Have you traded a Harley for a Goldwing, or vice versa?

[jdandy]

Different strokes for different folks. One thing is certain, though, when the wind is in our face, and the machine is cruising along at our command, there is nothing better. The joy of motorcycle riding transcends the products we choose.

 

[stuartk]

Different strokes for different folks. One thing is certain, though, when the wind is in our face, and the machine is cruising along at our command, there is nothing better. The joy of motorcycle riding transcends the products we choose.

Except for people who ride Suzukis. There's just no excuse for that.

Just kidding.

 

[BruceRPA]

I'm a factory certified Honda Pro Technician and a H-D PHD certified technician. I've been in H-D dealerships for the past 8 years. If you're going to fix appliances for a living , would you work for Maytag? I vote Goldwing-or a better dealer for your H-D.
I believe your issue was the circuit breaker recall. They went from a 40 amp to a 50 amp. If the dealer had run the VIN through H-D's dealer website it would have come up the first time.
If you like the "power" of the Harley , you'll LOVE the 'Wing.

Where were 'ya when I needed 'ya? My problems with the first bike preceded the TSB and/or recall by approximately three weeks. The dealer did speak with Harley Tech Support many times. I spoke with them on several occasions myself. It was total denial from start to finish. It was only about three weeks after I traded the bike that the TSB or recall came out. I suspect that my situation had a lot to do with the recall. To be fair, the techs at the dealership worked hard to try to fix the problem but it was so intermittent that they couldn't duplicate it. I understand that. It none the less was a potentially lethal problem for me. I still like the folks at the dealership and I particularly enjoy knowing the owner. They are a huge dealership and have won many national sales and service awards. Sadly they are down to only one certified HD tech and I don't know much about the other new guys. They seem to go through a lot of employees lately. The best techs have left and gone to their competition. They are pleasant and they try but problems like I have had are obviously way over their heads - and HD doesn't seem to be much help either. Hence the lack of confidence. It's still not an easy decision for me to change from something that I have favored for many years. Then there is the cost to do so. My present bike only has 30,000 miles on it and still looks like new. I hate the thought of trading again because I have to not because I want to, but I probably will have to do it anyway. I was kind of hoping that someone would say that the Goldwing is so much better and it will make me 20 years younger and better lookin' too! Then the decision would be easy!

 

[kx250rider]

I wouldn't mind having one of those Harley dual-sport bikes from the 1970s...

Charles

 

[Brian]

When I was younger, I'd have no reservation as to riding a Harley but now, it if ain't got 4 wheels and the interior of a Volvo, Jag or Lincoln, it is too small and not my cup of tea.

 

[stuartk]

I wouldn't mind having one of those Harley dual-sport bikes from the 1970s...

Charles

The XLCR is on my list of "wish I'd bought one of those."

At the time, I regarded Harleys as those bikes that you saw pulled over by the cops at the side of the road. Nobody that I knew owned one.

I had been shopping for a new bike, and had seen the XLCR in, I think, Cycle World magazine. It looked kind of cool, so I went to a Harley dealer and looked at one. It had been sitting there and they couldn't sell it, so they had knocked down the price a lot.

I finally decided that I didn't want a Harley though, so I bought something else.

Oh well...

 

[BruceRPA]

Has anyone seen anything on the 2009 models yet?

 

[kx250rider]

Yes, but in some areas splitting lanes is perfectly legal and it's the car driver at fault if he wipes you out as a result of his error. Yeah, I know, not much of a consolation if you're pushing up daisies as a result.

However, I think in these places people are on the lookout for it. To do it where the custom is uncommon really is asking for trouble.

It's legal in California (And necessary in most metro areas). With the traffic here, if you ride any time other than 3:00 Sunday morning, you'll either lanesplit or you'll sit overheating with hot water gently spraying your shins until the bike quits. Also, motorcycles are exempt from all of the carpool lane rules, and exempt from those red-light highway entrance meters for the same concerns. When I lanesplit (and believe me, I only do it when there's no choice), I assume EVERYBODY will pop into my lane without a signal I wait until there's an escape; I either go between stopped cars, or I wait 'til there's at least a safe clearance in case I need to hop into one lane or the other to escape a sudden no-signal lane changer.

And with all this discussion of Goldwing vs. Harley, I finally found a Yamaha V-Max today in my price range on Craigslist, and it's now mine

It's an '85; the first year for the VMX1200, and it's in doggone good shape. 30K miles, and been garaged. 2nd owner, all work done by the dealer. I won't say what I paid, but let's say it was only 40% of the average price for a clean '85 on eBay. It's 90% original; has a custom paint job and a custom leather seat, and had some non-original chrome added. I'm as happy as if I found a free 1950s color TV in the alley!

