Who here has a Harley?

[recumbentbob]

I don't have a Harley but I traded my 08 Nomad in on a Victory Cross Country tour in Feb. 2014. No problems at all not even any warranty work. I love this bike.

[hoodooman]

I suppose I'm just looking for a change of scenery. I like my Vulcan, it is a great bike for the money. And when I think about it, every metric cruiser I've had, I've outfitted it to seem more "harley-ish" it seems (not consciously, but when I look back on all the bikes I see it now). You know, with fairing, bags, louder pipes, etc. I LOVE the Victory cross country too. I've been on my Vulcan for 4 seasons now and I'm going to start checking out other rides. I'm partial to big comfy cruisin' machines though, that's for sure.

I sure wouldn't mind ABS on my next bike though! :)

[DragonLady58]

I've been here sitting on the fence, watching and reading....it comes down to this. If you like a Harley, go buy a Harley....you don't need us to help you decide how to spend you $....
I worked my whole life as a HD Dealer Mechanic, I was raised and brought up on and around Harley Davidsons.
I'm not biased. The HD Cycle is a good machine, waaaaay over priced for what your getting, your paying for the privilege of having HD on the side of the tanks.
Better Machine????? In some ways. HDs are slightly easier to work on. The Metrics are built to put miles on the odometer, not to be worked on.
Gotta Remember, back in the late 90's, earily 2000's, Harley was getten eatten alive by the 1500 Vulcans, the big yama roadliners and statoliners, honda wings, and the almighty BMW's....
Then Harley had to step up and launch the big 96", 101", 103"s cause you could send 1/2 the money at the dealership on a bike that wouldn't break down coast to coast.
Harley been trying really hard the past 20 years to have a great dependable bike. Its a struggle where heat and bad vibration is your enemy....
At this time they are pretty reliable, but I wouldn't ride one coast to coast without my extended warranty, cellphone, AAA card, and some plastic and green, and about a extra week to kill just in case something happened.
The Internals of the Harley engine are big, beefy, overdesigned, older tech pieces....
The internals of a Kawasaki Nomad, Vaquero, are like a finely designed timepiece, close tolerance, clean, very little extra fat, all function. Sure, its not perfect....
If I could buy a good used bike relative cheaply, and only have a spend $800 on a catchup on maintenance, ie, Extenders, judge washers, fluids change, tires.
Buy a Older Nomad, do these things, your are almost guaranteed a reliable coast to coast cruiser at 80+ mph, 2 up, even in the heat of summer or cold of winter.
Put my ass on my 2001 Nomad, or a 2010 Vaquero....I won't be near as worried.
Its the nature of the beast. Harleys were designed to be simple, and to be worked on, to be heavy built.
Rugged is not the same as reliable....which is what a Harley is.
I like to ride....more than I like to wrench these days....
Just my 2 Pecos....

[scooter1600]

DL

[twowheeladdict]

