• Please note that Audiokarma will be offline briefly for updates early on Monday morning, September 28th.

the erosion continues-now Harley Davidson shows telltale signs

For sure there are reasons to either like or dislike Harleys. Myself, I could not relate to the riding position a Harley rider assumes. I do however like the V-twin. I still have on my dream list a Sportster with a more 'English' look. I am also aware that I will never buy new.
regards, lou.
 
kneeOhFight said:
and what do you base that ridiculous statement on? I'm 56, know riders up into their 80's who are skilled riders and pretty tough old guys....per say
Click to expand...

Actually, I think he's right on the money in a lot of cases. There were tons of wannnbees buying Harleys years back when folks were selling places in line to get one.

And it's not just Harleys as many folks buy bikes to be cool and either let them sit or ride them rarely, and sell them shortly or in the case of many younger guys, when the wife gets pregnant. My brother in law is borderline here on this one as he spends more time polishing his bike than riding it, but I do give him credit for riding out to Sturgis. :yes: :thmbsp:
 
I think they cheapened their image (but not their bikes) with oversaturation of licensed products. Everything from Chinese made wall clocks to cheesy looking special edition Ford pickups with their logo embroidered on the leather seats.

The mystique of Harley is gone.
 
I'll take this geezer glide any day!

Pete
 

Attachments

  • 2005-HarleyDavidson-UltraClassicElectraGlide-FLHTCUI.jpg
    2005-HarleyDavidson-UltraClassicElectraGlide-FLHTCUI.jpg
    72 KB · Views: 26
piece-it pete said:
I'll take this geezer glide any day!

Pete
Click to expand...

they still make beautiful machines, but thy never have optimized any aspect of design besides their looks. No single or combination of functional design aspects
could be considered excellent or innovative. Though I enjoy an occasional ride on one, I wouldn't consider paying fair market value, let alone the inflated "mystique" price for one.

I still hate to see their demise...MV Agusta and Buell, more so.
 
This is kinda making me wonder what's going to happen with Indian after their recent restart again. If the economy is taking such a dump that HD is closing off one of their better lines, and has been laying people off, then makes me wonder about a bike that's gonna have a hard climb as it is trying to rebuild their name... After looking at their new bikes and prices, it's gonna be a hard sale money wise, but boy are they sweet looking rides..

OH.. and ad far as the geiser glide.. they are nice bikes, and they do ride well, but I've found my similar Venture is better in ways... for starters, a lot less money, and a smoother running engine and faster acceleration.. however things I don't like that HD does better.... HD has fuel injection on theirs instead of carbs, and they put a lot better stereo on their bike. However, I've got more trunk and storage space room... I also don't ahve as much heat issues when riding. the heat vents out of the driver area better on the venture.. better cornering and handeling... not perception.. I've ridden both...

All bikes have their pro's and con's...
 
When I watched motorcycle prices, about five to fifteen years ago, Harley Davidson's suggested retail, for the cheaper bikes like Sportsters, were right in line with their competition. I never went to the Harley dealership to see if the asking prices were a lot higher than msrp, so I don't know the real selling prices. What constantly flabbergasted me was the used prices. One to three year old Sportsters locally were routinely listed for $1k to $2k more than the suggested retail of the same model new. I would watch, and never see them relisted for less. I don't know if the seller just gave up, or got their price or what happened.

I've noticed that Harleys seem at least twice as likely to be ridden in a group than all the other brands put together. Seems that Harleys are more for recreation than for riding to work. Also, Harley riders seem to be about ten times more likely to ride without a helmet than the others put together. As a matter of fact, I'll often see a helmetless person on a Harley with a helmet strapped to the side or back of the back. They must be on the way to pick up a girlfriend with at least a little more sense.
 
well... I've ridden with two riding clubs, and we always were in huge groups when going out.. at leat 30 or more bikes... some times a little less, but the majority were not HD, but there were some in the group. The group in Illinois, you seldom saw anyone wear a helmet, and believe it or not, the ones that did, more were HD riders than non HD... As far as the group we rode with here in Virginia, very few HD's and if thre was no helmet law, I would imagine not many would have worn helmets... I hate to say it, but I don't think one group over the other is more prone to wear or not wear a helmet...

You do tend to see a different mentality between large groups of bikes and types.. you see a large group of HD riders together, and there tends to be more of a testosterone fueled mentality, where as if it's a group of any brand riders, it's more of a party and laid back type mentality. Less emphasis on the "I'm riding my bike" idea, and more about just having a great time.

I was reading the other day that even the Jap makers are having a tougher time selling bikes right now, and have been cutting back on production too, and are trying harder to sell accessories to the people that already have bikes.. trying to shift the marketing like all the American makers are doing too..
 
I really wish there was a market in the 500cc - 600cc range for something that was NOT a sport bike?
I don't do 3,000 mile cross-country rides, so I don't need a 700 pound motorcycle.
The most fun I ever had on a motorcycle, was riding a little 500cc, single cylinder "thumper".
Who says everything now days, has to be a 120 HP sport bike, or a 1500cc cruiser!?


