I want a Harley-Davidson

[speeder]

I think that riding that Dyna that I posted on pg. 2 would be absolute bliss on the street. There is a lot of pretty hard core bias against Harleys as evidenced on this thread and in fairness, a lot of Harleys and their owners suck. Which of course can be said of squids as well.

If I owned a HD, it would be relatively quiet and run perfectly. The idea of blipping the throttle on anything at a red light is inane to me. I'm assuming that modern Harleys idle smoothly.

Anyone who compares the performance of a Harley, which is a cruiser and a highway bike, to a modern sport bike is an idiot. I sometimes wonder if they jump on a Harley and try to ride it as if it's a CBR or an R6. I love to drive my (former) diesel PU truck. It was the best road trip machine ever. If I jumped in it and tried to drive it like a 911 or a Lotus, or better yet--compared its performance to a Lotus, I'd be an idiot. A 700 lb. HD is not a sport bike. But I enjoy riding them much more than a crotch rocket, which I do not enjoy at all on the street.

I did ride a new BMW GS 1200 recently and thought that it was exceptionally comfortable. They just don't hit all of my senses the right way for gliding around town. My two favorite bikes right now would be a Vespa and a HD.

[Adam]

Is this your first bike, Denis? Maybe start off on a Sportster (as long as you aren't too tall).

Riding a Harley in typical L.A. weather, you'd better get underpants made of chamois to wick the gallons of sweat away from your nuts, as some of them are definitely "ball-boilers".

[varmint]

Originally Posted by motion

Denis,

I think your objective is admirable, but honestly, as a machine, Harley's really are not very good.

leave him alone. it's not anything that can be reasoned with. at 19 i had to buy a harley and date a red head. i had to learn the hard way.

[Jim Bremner]

[speeder]

I've ridden some Buells, fun bikes.

And Adam, my first bike was in about 1972. I've been riding since, though not continuously. I've owned more BMWs than anything else.

Varmint, not sure of your age or what vintage and set-up your Harley was, but the new ones are pretty civilized. They are not for everyone, never were but for a while they were trying to sell one to every dentist and stock broker in the land. Their stock did really well for a while and now there are just a schitload of clean, used evo motor HDs out there.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by motion

Denis,

I think your objective is admirable, but honestly, as a machine, Harley's really are not very good. They don't do anything really well, when compared to the alternatives. I've owned 4, and each had character, but were all pretty bad motorcycles. If you just want to cruise the frontage road at 55mph with Taylor Swift blaring on the radio, then yeah, could be a good experience. If the road gets twisty, you'll be held back by a machine that won't get out of its own way, dragging floorboards and making you work too much and giving you oh**** moments at every turn.

When I tour, I like a nimble machine with long legs. A Harley ain't it. Almost any BMW will give you a much better experience if you need 80mph quiet, efficient touring on the strada, and nimbleness in the esses.

BTW, they're a pain around town and in traffic. Loud, rough, uncivilized, etc. Maybe you just need to get one to get it out of your system

Motion articulated my thoughts on this. But it sounds as though you really do need to get the Harley out of your system.

Just another thought. I also don't like the look of the newer BMW's - even though they ride better than a Harley in every imaginable way. There are however lots of people around making glorious air-head customs that ride brilliantly and also are damn good to look at. In Germany these shops abound, but I know there are also some guys on the west-coast building these types of bikes. I post some sample pics below. (Boulevard, Race & Cafe) Bikes like this have it all IMO. Looks in spades. Good handling. Great cruising etc. Maybe worth giving this some thought after you get that Harley out of your system. ;-)

[Gretch]

Harley is a visceral, loyalty thing, as I am sure other brands evoke from their fans.

Dissing another man's bike is a low bred, doozzzbag move....... no matter your self righteous logic.

I have no interest in other bikes, but I can admire them and revel in the man's enthusiasm for his "baby".

Screw the nay-sayer jackwagons. And in the Harley tradition........... say it directly to their faces.

The "boy":

[VINMAN]

Denis, just get a BMW and be done with it. You are obviously stupid and uninformed. These guys know what best for you. They know what you really want and need.
Hey , ya know what. After seeing all these Beemer pics, Ive been converted. I think I'm gonna get rid of my Harley and get one of them. I'm really glad I read this thread, after all, I never realized how bad my bikes have ran and all the trouble they have given me. Damn, how did I miss that??

Maybe, myself , higgins , siple and the other guys could all trade ours in and get a group discount on some euro bikes come on guys, what the hell are we waiting for?? I think we should all have the HD thing out of our systems by now..

