I want it
 

So, I stop at the dealer the other day after a nice little benefit ride and I take look at the showroom floor and why do I let myself get hypnotized by that beautiful bike? I mean I see it in my mind with the scarlet red and black two tone and I am in love. Any body got $25k to lone me? Why are HD's so DAMN expensive?

Frustrated as hell

Caveman:whosr:

I have spent some time in their dealeships and dunno. Great looking bikes but I cant see paying a 50 percent premium for a name?

Steel frames, engines designed 10 years ago(based off a design from the turn of the century), crappy susupension, and one hell of an image.

I would go jap for a cruiser.

Cheap ass.

Give me the $25k, I will kick you in the balls and let you work on my bike. I will buy you a H-D patch so you can get the full experience too. :lol:

Hey GM :nee:

we get a lot of guys up here who rock the vest but forgot to bring the bike with them :lmao:

Suzy M109 over the V-rod, Honda VTX over most of the rest. I do like the XR1200 streettracker though...And the Night train, but maybe not enough to pay the piper...

Night Train is my favorite. I've been looking at the Victory Vegas, but as others have said, that's a lot of coin to drop on a bike.

Where ya been Capn? Good to hear from yas...

Well actually you were sitting on the CVO version first... for $35k. Then I smacked you and told you to sit on the Limited version and save yourself $10k. Which would have only got you another 7 CI, some more chrome, different wheels, and flashier paint... oh and a heated seat. Not worth 10k.

$35k CVO Ultra
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...9146791648.jpg

$25K Limited Ultra (just like mine + $2k for flashy paint, 7 CI, chrome wheels, luggauge rack, and heated grips.)
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...9146711252.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...9146710583.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...9146712096.jpg

But of coarse he wants the Limited in Scarlet Red/Black. Which will look :boobs:

Keeping dreaming... Twin Cam motor is a great and new motor design. We aren't talking about your dad's old Knuckle!

The 2009 FLH touring models have a brand new frame. Crappy suspension? The new FLH models are carvours... your rocket wouldn't perform if carrying around this big a bike. Susprised you didn't mention brakes... oh yeah... that's cause they are carrying a complete Brembo brake system with intergrated ABS... oh I almost forgot... no ugly abs tone ring... internal in the hub. :wtfru:

Lets not ignore that not all the jap cruisers combined can they even compare to just HD branded aftermarket support. Not to mention the manufactures that do carry metric aftermarket parts carry at least 2 to 3 times more HD aftermarket.

You shouldn't speak about what you don't know or understand.

That being said... has anybody seen the new Victory line up... more specifically the touring line up??

Another American bike that probably has just as much support as metric cruisers.

Well that is just great, now explain the price disparity between a Harley and a Jap cruiser.

No Fighting in the club house
 

Lets all just calm down and go get another drink.

I know that when buying an HD you are paying a considerable sum for the name, however, you can't deny that the bikes look damn nice. Not to mention the support and the service you can get with a small percentage of add to the price in financing. I refer, of course, to the no ride interuption clause stating if while on the road for a trip and you break down they will put you up in a hotel, near a HD service center, trailer the bike to a shop, repair and get you back on the road ASAP. Thats a pretty good assurance. I haven't seen one metric shop even offer such a thing not to mention when I bought my brand new Shadow Sabre I only got a 1 year 12k mile warranty. Minimum the HD comes with is a 3 yr powertrain and electric warranty and service package.

Then the after market support is absolutely incredible. I mean you can get a lot of parts and such for the metrics but they aren't garranteed to work or fit and the companies that sell usually give you a headache trying to return.
I have gone through 2 Vance & Hines baffles and finally had to just run 2 in long bolts with the Nylok nuts and some serious blue thread lock to keep the F-in thing in the pipe and keep from hearing my neighbors complaining.

So I guess that I will pay the price and become one of the millions of HD followers. I am not doing it because others give me shit or just fit in. Gas Man can attest that I march do the beat of my OWN drum and tend to do things a little extreme. So paying the cash for the Ultra just seems to be what is completely inline with my current standards. I like the bike. I want the bike. I WILL get the bike.

Now I just hope that I don't lay it down, and scuff the shit out of it. I will just cry if that happens.

Caveman

Naw really cuz I thought they all park them around the corner.

There is a guy down the street from me who every saturday gets on his bike and rides it less than a mile to the bar at the other end of the street, then after a few hours in the bar rides it back home. I don't think I've ever seen him actually turn the bike except into his driveway.

I'm just teasing you guys, Sean. Get what you want man, I took a lot of flak for getting the Beemer and I am absolutely loving it.

