Another Harley Davidson?

[privateer]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

Once you jump on a Wing and crack the throttle I think you will be surprised at the response and how well it handles in the curves. The 1800's handle like a dream once you get them rolling. They are a bit heavy while moving around in the garage and paring lots.

I know this to be true, having ridden my buddy's a couple years ago when my legs were still good enough to hold it up.

[privateer]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

Having owned 5 HD's in 25 years, my last one was a Tri Glide and it was EVIL...So after 3.5 years sold it and bought a 08 GL with a Motor Trike Kit, love it. If I were on two wheels, I would go and ride the Victory Magnum and the Indian Chieftain or Roadmaster. those machines are torque monsters in my book. Go find one to ride and then decide.

Karen

What do you think is evil about the Tri Glide? I haven't ridden my 2016 enough to know if its so, but on May 1 it is leaving for the west coast (from the east coast) and back, and I'm pretty sure I will know it like the back of my hand by the time I get to the Chill Out.

[JacktheBagger]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

All my daily riders since 1984 have been Tour Glides or Road Glides , I am not biased .. Get a RG . Never look back .. I rode my budds wing and they are not for me , I like my foot boards and knowing the motor is running , they are swanky nice and I considered one , but backed out of the thought .. If I hadda get another daily rider road bike I would ( never ridden one ) get a Beemer , with a test ride of course ..

[st1100]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

Just my 50 cents:

I love the look and sound of Harleys and wish I have the money to own one beside my Honda.

But I think the quality and reliability, especially on long distance rides, of a Honda ST or GL cannot be topped.
BMW are fine bikes too, here in Germany the peoples first choice, but if I read BMW and Harley forums as a Honda ST rider, I cannot understand, why people spend so much money for bikes with so many problem issues.

I tried Harleys and BMWs, and nearly all my friends own BMW GS and RT, but for me the motor, power, torque, reliability and the chassis of my Honda ST fits a lot better.

Tom

[JacktheBagger]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

The vast majority of the issues encountered with Harleys are when people who think they know what they are doing , but really don't , start messing with them .. Leave the motor stock and maybe just change the exhaust and install a fuel tuner and hi flow air cleaner , you will have very few issues .. These are not like my beloved shovelheads and panheads , those you could fudge a bit and get away with things , cause you were always tinkering on them anyways . The Twin Cam is light years ahead of everything Harley ever did in the past , and there is no room for error when you tinker with it .. I have had ( and others as well ) several motors go well beyond 100,000 miles with no issues .. And my 1952 Panhead , 1971 and 1977 shovelheads will have parts available as long as I live ..

[Big Bird]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

Well the time has come for me to part ways with my 07Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe, it been a great bike and a blast to ride, but I'm wanting something different, so many choices..I love the sound my HD makes when I get on the gas while riding in the mountains, but I also really like the looks of the Triumph Tiger 1200...and that Kawasaki Vaquero looks great and riders are well pleased with it, but the Goldwing is the Cadilac of the motorcycle world..
So here's my question, has anyone here switched from HD and regretted it ? If I go back with Harley it'll be a Road Glide.

Me, no, but it's not really fair to compare my '88 FXRS-SP to a GL1800. Very different style of bike.

I started out thinking I was going to end up on a Road Glide (frame mounted fairing!). I wound up with a Goldwing. But all that was driven by my desire to get into 2-up touring with emphases placed on performance and total cost of ownership value.

You can put your own weighting on different features, bike sound, ease of maintenance, importance of cost, type of riding, 1 or 2 up, etc. About the only regrets you should have are getting that stupidly wrong. Other than that, live and learn.

Oh yeah, make sure they're YOUR regrets and not those of the ball busters around you. If you don't want to isolate that, then factor that in to your decision making. Oh yeah, and if you get the wing or the K1600, be sure to start yours up before they do theirs, so you can tell if it is running.

[Skeet7373]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

sent you a pm, my complaints of my TG are not needed here,

[LarryinSeattle]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

Not all Harleys are loud.

I agree. All of them come from the factory with tolerable noise levels. For some reason, the HD riders feel it necessary to turn them into noise makers. Obnoxious to the neighborhood and to most citizens who hate the noise pollution.

Noiseoff.org

My rights begin where others end and vice versa. Their insistence on putting loud pipes on their bikes is an infringement on my right of quiet enjoyment.

And I am not afraid to tell them right to their face, as I do often.

When those noise makers pull into a camp ground, I am almost embarrassed as a motorcyclist. Yea, people are looking at the bikers coming in and they are saying.... "loud obnoxious butt holes."

