I owned nothing but Hondas for much of my life (and loved them) but why a Harley?

Image? Hardly. I have had a wonderful life and have nothing to prove to anyone. My choice was deliberate. I have no need to buy into an image or a lifestyle. And you know what? I found out that most of the riders are exactly the same way. There may be a few HD snobs out there, but most are about as "live and let live" as you can get. There is a sense of freedom on a Harley. The sound cannot be beat! It is a comfortable scoot that fits me to a "T." I can do just about anything to it to make it even better.

Price? H-D's bikes are NOT prohibitively expensive like, say, the MV Agustas. Harleys cost no more than an equally equipped Beamer (another great bike), and a Dyna Class is only about a grand more than a similarly sized (1500-2000) metric. If that. We are not talking about Ferraris or Porsche Turbos here. The average Harley is quite affordable, particularly to the clientele it attracts. Metrics need to be lower priced to compete in the cruiser market. Metrics tend to attract the younger crowd, whose finances are more limited, as mine certainly was when I was younger.

Performance? Sure, you get more bang for the buck on a metric. But if I want raw performance, I'd buy a Hayabusa or a Ninja. I have a cruiser because I want to RELAX and smell the flowers (or the cow manure). I rarely push my bike over 65 MPH. The great torque still puts me off the line faster than most other vehicles. That's all the power I need.

Styling? I think the H-D are the most beautiful cruisers out there. Subjective? Of course! But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Besides, I have short legs. Not many Beamers out there appeal to the short guys.

Touring? I am sure BMWs make better cruiser/tourers, but do they, or even the Japanese metrics, have as comprehensive a dealer network as Harley Davidson? HD's are ubiquitous, and the standards of their repair shops are uiformly great (at least in my experience). I always feel at home at a H-D dealership. How many Victory dealers are out there if you break down?

Intangibles? If I am broken down on the side of the road, chances are better that another H-D rider will stop to assist, as I have a few times. There seems to be a camaraderie among HD riders. I joined the local HOG chapter, and it already seems akin to a family. I never felt that with Honda.

I've had my Street Bob for nearly a year now, and believe me, I LOVE IT! It is not a zero-sum game. I love all bikes, and respect them.

Well Put MajorG!

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Harley does have a unique R&D dept. Its called aftermarket. Think about it:

Softail frame (first sold in ER mag. HD later bought pat.)
Glide front end (first came VARD)
Wide Glide (the bike) If this wasn't a copy of custom bikes
Superglide same thing

Corse HD's competition has always outpaced them

Electric start Indian Hendee special 1915
Recirculating oil system Indian 1932 HD not till 36.

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SEE NO EVO
HEAR NO EVO
SPEAK NO EVO

and above all

RIDE NO EVO

Read my blog
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/view ... hp?t=22842

The Fatboy was originally developed by Harley-Davidson of Montreal, they made a custom Softail they called the "Low Boy" that was immediately "adopted" and marketed by Harley. There's been a few incidents of dealer's ideas being "acquired" by Harley over the years, but of course no credit is/was ever given to the originators.

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Mike

'07 Road Glide/Ranger (Texas Sidecars)
The Blackbird Stealth Bomber

mbrudolph

My 1983 is still the sweet ride it was 25 years ago. I love and ride that bike everyday!

Its probably isn't a good idea coming to a pro HD web site to snivel about HD's. Thats funny. While not very strategic I can look through the well meaning but ill placed concerns and why a Goldwing seems like a wonderful choice for you. I road w/ a new GW owner (who bought a brand new one,2005, to celbrate a recent divorce) and we road from Bar Harbor ,ME to Halifax NS. He on his new GW and me in my 1996 Buell S2T. He looked happy. I was not quite as comfortable. I admired his GW to the point of considering buying one when I recently upgraded. Love my HD's though. GW has mucho creature comforts. I think his even had a fax machine on it. Serious. It was 1800c and when he went to pass a vehicle it was like he was shot out of a cannon and we were already going 65mph or 100km's?

Come on now, a Honda is more AMERICAN then a Victory. Now if you want the badest looking bike buy the Victory. Hammer S.

$10Gs for a decade old bike w/ 80K ticks on it?

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2008 Ducati Hypermotard 1100
2006 Kawasaki KLX250S
2004 Honda CBR600RR
2002 BMW R1150R
1996 Ducati 900SS