Originally Posted by DragonLady58

I've been here sitting on the fence, watching and reading....it comes down to this. If you like a Harley, go buy a Harley....you don't need us to help you decide how to spend you $....
I worked my whole life as a HD Dealer Mechanic, I was raised and brought up on and around Harley Davidsons.
I'm not biased. The HD Cycle is a good machine, waaaaay over priced for what your getting, your paying for the privilege of having HD on the side of the tanks.
Better Machine????? In some ways. HDs are slightly easier to work on. The Metrics are built to put miles on the odometer, not to be worked on.
Gotta Remember, back in the late 90's, earily 2000's, Harley was getten eatten alive by the 1500 Vulcans, the big yama roadliners and statoliners, honda wings, and the almighty BMW's....
Then Harley had to step up and launch the big 96", 101", 103"s cause you could send 1/2 the money at the dealership on a bike that wouldn't break down coast to coast.
Harley been trying really hard the past 20 years to have a great dependable bike. Its a struggle where heat and bad vibration is your enemy....
At this time they are pretty reliable, but I wouldn't ride one coast to coast without my extended warranty, cellphone, AAA card, and some plastic and green, and about a extra week to kill just in case something happened.
The Internals of the Harley engine are big, beefy, overdesigned, older tech pieces....
The internals of a Kawasaki Nomad, Vaquero, are like a finely designed timepiece, close tolerance, clean, very little extra fat, all function. Sure, its not perfect....
If I could buy a good used bike relative cheaply, and only have a spend $800 on a catchup on maintenance, ie, Extenders, judge washers, fluids change, tires.
Buy a Older Nomad, do these things, your are almost guaranteed a reliable coast to coast cruiser at 80+ mph, 2 up, even in the heat of summer or cold of winter.
Put my ass on my 2001 Nomad, or a 2010 Vaquero....I won't be near as worried.
Its the nature of the beast. Harleys were designed to be simple, and to be worked on, to be heavy built.
Rugged is not the same as reliable....which is what a Harley is.
I like to ride....more than I like to wrench these days....
Just my 2 Pecos....

How long ago did you stop becoming a Harley mechanic? I have had no vibration issues with my '16 Road Glide Ultra and regarding heat it is way cooler than the '10 Voyager. My Voyager left me stranded once and had to get it fixed at a Honda dealership because there were no Kawasaki dealerships for 80 miles.

When I am out touring the country, I see way more Harleys out there touring than any other kind of bike. Most of they guys I hear about getting in trouble are the ones who have to mess with the stock engine with cams, intake, exhaust, etc.

[plumber63]

[QUOTE=twowheeladdict;694910]How long ago did you stop becoming a Harley mechanic? I have had no vibration issues with my '16 Road Glide Ultra and regarding heat it is way cooler than the '10 Voyager. My Voyager left me stranded once and had to get it fixed at a Honda dealership because there were no Kawasaki dealerships for 80 miles.

When I am out touring the country, I see way more Harleys out there touring than any other kind of bike. Most of they guys I hear about getting in trouble are the ones who have to mess with the stock engine with cams, intake, exhaust, etc.[/QUOTE]

So your saying you have to put a bunch more $$$ in the Harley from stock to make it reliable? If so then DL point is valid. Harley fixed some of their issues, but there is still more issues.

[Top Cat]

[QUOTE=plumber63;694911]

Originally Posted by twowheeladdict

Most of they guys I hear about getting in trouble are the ones who have to mess with the stock engine with cams, intake, exhaust, etc.[/QUOTE]

So your saying you have to put a bunch more $$$ in the Harley from stock to make it reliable?

Seriously,that is what you got from that
What I got from it was if you leave them stock they are reliable, if you mess with them that's when they give you trouble.

[alwhite00]

[QUOTE=Top Cat;694912]

Originally Posted by plumber63

Seriously,that is what you got from that
What I got from it was if you leave them stock they are reliable, if you mess with them that's when they give you trouble.

X2, that’s how I took it.

[plumber63]

[QUOTE=Top Cat;694912] Top Cat

Originally Posted by ; [B

[/B]694911]

Seriously,that is what you got from that
What I got from it was if you leave them stock they are reliable, if you mess with them that's when they give you trouble.

What I have read and heard , is you need to upgrade the cam system and a few other things to make them reliable. The cams are known to disintegrate and take the top end out of the motor. The only true fix is a S&S upgrade.

[twowheeladdict]

[QUOTE=plumber63;694911]

Originally Posted by twowheeladdict

How long ago did you stop becoming a Harley mechanic? I have had no vibration issues with my '16 Road Glide Ultra and regarding heat it is way cooler than the '10 Voyager. My Voyager left me stranded once and had to get it fixed at a Honda dealership because there were no Kawasaki dealerships for 80 miles.

