1st time on a harley

[kopfjäger]

[koko64]

Nice Sporty!
Big Mikuni flatslide behind the K&N?

[Kev M]

This is everything I hate about cruisers... and you already covered why I hate Harley's with the crappy brakes and sloppy shifting (except you forgot about the weight, horrible suspension and lack of power).  I've ridden the Diavel and the riding position is why I'll never own one.  Otherwise, it is a fun bike.  Tons of power, great chassis and brakes, handles well but that riding position... and the faster you go the worse it gets and this is a fast bike.  Makes no sense whatsoever.

FWIW not every Harley has THAT riding position, though yes, they're pretty much all at least upright.

[HotIce]

This is everything I hate about cruisers... and you already covered why I hate Harley's with the crappy brakes and sloppy shifting (except you forgot about the weight, horrible suspension and lack of power). 

Brakes, I give you that. Acceleration, I give you that.
But, my Sportster (2012 Nightster), is shifting more accurately than my 2012 Monster 1100 EVO.

[SDRider]

Brakes, I give you that. Acceleration, I give you that.
But, my Sportster (2012 Nightster), is shifting more accurately than my 2012 Monster 1100 EVO.

I have the same bike as you and I've never had any problem with shifting on mine.  Maybe the occasional missed gear between 4,5,6th where you find that dead spot between gears but really I haven't even experienced that in the last 6-7,000 miles and I have over 13,000 miles on my bike now.

My only problem with shifting was a broken shift return spring... a pretty simple fix but would have left me stranded if it didn't happen 2 blocks from my house.



I'm not sure about Harley reliability but the Duc hasn't exactly been trouble free... which is why I didn't mention it.  

That pic above looks cool but I bet that's an uncomfortable beast to ride.  My neighbor had a cool custom bike for a while but he got rid of it for a bagger which I've thrown a leg over but haven't ridden.  He also has a Street Bob.  The bagger with the half windshield probably would be decent, it feels very well balanced I'll give it that.

He got rid of this because it is just a miserable bike to ride and he did ride it... I'll give him that.  Why even own a bike if you're not going to ride it?

[Kev M]

FWIW, comparing over 100k miles on a couple of Harleys with over 100k miles on a couple of BMWs and couple of Guzzis, the HARLEYS have been FAR LESS trouble.

[SDRider]

FWIW, comparing over 100k miles on a couple of Harleys with over 100k miles on a couple of BMWs and couple of Guzzis, the HARLEYS have been FAR LESS trouble.

I never had any trouble with my last bike, a Suzuki I bought new.  In the 3+ years I owned it I put almost 17,000 miles on it and never had a single issue with it at all.  I've had my Ducati for a little less than 3 years and almost 14,000 miles and I've had numerous issues with it... nothing that has left me stranded but a couple of them could have, and none of them would have been cheap to fix out of warranty.

Draw your own conclusions but nothing is selling me on American bikes over Italian bikes and certainly not over Japanese bikes which are far better in every way other than individuality.

[Kev M]

I never had any trouble with my last bike, a Suzuki I bought new.  In the 3+ years I owned it I put almost 17,000 miles on it and never had a single issue with it at all.  I've had my Ducati for a little less than 3 years and almost 14,000 miles and I've had numerous issues with it... nothing that has left me stranded but a couple of them could have, and none of them would have been cheap to fix out of warranty.

Draw your own conclusions but nothing is selling me on American bikes over Italian bikes and certainly not over Japanese bikes which are far better in every way other than individuality.

lol, not looking to argue, but I'm talking multi 100k anecdotal evidence, and you're really countering with NO anecdotal evidence for American bikes and less than 1/10th on Euro?

Uhhh, ok, happy new year...

[SDRider]

lol, not looking to argue, but I'm talking multi 100k anecdotal evidence, and you're really countering with NO anecdotal evidence for American bikes and less than 1/10th on Euro?

Uhhh, ok, happy new year...

I have my neighbor's Street Bob for anecdotal evidence if you want. 

Not looking to argue either though.  Happy New Year! 

[Kev M]

Lol, well, and that said, I'd still prefer a Guzzi, Harley, or Ducati over JapanInc.

Hell, I'd take a BMW or Triumph first too...

I don't care how reliable an appliance is of it doesn't stir my soul.

[SDRider]

Lol, well, and that said, I'd still prefer a Guzzi, Harley, or Ducati over JapanInc.

Hell, I'd take a BMW or Triumph first too...

I don't care how reliable an appliance is of it doesn't stir my soul.

Yeah well, that's why I have a Ducati I suppose. 

[MendoDave]

Lol, well, and that said, I'd still prefer a Guzzi, Harley, or Ducati over JapanInc.

Hell, I'd take a BMW or Triumph first too...

I don't care how reliable an appliance is of it doesn't stir my soul.

Most of them are appliances, but that Super Hawk I had had some soul to it. it had 4 issues in the 55K hard miles I put on it.

1 Forks needed re-valved & sprung from the get go
2 Cam chain tensioners wore out (but super easy to replace)
3 The finish on the bolts and brackets and other little stuff doesn't hold up so well in the coast air.
4 It was a shredder of back tires. (They should probably put less twisting force in the Motor) 

It made cool noises and had a nice Bark with the Two Brothers cans on it.

[Curmudgeon]

Brakes, I give you that. Acceleration, I give you that.
But, my Sportster (2012 Nightster), is shifting more accurately than my 2012 Monster 1100 EVO.

Hmmm... Either time for a warranty claim..., or pilot error???!!! 

[kopfjäger]

 

[HotIce]

Hmmm... Either time for a warranty claim..., or pilot error???!!! 

W00t? You cannot be serious!