Charles

 

[cityflux]

I rode bikes from the 60's to the 80's. The fledgeling Hondas and and ancient BMW's won hands down for reliability in that period. Now I'm approaching my second childhood I am looking at something like a Ducati for awesome performance...but will prefer to find a Japanese equivalent because I don't like getting my hands greasy any more.

The bottom line for me is: Japanese just works. Charisma is less important.

 

[mulester7]

I finally found a Yamaha V-Max today in my price range on Craigslist, and it's now mine

Charles

.....Thumbs-Up on the '85 V-Max which has the largest engine of the V-Max line up to the 2009 model, KX250Rider....1249 cc's with the other years' models 1986 up to the 2009 model having 1198 cc's....the slash-cut 4-into-4 slip-on pipes you've got really sound good, I had them on a '92....most awesome motorcycle ever built that has a four-barrel effect at 6000 rpm's, that front-end raises up a foot....bravo.....

 

[mulester7]

.....Ultra-Hog, here it is....women LOVE to ride on the back of Goldwings, and the newer ones will HAUL it, mister....yes, MUCH more reliable than Harleys.....

 

[BruceRPA]

My wife and I were out yesterday for our first full day ride since getting the Ultra back from the dealer. It was an absolutely beautiful day here in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania. The bike ran and worked perfectly. We just couldn't get away from the nagging feeling that it could let us down and leave us stranded at any time. That took much of the enjoyment out of the day, not all of it, just a noticeable amount. My confidence is somewhat higher than hers is. I don't like to be on a bike that I can't count on and she doesn't like to be around the bike, or me, when it lets us down. Can't blame her for that! We agreed before we headed out that if we got stranded again that it would be the last straw. Any hesitation about changing brands would be over right then and there. Taking a step back and looking at the way that I meticulously maintain the bike(s) and have them serviced at the dealer, considering the kinds of defects and problems that I have had with multiple Harley Davidson motorcycles, I don't think that I am being unreasonable at all about walking away from the brand if the trend continues. (walking away - Ha! No pun intended, it just happened! )

 

[dokblues]

OK Ultra-Hog I`m going to go on a small rant. I sold Hondas & Kawasaki`s for over 10 yrs and yes the Goldwings are pretty reliable, however if you think your Harley is heavy or that $550 for a repair is too much, Wait till you buy a wing and have to do any water leak work or belt replacement on one of those babys. They are pretty reliable but the newer ones have reverse??? And I know A.B.S. and someone is going to bash me for hammering the wings, I have been an AVID rider and enthusiast and shop owner for 45 yrs I`ve ridden bikes most people have never heard of. And in my humble opinion having ridden Many Wings over the years I just don`t get it unless you don`t want the feel of a bike and all you want is SMOOOOTH with little fun and very little cornering and MY GOD Don`t tip it over anywhere it`ll take 2 or 3 of you to get it back up. Sorry for the rant and yes I`ve owned my share of harleys from original pan choppers to road glides. And I do love almost all Bikes!!

 

[similost]

Hey Bruce.. wished I would have seen this thread sooner...

Now if ya would have only bought a bike like mine.. you wouldn't be bitchin

Seriously though... I'm going through the same thing you are now, as far as trying to decide what to do... We want a wing pretty bad. I almost bought a brand new one the beginning of this year, but I thought it out a bit and held off.. .I MIGHT buy a used one this winter if I find a good deal on one....

I love my Roadstar. It has given me no problems at all, BUT, it just isn't comfy enough for the riding we have switched to since we moved out this way...

When we were in Illinois, most of our riding was 300 to 500 miles for the whole weekend. We rode about 12,000 miles per year. Now that we've moved out here, that has changed completely.. the short rides, and bar hopping are over. Our bike is great for that kind of riding, but for the longer rides we have been taking out here.. 4 or 500 miles a day, it KILLS our asses.. Marcia like me, is wanting something more comfy, and something that would be easier to hook a trailer to...

I can hook a trailer to mine, but I've already got my electrical stressed to the limit with just the added driving lights on it. Trailer lighting would probably take it over the top, unless I went with LED lighting... :scratch2: However, that just won't be the added comfort Marcia is looking for...

My difference though, is I will be keeping the Raodie and adding the wing. My problem with the wing is, I've got long legs, and when I sit on one, my knees are hitting the dash... I can't see me being any more comfortable like that...

SO.. we've also been looking at a new Venture.... I also noticed the new Victory that has come out.. .but an Ultra is just out of the question. The only way I'll ever own a HD is if it's one of the old police bikes with a side car for just playing and tooling around.. other than that, I don't want the headache of them, or people to think I'm one of those snooty weekend riders that have to dress head to toe in HD gear just to go out in the garage to look at it...

