peterbaron
Road warrior
...an opinion
Edit:
"You’re buying a name brand. Harley Davidson owners like being part of a Clique, and if you own one you’re now part of that clique and accepted by other Harley owners. Its all it is. Personally I’m not a fan of that clique, and as far as the bikes, they perform poorly and are outdated (and overpriced). Most are air cooled which means its unconfortably hot most of the summer and you can burn yourself easily on the engine. The horsepower is terrible, and if you want it to even compare with comparable metric cruisers you need to pay Harley $10,000 more for upgrades like their screaming eagle package. Nice racquet they have going. You can pay much less (probably 1/2 or more) for a comparable Honda with more horsepower, better handling, and a cooler (liquid cooled) ride. Finally Harley is notorious for recalls and quality issues. The Metric bikes are not. I had a buddy just buy a new 2016 sportster and he cant keep up because he said his bike gets shakey at 75 mph, and the Harley Dealership told him they know about that and you need to buy an accessory which mounts to the forks to help with that. Thats a safety issue and it doesnt come standard on the bike? Another guy complained when he did a tune up and oil change on his bike and the Harley dealership charged him $500 for it. I told him yeah, nothing is cheap when it comes to Harley. Why? Because there are enough not bright people out there that wont let go of the fact America can make junk. I’ve driven them myself and wasnt impressed. Youre paying for a name brand. Now Polaris makes better quality bikes, or go with the Japanese bikes, unless you’re just one of these people that need to spend 3xs more just because it says Harley Davidson on the side of the bike"
Edit:
"You’re buying a name brand. Harley Davidson owners like being part of a Clique, and if you own one you’re now part of that clique and accepted by other Harley owners. Its all it is. Personally I’m not a fan of that clique, and as far as the bikes, they perform poorly and are outdated (and overpriced). Most are air cooled which means its unconfortably hot most of the summer and you can burn yourself easily on the engine. The horsepower is terrible, and if you want it to even compare with comparable metric cruisers you need to pay Harley $10,000 more for upgrades like their screaming eagle package. Nice racquet they have going. You can pay much less (probably 1/2 or more) for a comparable Honda with more horsepower, better handling, and a cooler (liquid cooled) ride. Finally Harley is notorious for recalls and quality issues. The Metric bikes are not. I had a buddy just buy a new 2016 sportster and he cant keep up because he said his bike gets shakey at 75 mph, and the Harley Dealership told him they know about that and you need to buy an accessory which mounts to the forks to help with that. Thats a safety issue and it doesnt come standard on the bike? Another guy complained when he did a tune up and oil change on his bike and the Harley dealership charged him $500 for it. I told him yeah, nothing is cheap when it comes to Harley. Why? Because there are enough not bright people out there that wont let go of the fact America can make junk. I’ve driven them myself and wasnt impressed. Youre paying for a name brand. Now Polaris makes better quality bikes, or go with the Japanese bikes, unless you’re just one of these people that need to spend 3xs more just because it says Harley Davidson on the side of the bike"
The first service on my Bonneville was $600 (if I didn't do it myself) for pretty much an oil change. I don't know what the Honda first service cost because, again, pretty much an oil change. That "opinion" was weak.
