Harley Davidson Owners w/100,000 Miles on Bike

[whip]

Originally Posted By: Cardenio327
...and, why can't we have an adult discussion about Harleys instead of vehemently loving them or hating them?

Because there's very few adults in the discussion. I can't imagine going thru life worrying about what the other guy is riding, and then getting so worked up over it. For most people, motorcycles are toys. Things we buy for fun. Who cares if it's a rational decision or what bike is superior or inferior. Worrying about things like that doesn't sound like fun to me.

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...the more I learned about Harleys, the less I wanted to own one.


Really? You mean you wouldn't want to spend 2 or 3 times as much for an inferior machine? Why not? Millions of people do, so that must make it okay....

Where are you shopping that Harleys cost 2-3 times other bikes?

 

[ddrumman2004]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: Cardenio327
...and, why can't we have an adult discussion about Harleys instead of vehemently loving them or hating them?

Because there's very few adults in the discussion. I can't imagine going thru life worrying about what the other guy is riding, and then getting so worked up over it. For most people, motorcycles are toys. Things we buy for fun. Who cares if it's a rational decision or what bike is superior or inferior. Worrying about things like that doesn't sound like fun to me.


Amen!

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...the more I learned about Harleys, the less I wanted to own one.


Really? You mean you wouldn't want to spend 2 or 3 times as much for an inferior machine? Why not? Millions of people do, so that must make it okay....

Where are you shopping that Harleys cost 2-3 times other bikes?


I've never paid more than $8K for any metric I've had, and the last time I walked into a Harley dealer, they had several bikes that were over $40K...

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Honestly...the more I learned about Harleys, the less I wanted to own one.


Really? You mean you wouldn't want to spend 2 or 3 times as much for an inferior machine? Why not? Millions of people do, so that must make it okay....

Where are you shopping that Harleys cost 2-3 times other bikes?


I've never paid more than $8K for any metric I've had, and the last time I walked into a Harley dealer, they had several bikes that were over $40K...



I paid 10k for a 5000km Harley.

Doesn't sound expensive to me whatsoever.

I've seen 12000 dollar v-stars and the gold wings are 30k and more.

So your argument holds no water whatsoever. Anyone can cherry pick figures to emphasize a point.
And I'm pretty sure the most expensive bikes out there aren't Harley's

Just sayin

 

[02SE]

If anyone wants to buy me a Ducati Superleggera, I promise to give a full ride report, AND you can refer to it and me in any terminology you wish.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
I paid 10k for a 5000km Harley.

Doesn't sound expensive to me whatsoever.

I've seen 12000 dollar v-stars and the gold wings are 30k and more.

So your argument holds no water whatsoever. Anyone can cherry pick figures to emphasize a point.
And I'm pretty sure the most expensive bikes out there aren't Harley's

Just sayin


Point is, HDs are considerably more expensive than most other bikes, and while they may not be the most expensive, they're certainly close...the only bikes I've seen that are more expensive are Indians...

 

[dr2152]

You need to get out more. Looked at new touring bikes yesterday.
Honda Goldwing $29100, BMW GTL1600 $28900, Harley Ulta Limited $28950

Road all three. Wife likes the Goldwing and Ultra. I like the BMW or the Harley.

Just sold a 04 Harley Ultra for 10.5k with 40,000 miles Buddy just sold 05 Goldwing for 11k with 28,000 miles.
I had one rocker cover leak in ten years. Cam tensioners look new. I only know of one person that had a cam tensioner failure. Some did fail and Harley change the design.
Buddy has 2 cd players fail. Alternator failed and abs failed. All were outside of warranty. Honda changed design in later years.

Points is that Harley are not more expensive and all bikes have problems.

I have three bikes in the garage and all have some poor design problems. My Honda CBX is a maintenance hog and takes the most time and money to keep up.

Just ride and spend less time bad mouth something you have never owned.

 

[Mackelroy]

Prices have really gone up on japanese bikes over the past 10 years, I don't think you can get anything under 10,000 dollars, that's not a low entry level bike nowadays.

Being a performance oriented rider, Harley has never been much a consideration since I began riding in the 70's. Harley even had dirtbikes back then, and they died for lack of value and performance.

But I'm not a cruiser rider, if I was would I own a Harley, im not sure. I really think the majority of the Harley rider, are age 55 and above, a dying breed.

Although I once knew this 18 year old with a sport bike, and bought a Harley and liked it, so maybe Harley has hope in the future, they are going to need youth to survive long term.

 

[dr2152]

Probably half of our riding group are in their thirty's. They are riding touring bikes. Harley, Honda, Victory etc. Most had performance bikes but wanted comfort over speed.

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: whip

Where are you shopping that Harleys cost 2-3 times other bikes?

I've never paid more than $8K for any metric I've had, and the last time I walked into a Harley dealer, they had several bikes that were over $40K...

Originally Posted By: grampi
Because nothing negative can be said about Harleys or their riders, even when it's merely stating facts or stating one's observations...

Since we're stating facts....... Yes, Harley has a few CVO bikes that are over $30,000. The CVO Ultra is $39,000. I think the CVO bikes are over priced just like some limited edition cars and trucks, and just like those cars, I'm sure some dealers mark them up.

The HD Ultra Classic starts at $23,200. Compare that to a BMW GTL or Goldwing that both start at $23,900. A fully loaded Goldwing or GTL 1600 are both over $30,000.

