Harley-Davidson Good Bike or Bad Bike? (Victory, ride, custom, motor)

[Milwaukee City]

So it seems there is a hate love relationship with Harley's. Either people love them or hate them. It seems some people say they are unreliable, slow and loud. Others say Harley's are not designed to be fast sport bikes, and people hate harley's just because it is the dominate bike brand in the world and others hate harley's because they can't afford one, I have heard people say that a lot of people hate Harley's mainly because they are a American company and they think all American bikes suck kinda like how some people hate American cars and swear by foreign cars. I have heard people say they aren't unreliable most people don't know how to take care of a bike. Being here in Milwaukee it's almost like their more Harley's than cars some days, and there is a decent sized non-Harley community in Milwaukee where they hate on Harley because it's a corporation and would rather buy a smaller less known bike, plus I have heard some people just don't like the image that comes with owning one and others say they hate the noise they make. So which is it? I am a new lover of Harley's since I attended the 100th and 105th anniversary in Milwaukee. I saw mostly younger people riding chopper style bikes, a lot of custom bikes and some older typical Harley riders as well. Then I took a tour of the Harley Museum here in Milwaukee and again it got me hooked. I like both euro bikes and my hometown Favorite as well, I don't care what anyone says about my bike brand. It just seems like it's a sneering comment like "oh it's a Harley" or Hell yeah you drive a Harley.

I like a lot of the newer bikes that have come out 2006 and beyond, I do miss the Buell brand though. What kind of rep does harley have out in the rest of the US, in Milwaukee the Harley is practically the official sound of the city.

What do you like or dislike about Harley Davidson and why do you own one or not own one?

[catman]

They aren't the fastest bikes around, but they aren't designed for that (or if they were, it was in a differnt era). The newer ones are fairly reliable as far as I know. I neither particularly love them or hate them. BTW, they don't have to be loud, but many of them are. If I had four or five bikes, one would probably be a Harley.

[Pilgrim21784]

One's choice of a ride is purely personal and it is your money. I don't like or dislike Harleys per se. They are just not my style and I don't have the option of riding a manual clutch machine so never considered them. However, the noise issue for me is real.

I don't understand why a loud Harley or some of the equally loud sport bikes don't get cited for being a public nuisance. I did when I drove souped-up cars many years ago. Apparently there is a double standard and/or the cops have better things to do.

The "loud pipes save lives" idea put forth by some proponents has some limited credibility, but not much in my view. A late evening blast by an extra (and generally intentionally) noisy bike in the neighborhood is simply bad manners. It reflects negatively on all motorcycle riders.

The parallel to a loud bike is the obnoxious, loud little kid demanding attention. It is just "not cool" to a lot of other people. Your right to enjoy a very loud ride ought to, in my view, be tempered with other folk's right to not be subject to noise abuse.

There are several other motorcyclists in my neighborhood, some with loud pipes. They usually are very conscious of keeping the noise level to a minimum, otherwise they'd get some serious flak. Reasonable and considerate people can generally ride anything they choose and not be a nuisance. It all depends on one's attitude.

A final point, not knowing if you've ever ridden previously and have any knowledge on the subject. My apology for getting slightly off topic.

I'm from the school that puts high quality safety gear at a premium. There is a lot of garbage "protective" gear on the market, from junk leathers, pure Kevlar (great for puncture protection but pitiful for abrasion resistance), to coated polyester clothing and body armor not worth buying. If you wear leathers, research the quality before you waste your money. Good leather is not cheap. Likewise, fabric gear has the same issues. High quality Kevlar blends offer superb protection, as do upper level density Cordura products, but bring lots of money.

Good safety gear is not cheap, but way cheaper than 15 minutes in a hospital and/or getting skin grafts because your junk gear melted into your body on a slide or your cheap leathers fell apart on road contact.

You could, as do many, forego safety gear. That is your choice and I really don't care except for the impact on higher medical insurance rates for the rest of us. There is a reason the minimalist half helmet is referred to as a "brain bucket". I view riders who go "bare" as simply bloodspots waiting to happen. It also has the effect of filtering the gene pool a bit.

If you are a newbie, I highly recommend getting a copy of "Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hough. Its the rider's Bible in my opinion. I've assumed you're smart enough take an MSF course if you haven't already.

Ride safe and enjoy life.

[whiteboyslo]

I really have no opinion of the bike itself. Never ridden one. Although, I'm an avid reader of motorcycle magazines and will say that I never see very favorable reviews of any HD. In any head-to-head or multi-bike comparo, it always seems the HD loses out as well.

