Harley Davidson or Not

[cmras24]

Who rides and what do ride or prefer to ride.

[Maysville194]

I've got a Honda 1300 VTX that is more comfortable, more powerful, and better looking than a Harley Davidson. All at less than half the cost.

[acreature]

I had a 96 Kawasaki Vulcan - Looks as good, but didn't leak the oil :D

[Phre4k]

My dad rides a harley he loves it. I think he is wasting gas when he revs it, but then again those things get great mpg

[Cat_Doc]

Mine is a 2005 Yamaha Road Star Midnight Silverado, 1700cc. More bike for less money than a Harley.

I will ride with the Harley guys, but I have to be up front so I don't get hit with the stuff vibrating and falling off their bikes. LMAO

[retdetsgt]

I used to have a 1967 in the early 70's. It was before AMC took them over and ruined them. Frankly, I wasn't that choked up about it. It was rough riding, vibrated like hell at normal highway speed and just killed you after a while.

Our city bikes are Kawaski's. Periodically, they try different makes of bikes and Harley always ends up at the bottom of the list when they poll the guys afterwards. They may be fun to ride occasionally, but spending all day on one is a horse of a different color, I guess.

[Cat_Doc]

Periodically, they try different makes of bikes and Harley always ends up at the bottom of the list when they poll the guys afterwards.

Exactly!

I never enter anything lightly (after getting burned a few times in my younger years) and I really did some checking on the plus and minus factor of the "cruiser" size bikes before I purchased mine.

The Harley-Davidson thing is really nothing more than name, a clique if you may.

The truth of the matter is when doing overall comparisons, the "rice burners" come out ahead.

Since I tend to be more into logic than feeling I have to belong to a clique, I went with the Road Star.

Have no regrets. Especially after taking a road trip with about sixteen other bikes, predominately Harley's and watching the mechanical problems that arose with the "American" bikes. :D

[bobcoop06]

I have a '98 Yamaha Zuma!

...yes it's a moped. Seriously, those things are so fun to mess around with! When I first got it, I thought it was cool until people started making fun of me! But now we just use for screwing around with, last summer we took it out to my cousins farm about every weekend to put it on the trails. With those big tires and hardcore suspension , it does pretty good but still doesn't jump like a dirt bike...

[Johninaustin]

BMW all the way. If I wanted a project bike, I'd get another old Moto Guzzi:D

[Samuel]

I have a '98 Yamaha Zuma!

...yes it's a moped. Seriously, those things are so fun to mess around with! When I first got it, I thought it was cool until people started making fun of me! But now we just use for screwing around with, last summer we took it out to my cousins farm about every weekend to put it on the trails. With those big tires and hardcore suspension , it does pretty good but still doesn't jump like a dirt bike...

Lookie here: http://www.uponone.com/videos.php?id=2836

Bob and his hoodlum friends made a video! :D

[Kate]

I'm not too fond of donor --errr, motorcycles. A week in the hospital with a broken pelvic bone, a dislocated shoulder, road rash, three months on crutches and physical therapy tend to change a person's mind about getting on a bike again -- at least for me it did.. And there there's having to have my favorite jeans cut off of me because my left leg swelled so friggin bad that they couldn't slide them down. :eek:

But I do admire Harley's. They're definitely nice to look at.

[retdetsgt]

I'm not too fond of donor --errr, motorcycles. A week in the hospital with a broken pelvic bone, a dislocated shoulder, road rash, three months on crutches and physical therapy tend to change a person's mind about getting on a bike again -- at least for me it did..

Which is exactly why I don't have one anymore. When I was real young, I had a Triumph Bonneville, wrecked it. The Harley, wrecked it. Didn't get any serious injuries, but was convinced that God was telling me to stay the hell off!

In fact, once I put in for police bikes. I put my application in the Sgts' box and went out to start my shift. As soon as my car started, a M/C Sgt got on the air screaming that he had just got t-boned in an intersection and needed a code 3 ambulance. I shut off my car, went back in the precinct and tore up the application. God acts in mysterious ways sometimes..... :eek:

[Kate]

I was passenger on the bike. My brother's friend had a huge crush on me and asked if he could take me for a ride on his bike one day. I had him pick me up at work the next day and wish I never had. The idiot hit the *** end of a station wagon and we went down. It happened right in front of an Urgent Care when I was living in NC.

I thanked God a million times over that night for sparing my life, for He was right there for me.

[Odin]

I have a 2003 FLHTi (Electra Glide EFI). It's a full dresser, with fairing/windshield and hard saddle bags. I traded a 2002 FXST (Softail) for this bike and don't regret it. It lacks the cool looks of a "chopper" but it's comfortable for one or two people (air shocks and cushy seat), and I can haul enough gear to go for a week.

I've ridden them all (import and American) and none of the big bikes even came close to the H-D in comfort and handling. If you're used to a crotch rocket you might want to opt for some horsepower upgrades (easy enough on a H-D) but I find it has plenty of power. I'm not comfortable on the highway over about 85mph on a big bike, but some guys run them at 100mph with no problems.

As far as reliability issues, H-D hasn't had reliability problems since the AMF days (1969-1982). They were miserable machines during that era, but they have since corrected any of those old issues, meaning parts do not fall off, no oil leaks, etc. And the vibration issue disappeared in 1998 with the new Twin Cam engine. I can read the license plate of a car in my mirrors at highway speeds. Anyone telling you that a modern H-D is unreliable or uncomfortable hasn't ridden a modern H-D.

H-D has so many models that I'd have to know what your riding style and habits were to make a suggestion. You can't go wrong with any of the FLH models (Road Kings or Electra Glides). The Softails sacrifice ride and handling for style. The Sportsters are just too small for my tastes.

You will pay too much for the H-D. It's a matter of supply and demand, and H-D dealers are still selling everything they can get at top prices, so that's a downside. You can buy an import for much less money and it's still a fine bike. Also, Victory bikes are made in the USA by Polaris and they have excellent reputations. But I'd seriously want to spend some time in the saddle before making a choice. The big H-D's are so easy to ride and comfortable that I can't stand the higher center of gravity of the imported "cruisers" after riding my H-D.

Finally, resale value. If you think that you might not keep the bike for a long time then make sure you buy used if you're buying an import bike, because the imports don't hold their resale value. The H-D will cost you damn near as much used as it will new, but it will hold it's value well.

[mcsap]

I quit riding motorcycles and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes in the mid 80's. I sure did enjoy riding when I was in Montana though. I bought a new 4 stroke KL-250 enduro in 1979. I put 13,000 mile son it in 15 months. In one day I rode 550 miles. I cannot imagine EVER doing that again on anything with 2 wheels.

June 30, 1980 I laid it down at got a nice case of road rash on my right elbow, the evidence is still there today.