Grtech, that bike is a POS , you just dont realize it. Listen to the all knowing ones...

[KevinTodd]

Originally Posted by Gretch

Harley is a visceral, loyalty thing, as I am sure other brands evoke from their fans.

Dissing another man's bike is a low bred, doozzzbag move....... no matter your self righteous logic.

I have no interest in other bikes, but I can admire them and revel in the man's enthusiasm for his "baby".

Screw the nay-sayer jackwagons. And in the Harley tradition........... say it directly to their faces.

The "boy":

Love it. Well said.

Don't like HD? Don't buy one.

You self-appointed experts who continually bash everything you personally dislike are about as informed as any garden-variety blogger with a keyboard. Truly funny stuff indeed.

[LENELSA]

I have an 03 VROD for sale and I live in Los Angeles.

[motion]

I think we can safely deduce that Harley riders have delicate egos

[motion]

And just to prove that I'm not biased, here is my current Harley, with help from the Wounded Warriors.

[vash]

wow..who is that with the umbrella?

[Gogar]

That's Ms. Motion.

[herr_oberst]

Mizmo.

[iplagolf]

Buy and ride what you like. I ride a 2001 Indian Spirit that I have WAY too much money in, but it's what I like. I've owned HD they're a great bike. Not to change the subject but when is HD going to put the Vrod motor in their other models?

[speeder]

I'm not sure how some Sportster track bike relates to a Harley cruiser, but I guess I'll take your word for it. If they suck so bad, why did you buy the second/third/fourth ones(?)

Dot, I've owned multiple BMW airheads and enjoyed them. An R100RS from the late '70s/early '80s is on my wish list right now. When I go back to Europe in the spring, I'm probably going to buy a ratty old airhead to ride around and either leave over there or sell when I leave. I know them extremely well and have put the miles on them. They are not a HD. See the title of this thread.

My friend Charlie Johnson, the guy in the picture of the garage with the bikes, knows more about BMWs than everyone on this board put together. That's just one part of his garage, BTW. He's been a MC mechanic since the '60s, working at the famous Karl's Cycles in Minneapolis for years. Did you know that Minneapolis, my hometown, is the most MC crazy city on earth? It's a documented fact, # of bikes per capita.

He then got a job with corporate BMW in the '80s as their national service director, traveling the country training techs at each dealer on the newest models and making sure that their service departments were up to snuff, etc. He owns several collectible BMWs, including a mint '74 R90S that he bought new and some rare K-bikes. For the last several years, he's run a small business out of his garage servicing BMW MCs. He has a well-deserved rep as one of the top BMW wrenches in the country.

He has been a Harley-Davidson rider since the '60s, and his main personal bike is still a Super Glide. But what does he know? I should get him to visit this thread and get schooled.

It's a preference thing. There are people who really like and prefer Harley-Davidsons for street riding. Dragging floorboards? Only if you're an idiot. Some of you talk as though the only enjoyable thing to do on a bike is find a set of switch-backs and see how fast you can go through them. What about my neighbors who got married in 1969 and then flew to Europe, picked up a new R60/5 at the BMW factory and toured for 6 weeks with all their gear? Do you think that he was seeing how fast he could take a corner with his bride on the back and 50 lbs. of gear, or leisurely gliding through the cities and back roads of Europe on a fine cruising machine? That bike handled like turd on wheels compared to anything modern today. Talk about scraping cylinders on the ground. How would I know? I've owned 3 exactly like it, and another 3 newer airheads.

I've also had my ass handed to me when I was on one of my BMWs on Mulholland by a skilled rider on a Sportster. Old BMWs are turds as sport bikes and even the new ones don't compare to the competition in handling. But I'd much rather have a BMW than a new Japanese bike. All-out performance isn't everything. Comfort/looks/sound are everything to me at my age.

A Porsche 356 is an absolutely archaic, incompetent POS according to the logic presented here. Any minivan from the last 20 years could beat it around a race track. Yet driving a good one is sheer bliss, IMO. Riding a good Harley is a very pleasurable experience that some people just would not understand.

[motion]

I posted it for the guys who are saying everyone is hatin' on them for riding Harleys.

Dude, go get a Harley. Lemme know if you need me to check one out for you in OC.

Lots of Harley posers down here. Damn, couldn't resist.

[dlockhart]

in cruiser tech


I keed... this thing is way cool for any of us with a bit of ag still in the blood

Nice use of a ole JD hit-N-miss

[HardDrive]

I can spew Harley hate with the best of them.....but I still want a Fat Boy