[Jeff Higgins]

Sheer and utter bullschitt. My 2000 Road King died with 116,000 absolutely trouble free miles on it when it got run over by the F250. My riding buddy has over 100,000 similar trouble free miles on his 2003 Heritage Softail. I've met several riders out on the road with over 200,000 miles on their early Twinkies who have done nothing more than change fluids, tires, and brake pads.

Anything can be abused or neglected by a fool. Unfortunately, modern H-D's seem to attract more than their fair share. Maybe because it has become so "accessible" through their vastly increased reliability and relative lack of maintenance requirements. When I started this game, one really had to know one's machine to even think about riding out of view of one's house. When that changed, a whole different kind of rider found they could do it with no mechanical peril whatsoever. When the constant need for daily attention went away, it opened the door for those who pay no attention. Those of us who still understand that these are machines in need of at least some love and attention will get hundreds of thousands of miles out of them.