Harley or Boulevard ... Decisions, decisions

[Don&Cher]

Hi, this is Cher, the other half of Don & Cher. LOL

Yesterday we picked up our C50 Boulevard and immedately rode it over to our son's house to show him. Why? Well, he was in Iraq last year and we "babysat" his Harley Fatboy. Being it was our duty ... humhum...we rode it over last summer to keep it warmed up. It was/is a wonderful ride! He got home in December! Yeah! Well we still have our old 1978 Honda 550 Four which is a far cry from the Fatty. Of course, we had to have a new bike this year and our research led us to the Boulevard. For the price, the quality & value is outstanding. We don't get to ride as much as we would like to so buying a new Harley for over $17K was not practical or smart for us.

We found your forum 2 days ago and let me tell you, you have something nice here. THANK YOU

I'm sure my hubby will be on the forum (he drives the bike ... I need to learn yet ... I couldn't drive the old 550 Four for many reasons)

Anyway, just wanted to check in & tell you that we learned some stuff already from this site & are glad you are here!

[wracing]

Welcome to the forum Cher! The C50 is a very nice ride for the money. Hope to see many post from Y'all.

Willie

[Jerryzuki]

Welcome Cher, the value you mentioned was the exact reason I settled on the C50T. I was considering the Harley Heritage Softtail Classic. Even though it's a lot more bike, it a whole lot more money. Not saying that I won’t get one later. My wife and I are enjoying this bike more than any other bike that we have ever had.

[Firedog]

The boulevard line is an outstanding value no matter which you go with.. I'm sure that you two will have loads of fun!

[Don&Cher]

Thanks for the welcomes!

When we took the bike over to our son's house he test road it. Said it was lighter (which it is, but only by 100 lbs) and noted how well balanced it is.

So far we are considering a couple add ons/changes ... mostly from reading all the good posts.

Lowering it and
Getting the backrest & luggage rack

It is much quieter than the Fatboy ... after just one ride, not sure yet if we want to change the pipes ... but honestly we did enjoy the sounds of the Harley... will have to do some thinkin' on this one LOL

Note: Don said he BARELY had to use the throttle on our hour & 1/2 ride. He was very, very pleased with the bikes performance! I also loved the comfort of the "stock seat" ... much nicer than any of the other bikes we tested!

[NCBoulevard]

Welcome to the forum and Thank your son for me, for his service.

Check out www.Patriotguard.org and pass the link along to your son too.

Ride Safe.
Dennis

[Smily]

I have the C90T and it is tricked out big time. it also has the V&H straight pipes for that roar.

But........I am selling to buy a Harley.
I like the C90T but I still want the Harley!

[Danr]

Originally Posted by Smily

I have the C90T and it is tricked out big time. it also has the V&H straight pipes for that roar.

But........I am selling to buy a Harley.
I like the C90T but I still want the Harley!

Why

[Time4me2ride]

Don&Cher
Welcome to the forum. Lots of good ideas for your ride are available here. I'm very glad your son made it home safe, thank him for me. It's good to see a mixed brand family family that still gets along well.

[blackie1491]

Grear bike. Many years of enjoyment.
Pipes will sound better as the bike is broken in.
Give it 3-4,000 miles and will remind you of an old ford with glass packs.

Ride safe.

[RampageRider]

Originally Posted by Smily

I have the C90T and it is tricked out big time. it also has the V&H straight pipes for that roar.

But........I am selling to buy a Harley.
I like the C90T but I still want the Harley!

+1 Why?



Don & Cher Welcome aboard!

[Smily]

Well,
I must admit that the C90T was a compromise of my original intent to get Harley. Actually I want a custom pro street Chopper but wife cannot ride on it (maybe wont ride it).

I had planned since I was 35 to get Harley for 40th bday but my wife decided we needed a baby. Wife is ten years younger than I. So at 39 I have first baby. So much for the Harley budget.
I knew that I wanted big bike but wanted one that I did not have to work on.
So I bought a brand new C90T, price was right and had lots of bells and whistles. really nice bike but not a Harley.
I will also say that I wish I had bought the Yamaha Road Star.
The problem with Boulevard series is that there are few aftermarket parts that you can get for the bike. I am sure they will come along with time but not to be found at this time. The Yamaha, you can get anything you want.

