What's wrong with Harleys?

[Clint]

And my sanity.

To each his own. Just don't ride it by my house at 11p.m. with straightpipes on it or I will hunt you down and make you put my two-year-old back to sleep.

[drgibson]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

And my sanity.

To each his own. Just don't ride it by my house at 11p.m. with straightpipes on it or I will hunt you down and make you put my two-year-old back to sleep.

There is a guy with a Yamaha Star with straight pipes that lives down the street from my Mom & Dad that tears through the alley at 5am. There ready to kill him. Yes he is part of the Flip Flop crowd.

[Clint]

Two words: Great Stuff (in the tailpipes).

[TumbleWeed]

I personally bought the bike for sentimental reasons...my babysitter had two HD's with the suicide shifter, I used to climb up on them using the shifter like a saddle-horn, babysitters old man would come out on the back porch hollerin' for me to get off the blanking bike, then he would just laugh and go back in the house. I have literally wanted an Eglide since I was a kid, I am 47 now, and this will probably be my last bike. Pipes are stock.

[drgibson]

Poolville? Isn't that out by Mineral Wells?

[TumbleWeed]

Yes sir, about 22 miles from MW to my house

[geoffsimpson]

I don't care what you ride...like most of us, as long as you understand what it's like to ride it's enough.

That being said. Maybe the reason people pay more for an HD is to not have to have conversations like this.

We don't need to bolster our penchant for metric bikes...but that being said. If an HD Dyna was the price of my M50, wouldn't you consider it? Think of the aftermarket alone, not to mention the fact that when you buy one of these bikes you buy a whole culture and mind set.

Let baby have his bottle I say...I've never ridden a bike that wasn't fun...no matter who made it.

[IntruderCruiser]

Most complain about the price of a Harley -- which to me is no different than those who can only buy a Kia instead of a Lexus

[POE-BOY SAMICH]

Originally Posted by IntruderCruiser

Most complain about the price of a Harley -- which to me is no different than those who can only buy a Kia instead of a Lexus

I disagree. "Most" complain because they can't see the value in the product. Those that complain out of frustration of wanting an H-D but not being able to afford an H-D are actually in the minority IMHO.

I can afford an H-D. But paying the prices they ask for them just doesn't make money sense to me. So, I don't buy one.

However, I, like many consumers, will always gripe about unfair pricing on nearly any product. I take issue with what H-D charges for their bikes in no different a manner than how I take issue with the store on the corner that charges $4 for a gallon of milk while nearly every other store in my neighborhood sells the same brand of milk at $3 a gallon. That doesn't mean I can't afford the $4.

Realistically speaking, if Nissan charged $50k for a Titan while Chevy, Ford, and Toyota sold comparable full size pickups for $25k, most consumers would be outraged. And that indignation would come from BOTH those that could and could not afford the $50k Titan.

[azkober]

Originally Posted by IntruderCruiser

Most complain about the price of a Harley -- which to me is no different than those who can only buy a Kia instead of a Lexus

LOL! HD is no Lexus. Not in anyones book. More like an overpriced Chevy.

[Clint]

Originally Posted by azkober

LOL! HD is no Lexus. Not in anyones book. More like an overpriced Chevy.

+1, bigtime. I'd like to see that argument die a quick, painless death. What a farce. Hell, half of new HD owners probably hock their kids just to get into the club. It has little to do with what one can afford.

[azkober]

Comparing Harley with Lexus isn't going to endear you with HD riders. The japanese Lexus killed the american Lincoln and driving Cadillac out of business.

Besides, being more expensive does not mean being better, not by any means.

I give HD all the credit in the world for having survived the onslaught of better built and less expensive japanese motorcycles. HD has found a way to survive and prosper. They are geniuses in marketing. It is my understanding that they have improved the reliability of their products to the point where the quality gap between them and the metric bikes is getting smaller. But, as long as they can overprice their product based on their cult status, they will do so and would be stupid not to.

Forget the product. Marketing is everything. When you can convince people to pay an amount equal to one hours labor at the minimum wage for a single cup of coffee then you are witnessing what marketing can do. Remember Pet Rocks? Beanie Babies? Elmo?

