Harley Davidson - Why are they good bikes? - (Harley Rider's only)?

The fact that you only want Harley riders to answer spells out the fact that you want a biased opinion. Therefore, I didn't read the rest that you wrote because you're going to choose the best answer based upon what you want to hear. (I no longer ride Harley's but did so for 10 years). additional information; "The reason I want Harley riders to answer is beacuse they have first-hand experience! If you haven't been on one then how can you possibly know??" There is a difference between having experience with a Harley, and being a Harley rider. Your question implied that you only want an answer from a current rider or a Harley advocate. I've owned two Harley's several years ago, but I'm not a Harley rider. So, I'll go ahead and answer your questions; 1. Different people have different reasons. Some like the look. Some like the sound. For others, the riding position is perfect. Some like them simply because they're from an American company, while others buy them to fit in with their friends. Everyone has their own reason. 2. Typically, Harleys are very unreliable, that is of course when compared to their Japanese counterparts. You could have one for 15-20 years without repairs or upgrades, but it's very highly unlikely... for most bikes, but especially a Harley. The Sportsters tend to be a bit more reliable than the big twins. 3. This is silly and really, who cares? 4. I don't know if they're in the UK. But the thing you have to remember is that Harley's are very expensive. Marketing to a young crowd is not as effective simply because they typically have less money to spend. 5. Defend or promote? How about honesty? They are overpriced, underpowered, unreliable machines. Of course the exception is the Sportster 883 (still overpriced) but considering their price, fuel injection, and virtual lack of maintenance (you don't have to set valves or mess with a chain), they are a good value when compared to competing Japanese cruisers.

I started riding when I was 18 and lets not get into how old I am now! lets just say that I was there for the A.M.F. shovelhead years and leave it at that! Todays H.D. is a trouble free reliable machine period end of story. I still ride a panhead because i know how to fix it if it needs anything.I can work on the new stuff but choose not to own it.I like my old panhead because i like doing the routine maintanace that is gone with the bikes.

I have tried a few and found they are awful. They don't go round corners, they fall to bits after 20.000 miles and are wildly overrated. I think the only reason people buy them is their image, all they are good for is long straight US highways and nowhere else.

OK - I work for a company that builds custom Harleys, modifies Harley, services Harleys, repairs Harleys and supplies aftermarket parts for Harleys. I get to ride almost every model of Harley and also Harley-based custom bikes, too. I get to meet hundreds of Harley owners every month and I listen to their honest opinions about the bikes they ride.. I'd say that makes me well qualified to answer your questions. 1) Many Harley technicians are pretty scathing about the bikes. After all, they have to work on them, so they get to see the same old problems, over and over again. Most owners know they will have to spend a shed-load of money to make their bike do what it should have done, when Harley built it in the first place. They just accept that as part of H-D ownership. They buy them for the name on the tank - no other reason. 2) Compared to all other modern bikes, Harleys are genuinely pretty poor for reliability. For example, I know of three people, in three different locations across the U.K. who all bought CVO Ultras in 2008. Every one had the same component failures and breakdowns, all at less than 5,000 miles. Pretty lousy for bikes costing £25,000, don't you think? H-D chrome and paintwork is notoriously bad, even today. Take a look at any two year old H-D and you'll see what I mean. 3) They do handle like pigs, when compared to anything else on the road (except the V-Rod, which rides superbly). The 'old man' thing is because most young people don't have £10,000 or £20,000 to chuck at a bike. And if they did, they'd buy a sports-bike, because they want to ride fast. 4) Harley's have never been marketed at young riders. Three years ago, H-D changed their service interval from 2,500 miles, to 5,000 miles. This was because the average H-D owner rides just 2,500 miles a year. H-D has saved millions by only doing 1 service per bike under warranty, rather than 2. 5) Ride one and this question will be answered. It's worth knowing that last week, Harley-Davidson posted an 80% fall in sales over the last 12 months. That's bad, even during a recession. Like I said, my job involves working with Harleys and riding Harleys, all day, every day. That's why I own a Victory Kingpin - an American made bike that not only looks good, but goes, handles and stops extremely well too (and is also, utterly reliable...).

I've heard that the reason they're so popular is that you can fix anything on them with a 13mm spanner and a hammer..

I road a harley once so I feel qualified to answer. 1) I like the old ones from the 20's and 30's because they were up there with the high tech performance bikes of their time, I love cool old things. I hate the new ones because they are nothing but over priced antique reproductions with way out of date performance. 2) No bike is gonna be repair free if you ride it alot for even 5 years. I would like to say today's harleys are as reliable as anything else but in the last week I have seen 5 harleys in a row broken down on the side of the road, no other brands in that time. True, I promise. 3) Because compared to modern bikes, all bikes from 40 years ago have bad performance, harleys are reproductions of that old technology so they have old stiff handling and old low horsepower and old heavy weight. We are talking a chrome plated reproduction of an old B&W RCA TV compared to a Sony HD flat panel. Sorry it's stiff and low performance because they built it that way. 4) Don't you worry about HD marketing. They make POS bikes but they have zero problem holding the market share and selling the things at premium prices. One thing HD knows is marketing, genius. Also they are hedging their bets with Buell, which finally has a decent non HD powerplant. 5) Err how do you know they are good if you have never ridden one? They were my dream bike since I was 10, by age 23 after owning several bikes I finally had the bucks to buy one, so I test road a superglide.....Sorry, but so primitive, so under-performing, so noisy the engine and gear box, a real POS.

to much easy rider for you!

I LOVVVVVVE my '48 Panhead chopper, owned a LOT of bikes, but always loved my HD's. We aren't all biased, just love our bikes ! Get what ya like and be happy. Some bikes look good, some are fast, some break down...whatever. Just ride !

I have had no problem with my Harley. Had it 4 years now. I just wonder how many people have rode pigs. Every one seems to think they "handle like pigs". WTF?