So after a year of riding the bike with many upgrades to get close to Big Harley look, I achieved that. It looks kinda like a Harley, maybe even better....

So now my first Bike Week in Daytona came to pass. There is much to be said for that "THUNDER" of the Harleys.

There is no way this Suzuki will ever sound like a harley and inevitably will never be a Harley.
I opted for cheap way out and now wish I had just ponied up or bought a little older Harley.

Anyone want to buy a REALLY nice C90T? It is blinged out and has 2500.00 in upgrades. You can check it out in the for sale section., I need to update photos since I have added a lot of Bling since that photo was taken.

[robertc729]

Welcome Don and Cher, the C50 is a great bike, good choice.

[stp1971]

Welcome Don and Cher!!!!!!

Smily????? Have you tried the #' Hard Kromes with the thunder Monsters in them???? Ask drgibson, pinhy, Hammerpete, Everett Keith, or BlackholeKelley what my bike sounds like. it is loud, obnoxious,, and it lets you know when you are rumbling down the street.

But I know what you are talking about. The way I have mine set up is as close as you can get to that Harley potato sound. Whatcha askin for it???

[thehobe]

I think that whole "....but it's not a Harley" saying is crap.

[stp1971]

Well you would have to admit that harley's have their image and their whole lifestyle thing going for them. Plus they are pretty cool bikes. I do like the sound they make and all,,just not a big fan of the overpriced stickers on them. I wouldn't mind haing one,, but I really do like the bang for your buck that I get with the Suzuki's.

If you are buying one to ride and try to retain some if not alot of your value for future re-sale then Harley is the way to go. If you are buying one to ride and you are not looking to get rid of it then the Metrics are the way to go.

As much as I like the Metric bikes they still do not hold their value like a Harley.

[thehobe]

You definitely have some points here. Resale value, lifestyle, etc. I (personally) think alot of their models are ugly looking. There are a few models/variations that I think are cool looking, especially the Fat Boy and the V-Rods, but that price thing is just hard to ignore, when there are so many quality metric bikes available for much less dough. The metric bikes are probably BETTER in quality actually. I've heard the quality of the H-Ds has improved alot over the last 5 to 10 years, and I'm all for the "American" bike and everything, .....eh, whatever... I didn't mean to get into a whole Harley discussion. I love my C50, that's all I know. Maybe someday, I'll even be a H-D owner. Who knows. I'm certainly not against it, if I found a model that I actually liked the look of, and liked it enough to pay the hideous price tag attached.

[stp1971]

+1,,good points as well. One thing to think about now is for so long there was this waiting list to get a bike. Then if you did not want to wait you had the option of buying used and they commanded a premium. But now they have more bikes being made than are being sold now,,hmmm,,the used bikes aren't selling like they used to either.

They still sell,,but as far as buying one and keeping it for two years,,riding it and then selling it for what you paid for it or more. Those days are over. They do drop in price and only the rarer ones and the classics are going up and holding value. The ones of the last five to ten years are at a bargain price and if you wait a few more years I bet you can find even better deals.

Unless Harley folds,, then watch out. If they don't get their act together they may be in for it.

[ChicsterMG]

Welcome Cher,

I think you have a good bike in the C50, but you can't really compare it to FatBoy. They aren't even in the same class for cc's.

I loved the ride of the FatBoy! It has to be one of the most comfotable Harley's out there. It is definitely like comparing a Cadillac to a Yugo when discussing the FatBoy to my old H-D Sportster.
In my opinion, it really comes down to personal preference and taste. I like both the C50 and the FatBoy, but as you said, it is not really practical for me money wise right now.
I love my C50 and will definitely enjoy it for years to come, but the FatBoy is on my list for the possible future bikes.

And, I'm glad your son made it back ok from Iraq, I am in the Army and have friends there, that I pray for their safe return everyday.

Good luck with the new bike.

[wracing]

Well you got your harley riders, your metric riders that dream of owning a harley, and us who just love bikes in general. Before i bought my S83 i look at harley's and they are great looking bikes, but my god! 20K plus. Well the salesman said we will finance it forever if that what it takes to get you on a harley, and i said harley not! Now my brother Joey look at metric bikes but just wanted a harley, which is just fine. He is very happy with the harley and it is a very nice looking bike, but i think my S83 is a beautiful bike also. If i evey win the lottery i think i will buy me a ..................BMW R series.

willie