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[highwayking]

Yesterday, my wife picked me up at the Harley dealership for the upteenth time after I left my 2007 FLHTCUSE2 for yet another attempt to fix the idle drop I keep experiencing.  This is the third time for this issue, but it has literally been in the shop no less than six times for other non-maintenance visits since I bought the bike a little over a year ago.  On the way home, she asked me why I put up with the frustration of owning a Harley.  "If you had a car that gave you this much trouble you sure wouldn't buy another one from the same manufacturer, would you?"  Then she asked the all important question many of us ask ourselves sometime, "Why don't you buy a Japanese bike?  You don't drive an American car anymore, so what's the difference?"  I tried to tell her why we Harley owners are so loyal, but it fell on deaf ears.  I just wonder how long it will take for Harley to succomb to the exodus from their product as the big 3 auto makers have experienced because of shoddy workmanship and fading customer loyalty?  I owned a 2001 Road King before I bought this bike and I loved it.  It never gave me the trouble that this $33,000 monster has given me.  I'm giving them one more chance to get this thing fixed before my factory warranty runs out and then if it's not, I may be riding something more reliable of the Asian origin. 

[porthole]

You don't drive an American car anymore,

You don't?

[iski]

Asian as well as European bikes have their own problem sets. No magic pills when it comes to bike ownership/problems.  Agree that idle problem is a biatch & should be fixable.

As to other American bike makers - most have their own problem sets as well.  Know a few Big Dog owners whose bikes lived in shops until sold. 

The grass may look greener, but it is not always greener. 

[highwayking]

You don't?

Nope, I drive a 2006 Infiniti M35 that has never given me one problem in almost four years of driving.  I also have a Seiko watch, a Nikon camera, and a Sony TV instead of a Bulova, a Kodak and an RCA. 

[ice6900]

if i had 2 explain...........

[porthole]

Then you'll be pleased to know the gold wing is now made in japan  , and still costs less then your 07

[Gecko]

My neighbor takes his Kawasaki when he wants to be sure of getting there and back without a "lay-over" on the way, instead of the '07 110 Road Glide I talked him into.  Sorry to say, but their set of problems is minor and quickly corrected compared to HD lately.  And yes, I have two, an Evo Fat Boy.  The first one has given me very few problems; this one several.

[SE66]

Everything breaks !

Sounds like the problem is the Mechanics at the shop you are going to.  I believe it's time to visit another shop. 

[J-Carr]

I fell for that line of thinking 6 years ago in the auto market.  Bought two Subaru's for my wife after listening to all the "how reliable, how good in the snow, how inexpensive." glowing comments from their owners. And of course after reading a leading Consumer Reporting magazine.

Those two cars where the biggest peices of crap I've owned when it comes to motorzied vehicles.  One blew a motor, one never ran right. And the maintenance costs?!?!?!?  Some Japanese business owner is still sitting in a Hot Tub that I paid for just in maintenance parts costs!

I've come to some conclusions:
Consumer Reporting magaizines are in bed with the Japanese.  Don't believe what everyone tells you about how wonderful the foreign vehicles are.  I believe that they're not that much better if at all.  It's just the mob mentality.  The Japanese will rip us off just as quick as the American manufacturer.  It's just one get's you up fron and one on the back end (or in as the case may be).

So... I've put my money were my mouth is. I buy from American companies whenever possible.  Sometimes they're importing products or parts of products I know, but it's the best I can do right now until people wake up and realize if we don't produce and purchase in the U.S. we'll be a third world country.

BTW... My Ford F-150 is the best most reliable vehicle I've ever owned with 4 wheels.  My wife's Ford Fusion is her favorite car and it's AWD.  Much better in the snow then her Impreza or my Outback was.  My '08 CUSE3 is not the most reliable bike I've owned.  It's second.  My '94 Sporty was the most reliable.  Both are much better then the Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Honda I had before switching to Harley in '94.

Ride Safe,
J-Carr

P.S. Feel free to tell me how much better your "INSERT NAME HERE" is then any Ford.  It just proves my point that it's all a crap shoot.

[OhioDave]

You don't?

Nope my Chevrolet Avalanche was built in Mexico...

[Brinks]

Asian as well as European bikes have their own problem sets. No magic pills when it comes to bike ownership/problems.  Agree that idle problem is a biatch & should be fixable.

As to other American bike makers - most have their own problem sets as well.  Know a few Big Dog owners whose bikes lived in shops until sold. 

The grass may look greener, but it is not always greener. 

"The grass may look greener, but you still have to mow it"

[Wildrat]

Everything is crap now a days, look who's building most everything.

[Brinks]

Everything is crap now a days, look who's building most everything.

I'm not going to touch that one

[casper]

I have owned 4 harleys and the last one is a 08 SECUSE and I lhave loved them all, only 1 minor problem with my 04 ULTRA and that was dealer mechanic caused first time it was at a dealership for normal maintenance  and this was in 08, bought a 08 SECUSE after this fixed the 04 very minor sold it. Also have owned many fords the last two lasted for more than 200,000 miles my current F-150 is near 150,000 and no real problems stillruns great.

[arcticdude]

How about the GoldWings that had to have their frames replaced due to rampant cracking of the rear section a couple of years back?  Nothing is immune to problems.  Just image all the crap you'll get when you pull up on your first ride with your buddys on your new jap bike!  That will cover at least a few of the HD problems!

Seriously, nothing out there is faultless.  The Accord is notorious for bad automatic transmissions several years ago.  Anybody remember the early Toyota diesels?  They were bigger POS's than the original GM diesel and were built as GM stopped making theirs, so they should have known better.  The R&D was already done by GM!  It's all a crap shoot.

All american brands in the house, other than a couple of Massey Fergurson tractors on the farm, but I've got an 8N, a 9N and a Case to offset them!