Harleys are Cheap Machines??

[madrazo]

So this past weekend was the Texas ROT rally... pretty big from what I understand but at 60 dollars +tax per ticket I had to pass... tuition and books was about 2 grand just this past month and I got a family.

Well a bunch of my Harley-cruiser type crowd buddies (the kind you know but never get invited to ride with if you know what i mean) rolled out to the event and one of them had a HELL of a time with his HD.

I don't know if it just true about HDs being kinda cheapo machines or it was just bad luck.

Here is the List..*************************************

*His"chrome" clutch stripped somehow (this is second hand info) and had to be replaced at the show

*Engine was stuck on 1st gear when he was riding around our town. (again second hand info....how did he get home on the freeway?)

*Dead battery at show.



Poor guy. Said he spent about 380 dollars to fix his bike and did not even enjoy the rally because he had to fix his ride to get home. Sadly I know for a fact that my gs could have gone there and back easy.

[ben2go]

It's not Harley.Just an owner that has no clue what he or his builder is doing.

[yamahonkawazuki]

or how to properly maintain their ride , there are bikes that ive maintained, which are almost pushing 200k miles, now starting to show engine wear/almsot time for rebuild. ( whihc can be done in an afternoon)

[ben2go]

or how to properly maintain their ride , there are bikes that ive maintained, which are almost pushing 200k miles, now starting to show engine wear/almsot time for rebuild. ( whihc can be done in an afternoon)

  Sounds kinda like a beemer bike.

[yamahonkawazuki]

i had a beemer with almost 300k on it, when i let it go, 279k to be exact

[bombadillo]

the new ones aren't bad.  The old ones were crap. 

[ben2go]

the new ones aren't bad.  The old ones were crap. 

Well yeas and no.They were good until the late 70's.Then HD was taken over and the bikes were redesigned.That's when they went to crap.Then Davidson's son bought the company back,redesigned the bikes,and then HD took off in the 90's.

[Tang]

man i don't like chopper riders who dont' wave back :-(

they think their so much better than us

but i can say they are the dummist out of all of us

most of them if not all are pratically gearless

maybe a glove here and there or a half helmet which doesn't even protect the side of ur face or anything just ur forhead and junk

and they give me digusting looks when they roll up next to me :-(

[madrazo]

I am leaning toward the side that says HD machines are not really reliable.

If anything this guy is a real gear head and is the go-to whenever someone has a mechanical question because he grew up around bikes.

He chooses the Harley brand because he was indoctrinated into it as a kid. Believe me it is creepy sometimes! He has HD clothing for his baby and the youngest pictures I have seen of him (Probably couples months old) are of the guy sitting on his Dad's panhead.

I am not trying to slander the Harley name or anything this has just been a personal experience I thought to share because I know it is heated debate that sometimes comes up.

[Jay_wolf]

Not a Harley Fan , Love Buells tho

[Tang]

i don't like buells either lol

i like the HD back in WWII era or WWI whichever the military used

thoe were awesome

these news ones all look the same to me IMO 

[ohgood]

or how to properly maintain their ride , there are bikes that ive maintained, which are almost pushing 200k miles, now starting to show engine wear/almsot time for rebuild. ( whihc can be done in an afternoon)

wow, i've never seen that many miles on any bike, let alone a HD. got any pictures of those odometers ?

i've seen bmw's and goldwings with 90,000 - 135,000 miles, but that's it.

[bombadillo]

The sad thing is that I actually like some of the products.  I love the night train, I like some of the fat boys especially the new one.  But the attitude that comes with the whole thing is ridiculous.  I just can't believe how poeple get into a group think mentality and want to start crap with you or talk down to you because you're on a japanese bike or whatever the thing may be.  Whatever, I wave to everybody, and if a harley shuns me I just flip him off.  I usually get waves back from anybody else except the occasional bmw/tourers who think they're better than everyone too.

[erbilabuc]

Theres a bazillion harleys in the world,  dont let 1 persons experience allow you to envelope the entire brand. This guy might just really not know how to maintain his bike.

[yamahonkawazuki]

or how to properly maintain their ride , there are bikes that ive maintained, which are almost pushing 200k miles, now starting to show engine wear/almsot time for rebuild. ( whihc can be done in an afternoon)

wow, i've never seen that many miles on any bike, let alone a HD. got any pictures of those odometers ?

i've seen bmw's and goldwings with 90,000 - 135,000 miles, but that's it.

not atm, if i can find em, ill post em

[wreckhog]

Considering that the main forum is 90% folks trying to fix broken GS and 10% trying to do interesting upgrades it is funny to say that a GS is more reliable, though Japanese always beats American/Mexican IMHO. I think that a lot of urban HD riders fit the stereotype. In the country, I get waves if I am on the GS, the dirt bike, whatever.

[yamahonkawazuki]

also alot of uninformed bias, but funny thing is, i get more waves from HD riders, than from, jap riders or brands from other countries, and almsot NEVER a wave from duc riders

[madrazo]

Here is that official HD clothing needed to brainwash a whole new generation.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Here is that official HD clothing needed to brainwash a whole new generation.

same could be said for this too

[Tang]

lmao lol

if i had a kid i'd make sure that kid was rocken that suzuki outfit lol

so bout the harley riders i guess some are cool esp the younger genrations that are riding them that give waves

the old guys with there non protective leather vest and skull cap bandana and no waves can go suck a nut