Sportsters and Big Twins...

[Plain Old Dave]

Why bother with Hardly-Ablesons when Triumph have so many capable machines? Or if vintage iron's your thing, a Honda CB450 or dare to be different and ride an XS650 that's NOT a chopper or bobber.

H-D IMHO is a lot of money for a brand new 40+ year old bike. A Bonnie'll dust any ponderous, underpowered Hog they now make.

 

[DustyJacket]

Or you could be one of the throng trashing a brand, calling it names, and knowing not much.

Why do some people need to insist what is better?

Is a Corvette better than a Town Car? It kind of depends what the owner wants to do, and what they like.

I could do the 5k service on my HD with a socket set and an adjustable wrench. The 6k service on my BMW requires the same, plus multiple feeler guages for adjusting the valves, plus a Twinmax unit for synchronizing the throttle bodies. The HD was better at some things, and the BMW better at others, but hands-down the BMW is harder to maintain and eats rear brakes for lunch......

Cruisers are cruisers, tourers are tourers, sport bikes are sport bike. Having owned a Standard, a cruiser, and a sport tourer, I can say that each has filled its niche very well.

Ride what you like, and ignore anyone's diatribe against what you have. Each brand has it fanboys and nay-sayers.

 

[Big Cholla]

My 38th motorcycle to own in my lifetime: 2008 Harley Davidson Road Glide.



............. Big Cholla

 

[mkk41]

At 6ft and over 250 , I'd look mighty silly and be mighty uncomfortable on a Sportster. Though my first bike was a 1964 XLCH.

After riding my faithful '68 FLH Electra-Glide for almost 20yrs , sometimes 300days per year.

Along with a more than a few trips on my custom built (by me) 93cu. , 5-speed Panhead Chopper , which will suck the headlights out of most Sportsters and Triumphs.

I finally jump into the old man bike Evo crowd with my 'new' 1997 ex Police Roadking FLHPi

Man , this thing stops , goes , and handles like no bike this size should. Air shocks , air forks and air ride seat , this thing is relatively plush. And I can tote & fetch lots of stuff with those big saddlebags and tour-pak trunk. If and when the motor gets tired , a 100cu. S&S crate motor will replace it.

 

[mkk41]

Why bother with Hardly-Ablesons when Triumph have so many capable machines? Or if vintage iron's your thing, a Honda CB450 or dare to be different and ride an XS650 that's NOT a chopper or bobber.

H-D IMHO is a lot of money for a brand new 40+ year old bike. A Bonnie'll dust any ponderous, underpowered Hog they now make.

Sounds like someone who would prefer a Glock or some other modern plastic wonder-pistol to an 'antiquated' revolver.

 

[Evil One]

Sounds like someone who would prefer a Glock or some other modern plastic wonder-pistol to an 'antiquated' revolver.

Nah... the Harley is more of a slingshot...


Jim

 

[G-Mac]

Why bother with Hardly-Ablesons when Triumph have so many capable machines?

I stopped in at a "new" Triumph dealership a couple years ago.

After looking closely at the ID tag on the frame, I noticed it said "Made in Thailand".

So much for the "return of the Brit-bike", eh?

At least if you buy a Yamakawahonzuki you KNOW it's Japanese...and possibly even made in the U.S.A....

I'm just sayin'....

 

[-db-]

Interestingly, the parallels between Harley-Davidson and Smith & Wesson are similar- both producers of classic versions of an item, both under varying ownership over time, both American-made, cult-like followings, etc.

Likewise, to many of their fans, they're the only choice, for better or worse, and nothing matches the experience.

Great pics, folks. Long live H-D and long live S&W.

 

[Evil One]

Not much different than the pile of parts made in other countries that go into and onto Harleys...
We are a global economy, and its near impossible to get a somewhat complex piece of machinery that is made of parts made in 1 place.


Jim

 

[Snowbandit]

Did someone want to see BMW's? This ones been running up and down the highway for the last 35 years. I have no idea of the mileage, odometer quit at around 60 K and that was many years ago.

 

[mkk41]

Interestingly, the parallels between Harley-Davidson and Smith & Wesson are similar- both producers of classic versions of an item, both under varying ownership over time, both American-made, cult-like followings, etc.

Likewise, to many of their fans, they're the only choice, for better or worse, and nothing matches the experience.

Great pics, folks. Long live H-D and long live S&W.

Not only that , but the shifter forks in the transmission are actually forged by , Smith & Wesson. Their transmission gears are made by S&W via MIM process.

