http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/C...p?locale=en_US

 

 

I prefer motorcycles that.....

Handle
Have a way higher performance:Noise ratio
Were designed less that fifty years ago
Weigh less than the average house
Have brakes
Can be ridden without pretending to be Billy Badd-***
Do not require the owners to possess a Mullet
Have six forward gears, with 1st toping out at ~ 60mph
Have a better than 100hp / tonne power to weight ratio
Do not vibrate fillings out while stopped at the lights
Have less chrome
Do not try to look evil
I can ride, rather than polish
Have a rev-limit beyond 4000rpm
Can rev beyond 10K without exploding
Has suspension
I do not look like a complete maroon riding in full leathers on.
Will out-accelerate anything on the road
Are faster to 60 than, say, a Geo Metro
Are not obnoxiously loud
I can ride in a full-face (vs ****-pot) Helmet
Does not scream 'Wannabe'
Is made by a company that concentrates on the bikes, not the clothing line, the leather goods line, the cuddle toy line.......

Discuss

 

I have had many different kinds of bikes, but I currently have a 1990 Harley Softtail and I also have an 04' Triumph Thruxton. I understand that it isn't the most dependable, fastest, best handling, or any of the other things that you listed, but I love my Harley. Any motorcycle is fun to ride, no matter if it is 50hp or 200hp, you still have a smile on your face. My father was a master mechanic for a Harley dealer until he retired and that's why I have mine, he has put a lot of work in too it and owned it for a little while before he retired and it makes me think of my dad and all the Harleys and other bikes he had while I was growing up. I don't have anything against any make or style of motorcycle.

 

But, how does your Hardley measure up to the Thruxton ?

(I own a Speed Triple BTW)

 

I can't have a Mullet on my Ducati, or is it just optional?

(in fairness, thats a decent ad campaign by Harley)

 

Its optional.

The adverts sum up what Hardley is about, image, image, image and, erm, image..

Hardley really is a lifestyle brand rather than a motorcycle manufacturer.....

 

Having riden sport bikes and cruisers I have found enjoyment in both. I fail to understand why certain people feel the need to trash Harley Davidson based only on their riding prefrences. Except for a run with AMF Harley makes great bikes and has for 105 years. No other company has been around that long. All the people I know with Harleys are trouble free bikes and my next bike will likely be a Harley.

I own a 1986 Honda Rebel 450. I have been caught between haters on both sides. I ride for the pleasure of being on the road, I wear a leather jacket beacause it's smart and have a real helmet even if it's not full face. I have been riding since I was a kid and will continue to do so for as long as I am able. Even if my bike or my look does not meet your standards.

 

I'm enjoying the heck out of my Ducati, but if I ever decide to switch to a cruiser, it would probably be a Harley. But, I don't see a cruiser in my future any time soon, although I do like some of the "sport cruisers" like my wife's BMW R1200C.

 

Just because everything about a Harley may be the complete opposite to what you or I want in a bike, doesn't mean that it's not absolutely perfect for another individual. While you may have a strong disliking of their image, brand, and bikes, their presence in the motorcycle industry is admittedly a positive thing for a large number of riders in the motorcycle community...

 

And you have to give credit to the H-D marketing folks. I've always been amazed that they can continue to maintain the "aura of exclusivity" surrounding the H-D brand, even though they have something like 50% of the total cruiser market.

 

Mmmm... Speed Triple... (we need a drool icon!)

 

First off, that is a rare and unusual bike ! There where very few made and rather less imported - certainly an interesting piece of hardware.

Secondly for all the smack talk I do not hate Harleys, not at all.

I prefer my bikes to be pretty much the opposite of the Harley ideal though, as stated......

I also consider that H-D are an incredible marketing phenomenon. A friend of mine works for the local H-D dealer, he has often told me that they make considerably more money on the H-D branded items for sale each year than they do on the bikes and the H-D branded finance.

Think about that for a moment, the dealer is huge and they sell a lot of bikes, yet make more money on the teeshirts and clothing lines !

As a result of this friendship I have ridden pretty much everything that H-D and Buell sell over the last few years and obviously have my opinions. I also 'rib' my buddy mercifully about the merits of H-D's, often while out riding a couple of them !

Honestly, the Sportster 883 is dangerously slow, hugely ponderous and downright scary to try and ride on a freeway, or on a twisty road, or in stop-go traffic, or, well, just about anywhere really. The Screamin' Eagle pipes liberate some 'go' but riding without earplugs is tough then.

The Sportster 1200 is a lot better, but then that is relative, it is rubbish at going around corners, 'hard' acceleration is hindered by short gearing and the worst gear change this side of a tank. The brakes are hopeless too, but at least the power gains from after market pipes are noticeable.

The Fat Boy is fun, loads and loads of FUN. On PCH, on a Sunday Afternoon, In June, with my wife on the back it is the perfect bike.Ont almost any other occasion however, it is heavy, slow, retarded and and absolute PIG to hustle on, hence not really much fun for most of the time....

The V-Rod is kinda interesting, it has some GO (wooo), reasonable amounts of STOP, but is still cumbersome when the road is less than straight. Did I mention that it has some GO ? Well it is relative, but it is like riding a big-*** scooter, you can pick a gear, any gear and just twist and go, the torque wave is great for blatting past the traffic and the away from the lights experience is tremendous, no worries about looping it, just pile on some revs and dump the clutch - it slithers away and you have a huge grin, I think I am quicker from the lights on the V-Rod that my Trumph. Shame it is so expensive and so inept when it comes to corners though.

So, you see I am not a hater, I ride them a fair bit, but I recognize that HD is all about the image and frankly I am a bit of a long way removed from that HD ideal

 

Again you insist that HD is only about image. What image are you refering to?

I will likely own a Harley, I will never sell my Honda.





Being on the road on 2 wheels is the only image there is to a rider.

As a rider I have never met a bike I didn't like.

 

You know, by reading what you have written, you would be hard pressed to prove that to me.

And you continue to compare apples to oranges. I really hate to ask, but what part of cruiser do you not understand? I've ridden pretty much every type of bike there is: pure race bikes, duo-sports, dirt bikes, sport tourers, and cruisers. No ONE bike does everything well. My sport bike (GSXR) was great to zip around town on, and anything up to about 2 hours....after that it was pure h*ll.

Harleys are designed to cruise while riding. Enjoy the ride, the scenery, etc. And while not perfect, I've ridden FXDLs and FLHT through many a twisty road....and I've been given kudos on how well I ride them through the corners.

And all motorcycles are marketed about image if you look at them in the correct light. So, while you claim not to be a hater, your opinion is biased enough that you might as well be.

 

Tell you what, ride a Victory back-to-back with a Harley.

They make good, usable power
They are a lot lighter to flick around.
They have pretty good brakes.

Really, if you want a cruiser I am not sure that there is anything better.