Why would I buy a Harley then??

[juke]

After reading many of the posts on here I have lost a lot of confidence in making a purchase of a H-D.

A little background. I have been riding bikes since I was 8. I currently ride a sportbike and am in the market for a new bike. I can't tell you how many hours that I have spent researching bikes and what will best fit my needs. I kept coming back to H-D as a top choice. I am looking for a daily driver. I have a 30 mi commute each way, half fwy and half city streets. I had settled into several bikes:

XL1200L or N - Great style, handling / Don't want the stereotypes
Street Bob - Great choice - not as maneuverable as I would like
Buell CityX - no wind protection / poor resale
Yamaha FZ6 - Solid all around / Poor resale

All of these have great performance, gas mileage, comfort and style that I am looking for.

So, after all of this research on the product that I want to buy, I started to look at owner advice. Bias aside, the Sportster appears to best suit my needs. BTW I am open to anyone's advice on this.

Now to my point:

After looking at many of the posts on this specific forum I am starting to feel like owning a Harley is more painful than owning any other bike! I have owned bikes for years, mainly Yamahas and have never experienced the pains that are discussed again and again here. Sure, I have had to work out some warranty issues with a dealer a few times, but have never been met with the attitude that keeps coming up here. I get the impression I will be paying a premium for a bike that will eventually have a problem and then I will have to fight tooth and nail to get the service that I have been used to for years.

I guess what I am looking for is reassurance that I am not making a mistake in buying an HD.

Your thoughts are welcome!

JK

[arealinvestor]

If you keep the bike stock you will be fine!!!The problem is, most of us can't keep a bike stock(motor wise).That's where the problem begins!!!If your just going to buy it & ride it, then HD is great!!!When your making it a hotrod ,then the trouble begins.If you have rode crotch rockets all your life,like most of us have,then you will not be happy with hd performance,because they lack HP!!!!You have to ultimatley decide whether ,or not, HD is for you!!! They may lack hp,but resale value is great!!!If you find the right engine builder/tuner then motor upgrades will be easy;find the wrong tuner/builder & it will be hell!!!!!

[strokerjlk]

Originally Posted by juke

After reading many of the posts on here I have lost a lot of confidence in making a purchase of a H-D.

A little background. I have been riding bikes since I was 8. I currently ride a sportbike and am in the market for a new bike. I can't tell you how many hours that I have spent researching bikes and what will best fit my needs. I kept coming back to H-D as a top choice. I am looking for a daily driver. I have a 30 mi commute each way, half fwy and half city streets. I had settled into several bikes:

XL1200L or N - Great style, handling / Don't want the stereotypes
Street Bob - Great choice - not as maneuverable as I would like
Buell CityX - no wind protection / poor resale
Yamaha FZ6 - Solid all around / Poor resale

All of these have great performance, gas mileage, comfort and style that I am looking for.

So, after all of this research on the product that I want to buy, I started to look at owner advice. Bias aside, the Sportster appears to best suit my needs. BTW I am open to anyone's advice on this.

Now to my point:

After looking at many of the posts on this specific forum I am starting to feel like owning a Harley is more painful than owning any other bike! I have owned bikes for years, mainly Yamahas and have never experienced the pains that are discussed again and again here. Sure, I have had to work out some warranty issues with a dealer a few times, but have never been met with the attitude that keeps coming up here. I get the impression I will be paying a premium for a bike that will eventually have a problem and then I will have to fight tooth and nail to get the service that I have been used to for years.

I guess what I am looking for is reassurance that I am not making a mistake in buying an HD.

Your thoughts are welcome!

JK

trolling?????
O-well ....you seem like a smart person so just think about human nature. people would like to voice a complain more times than a complement. or people talk more about something gone wrong vs a good experance.
It is no diff. than any other brand forum.
you will hear of the small percent of problems but not the millions of happy campers (BIKERS,OWNERS RIDERS)!
Buy what ever brand you want or model of harley ya want. Anyone that has been riding as long as you claim shouldnt be looking for advise on what to buy on a forum anyway JMHO.
GOOD LUCK whatever you buy!

[lostinafog]

lets see...

ya never hear a beef about import bike dealerships on a mainley harley website... hmmm??

ya dont hear about all the good trips to the dealer to get service done... hhmmmm??!?

m'be ya should stick to sportbikes..

ya buy a harley cuz ya want a harley.. ya buy a harley because at 85000 miles they're still worth rebuilding..

ya buy a yamaha because ya dont want the sterotypes..nobody gets a crick in their neck twistin their head to watch a yamaha go by..

be annonamous.. the world needs more unknown bikers...

[springer-]

It will be what you make it out to be. Go to any specific forum and you will find good and bad about anything. Chevy, Ford, Yamaha, Honda, BMW, Mercedes and the list goes on and on.

Get what YOU like and enjoy it.

JMO

[juke]

I love it when people with a handle like lostinafog assume they know everything about someone by a single post...

Stay in Spokane and remain the famous head-turning Harley rider that you are, that is when the weather is good enough to ride!

[arealinvestor]

Originally Posted by juke

I love it when people with a handle like lostinafog assume they know everything about someone by a single post...

Stay in Spokane and remain the famous head-turning Harley rider that you are, that is when the weather is good enough to ride!