[articrider]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

for me get the road glide great bikes
and I like the sound of my pipes and if neighbors can have barking dogs
kids that yell and scream
cats that scream at night then they can put up with my pipes
and if I go into camp ground at slow idle then there's no more noise then there is no other camper coming in
no worse than any other campers
but I love Harleys and there are other brands that give you a good product

[luvdiving]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

I'd had HDs for road bikes most of my life. Then I rode an 05 Goldwing for 130 k miles. Very nice bike and never let me down, but, it never fit my long legs.
I traded it for a Victory Vision Tour last year and haven't looked back since. The looks of the Vision takes a bit to get used to, but I'm over that now. Now, even with the stock seat, my legs are happy. As far as I'm concerned, it's a keeper.

[JacktheBagger]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

sent you a pm, my complaints of my TG are not needed here,

you would expect issues with a bike between 18 and 37 years old . I sold my 1988 TG in 2008 and it had almost 350,000 miles on it , and the 1984 TG that preceded it had almost 250,000 miles on it .. Miles and years , you will have issues ..

[Bluetick]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

I agree. All of them come from the factory with tolerable noise levels. For some reason, the HD riders feel it necessary to turn them into noise makers. Obnoxious to the neighborhood and to most citizens who hate the noise pollution.

Noiseoff.org

My rights begin where others end and vice versa. Their insistence on putting loud pipes on their bikes is an infringement on my right of quiet enjoyment.

And I am not afraid to tell them right to their face, as I do often.

When those noise makers pull into a camp ground, I am almost embarrassed as a motorcyclist. Yea, people are looking at the bikers coming in and they are saying.... "loud obnoxious butt holes."

Not all of those Harley's you're talking about are Harley's either. A lot of the guys riding Jap bikes put loud pipes on thinking it makes them a Harley...

[LarryinSeattle]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

Not all of those Harley's you're talking about are Harley's either. A lot of the guys riding Jap bikes put loud pipes on thinking it makes them a Harley...

It is just a pet peeve of mine. I probably shouldn't of even said anything, but I see it go like this so often. It is not the brand, it is the idiot who watches too many Discovery Channel Motorcycle shows.

Guy buys a cruiser. (HD is not the only brand of v-twin motorcycles)
Guy puts straight pipes on his bike and buys a pirate uniform.
Guy takes the windshield off the bike cuz real bikers don't use a shield and they wear taunting face masks instead.
Guy doesn't ride his motorcycle cuz it is loud, obnoxious and not very comfortable without a windshield.

Guy sells his loud v-twin to someone else who runs up and down the road in front of my house so he can hear his loud ass pipes. Bliping the throttle and acting the fool in his almost new pirate uniform.

Of course I am not talking about anyone who actually adapts a camping / motorcycling lifestyle with a HD. I am talking about the Saturday afternoon poser.

These are the same jerks that run their straight pipes into a national park cuz they think everyone fishing a mile away from the Highway to the Sun needs to hear their crappy running motorcycle.

Eventually, some of these guys get their motorcycle endorsement, and realize that a motorcycle is a motorcycle and they end up buying a Goldwing and ride with other Wingers.

I hope I didn't offend anyone in this group.

[Crusty]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

Sometimes, they ride for 250 miles, stop in a Truck Stop to get a cup of coffee, and can't distinguish between sounds because everything seems to be at the same volume. Then when they get home, they put the stock mufflers back on and enjoy long rides again.

[Ironheadziggy76]

Re: Another Harley Davidson?

It is just a pet peeve of mine. I probably shouldn't of even said anything, but I see it go like this so often. It is not the brand, it is the idiot who watches too many Discovery Channel Motorcycle shows.

Guy buys a cruiser. (HD is not the only brand of v-twin motorcycles)
Guy puts straight pipes on his bike and buys a pirate uniform.
Guy takes the windshield off the bike cuz real bikers don't use a shield and they wear taunting face masks instead.
Guy doesn't ride his motorcycle cuz it is loud, obnoxious and not very comfortable without a windshield.

Guy sells his loud v-twin to someone else who runs up and down the road in front of my house so he can hear his loud ass pipes. Bliping the throttle and acting the fool in his almost new pirate uniform.

Of course I am not talking about anyone who actually adapts a camping / motorcycling lifestyle with a HD. I am talking about the Saturday afternoon poser.

These are the same jerks that run their straight pipes into a national park cuz they think everyone fishing a mile away from the Highway to the Sun needs to hear their crappy running motorcycle.

Eventually, some of these guys get their motorcycle endorsement, and realize that a motorcycle is a motorcycle and they end up buying a Goldwing and ride with other Wingers.

I hope I didn't offend anyone in this group.

Well I am certainly offended! You forgot to add the sport bike crowd! Seriously, I'm not offended at all, if you don't like noise, you don't like noise.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the throttle blippers, they annoy the hell out of me. And the sport bike guys who hold the throttle wide open letting the engine bounce off the rev limiter. Are people really that attention deprived?

You cracked me up with the reference to the Pirate uniform, but hey, that's not funny. I own two Harleys and a Suzuki and do you realize how frustrating it is to get half way to your destination on a Harley and realize that you have your Power Ranger uniform on? You turn around and go back home, and then you can't decide if you should change clothes or motorcycles!