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Would You Buy Another Harley (other than a V-Rod)?

29K views 415 replies 120 participants last post by  T-Rod45 
#1 ·
I've ridden all the other model Harley's and would not buy any of them. Am I alone here? Compared to the competition they seemed to me to be a big disappointment. Braking, performance, lean angle, fit/finish, etc., all seemed a bit below average compared to what's out there. I think Harley has turned into more of a marketing machine than a well engineered product. OK, they do look good.

:soapbox:

I'm done now.
 
#161 ·
I would, depending on what sort of riding I wanted to do. I love my DX, but I also dream of taking a modern 1200 Sporty and making a pseudo XLCR out of it.
 
#162 ·
I would

I DID. I'm extremely happy with my '08 NRS, but picked up a low mileage (under 3k) Softail Deuce in September. Doesn't have near the get-up of the Rod, but handles like a dream, and definitely turns some heads.

RETAIL is an entirely different scenario. But I'd rather let someone else take that plunge, and pick up a good used bike, that I can afford to customize to my liking.

I've got 3 Harleys in my garage, and have no regrets.
 
#164 ·
It's my opinion that the V-Rod is the only decent thing HD has ever made. Iwill not buy any HD product other than the 'Rod. ....(except maybe repair parts). No t-shirts, leathers, or any other after-market doo-dads.


Steve
 
#166 ·
i'm with steve. it makes me laugh a little every time i see some poser riding his harley while wearing a moco shirt,jacket,belt buckle,boots, and whatever else he can wear to be cool. i say if you want to look cool on your bike, lean that fu@ker over and lets see some sparks... i'm on the r until it wont go anymore. that's just my cents.
 
#168 ·
Yes i would and i have. I bought a screaming eagle springer and i love it! No it is not as fast as my vrod or handle like it but thats not what it is made for. My vrod is not as fast or handle like my ducati but that is not what it is made for so it don't make my vrod junk just like my vrod doesn't make my springer junk.
 
#169 ·
Almost bought a 2007 se springer. My favorite bike. Wish I would have got it when I had the chance.springers are sexy.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#171 ·
New bike

Hi all I am new to the forum,
I have an 07 night with intercooled turbo and air suspension. I come from customs and Italian bikes but I will tell you I just bought another bike;
Last week I picked up a 2013 CVO Road Glide 110th Anniv Screaming eagle and I tell you what, it is an amazing riding machine. I have been happy with the bike and have no regrets.
I use my V to tool around and have fun but when I want to take a cruise and relax my new CVO is the way to go.
 
#172 ·
Hi all I am new to the forum,
I have an 07 night with intercooled turbo and air suspension. I come from customs and Italian bikes but I will tell you I just bought another bike;
Last week I picked up a 2013 CVO Road Glide 110th Anniv Screaming eagle and I tell you what, it is an amazing riding machine. I have been happy with the bike and have no regrets.
I use my V to tool around and have fun but when I want to take a cruise and relax my new CVO is the way to go.
If your only frame of reference is what Harley Davidson sells then you do not know what a good touring bike is.
 
#183 ·
No Luxy. The oilhead will be replaced with a new liquid cooled flat twin first on the R1200GS, probably mid year 2013. It will take a couple of years for the other flat twins, the RT and S, to follow suit.
The K series of bikes have been liquid cooled fours and triples since day one. The K1200 was replaced by the K1300 a few years ago.
 
#188 ·
I rode my 03 from Phoenix to Denver and back. Then I rode from Phoenix to the Grand Tetons and back. Then I sold it. It's a great bike just not for my needs. Hard bags and good looks, Road King hands down. The best Universal American Motorcycle.

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and you know the other guy's stinks
 
#189 ·


I bought a Street Glide this year, thinking I would sell my 03 VRSCA to help offset the financial damage. I can't bring myself to sell the V-Rod. Both bikes put a smile on my face for different reasons. H-D missed the boat by not paying more attention to how the V-Rod sounds. If the V-Rod had an exhaust system that sounded more like the V-Mod offerings, they would have been unable to keep up with demand....

IMHO nobody can compete with H-D in regard to raw style and paint. The fact that their bikes are just plain fun to ride is icing on the cake.
 
#191 ·
"You left out the Tariff imposed when HD asked for it because its ass was being kicked by Imports."

Good business and legal. Free trade is only free trade when nothing stands in the way in both directions! Our goods still don’t have the access else where that the world enjoys here! Elsewhere the consumer isn't clamoring for the latest plastic :stac: from somewhere that only recently the producers of said :stac: have learned of and are getting closer to paying a living wage.
 
#192 ·
"You left out the Tariff imposed when HD asked for it because its ass was being kicked by Imports."