[IntruderCruiser]

when is the last time you rode a Harley?

and the same is said for those who hock their kids to buy the Lexus for the status symbol ---- or some other luxury car

what a nice complement to compare a "Rock Solid" Chevy to a Harley --

oh-- I would definetly buy a Chevy before a Lexus

[S83]

I would definately buy a chevy before a harley. Better value for the dollar spent.

[introriff]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Greed? LOL. It's called supply and demand. It's called free-market economy. No company is in business to lose money, and most try to make whatever they can. You can't fault them for that unless you're a communist, where they try to protect fools from spending foolishly.

If you feel the need to buy HD, there are PLENTY other things to consider besides motorcycles.



HD reminds me too much of JD...Both have whored their logos out to EVERYBODY, and expect to use that to sell a few tractors and motorcycles along the way.

[azkober]

Originally Posted by IntruderCruiser

oh-- I would definetly buy a Chevy before a Lexus

LOL! Ok, when was the last time you drove a Lexus?

[geoffsimpson]

Don't even start on general motors...they haven't had an original thought in years and anybody in the industry will tell you the same.

I recently drove a 2006 Chevy Impalla SS as I have a good friend that works at the dealership...you know what I learned? It felt more like a $20,000 Camry than a 50,000 (CDN) sport car.

Now, as for HD? As stated before I like them...I'd never compair an HD to a chevy, a ford or any other car manufacturer, because a Harley is a Lifestyle choice. Do I think they cost too much? Yup. Do I think a lot of HD owners are jerks or posers? Not all of them, but Yup... but I also think they're a good bike. Metric vs Harley...Dog vs Cat.

Oh...and FYI...just because my accountant rides an E-glide, doesn't make him any better, smarter or tougher than me...he's an accountant, regardless of how much leather he wears or if he chooses to wave to other riders on the road.

One more thing, I can afford an HD...but I chose the bike I ride, and I don't pretend to be something I'm not. I just ride.

[azkober]

I agree with your assessment of GM. The same goes for Ford. Dodge teamed up with the europeans and they may get some benefit from that in the form of fresh blood and some new ideas but it certainly looks like our automobile industry is going the way of what used to be our (now non-existant) consumer electronics industry.

As far as metric/vs HD, I disagree. It's not cat vs. dog. They are more like different breeds of the same species. Harley has improved the quality and reliability of their breed by doing some of the things that made the metrics so popular in the first place. I wish them success. If they ever make a bike as good as what I ride now and sell and guarantee it for the same price, I'll buy the Harley.

To me, a lot of this Harley Davidson cult thing is as interesting to watch as it is funny. I do a lot of group riding for causes I choose to support like the Border Patrol, the Patriot Guards and other veterans groups, etc. 95% of the bikes at these events are HDs. I can always tell who is there at these events because they believe in what they are doing vs. those who are there just for their own egos by the looks on their faces when they see me get off my Yamaha. Many of them won't look me in the eye, some will ask me why I ride a "jap" bike instead of a Harley and others will talk with me about whatever it was that brought us together in the first place instead of what kind of bike they got there on.

I've had guys walking around my bike counting the cylinders because they didn't know Yamaha made a V-4!

In my opinion, many if not most of the cultist Harley riders are simply taking the easy way and following the crowd. They like think of themselves as some sort of lone wolf renegade when in reality most of them feel very comfortable following "their" pack instead of taking the blinders off and looking to see what's all out there. In the cruiser world at least, the real renegades are those who go against the crowd and ride metrics.

[POE-BOY SAMICH]

Originally Posted by IntruderCruiser

I would definetly buy a Chevy before a Lexus

Yeah? If Chevy were charging TWICE as much as its competitors I'm sure you wouldn't be so quick to buy that Chevy. Yet, H-D does it and many think that makes their bikes a better product and their owners a cut above the rest.

Just for the record, I actually have ridden several Harleys in the last few months. As for Lexus, family members own a couple so I ride in them often and drive them occasionally.

[Rickster]

This post is always entertaining.................It's not always intelligent...............but it is always entertaining.