How do Suzuki riders feel about Harleys?

[LayinLo]

After a trip to the local Harley shop to find a balaclava for my lady, she made the comment, "Now I can begin to see what all the fuss is about." She was referring to the seemingly endless cult-like following and the fact that if there is an article of clothing to be made, Harley has done it with their logo on it. Now she thinks our 3 year old needs a little leather Harley jacket.........I said, "but baby, we ride Suzuki's."

[inspiron]

Why not buy your lady a H-D thong? Then see if she still thinks that H-D clothing is so cool ...

[inspiron]

Last night I was driving up the German Autobahn to my gilrfriend's house, and there was a baby-Benz (Mercedes 190) on the shoulder, apparently broken down.

This alone is unusual, since there aren't many breakdowns on the Autobahn (the cars must be brought in for inspection every two years, and most cars in Germany are well maintained). But where I got a good laugh out of it was seeing the HUGE H-D logo covering most of the rear window ...

I guess that Hardly-Drivable riders need to have that feeling in the winter too ... so their cars break down for them ...

[Gixxerdale]

LMAO!

[High Plains Thumper]

Originally Posted by inspiron

I think that Harley riders would get more "respect" from the rest of the motorcycle community if they wouldn't take themselves so seriously. Hey, it won't kill you to wave back when another biker waves! Try it - trust me! Even those of us with full-face helmets and textile jackets can be cool ... even without the orange stripe across the chest (and at half the price).

I don't know about where you live, but at least here in the High Plains of New Mexico and Texas, most bikers do not care what the other rides. Sport bikers and cruisers wave at each other, including HD's.

If you want to get more attention around here, rider a Savage. The single large thumper is an attention getter.

BTW, my Joe Rocket Meteor Jacket is orange. It is an attention getter.

It doesn't get any better than this!

- HPT

[High Plains Thumper]

Originally Posted by soultosoul13

i think harleys are great! great look, great sound, great feel. i just think the are sorely overpriced. in my experience you get a whole lot more for you money from a japanese bike.

I agree even though depreciation is higher at least in the lower priced bikes. Unless one is interested in trading their bikes every couple years, rice will do a person well.

Also, I see a lot of HD's always for sale. It seems people have an inflated idea on how much their bikes are worth and won't settle for less. Just like real estate, any bike will sell readily if the price is right.

I don't know why anyone would want to buy a couple year old 883 Sportster for the same selling price as new. Yes, accessories will add a little to the price, but I'd rather get a new one and do my own customizing. Unless one has really done some ultra serious customizing (like custom one-of-a-kind paint and some chopping), the asking prices placed on these bikes often seem out-of-place.

So that bit about higher resale although true seems to be a bit inflated, IYKWIM.

- HPT

[Texas Jay]

Originally Posted by High Plains Thumper

I don't know about where you live, but at least here in the High Plains of New Mexico and Texas, most bikers do not care what the other rides. Sport bikers and cruisers wave at each other, including HD's.

HPT: I'm in Texas, about 45 minutes north of downtown Dallas. I've only been riding since October, but from what I've seen about half of the Harley riders wave back to me. It's definitely a mixed bag; some of them are decent people and some are jerks. I just wave to *ALL* bikers and move on.

[RG]

I think that the main reason most of us don't own a Harley is basically the cost. I'm not knocking the Vol, she's a great bike, but ask yourself, if you could have bought a softail for the same price as a Vol or Marauder, which would you have bought?

[c50tiger]

FUel injected, water cooled, shaft drive? Still gotta go with the C50.

[Texas Jay]

Originally Posted by RG

I think that the main reason most of us don't own a Harley is basically the cost.

Not true, at least for me. I would buy a Suzuki (or a Honda) over a Harley even if they were the same price. My primary concern is quality. That's why I buy Japanese cars & bikes.

I drive Fords, Chevys, & Dodges at work and they're all junk. After 1,000 miles, the armrest falls off. At 5,000 miles, the windshield wipers stop working. At 20,000 miles, they leak oil.

I don't care about impressing people with an "H-D" logo. I just don't want parts falling off as I'm riding down the road. Until Harley's quality is the same as Suzuki, I won't consider buying one.

[High Plains Thumper]

Originally Posted by Texas Jay

I drive Fords, Chevys, & Dodges at work and they're all junk. After 1,000 miles, the armrest falls off. At 5,000 miles, the windshield wipers stop working. At 20,000 miles, they leak oil.

My 1990 Dodge D150 pickup with 3.9L V6 now has 241K miles on it, still gets 17 MPG, doesn't use excessive oil. Two months ago I replaced the valve cover gaskets, stopped the leaking. But then I'd expect some of that from a 15 YO truck. Still has the original engine and transmission. I use it back and forth to work daily, 24 mile R/T.

