[1rusty1]

Thanks.

I've been listening to dummies on Harleys talk trash about Hondas for nearly 50 years, when the fact is that Honda makes a better product.
HD is primarily a marketing company...this shift from selling bikes to selling logos, selling "the dream"...will continue as HD riders get older and drop away. (think Oldsmobile...eventually, the HD brand will die)
Playboy makes more money off Licensing their Logo than from the magazine itself. Motorhead makes more money now from Licensing its logo than they do from their music. The Rolling Stones Licensing revenues are a HUGE piece of Mick & Keef's cash flow.
Fact is, I think HD motorcycles are cool...so are Playboy, Motorhead and the Stones.
What amazes me is how HD Owners all drink the Kool-Aid...they actually believe that "brotherhood, American Made, legendary" crap.
That part, frankly, I find funny.
As is my right...right? You Harley guys believe in "freedom", or say you do...
I am free to express my disdain for the overpriced junk HD is selling.
Drink your Kool-Aid.

So I take it you won't be buying a Harley? :shock::shock::shock::wink:

I feel like a trader. I went to the Harley Store today to pay for my Rider Course. Then I was headed to Honda to check out some Shadows. I didn't make it that far. I fell in love with a Harley. The Harley Softail Slim. Sorry Guys.

Congrats on the new bike. A friend of mine owns a softail and it is an incredible machine. Enjoy.

 

[1rusty1]

Just do what I did and buy them both. Heck I am looking at a kawi right now or I might go with a Yami.

 

[1rusty1]

Well, after 9 pages, Ive got to hand this "win" to Halifax. I think he has made numerous good points, and backed it up with links to news articles. In response, he has gotten insulted (comments about his wife running off with an HD owner.) That is a common fallacy used when someone runs out of ammunition and cannot further defend their own position with anything legitimate. Like a monkey flinging poo.

In the end, as long as the OP enjoys his new ride, thats all that matters. Im more like halifax myself - I would rather pay for reliability. Its one of the reasons I bought a Kawasaki sportbike over a Ducati - WAY less required maintenance, and way cheaper maintenance. Not to mention a cheaper bike to begin with.

I too love the looks of Harleys...but I wont ever own one, due to the price.

Hmm..There is not a winner in this type of argument. Choosing a motorcycle is subjective at best. You can argue all you want about the attributes of each brand until the cows come home but there will never be a one right choice.

Take the argument regarding trucks. You will find heated/ passionate arguments about whose brand is “the best”. Metric .vs domestic. Domestic .vs domestic. You could argue that Chevy makes the most advanced truck on the market for the last 30 years or that Ford has the most sales year over year or argue Toyotas dependability. I wanted a Dodge because I think they make a better looking rig than any other brand that sounds like a truck and not a Nissan Leaf. You might disagree with my reasoning but I could care less. I like what I like and you like what you like.

I picked up my HD for what I would call a steal. I could have easily turned the bike for a few thousand dollars profit and that was what I was going to do. Not having any particular allegiance to make or model. It was six of one and half a dozen of the other for me. Once I got that bike out and started riding it, I was hooked. To me it was everything I wanted in a motorcycle, the sound and feel were perfect. I like radiators but not more than the powerful feeling of the motor in my hands.

My neighbor runs a goldwing. I can barley tell when he goes by. It sounds more like something out of the cartoon “the jetsons” than I would like. He love’s it and is getting set to go to his quarterly goldwing rally that includes chapters from four states (hmm no less kool-aid than Hog). He loves his bike and I fell in love with my HD. We like our bikes for very different reasons and that should be just fine for other people. If it’s not, it’s really an emotional or personal growth issue for the individual arguing about it more than anything else.

 

[1rusty1]

Not sure if trolling... But...

While that may be true for you as an experience I can tell you mine has been the exact opposite. Did I mention that the Honda is an '84 and the Harley is an '05? Nope, it goes against my argument. See what I mean?

Agreed. Funny I joined this forum because of the technical advice. Not as many years between my two bikes as yours. I loved my shadow but the damn thing took more work to keep running than my first beater car. It only had 7k miles but was a pain to keep on the road from the moment I bought it. Now the Harley has not let me down yet. Again all subjective.

 

[1rusty1]

Exactly. I'm a wrencher by nature. The VT700 didn't even run when we bought it. These forums have been a wealth of knowledge. And after many weeks of technical posts I found myself browsing around and taking part in the general discussion areas.

I spend almost zero time on HD forums for the same reason I spend little time on large sports forums. It's not for distaste of the subject matter but for distaste in the masses. Lots of people online these days that I have little in common with, even on interest specific forums. It's like having your small group of select friends that you're close with as opposed to hundreds of friends you know little about.

That’s funny. I joined an HD forum thinking tech help and rarely spend time there. So far I haven’t needed much advice. I did the same as you, in that, I started in the tech on this forum and moved on to the other discussion threads. I found them interesting. So I thought I would stick around.

Wow, you all still trying to make out of Halifax?

What is this Halifax you are speaking of? Ok I’m just kidding:wink:

 

[1rusty1]

Like someone else had mentioned earlier I did alot of research b4 buying my bike. Read many reviews, and talked to numberous mechanics and motorcycle service departments. They all said the same thing that value aside the most dependable, maintainance free bike on the market today was the shaft driven shadows. I'll admit I've always wanted a softail fatboy for all the reasons mentioned... US made, look, sound, & prestige. In the end I fought off the urge to spend an extra 10k. LoL Truth is half the people that walk over to admire my beautiful water cooled beast thought is was a Harley:-D

Happened with my shadow too. People who don't ride think everything is an HD. If they were friends or family, I would sometimes correct them . Random strangers just not worth trying to explain. I would just say thanks and keep riding.

 

[1rusty1]

Halifax I have been nothing but nice. The cold hard truth is your an *******. You have nothing better to do then harass me on here. Get A Life.

Sent from my DROIDX using Motorcycle.com Free App

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. If the sky is blue and you say the sky is blue, some people will argue that it’s purple. No point in discussing with a person who has to have the last word. Enjoy the ride. As you can see, many members own a variety of brands and they haven’t let anyone run them off yet. Let us know how you like the bike.

 

[1rusty1]

Is it because it was the first bike to use kitty litter?
_________

Bawhahaha. Gotta love the irony. Now that's a funny observation.:wink:

 

[1rusty1]

Nice!

 

[1rusty1]

Yeah. I pulled my heal shifter too. Kept getting in the way when I wanted to adjust my foot.

 

[1rusty1]

I put one on mine. cleaned it up quite a bit.