Anyway.. What I am saying, is I'm kind of like you, on the fence, trying to decide what my next bike will be, and what will best fit our needs for the bang. I know Wings are great bikes, but would it be great for us....

 

[cabinover]

I've ridden Harleys and Wings. I'd take the Wing all day long. As for the cornering mentioned a few posts ago, dude, take a look at the yellow GL1800 at Deal's Gap on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrMQ3QwyPo

I've got an '85 GL1200 that will corner just fine until you tip it upright again.
It's not a sport bike but it tries to be with all of it's weight.

As for tipping it over, hell I tipped my BMW K100RT over a couple weeks ago. I'd rather try and lift that Wing. At least they stop on the rubrails and don't fall all the way over.

I'd love to have a new GL1800 to trip with two up and so would my wife.

 

[BruceRPA]

I have been reading a lot about the Goldwing on the various Goldwing forums. It's amazing how similar they are to AK. They are a pretty diverse group of mostly adults with different yet similar tastes but all with a common interest, riding. I discovered that the 2009 Goldwings will be the last ones made in the USA. The 2010 models will be made in Japan. I suspect they will be a new generation of the model. Since I am not in a hurry, unless we get stranded again, I am tempted to try to hang on to see what they will be like. That may also cause the prices to drop on the 2009 models so there could be some great deals about a year or so from now. :scratch2:

Normally I would be hesitant to buy a first year of production of a new model from any manufacturer but the exception is Honda. My experience with their products and service has been excellent. I bought a Honda Ridgeline as soon as they were in the showrooms and aside from a couple of very minor new model year issues it has been as trouble free as every other Honda vehicle that I have owned. I couldn't be happier with it. Honda has proven to be the gold standard of product reliability for me and for my family. I wish that I could say that (seriously!) about domestic brands like General Motors and Harley Davidson.:sigh:

So my delima continues. What to do. Unless I am forced to make a move by another breakdown on the Harley, I am still on the fence. I have not seen, heard, read or ridden anything that makes the decision to switch clear or obvious. Since the sum of the pros and cons of each net almost the same total it looks like I will just have to wait until something happens that tips the scale one way or the other. At this point in time, if my present Ultra was stolen and I had to choose between another Ultra or a Goldwing, it would be the Goldwing simply due to the confidence and reliability (or lack thereof) issues. Come to think of it, that is exactly why GM lost me to Honda as a long time repeat customer about 10 years ago. (I am not particularly happy about that either.)

I do appreciate everyone's comments.

 

[gadget73]

Being a non-rider my opinion probably matters little, but I can't understand why anyone would want to ride a bike with an intentionally imbalanced engine design just for that sound. They shake like a paint mixer. My boss had a 1980 Honda with a flat 4 water cooled engine, and you could just about stand a coin on its end while it ran.

I guess maybe I'm an old fart at heart. I like big quiet cars with comfortable seats, and I hate loud motorcycles. My mom has a bike and I keep threatening to switch the pipes back to the stock ones because its too loud. I won't ride one because bikes lack critical features such as air conditioning, automatic climate control, power 8 way seats, and 4 wheels. I guess I'll just stick with my Lincoln with the big pipes and quiet mufflers.

 

[similost]

hhhmm.. there's some myths..

You'd be surprised how well the engines really are balanced, and how little they do shake. The Evo engines aren't your daddy's HD..

They weren't built to get a sound.. they tried to trademark or patent the sound because Japanese bikes were starting to come out in the V-twin configuration, and since the sound is common to a V-twin configuration, it was HD's way of trying to suppress any competition

 

[BruceRPA]

I agree. When I bought my last three HDs, the dealer added slip-on mufflers that were louder than the stock exhaust system. It did sound good and was louder than the stock mufflers when accelerating. It was not by any means the obnoxiously loud straight pipes that many associate with some modified exhaust systems on some Harley Davidson motorcycles. To each his -or her - own. My preference is to make the ride peaceful and quiet. I put the stock pipes back on about two years ago and was amazed at just how quiet it is now. We enjoy long rides more now that the drone from the exhaust is reduced. When I took the new Goldwing out for a test ride a few weeks ago my observation is that it is just about the same volume at highway speeds as the HD Ultra is. The tone is different. The HD is deeper and throatier (is that a word?) but the Goldwing has a lot more noise from the gear-train. The result is just about the same.

As to vibration, the HD engine is counter-balanced to reduce the vibration. At idle there is some noticeable shake, but that's just a Harley thing. I don't find it objectionable. As soon as the bike is in motion it is almost as smooth as the 6-cylinder Goldwing is.

 

[robobxman]

Maybe if you ride your HD a few more times trouble-free, the latent worries will disappear. If they don't, then the damage was done, so to speak (to your trust). Then you can start shopping for a GW.