Not all American stuff is bad.

- HPT

[High Plains Thumper]

Originally Posted by Texas Jay

HPT: I'm in Texas, about 45 minutes north of downtown Dallas. I've only been riding since October, but from what I've seen about half of the Harley riders wave back to me. It's definitely a mixed bag; some of them are decent people and some are jerks. I just wave to *ALL* bikers and move on.

Some the unfriendliness may just be big city syndrome. Out here in rural NM, Clovis where I live is a town of 33,000 people, nearest big city is 95 miles away, Lubbock at 210,000. Around here people are more familiar with motorcycles. We have 5 dealers selling bikes, at least 1/2 on my street own motorcycles. You can tell its riding weather by hearing the drone of bikes heading out Saturday morning.

- HPT

[wsharp]

Originally Posted by RG

I think that the main reason most of us don't own a Harley is basically the cost. I'm not knocking the Vol, she's a great bike, but ask yourself, if you could have bought a softail for the same price as a Vol or Marauder, which would you have bought?

Welllll... before buying my LC I sat on a LOT of bikes, including Dynas and Softtails (one was a beautiful Nighttrain) but none of them were as comfortable as the LC. And since it was gonna be my daily rider, all over town, comfort was a top consideration. So I bought the most comfortable bike, not the cheapest.

[Pinhy]

Originally Posted by c50tiger

FUel injected, water cooled, shaft drive? Still gotta go with the C50.

agreed.

[prekarious1]

Most of the older Harleys that you see running now days do not have "Harley" components on them to make them run. Engines are reworked in aftermarket parts and we all know about the rest of the bikes. Some of the newer ones are pretty good, but if you look at the shipping labels, over 50% of the parts for them (stock) are made in Japan so your still riding a Japanese bike (Harley riders hate being reminded of this). If there wasn't so much of a cult following with them then I probably wouldn't mind having one, but I prefer being able to think for myself and ride on more than just the weekends with a long trip thrown in a couple of times per year to make the odo look like I actually use the thing for what its for.

95% of all Harleys ever made are still on the roads.....


the other 5% made it home.

[Texas Jay]

Originally Posted by High Plains Thumper

Not all American stuff is bad.

- HPT

HPT: Yes, most American-made cars (and bikes) are very good. In fact, the American carmakers outperformed the Europeans in overall quality in 2004. But the Americans still lag behind the Japanese. I would just rather buy Japanese and have a 1% chance of getting a lemon than buy American and have a 5% chance.

Back in the 80's, I had a Ford Escort as a company car. I ran that 250 miles per day and it rode well forever. You couldn't kill that thing.

[High Plains Thumper]

Originally Posted by Texas Jay

Back in the 80's, I had a Ford Escort as a company car. I ran that 250 miles per day and it rode well forever. You couldn't kill that thing.

OTOH, I knew one gal that had a '96 Chrysler Sirrus. It seemed to be a bad lemon, always had problems. I looked at the engine compartment, battery was in its own compartment accessible through the wheel well, replacing rear plugs required pulling the fuel injection manifold, heater hoses were hard to get to, O2 sensor located in a hard to reach place. A nightmare to work on even discounting the intermittent electrical problems.

- HPT

[sunny]

Originally Posted by High Plains Thumper

Some the unfriendliness may just be big city syndrome. Out here in rural NM, Clovis where I live is a town of 33,000 people, nearest big city is 95 miles away, Lubbock at 210,000. Around here people are more familiar with motorcycles. We have 5 dealers selling bikes, at least 1/2 on my street own motorcycles. You can tell its riding weather by hearing the drone of bikes heading out Saturday morning.

- HPT

i commute 50 miles into downtown dallas from the southwest.
i always figure either their hands are full or they didn't see me because they were concentrating on traffic.
traffic can be a major %%%%% in dallas. the HOV lane rules.

[Kropatchek]

@texas jay
quote:Yes, most American-made cars (and bikes) are very good. In fact, the American carmakers outperformed the Europeans in overall quality in 2004.
unquote
you must be jokin'
My Audi 80 of 1989 still had the original exhaust at 235000 km in 2000
greetz
Kropatchek

[c50tiger]

I had a '90 Olds Cutlass Cierra with the 3.3 V6. I sold it in 2000. With obvious exceptions (brake pads, hoses, belts) everything on that vehicle was original. Wait.. I did have to have a diode replaced in the alternater. (Cost me a whopping $50 bucks. That's total cost, including labor to the mechanic.) When I sold it, it had 255,000 miles on it. Not kilometers. Miles. And ya know what? Girl I sold it to lives in town. I still see it every now and then. Paint looks like crap, but it's still running.

Then again, I didn't count my old Honda as being broke in good until it had over 100,000 miles on her.