Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[RedBone]

 :orange:Its a lifestyle and marketing have had them all liked myGW and the kawasaki triumph all were nice but always came back to harley aside from everything else they cant match this

[ccr]

:orange:Its a lifestyle and marketing have had them all liked myGW and the kawasaki triumph all were nice but always came back to harley aside from everything else they cant match this

Sometimes a picture truly is worth a thousand words!

[MJZ]

But are you forgetting, you meet the nicest people on a Honda?
I was going to a surprise birthday party for Phaze last night and needed a gag gift. I went by a Honda dealer to get a t-shirt for that purpose. They had none, nada, not a single one, the only thing they had were racing jackets and motocross stuff. I mentioned this to a friend last night at the party, he said the smartest thing HD did by far was HOG, that and opening a network of t-shirt shops (aka dealerships).

[RJ749]

But are you forgetting, you meet the nicest people on a Honda?
I was going to a surprise birthday party for Phaze last night and needed a gag gift. I went by a Honda dealer to get a t-shirt for that purpose. They had none, nada, not a single one, the only thing they had were racing jackets and motocross stuff. I mentioned this to a friend last night at the party, he said the smartest thing HD did by far was opening a network of t-shirt shops (aka dealerships).

Yep, ask WFP about that.

Hell, I like just having the Harley in the garage in the winter.  Puts a smile on my face every time I look at it and think of my next ride.  (oh, I guess its not "the" Harley any longer, hope the nanner is putting a smile on S-B's face to for now)

[Steve_G]

  I have noticed that MCN itself has a bias against Harleys, and has for years.  When they did their review on the "08 CVOs they mentioned that the seating position bent your legs too much.  What's up with that?  As far as I've noticed, the seat to floorboard distance is about the same since I bought my first Electra-glide 20 years ago.  They also said the bat wing fairing was too heavy and made handling heavier.  The same fairing has been on these bikes forever.  -Sure there is more electronics in there, but I don't find myself fighting to turn a corner.   -Give me a break!
Also, in the current issue, they only give the Harley touring bikes three out of a possible five "bullets" for an over all rating.  The Goldwings get four and a half.  If you go by MCN's reviews, you would never own a Harley. 
  The funny thing is, they don't accept any advertising.  The mag is supposed to be purely objective.  I personally have owned three wings.  Great bikes!  -I sold my last one twenty years ago after doing a fly and ride (I also had an FXRS at the time) and deciding I liked the Harley much better.  (I rented a '87 Electra-glide from Chosa's in Phoenix, and visited Fort Huachuca where I'd spent my last year and a half in the army).  It looked better, sounded better, and handled better.  It definately had more character, and I didn't get the pain in my back shoulder area after several hours in the saddle that I got with the wing.   My current bike is my 14th new Harley and my 8th Electra-glide.
  I still have a copy of the OLD MCN when it was Road Rider magazine, that has two color pictures of me and my wife pulling into Central City, CO on an '83 Goldwing pulling a trailer.  That's when we met Bob and Patty Carpenter, the editors of the magazine.  That was in '84.  They were doing a 50k road test on the new Yamaha Venture for Yamaha.
  When Road Rider changed to MCN they went with a cheap paper stock, and did away with the colors.  They accept no advertising.  They are supposed to be objective, but they are really not into touring bikes.  They like crotch rockets best.  They definately don't like Harleys. 
  So much for objectivity.
 

[WFP]

Yep, ask WFP about that.

Hell, I like just having the Harley in the garage in the winter.  Puts a smile on my face every time I look at it and think of my next ride.  (oh, I guess its not "the" Harley any longer, hope the nanner is putting a smile on S-B's face to for now)

Sure, just cause I plan my trips around the t-shirt stops....but wait, for nelson I really need those stops since most of them could not cure my bike ills!

[grandpadoc]

I dunno, I think this is one of those cases where the old phrase, "If I had to explain, you wouldn't understand," applies.  I rode Kawasakis for many years before going to Harley's in the fall of 2001.  At this point in time, I don't see me ever going back, no matter how many seats, horns, speakers, windshields, brake levers, etc., etc., etc., I have to buy to get the bike to my liking.  What can I say, I just love our (CVO) motorcycles.

