This is just pure consumerism.

Anything past a Shovel is a new fangled Harley in my eyes, so I am definitely not bound by the "latest and greatest" thing. That being said, I would buy an M8 without hesitation, it's just not as endearing as my old stuff.

All the vitriol towards the M8 makes zero sense, unless you are a victim of consumerism.

If you like your 2013 RK, why on earth would you care about the M8? Unless of course you now feel you have an "old" style bike, and everybody is going to think you are too poor to afford the newest Harley, and people will sneer behind your back on the HOG ride. I am sad to say that this is not conjecture, and some people are like this. Rise above it.

I like my Ducatis with a dry clutch. When they went wet, I didn't say a thing. Nobody that I care about looks down on me if I ride an "older" Ducati. If I was caught up in consumerism, I would have purchased the newest whiz-bang bike.

The M8 has no real effect on the current bike that you like.

 

I just got back from the dealership to see some of the new softail's I haven't seen yet. They had the Fat Bob, Fat Boy, Heritage & Breakout.....all 114's. I was hoping to see the Low Rider and the Street Bob as well but they haven't gotten them in yet.

The Fat Bob is just awesome. Seen it before but I had more time with it today. I can honestly say that there isn't one thing I don't like about it. The ergonomics are very nice, however, I would go with the mid controls. The forward aren't bad at all but for a bike like this I think mids make more sense. The mounting point for the mids are the same as the forwards, just angled toward the back to set the pegs back to about where the timing cover is.

I wouldn't consider a Fat Boy but it looks pretty good too. Still sits low and low enough for the vertically challenged. Not sure I love that 160mm front tire. Not necessarily for looks but I think it'll make the steering a little on the heavy side. Maybe not. Got to ride one to know for sure.

The Breakout looks real good. Even with the 3.5 gal tank. This bike is a bar hopper/short trip bike. I don't see anyone doing serious touring on it....more like 150 to 250 mile day trips, so when you think about it, getting 165 mile range with the 3.5 gal tank should be fine because even with a 4.7 or 5 gal tank (195 -210 range) you'd still have to do one fill up on a 200-250 mile day.

The Heritage isn't my style bike but it looks better than ever. The bags look really nice and well made too. Much like a 60 year old woman looking to recapture her youth, it was a much needed a facelift for the Heritage.

One thing I liked and one I didn't. Small things but good to know. Like: All the 2016 Softail's have a built in USB port on the frame near the neck on the left side. Nice little feature. Don't like: The kick stand on the bikes with floorboards is hidden when sitting on the bike in such a way that it would make it hard to determine when your kickstand in up or down. Not that the old kickstand was much better because you could barely see that too. Something someone would have to get used to I suppose. I don't do floorboards so it makes no difference to me.

I think the Low Rider will be a great choice for guys like me that don't like floorboards, windshields and saddlebags. Guys who like that stripped down lean cruiser look but still tour 2 to 3 times a year. I think it'll be more comfortable than the Dyna's and it has a 5 gal tank that'll give you a 235 mile range. Which, if I'm not mistaken, is better range than any other past Dyna or Softail.

All in all I think HD did a great job with these new bikes.

 

I remember Saab very well but unfortunately their demise was GM !!!! Any foreign company taken over by domestic brand usually gets destroyed fortunately Jaguar,Range Rover and Volvo survived in new hands. I still see many Saabs around by me and they are well taken care of which says something. Remember Saturn ?

 

I even remember the Saab Saturn SUV!

Had a 66 Saab 96 back in the day. Strangest car ever. Four "on the tree" with a two stroke 3 cylinder motor.

 

Had a good look at some '18's today at a local dealer. Personally, I would go for the new Breakout if I was looking for a boulevard cruiser. Like the looks of that one. I too would be deterred by the blacked-out only option on the SG and RG. However, the biggest deterrent for me is the new pricing here in Canada. $34k for an SGS, $34.5k for a RGS, $37k for SGS with hard candy paint, $53k for SGS CVO, $57k for Ultra CVO. As much as I like HD, that is just getting stupid! As I was riding back today, I was thinking how happy I am that I bought my '16 last summer for SUBSTANTIALLY less $$$$. I am very content with my ride.

