Wow, the custom Harley market is really in the gutter

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

The bike in the OP is a soft tail.

Kinda sorta maybe, but not really. "Soft Tail" is a registered trade mark but, then again, so is "Harley" Both have taken on pretty generic meanings and are often used to describe products that are not made by H-D.

Ferinstance... That's not an H-D frame. Nor is it an H-D swingarm. The motor has "Rev Tech" (or something like that, too small to tell) on the heads, which may mean Rev Tech heads on a real H-D Evo motor, but more likely means some big-inch Rev Tech motor. The whole bike is like that.

I bet a real H-D Soft Tail of about the same vintage and condition would fetch about the same, if not more.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Kinda sorta maybe, but not really. "Soft Tail" is a registered trade mark but, then again, so is "Harley" Both have taken on pretty generic meanings and are often used to describe products that are not made by H-D.

Ferinstance... That's not an H-D frame. Nor is it an H-D swingarm.

I bet a real H-D Soft Tail of about the same vintage and condition would fetch about the same, if not more.

To me, a hard tail means rigid frame, no rear suspension except maybe in the seat. A soft tail means it has rear suspension.

So this bike has a mono-shock and spring in the rear making it sorta a soft tail.

This bike is based on a single down tube War Eagle Custom 250 Harley Davidson Soft tail style frame.

[1990C4S]

Geez, I hope Orange County Choppers is okay....

[GWN7]

Has the Harley market improved any in the last year? A buddy had a 2 year old one which he paid $24K for. He said he was trying to sell it at $12K and had few people looking.

[LakeCleElum]

At least Jesse James has Sandra Bullock's income to fall back on.........Oh wait, he screwed that up too..

[McLovin]

It seems like the crowd that is for (the fuzzy dice and Hawaiian shirt type crowd) is a herd that is starting to age out.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by GWN7

Has the Harley market improved any in the last year? A buddy had a 2 year old one which he paid $24K for. He said he was trying to sell it at $12K and had few people looking.

The used H-D market is absolutely saturated. Fifteen years ago, you couldn't buy a Harley for love or money, and dealers were selling for substantially more than MSRP because of that shortage. Well, H-D bumped production until they wound up with unsold bikes left over from the year before still sitting in showrooms when the new bikes were arriving for the next year. They have not yet recovered from that, in spite of large reductions in production. The market remains saturated. Used, low mile, very well cared for H-D's are a dime a dozen right now. No better time to buy one. Really sucks to try to sell one.

Originally Posted by peteremsley

My bet is on vintage sportsters for the next Harley trend (once everyone is completely done with cafe's)

That would be nice. Old Ironheads in any kind of decent condition are getting kind of rare. Their values, however, have not begun to reflect that. They lag well behind British bikes of similar vintage.

So many of these poor bikes have suffered at the hands of the lowest rung of H-D owners and "mechanics", being chopped and bastardized beyond all recognition. The most neglected, abused, and unloved motorcycle perhaps of all time. They have a real reputation of "buyer beware", because God only knows what they've been through and what lurks inside. Truly unmolested examples are rare indeed. Too bad their value does not reflect that.

I've had this '76 since 1980. At her last rebuild, just a few years ago, I lavished her with the very best of everything. She easily outruns similar vintage British twins, and is at least as reliable. Parts are everywhere, and cheap to boot. Yet those British twins are worth three to five times as much. I'm not sure I ever see that changing.

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by McLovin

It seems like the crowd that is for (the fuzzy dice and Hawaiian shirt type crowd) is a herd that is starting to age out.

Aging out? NEVER!

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Geez, I hope Orange County Choppers is okay....

I really hope west coast choppers is doing well too ....

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

At least Jesse James has Sandra Bullock's income to fall back on.........Oh wait, he screwed that up too..

He's got a new party partner, Alexis "why the long face" DeJoria.
Her daddy has enough money to keep them both ..........

[sugarwood]

I remember the Sturgis hate on PPOT:

Tow Truck Operators - The Perfect Storm:

Thousands of urban wannabe bikers; all dressed alike trying to be different.

The biggest gathering of poser wannabes on the planet, all of them (the following is a generalization) tattoo riddled, long hair, handlebar mustachiod, black leather wearing, overweight, aging hippies. It makes me laugh at these sheeple for wanting to be an original, but by all appearences, you can't tell one from another, and for some reason, they need to re-assure themselves that thier bike is running while waiting at a redlight by constantly revving their loud (life saving) pipes.