Good business and legal. Free trade is only free trade when nothing stands in the way in both directions! Our goods still don’t have the access else where that the world enjoys here! Elsewhere the consumer isn't clamoring for the latest plastic :stac: for somewhere where only recently the producers of said :stac: have learned of and are getting closer to a paying living wage.
Had nothing to do with the Bikes they where peddling out of WI at the time? there where 3 bike builders of any size back then if I am correct, HD, Honda and Kawi. The 1980 "Line Up"

1980 Goldwing:

ENGINE SPECS

Engine Type: 1085 cc, liquid cooled, Boxer Four, 4-stroke
Engine Bore and Stroke: 75 mm x 61.4 mm
Valves 2 valves/cylinder
Claimed Horsepower: 81 hp (60.4 kW) @ 7000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 88 Nm (64.9 ft. lbs) @ 5500 rpm


1980 Kawasaki KZ1300

ENGINE SPECS

Engine Type: 1286 cc, liquid cooled, 6 - cylinders in line, 4-stroke
Engine Bore and Stroke: 62 mm x 71 mm
Valves 4 valves/cylinder
Claimed Horsepower: 120 hp (89.5 kW) @ 8000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 116 Nm (85.6 ft. lbs) @ 6500 rpm

Transmission type: 5 speed

Harley-Davidson FLH 1340 Electra Glide

Displacement: 1337.00 ccm (81.58 cubic inches)
Engine type: V2, four-stroke
Power: 67.00 HP (48.9 kW)) @ 6000 RPM
Top speed: 150.0 km/h (93.2 mph)
Compression: 7.4:1
Bore x stroke: 88.8 x 108.0 mm (3.5 x 4.3 inches)
Valves per cylinder: 2
Fuel control: OHV
Cooling system: Air
Gearbox: 4-speed
 
#193 ·
Sure it was a factor. No different than today except all those mentioned and all the new players have their line up and also now copy the HD line up down to the sound. They all have great technology incorporated but the "loyalist and pirates and wannabes" still buy more HDs. That high tech stuff has slowly found its way into the antiquated engineering of the HD thanks to the others and HD has never been better! I love my electronic ignition, ABS, fuel injection, tune by sniff and much better performance in the air cooled line as well as both my Vrods. I still have a lot of respect for HD staying true to their design roots. Often copied, never duplicated.
 
#196 ·
I will say this, I never noticed how Terrible the "HD like" offerings from Suzuki and Yamaha truly are until this years MC show, Big stupid vehicles that have now become so big and comical dont actually resemble any bike in the HD line up. Huge stupid tanks and chrome everywhere for no reason etc.. Made the HD's look thin and streamlined in just about every category. Victory is just as bad.
 
#195 ·
I have a V-rod and a Duece

I initially bought a 2008 VRSCD (hadn't owned a bike for 35 years). It had the rear foot controls. For me, it was total agony. I am 55 with a bad knee and a bad hip and it hurt me. I swapped out for forward controls (yes it can be done, for a price) and I love the V-Rod.

That said, for any trip longer than 30 miles I prefer the Duece. I wish it had the power of the V-Rod, but I also dig the rumble of the 88.

I would certainly try a Victory but I would also not mind buying another Harley. (Road King, maybe and possibly a CVO.)
 
#199 ·
I have held two such rockets in my hand, both with those riveted on government data plates with the bar and shield logo and the Harley Davidson name on them. Harley Davidson was the second source of these rocket motors. The prime contractor was Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, CA. Here is a photo of the drone it powered taken at NAS Barbers Point, HI.



Here is the rocket motor:



Here is some information on the old Naval Ordnance Factory which HD now owns. It is a major superfund site now.

http://www.warbooks.com/Bofors.html

http://www.thecmp.org/Sales/762Garand.pdf

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/ca/pa/reuse/lu_PAD001643691.pdf

http://www.yorksiteremedy.com/
 
#200 ·

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#201 ·
I regret buying my VRod... and it is by far the best HD in my book... but it is still jsut too old school for me... I will go European again most likely... I miss my Triumphs... they were all around better bikes... but as of late Ducati and Guzzi look good to me too! Harley makes nothing I am interested in... the StreetRod was their best bike... and that was not saying much...
 
#202 ·
The site was originally occupied by York Safe and Lock in 1883, who built ordnance for the Army at that site going back to WWI. York Safe and Lock built all of our Army's howitzers during WWI. The weapons plant was expanded greatly in the mid 1930's to build tank armor and armored vehicles (a natural for a safe company).
They managed the Naval Ordnance Plant on the same site for the Navy when the Navy initiated production of 40 mm cannons based on a Bofors of Sweden design (itself based on a German WWI cannon that the Germans were prohibited from building by the Treaty of Versailles). When the owner of York Safe and Lock died unexpected early in WWII, the Navy brought in Blaw-Knox to manage the plant for them, building license built copies of those Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun among other military items. I'm not sure when AMF replaced Blaw-Knox as the operator of that plant or the circumstances of the hand over. When management bought Harley Davidson from AMF, Harley inherited operation of the Naval Ordnance Plant.
Knowing the history of the plant now, the presence of those crude cast iron frame junctions on my first Sportster kind of make sense. I still laugh to myself when I think of those small rockets, no larger than a roll of paper towels, sitting in my hand with a nice military data plate with the bar and shield logo and "Harley Davidson Motor Company" stamped into it. Coolest motor Harley ever built if you ask me.
 
#207 ·
I go on alot of rides and go to the shows and hang out at the H-D dealership and i have never had anybody that rides another H-D say anything negative to me or about my vrod. I think that they like that H-D has a bike in the line up that will dust alot of the japanese cruisers.
 
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