Originally Posted by DrBob  All the features you want are available, but not in the price range you are looking at (V-star 650 range).
Step one in designing a new bike is to determine the price it will sell at. Then the designers put in the features that they can without breaking this price point. So you are not going to see a lot of fancy, high-tech, expensive features on a low-end cruiser. Small cruisers are also light, so features like rear drum brakes and single from disks work just fine, so there is no need to add extra disk brakes and jack up the price to the point where no one would buy them. Would you be looking at a V-star 650 if it cost $10,000, even if it had 3 disks, a belt drive, self-adjusting valves, and lots of other features? Of course not. For $6000, you are not going to get the latest and greatest. If you want all the modern toys, be prepared to shell out 20-25K for a Harley or Goldwing.
OK, now THAT is a funny comment! I laughed out loud at that!
Harley doesn't use new tech? Every single bike Harley makes is fuel injected, even the crappy bottom-end Sportster 883. Harley started fuel injecting their cruisers in 1998. Suzuki, for example, did not fuel inject their first cruiser until 2004, and still puts carbs on 3 out of 8 cruiser models. All HDs use the most modern final drive system available(patented two years ago), a carbon-fiber, completely maintenance-free belt good for 150,000 miles. Suzuki cruisers use chains (which date to the 1800s) or shaft drives (which date to the 1930s). Those Japanese makes that do use a belt use the older, wider, not nearly as strong rubber and kelvar belts HD has already abandonded. All HDs use three disks. All HDs can be had with an electronic security system and keyless ignition, not available on any Suzuki. Harley offers several models with 6 speed transmissions, ABS brakes, GPS systems, CD players, XM radio, and electronic cruise control, all options not available from Suzuki on any model, and hard to find on any Japanese cruiser short of the GoldWing. The Sporster still uses the old Evo motor (1986), but even that old thing will soon to be updated with an electronically controlled active air intake system, similar to what is found on the Yamaha R1. The V-rod motor was designed in 2000, and makes a whopping 125HP from only 1250ccs. All the other Harley models use a motor designed in 2006. All meet all current and projected air quality laws without the use of catalitic converters, and al except the V-rod do it without water cooling (first found on bikes in the 1930s).
So what you said is completely inaccurate. In fact, the truth is nearly the exact opposite: Harley uses a LOT of new tech, and most other manufacturers DON'T copy Harley (other than styling) so that they can sell their bike at a price well below what Harley has to charge for their bikes. Harley does not sell a bike below $7000, so as long as other manufacturers are able to keep using old tech like drum brakes to keep costs down, they will be able to sell a lot of bikes beow that level.
Harley sells 4 times as many cruisers as Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, Triumph, Victory, and BMW COMBINED. They aren't going anywhere. And of the competitors, the one doing the best right now is Victory, who's bikes are arguably the most like HDs than the others on the list.
Not a bad beginner bike, but they suffer from poor quality control, poor quality components, and a shortage of spare parts on dealer shelves. So if you can get one cheap and don't plan to keep it long, it might be an OK bike to learn on. But don't plan on getting one for the long haul. They ones I have seen have not hled up well, and the first company that imported them to the US went bankrupt already, so warrantee work, support, and resale may be an issue down the road.
A Honda VLX 600 is a great entry level cruiser, or the V-Star 650 or Suzuki S50/ Intruder 800. All hold up well, and they re-sell easily whne you are ready to trade up to something bigger. |