Harley-Davidson Good Bike or Bad Bike? (Clic, V6, dealers, 2006)
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we cant even build a bike that's reliable enough to get someone to work and back each day. Why cant we build reliable bikes that we can be proud of?
I'm not sure how the "Harleys breakdown" myth stays alive. Most of my buddies ride Harley, those things really are bullet proof nowadays and have been since at least the early 90's.
I'm not sure how the "Harleys breakdown" myth stays alive. Most of my buddies ride Harley, those things really are bullet proof nowadays and have been since at least the early 90's.
Since they've offshored the electronics, and most other part manufacturing...
I dont dislike Harley's at all but I am, as an American embarrassed by the fact that Japan can make a sport bike that tops out at over 200mph, will rev to 12k rpm and can be raced and crashed at the club level season after season without ever a hint of the motor blowing up while we cant even build a bike that's reliable enough to get someone to work and back each day. Why cant we build reliable bikes that we can be proud of?
The short answer is we can. The long answer is, that isn't what the market wants. They (we?) want cutting edge 1941 technology, air cooled, push rod, heavy, inefficient, low revving ditch pumps. While the rest of the world wants cutting edge technology.
Name the two biggest failures that Harley has had - Buell, trying to make a sportbike out of a sportster, and when they finally get a decent engine, they kill the brand outright, and the Revolution engine. Porsche designed, reliable, fast, and shunned like a redheaded stepchild by the Harley "elite" because it uses...OMG...water, to cool the engine.
I thought they were starting to see the light when they bought MV Agusta, but clearly management has shown it only knows how to recycle the past, and has zero desire to bring the bar and shield into even the late 20th century.
One thing for sure. A Harley is gong to hold its value better than a rice burner. You can pick up any old Yamaha or Honda for pennies on the dollar.
There's some truth to that! Anyone who says Harley Davidson doesn't build a good bike is likely just a "fanboy" of some other manufacturer. There are many reasons that people buy Harley Davidson bikes, and there are many reasons why others do not. Modern HD's are equally as reliable as about any other make on the market. I'm not going to say that they are or aren't more maintenance intensive, as I've not owned one of their bikes. I've heard of friends who've talked of doing service at regular intervals that included checking torque specs, changing fluids, etc...for the most part (on most of the bikes i've owned) i've checked fluid, tires, and chains. On one older bike, I did check / set valve clearance on a regular basis, but haven't done that on many later model machines, the bikes simply ran great!
HD's do seem to hold their value really well, but I often have wondered how much of that is just inflated sales prices. I've seen high resale value work against several friends who've tried unsuccessfully to sell their HD products. One decided to simply hold onto the bike, since he couldn't get the $$ he was wanting for it. The other took considerably less than the stated value for the bike at the dealership just to offload it. Issue was, everyone who tried to buy the bikes off these guys would low ball them considerably, because the purchase didn't make financial sense...buy a 2-5 year old HD and save $1000, or buy the same bike new for only slightly more money. The other major issue was these guys would buy lots of extra chrome goodies, while aesthetically pleasing to the original owner, the pieces didn't increase the value of the bike to the potential buyers. But thinking that modifications increase value is a common misconception of all vehicle owners.
I've been a rider for 30+ years, have never owned a Harley, did once own a Buell.
My impression of HD over the years was that they were slow, heavy, loud, generally inferior to pretty much any other make. Oh sure some of them look good, have a certain feel about them, and they are screwed together really well, the paint and build quality is undeniably high. A couple of years ago HD was pushing the test ride program so I tried out a couple bikes, a V-Rod and a Sportster XR1200X. I was surprised by both bikes, pleasantly.
I love the V-Rod motor. The torque is addictive, the beast pulls like a bull locomotive, 3rd gear found me at 70 mph (in a 45) and sooooo much pull left to go. What I didn't like, and what would have been a deal breaker, was the foot forward riding position. Apparently this is cool and comfortable. In real life, the forward pegs make getting a leg down far too much effort and the seating postion sends every bump, stone or irregularity straight up one's spine. Why HD won't put this motor in a new generation sportbike is beyond me. It would be a fabulous sport touring motor. Long story short, HD can build a modern high performance motor.
The other bike I rode was a XR1200X. The result?
Someone is clearly smiling in this photo.
Truth be known the power isn't up to Japanese or European levels but it's very usable, the torque is addictive, the sound was great (factory pipes and they really don't need to be opened up) the riding position was spot on and the bike was a very real pleasure to ride. And still, I just couldn't see myself buying one. Not because of any real fault of the bike but it wouldn't suit my riding style and I doubt my bride would be happy on the small little pillion.
I did check into the finance though. It would have made a great second bike.
HD knows what their market wants and gives it to them but they seem unwilling to really branch out beyond variations on a narrow theme. If they can't bring in new riders they fade away and yet new ridiers see the offerings and often just don't care. They could build a superbike if they wanted to but won't in fear of offending their base. So close, and yet so far away.
HD Dyna Wide Glide 103 ci (~1688 cc)- $14,999
Suzuki M109R - $14,299
Unfortunately Honda dropped the VTX series and the 1800cc model, or I'd have used that for the comparison. New for new, there really isn't a lot of difference between the current Japanese offerings, and Harley Davidson. I do have a friend who's always said "Well with a Harley, everything on it was made of metal, while the honda was a bunch of cheap plastic." that just comes down to opinion, since I've never cared if my side panels and fender were metal, or if they were plastic...just doesn't really matter to me, maybe to some, all I think it gets you is a heavier bike.
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