 

This exactly!
I don't think anybody has a problem with updating the frames, suspension, and performance. The one thing HD has always had going for it is the looks. They have the market cornered on that, or they did.

 

Harley's still have the fit, finish and detail that is lacking on rice. Look at a Japanese cruiser up close and they are cheap looking. I will say though, if I was looking for a cruiser with no bags for solo riding it might be the XDiavel S.

 

I wanted a pre-GM Saab 900. Unfortunately I never ended up with one. Once GM got ahold of them they destroyed all of the brand's character.

The MoCo has taken it upon itself to go more mainstream. Which will attract some and discourage others. I also believe the brand loyalty they have enjoyed for decades will erode. They are becoming just one of the many choices available. Now charging a premium price for what?

 

(My emphasis.)

This is where I am right now. I LOVE my 2015 Road Glide Special. It's the fifth Harley I've owned and the best bike I've ever owned.

Unfortunately, I started adding up what I've got in it, and compared to what I can get in another brand of touring bike for less money, and I have to ask myself...why would I ever buy another Harley?

I'll tell you what is really, really turning me off, and it's all coming together in my head as I look at the 2018 Road Glide Ultra and Road Glide CVO:

Every single Harley-Davidson motorcycle has been carefully, strategically, thoughtfully, deliberately crippled. The Motor Company's business model is to keep off carefully selected features and functions that most riders will want, and then simply put them in the P&A catalog at exorbitant prices. Crap seats, crap windshields, and no features like heated seats and grips that come standard on every other $25,000 touring motorcycle in the world. Not on a Harley. "That's another thousand". Hundreds of dollars? Bullshit. It's thousands.

Here's a perfect example: the taillights, brake lights, and turn signals on my bike. A $25,000 motorcycle, and some of the most important safety related lights on the bike each have one flashlight bulb in it. Essentially the same brake lights and taillights that a Duo-Glide had. Oh, and a reflector from a bicycle.

So, I bought LED turn signal lights for the front, $90, plus LED turn signal and brake lights for the rear, $90, and LED lights for the back of the saddlebags, for better visibility from the rear, because I do ride at night. $190.

But, wait, here's the part that totally pissed me off: When I went to wire up the $190 lights for the rear of the saddlebags, so I don't get rear ended at night, the plugs were already there. The screwing that the customer gets is built in, from the get-go. We're sheep.

For exactly the same price as a 2018 Road Glide Special, the new Yamaha touring bike has so many of the EXACT features and functions that touring riders want, STANDARD, that I swear, I'm going to have to make up a spreadsheet to be able to have a conversation with friends and explain everything that's included, without leaving anything out.

Ok, I'm not into blacked out parts, and I sure as hell have NO IDEA what they were thinking when they put a 21" front wheel on a touring bike, (Ok, if they put a 30" wheel on it, I'd be in. No, wait...I wouldn't.), and I guess I'm one of the weirdos who think paint should be shiny, but, I swear, I'm not complaining about style. Different strokes for different folks. If I have to wait to see what the 2019's look like, I can wait.

But I'm done bending over so they can screw me by making me buy $5,000 worth of what should be standard features on a $27,000 touring bike.

Harley-Davidson does one thing, and one thing only, better than any other motorcycle brand: "It's a Harley". And if customers ever decide that the cost to own "a Harley" is no longer worth it, the MoCo is going to be in trouble.

 

i am also old school harely, i did not like the direction harely was going on the dyna wide glide...2008 is the last model i had interest in....i saw pics of the 2018 models....the fat boy looks cool, and the only one i would buy....buts its 2008 or ealier for me..sorry harely