Print

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

[charles05663]

Except for this "The issue is not bike/style".  For me the Harley is the perfect bike/style.

I guess I was not as clear as I thought I was.  Members here do not have a problem with the bike and style.  Our gripe is about the quality and treatment issues.

I agree with you guppytrash, I love the styles and and the low end torque.  I have to say, I still think the 2009 Yellow SERG is one of the besting looking bikes I have ever seen.  And I am very pleased to own one.  The other "harley" wannabes just don't have the look I enjoy.  I am sure they are more reliable though.

[Twolanerider]

@Twolanerider: I'm fully aware that a bike is a machine and has no "soul" in a religious sense.
When you read my post you'll see that I describe the unique style and "imperfection" of a Harleys as thei soul. You can't explain it to somebody who has never driven such a bike, but we "feel" it - why else would we buy such overprized bikes (and yes, I know HD marketing does a good job, but that wasn't the reason why I bought one.)
You can use different words for it - for me my bike has it's moods, good and bad days, makes me often happy and drives me sometimes crazy. So it must have something like a soul 

Didn't take it that way at all.  Would never impute a religious connotation to the oft used "soul" as it's used to discuss an HD bike.  Just to highlight how bent we all are and how lemming-esque we can be (as we chase our motorcycle individuality in copycat t-shirts and leathers) as we pursue the "idea" of the Harley it's worth noting that the disucssion has touched on religion before though.  In fact the discussion has come to more than one deity (Springsteen and Jesus [though I understand that for some these are the same thing]).

A Philosphy PhD named Randall Auxier wrote an interesting piece on whether Springsteen rode a Harley as his "suicide machine."  In the same piece he postulated whether Jesus would have (or in fact might have or would someday [the whole potential resurrection thing plays hell {pardon me} with the tenses]) ridden a Harley.  After much ontological parsing this august (i.e., someone who spent a lot of time and money getting a Philosophy PhD) personage came to the conclusion that Springsteen and Jesus (assuming they are separate entities) would indeed ride Harleys and that Jesus may in fact have done so in to Jerusalem.  But I digress.... 

What the word (soul, in case everyone else, like me, forgot about what we were talking about) is, however, is a better sounding more expensive way of saying they are significantly imperfect idiosyncratic quirky things that for reasons we don't give enough thought to make us complacent about all the trouble they can cause us and the expenses that are attendant to having them.  Oh chit, they're women .

[SDCVO]

I have worked most of my career with BMW (and recently Ducati) and I have to assume that the people on this thread that are talking about switching over to BMW or Ducati have never had one before... I see some of the horrible stories with some of the Harley dealers and I am really sorry to see that but I have to tell you that the service I have received from both the dealer in Bend OR (Wildhorse Harley) where I bought the bike and San Diego Harley where I have done all the work have been absolutely world class! There is not a BMW or Ducati dealer that I have ever met or heard of that is even on the same planet as them...
As I said in a earlier thread, I did everything I could this time to not buy a Harley (not to mention that I get employee pricing on BMW which is very compelling and Ducati which is just OK but certainly better than getting no deal with Harley) and was just about to pull the trigger on the new Diavel when I went to the Harley dealer just to "make sure"...
Even though at the end of the day I spent a ton more money on the SERGC then I would have, I am so glad I did!

For those of you that think "the grass is greener" go on their "enthusiasts" forums and check out what they are dealing with and what their bikes are worth when they get "fed up" and and what they are paying to repair/maintain them and hopefully it will help you enjoy what though certainly not perfect, is definitely the funnest (soul?) coolest bike in the world and I am not talking about their marketing (which I personally think is not very effective but what do I know...)



 

[Buy early]

Interesting thread.

[Banana man]

Didn't take it that way at all.  Would never impute a religious connotation to the oft used "soul" as it's used to discuss an HD bike.  Just to highlight how bent we all are and how lemming-esque we can be (as we chase our motorcycle individuality in copycat t-shirts and leathers) as we pursue the "idea" of the Harley it's worth noting that the disucssion has touched on religion before though.  In fact the discussion has come to more than one deity (Springsteen and Jesus [though I understand that for some these are the same thing]).

A Philosphy PhD named Randall Auxier wrote an interesting piece on whether Springsteen rode a Harley as his "suicide machine."  In the same piece he postulated whether Jesus would have (or in fact might have or would someday [the whole potential resurrection thing plays hell {pardon me} with the tenses]) ridden a Harley.  After much ontological parsing this august (i.e., someone who spent a lot of time and money getting a Philosophy PhD) personage came to the conclusion that Springsteen and Jesus (assuming they are separate entities) would indeed ride Harleys and that Jesus may in fact have done so in to Jerusalem.  But I digress.... 

