Went to the Harley dealership today...

[punkncat]

Nah, didn't buy anything.

Went to look at their trikes as sort of a reference for the Can Am that we have on the radar to look at. They had a couple of used offerings and they were interesting to a degree. Wouldn't be my first Harley anyway....The weird aspect was the complete smell of desperation. It was kind of wild, really. Within 30 seconds of walking in the door the salesman is already offering me rides on bikes out of the used selection.

To say that some of the models weren't enticing would be a lie. Admittedly there is a lot of heritage and 'parking lot cool' where it comes to having a Harley, even if the trike screams old man. To be fair, don't think I want to drop $30+K on a used bike with that image, much less the ticket price of the new one. It was a nice piece to use as comparison. Going to head up to the Can Am (st)dealership on Friday to get a look at a couple model they will hopefully still have on the floor.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I made an offer on a a Softail yesterday but the guy wouldn’t budge on the price so I passed on it. I will get the right one eventually. I sold one a while back I tried to buy back but the guy decided he wants to keep it unfortunately because it would be perfect for what I need. There’s an older one about an Hr north I may go look at sometime this week but it’s got these monster ape hangers on it I will have to take off before I ride it. Not even sure my arms are long enough to reach the stupid things to ride it home. But the rest of the bike is mint so it’s worth looking at.

I couldn’t justify spending 30k on a motorcycle ever. I don’t ever buy new. I don’t bother looking at the dealerships anymore it’s a waste of time everything is marked up. I buy them after people who buy new get sick of them or don’t use em for half that. Drive em for a bit then sell them for what I got in em or for a lil profit sometimes if I buy right. I do way better with private sales from impatient people.

It is fun to look tho.

[Bow]

Harley has been losing money hand over fist for well over a decade if not 2.

They have an incredible markup for what you get.

I like my Dyna convertible, but the thing rattles itself apart.

One of my carb banjo bolts went missing, thank goodness they still had them in stock/used them. My tail lights have rattled off. My exhaust tips have fallen off, thankfully at low speed. Even one of my front turn signal caps rattled off.

Honestly, the image is what people buy into and Harley keeps messing that up by not updating anything, or when they do it's too little to late.

I just saw that a neighbor has a trike. Im tempted to leave him a note asking to ride it around the neighborhood since I've never ridden one lol.


I will say that I like my Harley. It's comfy, but to rattly and loud. My Honda turns waaaaay more heads and everyone wants to talk about it, which is pretty sick.


Hope you like those can ams. My buddy was saying they don't do anything like a bike, they're more like a quad.

[Ironnerd]

Can someone please tell me why Harleys even come assembled? It seems like the first thing every owner of a new HD takes the damned thing apart and installs a bunch of crappy aftermarket parts.

[Paintslinger16]

It’s would be like a MCBer not tinking with a gun that probably works fine.
Honestly, there is some god awful crap that people buy, the after market for HD is got to be one of the biggest out there, but what most people do is pay the Harley “tax” first, to unlock the govt strangled performance which requires a better breather and better pipes and a tune.
That doesn’t mean open pipes, a two into one is actually the best pipe but most run some version of a drag pipe.

[Ironnerd]

OK... you got me Paintslinger16. Both on markers and pipes.

Good pipes and a bit of tuning can really help an HD. Those loud pipes are just robbing the bike of power.

I really miss the Buells. Even my stupid little "Blast" commuter bike was fun. You could steer it by clenching one butt cheek and ride all week on 1 1/2 gallons of gas. The only real problem I had with it was that I was wearing out the foot pegs in turns (and it kept breaking motor mount bolts because I was not torquing them correctly - Once I followed the manual, the problem vanished).

Now my commuter bike is a Motobecane

[Paintslinger16]

My wife loved her Blast rode it for 8 years, still think it was stupid HD treated them like trash and shut it down the way they did

[Paintslinger16]

I just bought a conversion Trike, first time I ever rode one also. I love my Harley’s this is my 7th. I haven’t rode a Can Am, I would like to for the experience, but they look way to much like a.ATV to me.
Trikes are different, it’s mostly like a motorcycle but the cornering is way slower, I had a pretty stout hopped up engine on my last one those days are over.

[BrickHaus]

As an avid Victory fan. Id say look into a Vic. Both the 100 cubic inch and 106 cubic inch motors have proven super realiable, and fast.

Theres a vegas trike on cycle trader now for just under 10k. If I were after a trike, Id consider this bike.

I have a 2016 cross country tour I bought new. I have 20k miles on it and its needed brakes, an air filter, and tires so far.

[punkncat]

I thought Victory had gone under?

[Paintslinger16]

Victory is done, replaced by Indian. I think they (Polaris) were going to support for 10 years , which is almost half way there.

[BrickHaus]

Yep they are, but honestly they are very realiable. Polaris only killed em cuz it was cutting into indian sales. The motors are tanks, and have only a few gaskets. Theres plenty of specialized aftermarket support on em as well.


I would buy annoher vic in a heartbeat with no dealer support. They are a huge bang for your buck thabks to polaris axeing the name.