I have bought my share of vehicles but I never got treated better and with speedier service than at the H-D shop. Even better than any car dealership I have shopped. They really went out of the way to make me feel special

It may just be the sign of the times. When I was searching for the beemer at dealerships, people were practically begging me to buy their bikes.

Well allot of what I said goes into that. Plus the all union shops that build the bike in the states. Same reason why stuff that says "made in the USA" is more money than "made in china". Hell even the victories I listed at in the high teens. Still cheaper than HD but more than jap cruisers.

I can tell ya. I work on allot of bikes and Caveman can attest to this. I don't think any of the jap cruisers can hold a candle to the HD bikes. There is just so much more R&D into the HD. Did you know that HD even puts R&D into the sound coming from the motors? Maybe that doesn't matter to some but it does to many. When listening to exhaust notes on cruisers... they are all compared to the sound of an HD v-twin. That is just how it is.

How about that HD is the only company that has put in the R&D to still run a non-water cooled bike that meets EPA restrictions?

What about a better warrenty? What about dealerships that are HUGE HUGE HUGE steps above ANY metric dealership?

HD sets the bar in the cruiser world. EVERYBODY else tries to get a piece of their table scraps. That goes from Big Dog, Victory, Metric, etc. After all they are the #1 motorcycle in sales WORLD WIDE.

They also sell more than just bikes. They have figured out how to even market themselves to people that aren't bikers. It all adds up to the HD cultrure.

He has a metric cruiser... and wants a HD. Why wouldn't he just buy another metric? Cause they simply dont measure up.

And I still give you slack for the BMW yet you know I respect the hell out of the bike. I can do things that no HD could.

Same goes for me. My dealership treats me like GOLD. When I had the Ultra in for a fault code on the throttle. The parts were back ordered for 2 weeks. What did the dealership do? They called in a favor from the York, PA factory where they assemble my bike and got the parts off the assembly line. THAT IS FUCKIN SERVICE!!!

I walk into ANY metric bike dealership and they have shit for brains working there. The HD guys are just not that way. They make service appts. Have while you wait oil change appts. Drop your bike off sunday evening/mon morning for a service interval and they gaurentee it back by Friday morning.

Does the metric shop wash your bike after they service it? My HD does.

Will your metric shop come pick up your bike from where ever for no charge and drop it off if need be? My HD does.

How many parts whether its service parts or aftermarket does your metric shop carry in stock? My HD carries a freakin lot.

What about an apperal and gear selection that looks like a section out of a Target in aspect of size??

Organized rally's, rides, charity things, etc...

Women only functions with free food, drinks, and non-money gambling?

Riders Edge training school.

The list goes on and on but if you aren't part of it you don't really understand. And i don't mean that wrong.

Its cool dude
 

Hey Trip I know you don't mean anything bad about it. My whole take the motorcycle scene is this: Drive what you want, take care of it, take ownership of it, and love it, and last but definatly not least RIDE THE MF-ER. If you do that, then your a biker. As long as you got your knees in the breeze and you are enjoying yourself no matter what you ride your a biker. I just hate the people who will only buy the HD's because thats whats popular. I bought my first bike was Yamaha 535, it was small, but it still hauled ass when you gave a twist of the wrist and I was on two wheels. I buy bikes that I LIKE not what I think the guy next to me likes. Now the fact that when a fine piece of ass notices you on the HD and comments.....thats just icing on the cake. :boobs:

Caveman

Ok this pretty much sums it up for me. Enjoy. :cheers:

There's very little doubt in my mind that my next bike will be a Harley-Davidson. I just dont know which one. I really really really want a XR1200. Thats more likely to be the next purchase. Probably sometime next year. Thinking ahead, the bike after that will probably be a HD Street Glide. I love the look of those things. And at this point in my life, I dont get to hit the twistie bits like I want to and I can't take more than a short time on a sportbike before I'm in pain.

For visual purposes, The XR: :drool:

http://2wheeltuesday.com/wp-content/...right_rear.jpg

The Street Glide:

http://myrtlebeach.eaglerider.com/Image.axd?ImageID=330

That XR is my next bike. As for cruiser? It will be the Hyosung GV650! fTW!

I love the XR. Dealer let me take the boss's bike around the parking lot. From what I could tell at 15mph it was awesome.

That is what is so cool about my HD dealer. They fire up bikes inside the immaculate sowroom, let you test ride anything from their fleet, wash my bike for any service even the recall, and have awesome events...
Back to the XR though. It really is a sweet looking ride and got high marks for handling which was why i stayed away from the 1200 sportster line ayway...

Yeah I hear ya. My dealer doesn't wash my bike...but they treat me really well. Which is awesome, because I have to travel an hour to get there. But they know Buell and they are good people.