What the word (soul, in case everyone else, like me, forgot about what we were talking about) is, however, is a better sounding more expensive way of saying they are significantly imperfect idiosyncratic quirky things that for reasons we don't give enough thought to make us complacent about all the trouble they can cause us and the expenses that are attendant to having them.  Oh chit, they're women .

You finally figured it out for all the rest of us.
Yes Don they are a lot like women, we want them, we dress them up to make them more beautiful
and more functional, and at the same time they can irritate the piss out of us when the don't
function the way we think they should.

I hope my wife doesn't see this. 

[laylonlor]

About two years ago, the City of San Jose dumped Harleys in favor of Honda ST1300s.  The guys didn't like it at first, but do love the bikes now.  There are still a few hold outs, but most have moved to the new bikes and are enjoying the benefits.

Those stats appear to be a little on the Conservative side or for a base equipped HD.  we all know Harleys can be made to run like a scalded dawg and handle very well, but the additional cost of bringing them up to snuff is what the agencies are looking at.  

If Harley would get smart, they'd produce a 120r equipped Ultra with an upgraded suspension in a "Police Special" edition that can't be bought retail.  The automobile industry did it for years with Crown Vics and other models.  I'd bet MoCo could make those without too much extra cost, saving taxpayers and resecuring the market.  It's a shame foreign companies are getting our tax money.  

can't do that,..stopping hard and taking off hard would f*** the cranks up.....lol

[CVOJOE]

After much ontological parsing this august (i.e., someone who spent a lot of time and money getting a Philosophy PhD) personage came to the conclusion that Springsteen and Jesus (assuming they are separate entities) would indeed ride Harleys and that Jesus may in fact have done so in to Jerusalem

 

Just sayin!! 

[Twolanerider]

 

Just sayin!! 

No such luck.  Jesus's dad might have been taking pics.  But the digital camera he commanded forth couldn't be charged in immediate post-BCE Jerusalem.  Always miss the great pics for a dead battery.

[jacks]

The boys in blue here are all on Beemas..., looks like a passing era is taking place over there...

[GenaroMorra]

Did you really read what I wrote? I didn't make a single excuse for HD' s lack of quality. I did say the MOCO rested on the sales momentum of the last two decades (without any forward thinking). Maybe the EPA has looked the other way but they certainly aren't doing that now. And there is no question that tree hugging environmentalists now run your government. They want everyone to drive electric and battery cars, ride bicycles and buy solar panels.            

It sounds good..But practically using renewable sources of energy everywhere is not applicable at all..

[mark]

Wow.  Just some thoughts:

The police mkt is a small portion of motorcycle sales.  Harley losing some police agencies to other manufacturers is a drop in the bucket.

Govt agencies are about the bottom dollar.  If BMWs are the low bid and cheaper to maintain, then BMW it is.

Suitability for police use:  The MSP official cited the BMW's top speed of 131 mph as a positive.  I can't imagine any police administrator allowing motorcycle pursuits anywhere close to that speed.

Lastly, we ride Harleys because they're cool, not for their advanced engineering or handling.  I doubt if anyone is going to run out and trade their CVO because the MSP chose BMWs.  That'd be like me trading my Expedition for a Tahoe because that's what the police bought.

[ultrafxr]

Talked to a motor officer in one of the neighboring cities last summer about the BMWs his department had switched to the year before.  He said the bike was OK but not as easy to handle at low speed.  And he went on to say the city was re-considering their decision as the maintenance costs on the BMWs was much higher than with the Harleys.  I suspect that the BMWs may not have as many out of service conditions but when they do have a problem it is big $$$.

[ChopperPilot]

Talked to a motor officer in one of the neighboring cities last summer about the BMWs his department had switched to the year before.  He said the bike was OK but not as easy to handle at low speed.  And he went on to say the city was re-considering their decision as the maintenance costs on the BMWs was much higher than with the Harleys.  I suspect that the BMWs may not have as many out of service conditions but when they do have a problem it is big $$$.

I guess someone did not do the full cost analysis on this decision?

[brosen101]

http://www.policemag.com/blog/vehicles/story/2013/08/chp-adopts-harley-davidson-for-enforcement.aspx

Old article, but maybe CHP can send over Beemers to MI 

[tysndys]

When anyone find out you have a bike do they ever ask "is it a Honda"? Or any other foreign make.  I get it we spend more but we like them.