We have three motorcycle cops in our town, two on Harleys and one on a Kawi. The two officers on Harleys either ride solo or together. The officer on the Kawi always rides solo or in back of the Harleys. "If I had to explain you wouldn't understand."    Doc

[grc]

  I have noticed that MCN itself has a bias against Harleys, and has for years.  When they did their review on the "08 CVOs they mentioned that the seating position bent your legs too much.  What's up with that?  As far as I've noticed, the seat to floorboard distance is about the same since I bought my first Electra-glide 20 years ago.  They also said the bat wing fairing was too heavy and made handling heavier.  The same fairing has been on these bikes forever.  -Sure there is more electronics in there, but I don't find myself fighting to turn a corner.   -Give me a break!
Also, in the current issue, they only give the Harley touring bikes three out of a possible five "bullets" for an over all rating.  The Goldwings get four and a half.  If you go by MCN's reviews, you would never own a Harley. 
  The funny thing is, they don't accept any advertising.  The mag is supposed to be purely objective.  I personally have owned three wings.  Great bikes!  -I sold my last one twenty years ago after doing a fly and ride (I also had an FXRS at the time) and deciding I liked the Harley much better.  (I rented a '87 Electra-glide from Chosa's in Phoenix, and visited Fort Huachuca where I'd spent my last year and a half in the army).  It looked better, sounded better, and handled better.  It definately had more character, and I didn't get the pain in my back shoulder area after several hours in the saddle that I got with the wing.   My current bike is my 14th new Harley and my 8th Electra-glide.
  I still have a copy of the OLD MCN when it was Road Rider magazine, that has two color pictures of me and my wife pulling into Central City, CO on an '83 Goldwing pulling a trailer.  That's when we met Bob and Patty Carpenter, the editors of the magazine.  That was in '84.  They were doing a 50k road test on the new Yamaha Venture for Yamaha.
  When Road Rider changed to MCN they went with a cheap paper stock, and did away with the colors.  They accept no advertising.  They are supposed to be objective, but they are really not into touring bikes.  They like crotch rockets best.  They definately don't like Harleys. 
  So much for objectivity.
 

Actually, the average human has gotten considerably taller in the past 20-30 years.  One reason us short dudes like Harleys (at least the Dyna's and Touring models) is that they don't force you to stretch out to reach the controls, or stand on tippy-toes to hold the bike up at stops.  This advantage can easily become a disadvantage for tall folks, with a "knees in the face" feeling.  I wouldn't badmouth MCN's objectivity based on that comment; the same comment comes from members here as well as other mags that carry plenty of H-D advertising and normally gloss over the many faults.

No doubt about it, a bike with a fork mounted batwing fairing isn't going to handle as well as a bike with a frame mounted fairing.  Put a few thousand miles on a Road Glide, jump back on the E-Glide, and make your own comparison.

Without trying to start another of those endless debates about Harleys versus all other brands, I think MCN's rating isn't all that far off.  Putting aside all the "soul" and other nebulous factors folks like to throw out concerning Harley's, if you were to take the same approach that Consumer Reports uses on cars, with objective test results as well as subjective comments, you would be hard pressed to come up with enough subjective points to offset the performance numbers of the GW.

JMHO - Jerry

[J-Carr]

Ah, the dreaded "My bike's better than your bike, my bike's better then yours" song.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It's always fun to have a discussion about why your bike, car, girl is better then the next guys.  But very rarely does it convince anyone of anything.

I listened once.  About cars.  Lotsa people said "Young man, buy a Subaru.  Stop paying all those repair bills on that american cr@p. Better technology."  Hmmm.  One blown motor and $5000 for a junyard motor installed, not to mention some suspension issues, bad radio, broken hatch strut and not very good in the snow for an all wheel drive I sold it and bought a Ford.  That's right.  Found On Road Dead.  Happy me!  Perfect truck.  Towed a missan 4x4 truck and a SUBARU out of trouble last year in the Valentine's day masacre.. I mean storm in PA.

Moral of the story?  Never try to teach a pig to sing. It just wastes your time and annoys the pig.  Me, I'll keep my Nemo (Copper Canyon FLHTCUSE3).  $40,000 after the accessories, warrenty and tax.  I'm quite happy. It's been perfect.   Doesn't leak or run too hot. I don't know how fast it goes, cause I like the time I'm riding it so I never go as fast it can, so I get more saddle time.  I don't know if it can out handle the BMW 1200 I rode with last.  Neither her nor I cared who's bike handled better or went faster.  We enjoyed the ride.  She admired my electronics.  I admired her lines.  I mean her bike's lines.  Honest.

I'm so tired of defending my decision to buy a Harley from the BMR crowd.  My decision to ride a Glide instead of a Wing from the Honda crowd.  My decision not to spend my 40 large on a ProStreet American Chopper wannabe from the "Chopper Crowd" who only ride 500 miles a year. And my decision not hop up the engine from some of the Screamin Eagle folks at my dealer who think if you but a CVO you must wanna go fast.