Last time I was there (strictly to pick up the gear lock) I told them I was interested in the XR. The only XR they had was the owners personal XR. They let me take it for a spin with the caveat that if I crashed it I was getting him fired. :lol:

They called me a few days later and said "Joe (White, the owner) said you can take the XR out on the street if you want." FUCKING AWESOME....except I live an hour away.

The wife and I toured Arizona on a Street Glide. Nice bike but I definitely prefer the Ultra's myself.

When one finally makes it's way into our garage I forsee doing a hybrid job like Gasman's. Extra storage and wind protection when you want it, removable when you don't.

Really? What did you like better. I've never rode either of them. But I really like that look. Gas Man's rig is awesome. His setup in his cruising mode, much like the Street Glide, is what I'm looking for.

I like the look of the Street Glide but for long hauls the Ultra is my choice.

I like the rear bag/trunk on the Ultra's. I toured two weeks out of one with a broken wrist and was able to fit all my luggage (including rehab equipment for the wrist).

With the back piece on, my wife likes having the backrest and arm rests. The rear foot rests are more like floorboards instead of pegs.

The lower windscreen looks better but doesn't work for my height. On the Ultra the air is directed over or around me. On the SG, the lower screen directed the wind right onto my helmet. On long highway streches, I had to slouch to avoid the buffeting.

I like what Gasman did with his, it seems like a great compromise between the two bikes.

Right on. The versatility of the trunk and taller windshield would be nice at times.

We should go there before the rally. I can get a t-shirt... Maybe let ya try the ultra...

The SG is a "sportier" version of the ultra. Drop the trunk, lowers, short windshield, no bag surrounds. Its also 2" lower. I would love the lowered aspect for pushing it around in foot reverse. But when it comes to hauling a passenger you want the ultra. The rear suspension is beefier and will take the added weight better.

You will get to see me do my conversion when I get to your house. I will show up with the tall shield, trunk on, and backrest... strip all that down to my "Street Classic". Its heavon IMO.

Yeah the foot boards all around are great. And what you all will realize is the awesome aftermarket like you have never had before. I myself has stuck with all HD only aftermarket but that's just me. the prices are USUALLY fair and you KNOW it will all fit without any question.

You are shittin. You'll see when I come out...

You're selling me on this Ultra Classic, holmes. And we can definately run out to White's when you're in town. I need a few parts too...but I'm hoping to get those sooner than October.

I can't do the big bat wing and the suitcases. If I'm going cruiser it would have to be a night train

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photo...TrainFXSTB.jpg

Oh, and my wife likes to ride along...and that is just simply not fun on the Buell. For her or me.

As far as the "suitcases"...I wanna be able to carry some shit. More than I can in my super tiny tank bag right now.

There is reason why I went the way I went. I'll tip you the rest of the way when I'm in town.

Really.... I thought you would be more a Night Rod type of guy. Or the new Muscle.

Hey, I can take the wifey with me on the ultra when we go to the rally or whichever.

I love the Muscle. But I'm thinking if I go cruiser HD type I'm going bagger all the way.


And wife would probably be into riding on the UC.

The muscle is sweet. As long as you still dont mind the lean forward stance. That's the deal breaker for me. Hell now that I'm use to my bagger, I don't even want to ride the nighster much.

Schweet... nothing better than a hot chick on the back of the bike.

I may change out the heritage for flhx. I test drove one the other day and really liked it.

Been here and there. Start the new job the day after the Indy MotoGP. SO looking forward to a new bike next year. Although, I've been lowballing some auctions on ebay hoping to score a good deal. We shall see. Also really considering Harley's offer of getting a sportster prior to Aug 31 and having them give me full MSRP back if I trade it in within a year for a big twin (which I would trade it in for a Night Train).

I swapped out the Road King for a Street Glide in June. Smitten with the thing. The '09 chassis improvements are striking. As Gas Man noted, the SG is kinda like a sporting E-Glide. Go short, go far, the bike delivers a grin on both kinds of journeys. And what a comfortable thing. A 300 mile ride feels like a 30 mile scoot (Especially with a middle-aged man back rest. Ha!).

As for the $price, yeah it tends to cost more. Someday when it is inevitably sold, it will also sell for more than the cheaper alternatives. There's two sides to the $ownership. The H-D also offers ABS, six speed trannies, Brembo braking, throttle by wire, slipper clutches (V-Rod), etc. The list is short of the metric cruising competition offering just a portion of the same. The Milwaukee bike has probably been the most reliable two wheeled thang I've had in the barn over the years.