The HD Road King is $18,200 and the Street Glide is $20,400. Compared to a Honda F6B at $19,999 or a BMW GT at $21,500. The Valkyrie is $17,999. Indians start at $19,000.

The Dynas, VRODs and Softtails range from $14,000 to $19,000. The Honda Interstate and Fury are about $14,000. The top of the line bikes from Star range from $14,000 to $18,000. Same thing for Victory. The Suzuki M109R is $14,300. Not to leave the Brits out of it, the Triumph cruisers also run from $13,000 to $18,000.

The new Street models from HD start at $6,800. Shockingly, they are competitively priced with other bikes in that category.

If you want to compare a Star Bolt to a CVO Harley, you can say the Harley is 2-3 times more expensive. If you want to make an honest apples to apples comparison, you have to say Harleys are fairly priced.

 

[DB_Cooper]

If the Iron Butt Rally is any indicator of durability and serviceability..these notes are interesting. No Harleys..sorry. Maybe Harley should field a team this year.

The 2103 Iron Butt Rally is overs, and the bug man for this bi-annual extreme event is Derek Dickson, a fellow who rode 11,799 miles (18,985 km) during the 11 days of the wacky competition.

Created as an endurance-touring event, the 2013 Iron Butt rally had 99 entries and had two loops which brought the riders all across North America, from Calgary to California and from one ocean to the other.

In terms of the bikes, the big star of the rally is the Yamaha FJR1300, but not just because Derek rode one to victory. Places 2,3,5 and 6 went also to FJR1300 riders, and this should be proof enough for those still not sure whether this machine is any good for touring.

Top 10 also included 2 BMW R1200GS, a Honda ST1100, a Honda Gold Wing and the oldest machine to make it to the top, an 1994 BMW R1100RSL. In terms of age, we have to mention the amazing John Frick who is 70 but still finished 25th, with 10,238 miles (16,473 km) on his 2009 BMW K1200LT.

Bonus points were also earned by completing various special stages, such as taking a picture of your bike atop the Pikes Peak, or reaching 20 checkpoints along the Pony Express route. For more extraordinary stories about these amazing chaps, please visit the Iron Butt website.

 

[Silverado12]

Riding that far in so short a time is dangerous. A truck driver can only go 700 miles in a day (give or take).

 

[Robenstein]

I know an Iron Butt rider. He has two Harleys but never uses them for those rides. Most he knocked down on a Harley was from San Fransicso CA to Sioux City IA. He did it in something like 40 hours and he said if he said "Never Again". He loves the Harleys but wont do more than 1,000 mile trips on them.

He has used a BMW R1100GS, R1100RT, and a Suzuki V Strom 650 for his Iron Butts.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Riding that far in so short a time is dangerous. A truck driver can only go 700 miles in a day (give or take).


They tend to exceed the speed limit quite a bit in open areas from what I have seen of them. The miles go by quicker when you are going 20 to 30 miles an hour faster than the speed limit.

 

[BusyLittleShop]

Originally Posted By: dr2152
Or maybe you could say "I'm happy you ride and the brand and size of bike doesn't matter"


We could be nice and politically correct and say silly stuff like that
but ever since day one manufactures and their riders have passionately
battled for hearts and minds... I see this fighting attitude as
wholesome for it insures Motorcycling is still fresh and won't crawl
up its own [censored] and suffocate...

 

[dr2152]

Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop
Originally Posted By: dr2152
Or maybe you could say "I'm happy you ride and the brand and size of bike doesn't matter"


We could be nice and politically correct and say silly stuff like that
but ever since day one manufactures and their riders have passionately
battled for hearts and minds... I see this fighting attitude as
wholesome for it insures Motorcycling is still fresh and won't crawl
up its own [censored] and suffocate...


The groups I ride with do not care what you ride. If someone has a problem everyone helps. Last week one of the Honda's lost his alternator so he rode on the back of a Harley to get his truck. I lost a clutch cable on my Yamaha and rode home on a VTX. Have fun fighting while we ride.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: dr2152
Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop
Originally Posted By: dr2152
Or maybe you could say "I'm happy you ride and the brand and size of bike doesn't matter"


We could be nice and politically correct and say silly stuff like that
but ever since day one manufactures and their riders have passionately
battled for hearts and minds... I see this fighting attitude as
wholesome for it insures Motorcycling is still fresh and won't crawl
up its own [censored] and suffocate...


The groups I ride with do not care what you ride. If someone has a problem everyone helps. Last week one of the Honda's lost his alternator so he rode on the back of a Harley to get his truck. I lost a clutch cable on my Yamaha and rode home on a VTX. Have fun fighting while we ride.


I'm not quite that lucky. My crew insists riding an American bike.

Personally I couldn't care less if your riding a reverse trike or a moped. In the wind is in the wind

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
I'm not quite that lucky. My crew insists riding an American bike.



I wouldn't ride with a snooty group that only allowed American, metric, or whatever...the groups I ride with allow all makes (yes, even Harleys)....

 

[Robenstein]

I tried to join a group and they would let me in because my Triumph has its twin cylinders arranged "incorrectly", while clearly a Cruiser, did not have a V twin engine. So they will let in Japanese or American cruisers, even a Moto Guzzi as they all have V twins, but not a Triumph.