so why hate on Harley? cost too much? they're garbage?

originally posted by: alldaylong
a reply to: TinySickTears

A real bike.

www.nortonmotorcycles.com...

not into cafe racers at all

originally posted by: Tarzan the apeman.


I never changed the pipes as I felt it sounds just right stock. Most people either change pipes or remove their baffles, but then you have to adjust the carb some.

youre back a few years my friend.
you would have to jet them.

these bikes are fuel injected so you need to tune them like you would a car

I sadly had to sell my hot rod shovel head a few years back 96cubes and gnarly cams only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the 4 speed if I kept it I was going to put a six speed on it, but life happened. It was terrible fuel economy but it ran like a raped ape.

The stereotyping of bikers in this thread is pretty ridiculous.
Sure there not the most practical or a good bang for the buck but they’re always in demand and you take much less of a beating reselling a Harley. Personally I liked the Indians with the S&S motors until Harley shut that down. As far as them being too loud I’d much rather deal with having to hear a loud Harley over someone driving around with a 140db audiosytem vibrating the walls. I live on a popular street for stereo cruising and it drives me batty at times.

Why Hate On Harley?

1. Grossly overpriced. HD knows people are stupid enough to pay the prices they ask.

2. Low quality. There's a reason for The Big Joke ~ "I can't afford the toolkit."

3. Unnecessarily loud, which, for the Neanderthals in the population, is cool.

Anyone riding one of these POS should be cited for noise pollution. Don't give me the bulls**t that the racket saves lives. THERE IS NO DATA TO SUPPORT THIS FALLACY.

With respect to quality, HD is at or near the bottom of the list.

The attraction to these things is that the low-IQ set consider them a status symbol.

The sooner they go out of business, the better.

a reply to: TinySickTears

I don't ride....but know a lot of folks who do and have spent my life around it.

Harleys are sexy machines. Very beautiful. And a good harley is a fantastic machine.

There aren't many good harleys. Its gotten better...but the joke used to be "ride a mile, walk a mile". And "better" is still relative.

A lot of the folks I know that used to own harleys have gone to Indians and custom builds.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Do you know the difference between a guy on a Harley and a guy driving a BMW ? With the BMW...the pricks on the inside. I've owned two (2) they both sucked. 79 sportster & a 94 low rider. I took very good care of both....still in shop more than on the road, also lost money when I sold them.

originally posted by: Lurker1

Why Hate On Harley?

1. Grossly overpriced. HD knows people are stupid enough to pay the prices they ask.

2. Low quality. There's a reason for The Big Joke ~ "I can't afford the toolkit."

3. Unnecessarily loud, which, for the Neanderthals in the population, is cool.

Anyone riding one of these POS should be cited for noise pollution. Don't give me the bulls**t that the racket saves lives. THERE IS NO DATA TO SUPPORT THIS FALLACY.

With respect to quality, HD is at or near the bottom of the list.

The attraction to these things is that the low-IQ set consider them a status symbol.

The sooner they go out of business, the better.

Harley’s have gotten much more reliable and the build quality has never been anywhere near that low. It’s clear that you’re too intellegent to group everyone who owns a Harley all in together and act like they’re all wastes of oxygen. If you’re so offended by their noise perhaps you should work on getting regulations passed to limit the legal DBs of any vehicle as to not harm your delicate ears.

originally posted by: openyourmind1262
a reply to: Bluntone22

Do you know the difference between a guy on a Harley and a guy driving a BMW ? With the BMW...the pricks on the inside. I've owned two (2) they both sucked. 79 sportster & a 94 low rider. I took very good care of both....still in shop more than on the road, also lost money when I sold them.

And you would have made money selling a BMW or other bike?
The ‘Zuki boulevard I inherited had many more problems than my shovel head ever did. It has a downright stupid electronic fuel pump that is connected to the ignition for the forward cylinder, had to replace it twice and finally just put on a regular constant electronic fuel pump and have had less problems but it’s still a pretty piss poor bike.

25000 miles on a sporty and Heritage-no oil leaks,no breakdowns,no problems at all.5000 mile trip from Tenn to Idaho,no issues and 600 miles a day without being dead tired at the end of the ride.2 batteries changed and a light bulb.I like the looks and sound of a Harley and have had no thing to complain about,except price.But resale is better than a crotch rocket that might last 5000 miles before needing repairs from being crashed or wore rings from racing.I like bikes in general,but have been happier with Harley than any of the other brands owned,Honda,Yamaha,Kawasaki,Husqvarna.That said,their management is really #ing up ,next bike may be a Indian.

a reply to: TinySickTears

My neighbor just had this conversation with me last night. He told me the only reason he would buy a Harley is if his wife told him he couldn't have one. Same reasons cited; overpriced, under-delivered. I dont own a Harley, and I think all bikes are cool, but they can quickly become obnoxious depending on the rider.

originally posted by: ridgerunner
25000 miles on a sporty and Heritage-no oil leaks,no breakdowns,no problems at all.5000 mile trip from Tenn to Idaho,no issues and 600 miles a day without being dead tired at the end of the ride.2 batteries changed and a light bulb.I like the looks and sound of a Harley and have had no thing to complain about,except price.But resale is better than a crotch rocket that might last 5000 miles before needing repairs from being crashed or wore rings from racing.I like bikes in general,but have been happier with Harley than any of the other brands owned,Honda,Yamaha,Kawasaki,Husqvarna.That said,their management is really #ing up ,next bike may be a Indian.