When I am out touring the country, I see way more Harleys out there touring than any other kind of bike. Most of they guys I hear about getting in trouble are the ones who have to mess with the stock engine with cams, intake, exhaust, etc.[/QUOTE]

So your saying you have to put a bunch more $$$ in the Harley from stock to make it reliable? If so then DL point is valid. Harley fixed some of their issues, but there is still more issues.

I can't speak for all Harleys, but the touring line is reliable from the factory. The guys who are having issues are the ones who are hopping them up for more power. Some are putting out 125HP / 120TQ and are breaking other components in the drive train.

Ride it like a cruiser and they are very reliable with many reporting 100,000 miles of touring.

[twowheeladdict]

[QUOTE=plumber63;694915]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

What I have read and heard , is you need to upgrade the cam system and a few other things to make them reliable. The cams are known to disintegrate and take the top end out of the motor. The only true fix is a S&S upgrade.

Don't know where you are reading that, but it is not true for the 103HO engines or the new M8 engine.

Of course there are going to be exceptions just like the 1600 Vulcan engines that knock and my 1700 Vulcan engine that had to be rebuilt under warranty.

[hoodooman]

I'm not sure why the word "harley" evokes so many strong emotions and assumptions - especially from folks who have never owned one.

I am not asking for opinions on which is a better machine, vulcan or harley, or asking for advice on how to spend my money.

I'm simply looking for advice/comments from harley owners past or present, and more specifically I'm interested in the EVO motor. I think I could have a ton of fun riding and wrenching on an EVO. It's not as antique say, a shovel, knuckle or pan, but isn't as new as a twinkie. That puts it in a nice price range, with nice parts availability still as well. I think it could be fun and a nice change. I love to wrench and heard that you can tinker with EVOs, but that they're also very reliable. I have an original 1954 chevy 210 and keeping it on the road requires lots of wrenching. I don't anticipate that much wrenching unless I picked up a knuckle or shovel. I just may pull the trigger on one.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by DragonLady58

At this time they are pretty reliable, but I wouldn't ride one coast to coast without my extended warranty, cellphone, AAA card, and some plastic and green, and about a extra week to kill just in case something happened.

I wouldn't ride ANY motorcycle coast to coast without some form of roadside assistance, a credit card, or a cellphone.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by hoodooman

I'm not sure why the word "harley" evokes so many strong emotions and assumptions - especially from folks who have never owned one.

I am not asking for opinions on which is a better machine, vulcan or harley, or asking for advice on how to spend my money.

I'm simply looking for advice/comments from harley owners past or present, and more specifically I'm interested in the EVO motor. I think I could have a ton of fun riding and wrenching on an EVO. It's not as antique say, a shovel, knuckle or pan, but isn't as new as a twinkie. That puts it in a nice price range, with nice parts availability still as well. I think it could be fun and a nice change. I love to wrench and heard that you can tinker with EVOs, but that they're also very reliable. I have an original 1954 chevy 210 and keeping it on the road requires lots of wrenching. I don't anticipate that much wrenching unless I picked up a knuckle or shovel. I just may pull the trigger on one.

Personally, I have wanted a Harley since my uncle used to take me for rides on his when I was a little kid. When I had my Nomad, I spent enough to buy a Harley to make it a more functional bike for touring. I bought an Ultra Limited because it was a full-blown touring machine right off the showroom floor. I don't buy used, so an EVO was never a consideration for me.

It all boils down to get what you want. If you want a Harley, buy one.

[waterman]

Hoodooman,

Personally, buy what you feel comfortable with. I was a diehard Kawasaki fan until their last upgrades. They just didn't cut it for me and after having a long discussion with a large group of us and some of the Kawasaki higher ups I felt they didn't really want to listen to us.

I spent over a year testing riding, reading and researching motorcycles before I took the jump. It was really between the Harley RGU M8 and the Indian Roadmaster. Yes they are the top of line bikes but long distance touring is what I wanted them for.

Figure out what you want the bike to do and then find the best one to do it with.