As to the company itself, well, how do you fault a company who makes the kind of money they do off just an image? I swear, they could make HD toilet paper and sell it @ $5/roll; the fanboys would still buy it. The only issue I have with them is the complete snowjob they gave Buell. However, should Erik ever get back up and running, the animosity HD haters already had combined (hopefully) with a desire to buy a competent American sportbike could lead to him enjoying much more success than he ever had before. And really, Buells are like Michael Jackson. Everyone seems to be that much fonder of them once they're gone.

But as to the HD rider themself, that's where I really don't get it. I can understand the 'different strokes for different folks' thing. That's fine, but the air of superiority some seem to have and their incredibly brash 'nose thumbing' drives me nuts. If there was one group of riders whom never seem to wave back when I'm on my rides, it's the HD guys. The guys who want to hang in their own bars? HD guys. The guys who want nothing to do with guys who ride any other brand? HD guys. I just don't get it.

Mike

[Themanwithnoname]

HD has been a MASTER of marketing...

They 'Sold' people on that if you bought a bike, and a bunch of leather (WITH their name on it) and chrome that you were a 'Bad*ssed biker...

And all the hollywood that goes with it.

I've got 2 bikes at the moment, a Honda XR650L and a BMW R1150R and I'll never buy a Harley for the following reasons:

-Overprices for what you get:
Much of their technology is WAY behind the times, and they charge WAY too much for what you get due to the 'Brand'
I don't pay for brand, I pay for the ride.

That's why, after 3 Hondas I bought the BMW due to it's longevity. They routinely go over 200,000 miles. (I know of 2 people with the same shaft drive with over 400,000 miles on theirs)

-Acessories and parts are much higher than for others.

-Poor performance.
Granted, I don't own a bike that does much over 130 now, but...

-HD's break.

I ride in excess of 10,000 miles per year... (Only took me 4.5 months to do that last year) and I keep passing these HD's broken down on the side of the road.

And here's the thing... the arn't ridden that much!
Most just take them out and ride on a sunday afternoon (Dressed as 'big bad bikers' in their clean leather)


I could keep going but I'm sure you get the picure, I can get a superior machine for less money, less aftermarket, which will be more reliable, and I'll admit... I want nothing to do with the fake culture their marketing department had put so much work into.

I'm not a biker, I'm a rider.

[PDD]

It's made in America that all you need to know. We have sent way too many jobs out of the country.

Keep Americans employed, let those foreign countries take care of them selves we don't need to be buying their products.

If you don't like a Harley buy Victory or some other American brand.

[ovcatto]

This is what I think. In this day in age it is virtually impossible to find a motorcycle that is incapable of providing the basic function that motorcycles are intended to perform, get you from a to z, stop when needed, navigate the bumps, curves and vagaries of modern roads safely, and to so it with only routine maintenance giving the owner thousands of miles of reliable transportation. Gone are the days, when Brit bikes leaked oil like a BP oil well, when you spent most of the week working on Del'Otro carburetors on your Ducati, and Harley's no longer shake you into mind numbing numbness. Today you pick a bike based upon your riding style, your personal sense of cache, and the bike that speaks to your psyche. Of course talking trash about other folks choices is just part of the fun. So, if you like Harley's and the Harley life style, buy a Harley. If you like the cache of a BMW, buy one. If you want to pretend you are riding in an AMA Super Bike or MotoGP race, there are show rooms full of choices. So whatever you choose, you can't go wrong.

[whiteboyslo]

Originally Posted by PDD

It's made in America that all you need to know. We have sent way too many jobs out of the country.

Keep Americans employed, let those foreign countries take care of them selves we don't need to be buying their products.

If you don't like a Harley buy Victory or some other American brand.

And whom would you suggest if I wanted to ride an American bike that actually performed? The closest we had was Buell, and HD decided to kill that off.

Mike

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by whiteboyslo

The closest we had was Buell, and HD decided to kill that off.

Yeah true, even most HD riders were peed off when that brand went away, the only people happy about Buell gone is the brass. If you ask me it was a failure in marketing and not about the bike.

[Themanwithnoname]

Originally Posted by PDD

It's made in America that all you need to know. We have sent way too many jobs out of the country.

Keep Americans employed, let those foreign countries take care of them selves we don't need to be buying their products.

If you don't like a Harley buy Victory or some other American brand.

Actually that's Singapore, Thailand, and India, as well as Japan, Mexico and China.
Made in Japan? - Harley Davidson Community
Harley-Davidson. Made In America. In Thailand. In Singapore. And Tomorrow In India? at Cyril Huze Blog


Sorry to disillusion you.

That said: Overpriced American made Junk vs good quality and priced 'foreign made' (Although with Toyota and Honda being made in the US... LOL!!