I like motorcycles and have ridden a few Harleys but I just don't understand the appeal - they're big, heavy, kind of obnoxious, loud and pretentious (just like most of their owners, actually).

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

Love the look of that bike! Its pretty hot (engine wise) as well, right?

Yeah, pretty much everything inside is an aftermarket performance part. S&S flywheels and rods, Wiseco 10:1 compression pistons, Andrews R5 cams, Jim's "Big Axle" lifters, Crane chrome moly pushrods, heads by Dan Baisley of Portland, OR featuring his custom roller rocker tips and porting, along with Kibblewhite springs, valves, and retainers. The tranny is fitted with Andrews gears and it runs Barnett clutch plates and springs. It breathes through an S&S Super "E" and Cycle Shack slip-on mufflers. I converted it to right hand shift as well, as the '75 and '76 Sporties had that horrible Rube Goldberg cross-over shifter to comply with Federal regs for left hand shifting. Real Sporties shift on the right...

Very fun bike. It sure surprises the EVO Sporty riders, or the old Brit bike riders. It is actually starting to get a bit of notice at the local ride-in events, so maybe there is a future for the old Ironheads after all. We'll see. This one probably isn't going anywhere, though.

[SoCal911T]

Originally Posted by Craig T

Aging out? NEVER!

Surviving members of the Village People?

[KNS]

^^ That leather looks brand new - like it just came off the rack from the Harley dealer.

There's a Harley dealer in town offering weddings on site. Must be a way to boost revenue...

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

Left/Right shift thing was all based on sidecar position and kickstarters at the time, right?

You know, I'm really not sure. Hand-shifted "Big Twin" H-D's always shifted on the left, and when the hand clutch / foot shifter took over, they remained on the left. All foot-shift Brit bikes shifted on the right, as did early Ducatis. Many others as well, like Bultacos, etc. American flat track may have influenced that a bit. Japanese bikes, on the other hand (or foot) as far as I know have always shifted on the left. I think BMW's and Guzzis have as well. Seems like it used to be that big touring bikes shifted on the left, and sport bikes on the right.

Then again, Indian offered a left hand throttle / right hand (hand shifted) shift for law enforcement use. The idea was that most cops were right handed, so it was easier for them to fire their revolvers from a moving motorcycle if the throttle were in their left hand. I kid you not...

So, who knows... our over-seeing nanny did, however, decide in 1974 that it was a matter of national importance that all bikes shift on the left...

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by peteremsley

To be fair, it does make a bit of sense for the brake to be on the same side whatever bike you get on... even though I've hardly used a back brake in the last 20 years

True. But important enough to pass a law? Hmm...

On a side note, my wife and I led a HOG chapter ride back in about 2000, 2001 or so. The line from the master cylinder to the rear brake had managed to rub through on my brand new 2000 Road King, and it did not become apparent until we pulled into the H-D dealer lot that morning. I pointed out to my wife that we had no rear brake. She asked if that was o.k., I said it was, and we proceeded to lead the ride that day. Another member saw the leak when we stopped some 200-odd miles away for lunch... When I said "yeah, it's the rear brake line, we've been riding without today" all manner of panic ensued. "You can't ride without a rear brake!!" "You risked all of our lives!!" and other such... We didn't stay in the HOG chapter for long...

[Gogar]

higgy baby you gotta stop posting pics of that thing it's starting to look like Paul's 72S to me.

[Drbraunsr]

I like motorcycles and have ridden a few Harleys but I just don't understand the appeal - they're big, heavy, kind of obnoxious, loud and pretentious (just like most of their owners, actually).

I don't quite understand the appeal either, but I've owned the fastest bikes money could buy and modified them on top of their already insane HP. I now ride an H-D soft tail custom and I'm not having fun if I'm over 50 MPH.
Nobody (and I mean nobody) talks about their Kawi's or Suzuki's at a party, but mention you own a Harley and you've got yourself an audience.
I don't understand it - I liked my rice-burners but I love my Harley.
I guess it's because NOBODY ever wants to race me anymore....

[Gogar]

I don't think we need another "Harleys - I don't get it" thread.

Some people don't understand GROMs either. It doesn't matter.

I'm glad there's still people out there that care about motorized vehicles at all.

[pwd72s]

Sportster you say?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYKQ3fwNb0c