 

[32sgteot]

In 82 I bought a FLHS sport ( shovel, spoked wheels, 4 speed. Always wanted a Harley after my 79 CBX, 82 KZ1000, and numerous other CB900f's. Boy was I disapointed with that Harley. Afterwards only rode Kawi's 1000. Finally in 01 bought a Superglide at Maroney's in upstate NY. It was ok but traded it for an 02 Fatboy. Then traded that for an 04 Peace Officer Edition Road King. In my opinion, each was slow, heavy and not at all enjoyable to ride. Harley will never get another cent of mine. But, if you enjoy them fine. They definitely have an image of an older guys retirement bike. My next bike will be a dual purpose 650 something. Light nimble and can go off the beaten path to find a nice lunch spot with the wife. Too each their own

 

[DWFAN]

Ya gotta start some where.

"62 composite sporty. 1200cc, 110hp. It can get out of it's own way quick.

78 1/2 FLH Classic Custom. 1340cc, 85hp. Goes good for the size.

DW

 

[ditrina]

Been gone two years.. I still miss it.. SNIFF....sorta like sellin' a Smith.. You know there'll be another one but you always miss the one you sell...
Of course I was working at the dealers when I put this together
Thank god for employees dicounts..
03 Ultra Classic
Removable Pizza Box..
95 Cubes
95 Horses
105 Ft lbs. Torque

 

[Marshwheeling]

Some of my buddies ride Harleys, but we rarely ride together because they just can't keep up. I don't ride particularly fast, but I ride a lot of crooked roads. My bikes are 30-year-old European twins or 650cc dual-sport bikes, not modern sport bikes. Frankly, it is appalling that $15,000-20,000 motorcycle is so incompetent in real-world riding conditions.

Of course, my pals always want me to try their bikes, so I have ridden quite a variety. I have yet to try a harley that didn't drag hard parts cornering at a moderately brisk touring pace.

A few years ago, one guy was just so proud of his new FLDGWXYZ Softail Springer Whatever that he talked me into going for a ride with him, and then got me to try his bike. I suffered for about 40 or 50 miles; my butt hurt from chafing on the seat, and my right knee had a big bruise from the air cleaner. My back hurt so bad from leaning back that I knew I was going to have to see a chiropractor. My riding reactions were all off from having to slow down for right-handers so I didn't drag the pipes. Finally, I pulled up and waited for him to catch up on my 20-year-old 150,000-mile, covered-with-road-grime BMW with drum brakes (sometimes it's not just the bike, the riders can't ride either). When I asked for my bike back, he begged me to let him ride mine a little bit longer. He bought a BMW a couple of weeks later.

Another buddy, who has a little more realistic view, as well as several real motorcycles in addition, refers to his two Harleys as "butt jewelry". That about sums it up: they can look nice, and if you are willing to settle for the mediocre performance they at least get you out into the countryside.

 

[kraigwy]

Sturgis 2009

My Sporty:

Captain America II for the movie Easy Rider II, the first Cpt America was stolen after the movie and never recovered.

 

[-db-]

Some of my buddies ride Harleys, but we rarely ride together because they just can't keep up. I don't ride particularly fast, but I ride a lot of crooked roads. My bikes are 30-year-old European twins or 650cc dual-sport bikes, not modern sport bikes. Frankly, it is appalling that $15,000-20,000 motorcycle is so incompetent in real-world riding conditions....

Some of my buddies like S&W wheelguns, but we rarely shoot together because they just can't keep up. I don't shoot particularly fast, but I shoot a lot of demanding courses. My guns are hi-cap European semi-autos. Frankly, it is appalling that $600 revolvers are so incompetent in real-world shooting conditions. Etc., etc., etc.

Like I was saying...

 

[shooboy]

Me thinks I'll keep my appalling Harley Wide Glide that I paid $6850 for, knowing full well that I can sell it at any time for what I paid for it. If you really want to be appalled, look at the prices of parts for imported bikes. Try buying engine parts for an import model that were made for just one year because they are constantly tweaking specs on those bikes, and get back to me with the price of that stuff. I can go buy Harley parts just about anywhere, or just drive down the highway and find some parts that fell off someone else's Harley !
Okay, seriously now, just get out and ride boys. It doesn't matter what you ride, just ride. That's the beauty of having the choice to buy whatever you'd like. I can't stand the bashing of brands. I like my H-D because I can fix just about anything on it myself. Let's ride, Shoo

 

[buser]

Marshwheeling, people that I ride with have all different kinds of bikes and none of them are snobs about what other people ride. Also, we don't have a show off trying to go faster than everyone else. Sounds like your "friends" need to come and ride with us.

 

[pownal55]

If harley is so bad , how come it outsells everything else on the road?