[Shaftski]

I'm a sucker for anything BMW Motorrad. If I were getting a cruiser I would seriously look at the BMW R18. Expensive, but it's a BMW aircooled 1800cc motor. Decades old bulletproof powertrain design. The exposed driveshaft is just cool as hell.

[punkncat]

I'm a sucker for anything BMW Motorrad. If I were getting a cruiser I would seriously look at the BMW R18. Expensive, but it's a BMW aircooled 1800cc motor. Decades old bulletproof powertrain design. The exposed driveshaft is just cool as hell.

There are several BMW bikes that have made me drool over the years. Unfortunately they are all of a type that wifey poo isn't going to sign off on.

[Knuckle Dragger]

Harley done f***** up by dropping the V-Rod line (Night Rod Special) and kicking Buel to the curb. I’m on the fence about purchasing a Night Rod, since that’s the Harley that captivated me when I was in high school and it’s a sexy bike. I’m really digging the Indian Scout, since Victory is no longer around.

[Cunha]

here you go dude https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy...335921148.html

[Knuckle Dragger]

Thanks Cunha, I’m still weighing my options. I’m gonna see if I can test ride a Scout when I get time.

[foughtwolf]

I got to test ride a Royal Enfield Continental GT650 today and I was immensely impressed. Had the fellow not listed it as 1400 miles when it had 14k I’d have probably bought it. Needless to say I am absolutely looking for one now and even brand new the price point is great. I was blown away when I found out they top out at a bit under 7K new with everything and the high end paint.

[Mr. Hick]

I have always been interested in one, but have never seen one in person. I want to sit on one desperately.

[foughtwolf]

It drove like a dream. I was a bit skeptical about build quality but a number of reviews helped: though nothing really puts the doubt out like being up close and riding one. The power band was nice but I didn’t feel like it was going to ever try and get away from me. I’m definitely going to see how they hold up for the next year or so and try and snag a gentle used one second hand.

[Mr. Hick]

at $5200 out the door for a Himalayan I have always been interested. That bike speaks to a much older and slower me with interest in a little bit of class 6 road riding but mostly just poking around on dirt roads.

[Carp]

I don't know, which is less pain these days....
walking or riding...?...

[Tarsun2]

that "parking lot cool" you're referring to is called street-cred.
its a weird thing. all over the world, people ride motorcycles. some places put entire families on the bike and 2 dudes on a bike is as common as seeing a bible in church...
BUT here in the states, you'd lose a lot of street cred if you're seen riding with another bro' on the back of the bike. Worse yet, if you're on the back and your "female companion" is up front. lol

its a strange thing if you think about it.

i dont get Harleys or the Harley life style. last person i interacted with came to the house with his new toy. Harley something; black on black as if its never been done before and Harley made every attempt to make sure everyone knows its a Harley.
Harley on the tank.
Harley on the seat
Harley on the air filter
Harley on the break lights
Harley on the headlight
Harley on the... (forgot the rest)
Maybe there was a Harley package that he purchased?
and the guy was a walking billboard
Harley boots
Harley t-shirt
Harley vest (with Harley patch)
Harley pants(?) do they make pants? possibly chaps...
Harley gloves
Harley key chain
Chain wallet that i can only assume was Harley.

people say "buy American" but hasn't Harley production moved overseas? Same thing with Snap-on...

what do i ride? nothing.
im too irresponsible and where i live, drivers are crazy.
so take this with a grain of salt.

now dont get me wrong. i got nothing against bikers or bikes for that matter. its just this particular percentage of biker that i dont understand. its foreign to me. anything really, not just Harleys. Mustang and Porsche guys are noted for this as well.

as far as Harley tax, Subaru also has a subie-tax if you ever went to look at a WRX.

ive always found it funny that "we" (the over whelming US consumer) put appearance and public perception high above function.

[Jordan]

Snap-on still makes their parent brand in the US, but Bluepoint is made overseas. No idea on their Gearwrench stuff.

[Paintslinger16]

Yes, quilts on some of it, I literally have over a Hundred Harley T’s over 30 years, almost all of them I got the right way, I went to the dealer ship or the Factory,
But again just like paintball, we like to wear our brands, I have had WGP shirts or JT shirts, bought DM4 had to get all DYE gear. The whole team switched, Harley-Davidson really is it’s own culture

[Bow]

All of my bike buddies think it's Tacky AF.

It's kinda like people wearing the designer brand shirts with the logo super big IMHO.

It always seems to be older dudes who try to make the fact they ride the only personality trait they have. This also applies to sport bike guys/other riders.

Ive seen plenty of Kawi guys in a matching green jacket, and Honda guys in their red. Old Ducati guys are just as guilty, I can count one both hands the amount of times I haven't seen a Duc guy in a Duc jacket.

[punkncat]

people say "buy American" but hasn't Harley production moved overseas? Same thing with Snap-on...

Harley-Davidson manufactures its motorcycles at factories in York, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Missouri (closed May 2019); Manaus, Brazil; and Bawal, India. Construction of a new plant in Thailand began in late 2018.

-Wikipedia

[Tarsun2]

makes sense that people would want to display what their proud of.
i think its one of those things where "the few ruin it for the many".