I haven’t looked into Indian’s new in house designed engine, they supposed to be a good engine? Comparable performance to a modern Harley of similar displacements? I haven’t made that long of a ride but I’d love to.

Another thing that I like about Harley is the VAST aftermarket parts collection. I can never just leave something stock, too boring for my tastes.

OP I think your avatar has a bit of a deviated septum I’m no medical expert but I’m pretty confident on that one

a reply to: BigDave-AR Haven`t done a lot of checking into them,but have heard good things from riders I`ve talked to.If you ever get a chance a cross country trip is a awesome experience,hope to get out that way again someday

a reply to: TinySickTears

I'd hate to be the elephant in the room here... but lets face it, the Harley Davidson brand has obviously become synonymous with bikie gangs.

I mean, no one buys a harley because their looking for the best quality bike on the market... People buy Harley's because of the tough guy brand recognition that comes with them, Right?

I'm not trying to judge anyone... its not personally my scene, but I do get the appeal.

...Just calling a spade a spade.

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: TinySickTears

I'd hate to be the elephant in the room here... but lets face it, the Harley Davidson brand has obviously become synonymous with bikie gangs.

I mean, no one buys a harley because their looking for the best quality bike on the market... People buy Harley's because of the tough guy brand recognition that comes with them, Right?

I'm not trying to judge anyone... its not personally my scene, but I do get the appeal.

...Just calling a spade a spade.

Umm you realize that the crotch rocket biker gangs are generally much more of nuisance to the general populace completely taking over roadways to try to kill themselves off in new and exciting ways.

originally posted by: Lurker1

Why Hate On Harley?

1. Grossly overpriced. HD knows people are stupid enough to pay the prices they ask.

2. Low quality. There's a reason for The Big Joke ~ "I can't afford the toolkit."

3. Unnecessarily loud, which, for the Neanderthals in the population, is cool.

Anyone riding one of these POS should be cited for noise pollution. Don't give me the bulls**t that the racket saves lives. THERE IS NO DATA TO SUPPORT THIS FALLACY.

With respect to quality, HD is at or near the bottom of the list.

The attraction to these things is that the low-IQ set consider them a status symbol.

The sooner they go out of business, the better.

youre just vomiting out what people already say

what are any of these opinions based on?
grossly overpriced? in my OP i posted links to others as well. i dont see the grossly overpriced # people keep talking about.
low quality.. again. based on what? what experiences have you had?

to be fair i think like with anything else people form their opinions based on nothing at all or verbal vomit they have heard rehashed over the years.

i know for a fact a lot of people that dog harley has never owned one and you might be surprised at how many of those people dont ride at all. they have that opinion though.


i also think a lot of their opinions are based on little # they pick up on in movies. the biker image.
the rat bike culture that has always been popular.

backyard dudes always wrenching on their baby.

guy buy a new or well taken care of harley and keep taking care of it and it will take care of you

a reply to: TinySickTears

I do believe that Harley’s are overpriced when new.
I would never buy a new one, there are too many excellent used bikes for sale everywhere.
I have a 2012 Sportster 1200 Custom but the roads here in Michigan are trash. Sporty’s ride rough enough to begin with but couple them with garbage roads and you get beat to death.
There are some roads around here that I just will not ride the Sportster on.
2 weeks ago I just picked up a 2003 Honda Shadow Ace for a good price....nice bike for longer cruises, obviously night and day compared to my Sportster.

Real answer is everyone loved these bikes until two days ago.

Company has been around for 115 years, and have become an American icon. Everyone loved them until now.

a reply to: TinySickTears

What's the difference between a Harley and a Hoover Vacuum?

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
a reply to: TinySickTears

I'd hate to be the elephant in the room here... but lets face it, the Harley Davidson brand has obviously become synonymous with bikie gangs.

I mean, no one buys a harley because their looking for the best quality bike on the market... People buy Harley's because of the tough guy brand recognition that comes with them, Right?

I'm not trying to judge anyone... its not personally my scene, but I do get the appeal.

...Just calling a spade a spade.

i think for a time they were thought of as a biker gang kind of bike. post Nam. hells angels. easy rider.
for sure.

of course there are biker gangs. they are not all hells angels or sons of anarchy.
we should call them club and not gang though

of course there are clubs full of assholes that fit that hells angels stereotype.
theyre not all like that and theyre not harley exclusive.

lots of japanese clubs.

i dont like the idea of riding with or joining a club

i also feel like a lot of the # mentioned is a stereotype and incorrect and other stuff based on nothing but regurgitation

cause they are overpriced

but how? in what ways?

look at the OP

i addressed parts both OEM and after market.

so what am i missing?

originally posted by: RazorV66
a reply to: TinySickTears

I do believe that Harley’s are overpriced when new.
I would never buy a new one, there are too many excellent used bikes for sale everywhere.
I have a 2012 Sportster 1200 Custom but the roads here in Michigan are trash. Sporty’s ride rough enough to begin with but couple them with garbage roads and you get beat to death.
There are some roads around here that I just will not ride the Sportster on.
2 weeks ago I just picked up a 2003 Honda Shadow Ace for a good price....nice bike for longer cruises, obviously night and day compared to my Sportster.

You’re always going to take a loss buying any new vehicle depreciation is a mofo most of the time.