Any Harley's here?

[eddie21]

I had a 2004 Road King for 6 years. It was a very reliable bike with some Headquarters performance upgrades. It had 90hp at the rear wheel with 95 ft/lbs of torque. It scooted along ok but it hated to turn! I wanted something reliable for long distance touring and it sufficed for awhile. When the Concours 1400 came out, that was it for the Harley. We've always heard that HD's hold their value - not anymore! I found out the hard way, lost a lot of money getting rid of it. As has been said here already, a pirates life was not for me! The bikes are actually quite decent, the stigma that goes along with owning one can be a little cringe-worthy though.

[Scout]

I interned (worked free) in a harley dealership for a few months and then worked nearly 3 years in a harley exclusive service/repair shop and I am surprised at some of the trouble you guys have had getting simple things such as lights and fork oil. Both places I worked would have taken your money and smiled if they had what you wanted on hand. At the last place I worked at least once a week someone would bring a metric something in for tires, oil changes or service and we would have to turn them away and pizz them off because we simply did not have service manuals or simple replacement parts like oil filters or chains on hand for all the different models. The Harley stuff we kept a very decent stock of. The only exception was a doctor who's office was a block away and was a big Vulcan rider brought in his own oil filters by the case and a shop manual and our owner agreed to do all his work/maintenance, for a tidy profit I might add

[Scout]

I had a 2004 Road King for 6 years. It was a very reliable bike with some Headquarters performance upgrades. It had 90hp at the rear wheel with 95 ft/lbs of torque. It scooted along ok but it hated to turn! I wanted something reliable for long distance touring and it sufficed for awhile. When the Concours 1400 came out, that was it for the Harley. We've always heard that HD's hold their value - not anymore! I found out the hard way, lost a lot of money getting rid of it. As has been said here already, a pirates life was not for me! The bikes are actually quite decent, the stigma that goes along with owning one can be a little cringe-worthy though.

The H-D bikes if well maintained, in my opinion, are reliable as any other bike or vehicle on the road. The 1 % type wannabe stuff is something I did not personally experience much, mostly white collar type weekend warrior type riders is who I dealt with professionally.

[UncleMike]

... mostly white collar type weekend warrior type riders is who I dealt with professionally.

Just as bad.

[Scout]

Lots of good options for brake upgrades. Glad to see you're having a good time with it!

I have had a blast working on his bike and just wrenching in general again. Its been literally years since I have had the tool box out! I'm getting my s*&t together and will be leaving the area very soon and getting on with my life. The bike really needs a stainless steel brake line upgrade at minimum in the near future and will require maintenance but I fear the 25 year old owner of the bike will probably never do another thing to the bike. I haven't even got his lazy butt to join this group yet. Must be nice to be 25 without a care in the world

[Scout]

Just as bad.

No, very good customers...to a fault. THey spend money willingly and carelessly and their checks always cleared. My ultimate demise & firing was caused by there mentality of always getting their maintenance done, even when it didn't need to be done and my silliness for thinking we should actually be doing the work and installing the parts we were being paid for. That's why its been about 7 years since I left that profession and have had little to do with bikes since, except for an occasional sunday cruise.

[Octain]

Just as bad.

PFFT.. Way worse!!

[ron bayless]

I owned a 1200 sportster and an o4 ultra classic.The ultra had 80,000 miles on it when I traded it for a 96 aspencade.The harley had a cam plate replaced, cam chain tensioners replaced at about 70,000 miles.It was beautiful, and very slow. harleys are the inspiration for all modern jap cruisers.They are an icon in the industry.They made over a billion dollars last quarter.How many harley owners try to make their bikes look or sound like a yamaha? personally i appreciate them for their contribution to the entire motorcycle industry.I personally would never own another one.I fear of breaking down on a long ride somewhere.As antique as their design is, they sell more than anyone else.

