a good marketing department department, got you to buy one didn't they?

Yeah, their marketing dept is second to none! I always fancied a Harley and last month I made my dream a reality. Happy enough with my sporty but unlike many hog owners I'm not blind to the harsh realities ;-)

[UnsureFooting]

Originally Posted by ukiboy

Well, I weigh 185 lbs and as stock the bike's suspension bottomed out front and rear. That was on normal roads, riding in a normal way.. And the fact that hardly any Harley remains totally stock speaks volumes about the shortcomings.

Most jap, German, Italian or Brit bikes remain in the same condition as when they left the factory; most Harley's don't. That's just a fact.. As totally standard they can't compete with the competition.

I weighed 215 when I had that sporty, once I set the preload on the rear right, it almost never bottomed out.

The fact that most harleys don't stay stock speaks more to people wanting a bike set up exactly the way they want it. People don't buy a harley for blistering performance. They buy it for intangible reasons that only Harley fans get. To buy one and then complain about buying upgrades is a bit crazy.

[the kawasaki kid]

Originally Posted by UnsureFooting

I owned a 2007 Sportster for four years and never upgraded squat. Best bike ever. I still miss it. If it's not ready for YOU right out of the box, that's one thing, but it's not an objective observation.






You just have to learn to ride it. Going quick around a corner is not about lean angle, it's about where your center of gravity is. Riding one bike is not the same as riding another. Harley's and other cruisers require a different style to hustle them around corners... a more... active style, we'll say.

+1 my '08 1200C sporty was phenomenal right out of the box. Never modded it and never felt the need to. Mine loved zipping through twisties, but they're not crotch rockets and I was well aware of that when I bought it. I regret selling mine almost daily.

[Rinty]

Originally Posted by ukiboy

Most ... German ... bikes remain in the same condition as when they left the factory; most Harley's don't. That's just a fact.. As totally standard they can't compete with the competition.

Like, uh, BMWs?

[UnsureFooting]

Originally Posted by the kawasaki kid

+1 my '08 1200C sporty was phenomenal right out of the box. Never modded it and never felt the need to. Mine loved zipping through twisties, but they're not crotch rockets and I was well aware of that when I bought it. I regret selling mine almost daily.

After I sold mine I got Kawi C10. Found out it wasn't my flavor. I wanted to get another harley, but I couldn't afford one (2 kids and stuff) so I settled for a Shadow Sabre. Bags, boards, the whole deal. It actually fits me similar to my step-dad's roadking.

I'll get another... someday.

[SnappNBrrap]

dont, i would buy a Victory instead.

i dislike hogs but:

-they get really good mileage (not really sure how)
-they can be really pretty
-they are actually kind of reliable if you dont change a bunch of shit
-RESALE value

and the negatives (the ones that are factual)

-heavy
-not too great in the braking dept.
-people will hate you just because you ride a "murdersickle"
-you will be forced to buy tons of Harley shit or somebody will murder your dog
-they vibrate like crazy, just look at anybody sitting on a hog at a redlight
-they're expensive especially if you buy new, but i wouldnt trust a used harley so...

[royal]

I've been watching this thread with some interest as I was kind of in the same boat this time last year. After owning various "Sport touring bikes" such as BMW RT1200, Honda ST1300, Kawasaki C-14, I felt I wanted to change things up a bit.

So, I bought a 2012 Electra Glide Classic. And I have to admit that this bike has put the fun back in motorcycling for me. I just can't help but smile every time I ride it. Now, to be honest, I ride it differently than I rode my previous bikes. I'm more relaxed, more into my surroundings, and just plain more comfortable. And just as importantly, as another poster mentioned in a previous thread, if you have a bike that when you park it and start walking away, you turn just to look at it again, then you have the right bike. With this one, I always look back. Never did with my previous bikes.

Harley isn't Honda, BMW, Kawasaki or Yamaha, but they aren't trying to be and I'm sure don't want to be. Maybe Harley is for you and maybe they aren't. But for me and what I want out of motorcycling at the moment, it sure fits my bill. And for reference, my bike is totally stock, I'm 51, 225 lbs. and 5' 11".

[Mountain Cruiser]

The Japs make disposable bikes. Harleys have parts support to run forever....




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