From last week. A red denim matte finish to ride hard and not be prissy about.
http://www.farson.com/flhx/flhx11mile800.jpg

Those clouds in the distance soon turned very moody and dark. Took this pic, made an about face, gunned the bike and watched my mirrors as the storm gave pursuit. It dropped a rare mountain tornado moments later behind me that tore through some nearby pines off to the right.
http://www.farson.com/flhx/11mileclouds.jpg

I was always interested, but the frame, chassis improvement along with the 180 rear tire and what looks like a sportbike tire up front sold me. My heritage is setup more like a deluxe right now and makes 110hp and 119 lb/tq so that's my only hesitance. But the fairing, a GPS (I am always lost), and satellite radio might be to much to pass up. Plus I think the FLHX is smoking hot looking.

I do like the brembos with abs as well.

Do it man. And you might wanna see if that offer extends to the XR1200. Technically it's still a sportster...and it's, in fact, sporty.

I've never seen either of those 2 in person.

The NightRod is bad ass. I rode one about a year ago. And the Muscle is 10x sweeter than the regular old Vrod, slipper clutch and all.

I just checked out the night rod on the HD site. That thing is cool. I didn't care for the muscle though.

You're crazy on that Muscle. Sucker is cleaner than the regular Vrod.

I need to see one in person I think. Pics must not do it justice.

Overall, however, I think the Vrod engine is ugly. The looks of it, I mean.

Good to hear you check in. You are a man of good opinion! Got the stats and resume to back it up for sure.

And the bigger rear wheel plus the intergrated tail lights in the fender. Which I hope they make a all red version for aftermarket.

What dont you like about it?

I think the muscle should be the night rod. Just like I think the 883 Iron motor should be on the Nightster.

I agree. I love the Iron...but I'd only buy it if it came in the 1200. And the Muscle just looks fucking awesome. I like it more than the Night Rod. The rear fender is excellent. The turn signals in the mirror stalks. Just a clean bike.

That would be more my style for sure. If I buy a Harley these days it will most likely be a V-Rod.

I also like the Victory Vegas Jackpot.

When I was looking at it, they were showing it in silver. It looks way better in black. I don't like the modular looking intake in front of the gas tanks and that radiator looks fucking huge. I do like the tail though and the single exhaust on each side looks better.

Yeah the black looks awesome. I really like the dark red too.

Ahh, I don't see the Night Train in the 2010 models. WTF?? I'm going to have to stop by a dealer and see what they say about it.

The v-rod really is the perfect ex-rocket guy that wants a HD but with hot rod/speed and agressive seating. They can be moded to EAT other bikes. Closest competition would probably be the new V-Max.

and they both have fuck all ground clearance.

Confirmed. No Night Train for 2010. I have enough saved to buy a Sporty, but don't really want one of those. Was only going to do it for the "ride for a year and get MSRP for the bike when you trade it in..." deal. Oh well, I'll just keep saving until I can afford what I really want! Summer's almost over anyway, so it's not like I'd be riding that much this year before putting the bike away.

Are leaning toward cruiser rather than sportbike at this point?

Yeah. I feel like I could get myself in too much trouble (and have done so) on a sport bike. :lol: Besides, the vast majority of riding that I'd be doing is more suited to cruisers. Indiana has a few fun roads, but they aren't that close to me. If I had my way, I'd have a track bike and a cruiser (and may have that one day), but I think a cruiser would be a better fit at this point.

I'm really looking at the Victory Vegas, but also like the Harley Night Train and Deuce. I have bids in on eBay right now, just trying to get a deal on a used one for the amount of money I have saved up. I may just wait till spring (or very late winter), but if I get the right deal, I'll go ahead and buy now.

I hear ya brother. I'm getting to that point myself.

Well the catch is that our cliche online is all getting old!

You're not kidding. I'm not riding to work today because my fucking hand is killing me. Damn Buell clutch.

eh not said properly.

I think HD and metric tour bikes are all similarly priced. --- that's better, nicer anyways. LOL

aint that the truth. Now days I actually enjoy pedalling a bike now and then. family functions I show up in my Jeep without the hemet head that everyone expects.

I tell everyone, some people have a mid life crisis and buy a bike. Mine will be slowing down on riding so much and getting a pedal bike. :) I even have a clean driving record now days. LOL Haven't had a ticket since I turned 40. :rockwoot:

Caveman, SAD
 

Well, it looks as if I wont be getting the HD anytime soon..... I have too many projects to do around the house and my stupid debt ratio is too high. I didn't think it was that much, but I don't run the banks. Shitty....

How about getting a Buell? Would cost a third of what you were getting....

he needs a buell rocket like he needs a third hole to breath out of. Which I think would probably happen if he told his wife that. She's ex-army and I feel trained enough to pull it off.

Carvers? Compared to what?

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