[1_v8_merc]

It's not the bike, but the company itself. A track record of terrible and sleazy business tactics, trying to sell an outdated underpowered image to a modern crowd non interested. They're only customers are of an older generation, they rely almost completely on Trade-ins to newer models. They have almost Zero sale rate from younger riders today. It's a serious problem, and Harley knows it. You cannot have a profit margin without a newer generation of customers. They've already been bailed out in the 80's, shut down a plant in PA, and currently in heavy debt.
Just like GM though, they keep relying on "under the table" bail-outs, so as Not to tarnish their Bad-boy image.
Half the bike is made globally at the moment. Plastics in China, wheels in Japan, etc.

Yet....you can buy a Honda, made 100% in Japan, or Ducati in Italy.

[Octain]

It's not the bike, but the company itself. A track record of terrible and sleazy business tactics, trying to sell an outdated underpowered image to a modern crowd non interested. They're only customers are of an older generation, they rely almost completely on Trade-ins to newer models. They have almost Zero sale rate from younger riders today. It's a serious problem, and Harley knows it. You cannot have a profit margin without a newer generation of customers. They've already been bailed out in the 80's, shut down a plant in PA, and currently in heavy debt.
Just like GM though, they keep relying on "under the table" bail-outs, so as Not to tarnish their Bad-boy image.
Half the bike is made globally at the moment. Plastics in China, wheels in Japan, etc.

Yet....you can buy a Honda, made 100% in Japan, or Ducati in Italy.

Interesting. I'd love to know where you get your info?

[850 Combat]

Define "will GO". Do you mean faster?
Most stripped(non baggers) HD's run in the mid to high 13's. With little mods like intake and exhaust might get em another second or so. Granted, that's not "fast" by many's standards but it's not too shabby for 1950's technology and only two pistons doing all the work. They do what they're supposed to do, cruise. They do it with much better style, quality and unsurpassed fit and finish for a factory production bike.

Me thinks you have never encountered a Harley rider who really knows how to ride a bike.
90% rider, 10% bike...

Thumbing through a 1983 Cycle World, the GS550 they tested in 1983 ran 12.39 at 105. The same magazine tested a Honda XL600 dual sport. It ran high 13s. Just to put the mid to high 13s into historical perspective. Stock Harleys are getting faster though. They have very nice paint. Pushrod Norton 750 and 828cc pushrod twins ran mid to high 12s in road tests from 1968 to 1974.

[Scout]

It's not the bike, but the company itself. A track record of terrible and sleazy business tactics, trying to sell an outdated underpowered image to a modern crowd non interested. They're only customers are of an older generation, they rely almost completely on Trade-ins to newer models. They have almost Zero sale rate from younger riders today. It's a serious problem, and Harley knows it. You cannot have a profit margin without a newer generation of customers. They've already been bailed out in the 80's, shut down a plant in PA, and currently in heavy debt.
Just like GM though, they keep relying on "under the table" bail-outs, so as Not to tarnish their Bad-boy image.
Half the bike is made globally at the moment. Plastics in China, wheels in Japan, etc.

Yet....you can buy a Honda, made 100% in Japan, or Ducati in Italy.

I actually wrenched Harley Davidson almost exclusively for 3 years. To your point, we did quite a bit of service for older clients (60+) but also surprisingly saw a fair bit of under 30 and under folks as well.

Who's buying them brand new off the showroom I can't say, I'll leave that for you guys to debate

[83GS1100E_Tornado]

Who's buying them brand new off the showroom I can't say, I'll leave that for you guys to debate

Rich wannabes with more money than sense.

[850 Combat]

I know lots of people who buy Harleys who are neither rich, nor are they Wannabees. They are mostly motorcyclists, none of them are "Bikers", nor do they pretend to be. They are not poor either. They like Harleys, and they buy them. I also know a few wannabees, but most of the buyers I know are not in that category. Most of the motorcyclists I work with are Harley people.

Go figure. Some people will drive trucks because they want to, even though cars which are more maneuverable and quicker can be had for less money.

[Scout]

Rich wannabes with more money than sense.

Not sure I'd would they are necessarily rich. I have heard Harley has (or had) a very liberal lending/ financing program.