To Each Their Own.

Peace,
J-Carr

[MJZ]

That reminds me of an interresting thought I had last week when I went buy a couple of different local dealers here that sell choppers. They both have quite a few brand new choppers on the floor, most 2006 models, makes me wonder if that market has run it's course all over or is it just in my area.

[deucedog]

I like most bikes and am grateful to have four unique bikes in the garage.  Each bike has a purpose and they all do better at some things over the other.  The CVO Ultra is a wonderful two-up bike that's a great and fun cruiser with a ton of character. The BMW R1200 GS Adventure is a monster of a bike with the boxes on the sides and a top case.  This bike I ride myself and enjoy going on long distance adventures -it eats up the highway and has a long range with a near 9 gallon tank.  The BMW is a great machine with precision and is smooth as glass to ride.  The KTM 640 Adventure is a dual purpose bike on a very well proven platform with the LC4 4 stroke engine.  Besides, it's one of the coolest looking bikes on the road.  It's a go anywhere type bike and it's orange and black!  Finally, I like riding on the dirt too, so a Yamaha 450 WR does the trick providing a load of torque.  It's reliable and very light checking in at 248 lbs. dry. 

Ride what you like - if has two wheels and a motor, that's all that counts... 

[Steve_G]

Actually, the average human has gotten considerably taller in the past 20-30 years.  One reason us short dudes like Harleys (at least the Dyna's and Touring models) is that they don't force you to stretch out to reach the controls, or stand on tippy-toes to hold the bike up at stops.  This advantage can easily become a disadvantage for tall folks, with a "knees in the face" feeling.  I wouldn't badmouth MCN's objectivity based on that comment; the same comment comes from members here as well as other mags that carry plenty of H-D advertising and normally gloss over the many faults.

No doubt about it, a bike with a fork mounted batwing fairing isn't going to handle as well as a bike with a frame mounted fairing.  Put a few thousand miles on a Road Glide, jump back on the E-Glide, and make your own comparison.

Without trying to start another of those endless debates about Harleys versus all other brands, I think MCN's rating isn't all that far off.  Putting aside all the "soul" and other nebulous factors folks like to throw out concerning Harley's, if you were to take the same approach that Consumer Reports uses on cars, with objective test results as well as subjective comments, you would be hard pressed to come up with enough subjective points to offset the performance numbers of the GW.

JMHO - Jerry

  Jerry, I'm 6'4".  I'm saying the Harley fits this short dude just fine.  As far as the other comments about MCN's dislike of Harley's I was merely mentioning the negative comments in the last issue or two.  The negative comments go back for many years.  Also, the reason I keep buying Harleys is that they work best for me.  I think they must work best for quite a few people when I look at the market results.  People vote with their pocket-book.  I have voted on motorcyles 26 times.  I think I've given all of them a fair chance.  I vote Harley.  
If I end up with a leaker, I'm not sure if I'll fix it, or switch to a Wing.  Although "soul" is a subjective thing, I guess I can get used to riding an electric fan once more.  
  I'm not ignorant of the way frame mounted fairings work vs. handlebar mounted ones.  I like the handlebar ones on a Harley.  It appears the majority of Harley bagger riders do.  Check out the sales figures.
  I don't drag race my bagger, and I don't try to see what the thing will do at red line in 6th gear.  The performance is just fine.  Is a Corvette BETTER than a Cadillac?  I guess the performance numbers say the 'Vette is better, so the Cadillac buyers are totally misled.  
  Maybe you missed the point I made that I have OWNED three Wings.  The first one I bought new in 1977.  I had an '83 Interstate, and an '85 Limited Edition wing.  -They both had frame mounted fairings.  I speak from experience.
  All I am saying is that MCN doesn't like Harleys.  

[HogBreath]

I've got the bike(s) I want..That's plural.

I've got the girl I want. That's single.

It's great to be me.

[deucedog]

I've got the bike(s) I want..That's plural.

I've got the girl I want. That's single.

It's great to be me.

You can always get more bikes, but having the girl you want is all that matters.  It is definitely a great thing to be you.  Wish everyone were so positive about life and who they are.   

[iski]

I've got the bike(s) I want..That's plural.

I've got the girl I want. That's single.

It's great to be me.

wise words......

Life is good.  Same here on bikes plural, girl, single.

Plus I have lots of beer & know where I can get more.