You will find alot of that on this site.Some people are very judgemental!!!! Since you ride about 30 min each way,would you consider a HD touring bike??ex. street glide? Classic? or Ultra Classic???I'd hate to see you buy a sportster only to grow tired & uncomfortable with it!!!!

[juke]

Let me make this completely clear! I love Harleys. I have wanted to own one for a while. I am a member of several sport bike forums and yes, there are complaints about this and that and even dealer experiences. But what I have seen here seems to be the norm.

I appreciate the advice that arealinvestor gave about where the problems begin and perhaps that is what prompted this post. I have read in this forum where several people have made no modifications and have taken their bike in for a service and been hit with the proverbial you made some mods and have voided the warranty.

I am just trying to continue the rich tradition that I have followed for as long as I can remember, measure twice and cut once!!!

[lostinafog]

hmmm..

lets see what i know..

you list four different bikes that have NO comparable qualities.. you cant even compare a sporty to dyna.. two totaly different riding experiences..

you're lookin for a commuter.. go with an import
you're lookin for comfort and style.. go with the dyna
you're lookin gas milage... buy a geo metro.. outruns my sporty by 5 miles to the gallon..
you're open to all opinions... but when someone who'se done the shoppin and made the purchase steps up n tells ya somethin ya dont wanna hear ya turn into a...

never mind... the weathers good here and i dont have to split a lane to get somewhere so i gotta go for a ride.. good luck with what ever ya find..

[sk8rod]

Street Bob hits it for me,, and they do handle great.

this is not a brag so please dont get me wrong,, but i have raced and ridden motorcycles for a long time and the Street Bob really surprised me right from the get go..

like any Dyna they need setting up (alignment wise) and they have a fundamental floor in the way the swingarm is mounted,, but you can iron out most high speed issues with the right shox etc

ive had mine a year now and it still blows me away,, just how sweet a ride it is..

Also as an ex dispatch rider in London for 10 years and having run it through London on many occasions, i can tell you that its fckin maneuverable and can keep up with any dispatcher..

there,, thats my .02

[mark_bert]

I have to agree with arealinvestor. More often than not, the problems I see / hear about with a Harley are because of the owner tearing into it. Once you crack open the motor, your chances of having problems increase enormously. Much like when you hot rod a car, the more hp you squeeze out of it, the less reliable it will probably be. If you leave the bike relatively stock, it's going to be very reliable.

That being said, coming from a sportbike background, you will probably find the power of a Harley to be a letdown. You're not going to get 90mph in first gear, but you will get more smiles per mile than you ever thought possible. If you go with a standard stage 1 upgrade (pipes, air cleaner) you'll see a decent power gain without affecting reliability. Stage 1 generally will allow the bike to run a bit cooler than stock as well.

My thoughts on the bikes you mentioned:
XL1200L or N - Great style, handling / Don't want the stereotypes - This will be a great commuter bike. Looks good, handles well in traffic.
Street Bob - Great choice - not as maneuverable as I would like - Also a great bike. Moving up to the Dyna platform will give a pretty significant comfort improvement.
Buell CityX - no wind protection / poor resale - I really like Buells. You might be able to get a quick release windscreen and the CityX gives a more upright riding position which I think is more comfortable. I don't consider resale to be a deal breaker. How long do you plan on keeping it? Also consider one a year old and score a deal.
Yamaha FZ6 - Solid all around / Poor resale - Not familiar with it but first glance at the website is kind of gives that generic sportbike impression. Not a bad looking bike and probably the lowest price of the group. Really kind of an apples / oranges comparison with the rest.

Personally, out of the group, I'd choose the Street Bob. I've had both a sportster and a dyna and the dyna was a superior ride all around. (caveat, my sportster was an older one and not the current rubber mount). I like the styling of the street bob and if you compare specs against the 1200N, the rake / trail are nearly identical and the street bob wheelbase is only 4" longer so I wouldn't anticipate the handling being that different. The SB will also give you an extra 1.5 gal of fuel per tank which is nice.

What you really need is seat time. Let your ass make the decision for you. As far as the complaints that you hear about service, reliability, etc. Remember the old axiom, "If a customer is happy, he'll tell one person. If he's unhappy, he'll tell 10."

[SAFXDL]

Get whatever you want....want a Harley get a Harley...my RK is my daily commuter and I had a FXDL before that...much fun to ride....kinda rough on long trips (2000+ miles). Have I had problems with mine? Sure I have.....but to ensure I have no one to bitch at but myself I do my own wrenching. Get what you want...and ride it.

[deuce04]

Learn to do your own service and repairs then you dont have to worry about "Dealership Experiences". But dont assume all dealers are crooks you just have to do your homework first. Thats why this forum is here(besides other things)

How hard can it be.. the engine is basically a 100 yrs old with some changes over the years.

[elPrez]

That's a 30 mile run or 30 minute? Either way don't rule out a Road King. Great for the distance and strip it down for around town. Also nice to have the storage space for haulin stuff to and from work. I road a King for 5 years and last year bought an Ultra. More maneuverable than many give it credit for. or a Street Glide.

[juke]

30 miles! And I like the RK. I would lean more towards the Street Glide or Electra Glide Standard if I got a bagger