Steve
 
Have you not looked at the Triumph Bonneville, they are building now gearhound? OK.. not quite a 600, but still a cool little bike.. there is also the T100 version of it and the Scrambler...

If those are still too big.. Honda Shadow (750) and the Rebel (250)

There are lots of smaller bikes being guilt..
 
Best "small" modern bike I like so far................................

Suzuki SV650.

I think around $6K-$7K?


Steve
 
That is a nice bike. Was looking at one the last time I was at the dealer picking up some parts..
 
When I first started riding there were many different bikes available that let you "stair-step" up the ladder of size and performance...I personally started with a Honda Sport 50, went to a Suzuki 150 "tourer" and Kawasaki 90 G3-TR, then an X-6...got a KZ-900 in 1977, and then my Turbo in 1985...

But, there were all kinds of bikes, 50's, 65's, 90's & 100's, 125's, 150's, 175's, 200's, 250's, 305's, 350's, 450's, 500's, 650's, etc., and all were just different variations of the UJM, or Universal Japanese Motorcycle, great bikes and none of the schlockey quasi-chopper or cruiser looking crap that came about in the latter part of the '70's...good serviceable bikes that were not too expensive, that were not too complex, that would get you around with enough style and performance to be a fun filled experience...

Today, the bikes cost too much, have a way too complex make-up, and aren't as available in the smaller displacements in models that adults would like to be seen on...everything seems to be oriented toward the styling of the bullet bikes or the cruiser look...and generally aren't as interesting as what was available once-upon-a-time...

At my current age of 57 I'd still like to have the ability to buy a brand new Bridgestone 350

Bridgestone5.jpg

...or even the Montgomery Wards 360 that I lusted after that was really a rebadged Benelli:
SM-RIH%2B5-16-09%2B035.jpg


Another would be a BSA Shooting Star:
BSA%20Shooting%20star%20441%2067.jpg


Just a few not too large, not too small scooters for plodding around town that could be maintained by just about anyone with even a slight touch of mechanical ability...quite unlike the liquid cooled electronic devices with wheels that pass for motorcycles today...

I also never got the Harley thing....I much preferred the Triumph Bonneville to the Sportster...but, I would have to say that if I were to find an old '48 FL in stock condition in a garage someplace then I would have to restore it just to ride it around...but those are heavy suckers, I rode a 1948 Indian Chief back in 1979 and man, was that thing a pig...of course, my daily rider was a tuned '76 KZ-900 then...

I guess that basically I miss the UJM style of bike, and also the British "big twin" style as evidenced by BSA, Triumph, Norton, and Royal Enfield, among others...I also miss the 500cc singles from Yamaha and the Brits...

So, that goes to prove that I'm just an old fart...but I still don't like Harleys...except for the Buells, but the ones I sat on at the dealership were not the kind of scooter that me with my 6'3" frame and over 200 lbs of weight would want to ride for very long...just physically too small of a bike for me to dump all that cash into...my '82 XJ650LJ fits me pretty well...

It's kind of like when I had all my British sports cars, I fit in them absolutely fine, even my MG Midget...take a Miata or a Honda S2000 and I can't even be shoehorned into one of them...
 
Last edited:
in an earlir post, someone was wondering how other motorcycle manufacturings companies were faring in this worldwide economic depression...Yamaha, Ducati, BMW,Honda and Aprilia have remained robust enough to maintain massive world championship budgets in both Moto GP and World Superbike for at least this year and next. BMW has resigned from Formula One racing next year, in the wake of Honda's abrupt departure at the end of last year. Let it be said that Honda has funded Brawn GP's (Honda's effort was headed by Ross Brawn, and he subsequently purchased their assets for a dollar) championship effort this year, underwriting it with some $125 million cash as well. Both Yamaha and Honda are much more diverse and massive firms than HD , and ones who stress quality and engineering development in their business philosophies.
 
Last edited:
This thread has my crazy inventor wheels turning- what about a sidecar setup to haul your "hoveround" with you? The bars would need to build access ramps and enlarged bathrooms..
 
sfox52 said:
This thread has my crazy inventor wheels turning- what about a sidecar setup to haul your "hoveround" with you? The bars would need to build access ramps and enlarged bathrooms..
Click to expand...

an idea with much potential, marketable? who knows...excellent extrapolative thinking, and a very clever ideal that might set free some of those among us with severely limited mobility. I cant imagine the exponential difference between being wheelchair bound and the sublime pleasure of riding a motorcycle...:thmbsp:
 
I knew of a guy that had a flat bed added to the side of his bike so he could roll his wheelchair up onto that, then sat there and drove the bike. The controls have been moved and links to the steering added to the side... it was pretty cool, and at the rallies became quite the toy for all the drunks he'd let ride it around the grounds..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom