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Hardly-Ableson is what I used to call them.
Must be something to them however, as I see a lot of them when I am riding.
They are very expensive here in Canada.
What surprised me was the number of Harleys in Juneau, Alaska.
It's a land locked city with a short riding season.
The longest road is the Glacier Highway.
35 miles from Juneau to Point Bridget State Park.
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It was 75 degrees here today. Wife and I just got in from a ride. Honestly we saw 100 HD's, 2 Gold Wing Trikes, one sport bike, 1 BMW and one ADV bike. Myself, my wife, the Beemer rider, the sport bike rider, the ADV rider and ONE Harley rider were wearing helmets. About 30% waved.
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Harley Davidson sold more road bikes in Australia in 2016 than any other manufacturer. Honda and Yamaha sold more motorcycles in total only if off-road bikes are included.
Say what you like about Harleys; they continue to be really popular. And that must speak to a certain quality. If they really were shoddy and unreliable, they wouldn't continue to sell so well.
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There's absolutely nothing unreliable about HD's. The 70's AMF bikes? Sure, perhaps. But in the past decade or two, the quality of HD has been comparable to anything from Japan. I'm no fan of HD or the HD biker stereotype, but to sully the brand is baseless and ignorant.
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I'd own a Harley IN A MINUTE if they put that 1200cc motor into a frame with a seating position more like the CB. The new Roadster is getting closer. Harley will come around. They've beat that cruiser market into the ground.
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Yesterday on my trip I saw some original, customed and mostly loud Harleys. But felt every second bike was a BMW GS. Somehow very boring. I don't like to see and hear them anymore....
No other CB around. That's what I like, sitting on a solitaire.
Wisedrum
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I'm most impressed with the amount of garage engineering that had to go into mating an inline 4 into a mid 70s Electra Glide frame.
Engine swaps in general are probably the most difficult mods to do to a bike. The process of getting all of the drive train components to line up perfectly can be maddening.
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(04-09-2017, 09:12 AM)LongRanger_imp Wrote: There's absolutely nothing unreliable about HD's. The 70's AMF bikes? Sure, perhaps. But in the past decade or two, the quality of HD has been comparable to anything from Japan. I'm no fan of HD or the HD biker stereotype, but to sully the brand is baseless and ignorant.
I personally don't think HD reliability can be compared to Japanese motorcycles yet. I hope it will one day.
Although the article below sounds somewhat exaggerated at times, it does have many valid points:
http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.biz/be...arley.html
The same author HIGHLY praises the reliability of the HD Sportster model as its design is superior to other HD Twin-Cam:
http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.biz/be...OTORCYCLE_
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(04-13-2017, 01:13 AM)F800GT_imp Wrote: (04-09-2017, 09:12 AM)LongRanger_imp Wrote: There's absolutely nothing unreliable about HD's. The 70's AMF bikes? Sure, perhaps. But in the past decade or two, the quality of HD has been comparable to anything from Japan. I'm no fan of HD or the HD biker stereotype, but to sully the brand is baseless and ignorant.
I personally don't think HD reliability can be compared to Japanese motorcycles yet. I hope it will one day.
Although the article below sounds somewhat exaggerated at times, it does have many valid points:
http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.biz/be...arley.html
The same author HIGHLY praises the reliability of the HD Sportster model as its design is superior to other HD Twin-Cam:
http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.biz/be...OTORCYCLE_
I had an 04 Sportster 1200 for about 9 years. Just a fabulous bike with very few issues--one speedo bug that I eventually found the fix for. Other than that, just normal things. Very fun bike, easy to maintain.
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I had a '91 Sportster 883 for 4 years. I ruined 3 pairs of jeans before I figgered out where the battery acid was coming from. For some reason there's a equalization line from the crankcase to the air filter housing. It would routinely suck up engine oil and soak the filter, with oil running out the side and down my pants leg on long rides. A pair of foam ear plugs stuffed in the hole fixed that. It would stretch out chains like taffy candy. The riding position was uncomfortable, the suspension inadequate, and the brakes marginal. Unbelievable that I put over 30,000 miles on it.
But I did have several girls flash their boobies at me. So there's that.
I'm assuming they're slightly better today. The bikes, not the girls.
