You ask why I found it odd. Well up to this point the previous owners did not. The new owners did not work on metric bikes prior to the announcement on face book. It struck me as funny. The brand owners have shut that group out in many ways. not waving, etc. my own brother said he would feel like a poser to even own a Harley. so the stereo type is kinda weird. he will own every other bike. No metric cruiser wants to pull in to a Harley shop and feel like the one who is not wanted there. So It starts with acceptance at the level of riders. Why would a Honda rider want to go service there bike where they look at it as substandard trash. First words are ( can we upgrade you to a Harley?) So it is an interesting topic to me. Lets see where it takes us.
Wow, @18deluxerider, you are a VERY brave poster! What a question! But, if interested, I'll share my experience. Having never owned a HD is my 1st comment. At the same time, I've posted elsewhere why I am here so I won't repeat.
I rode a 2000 Kawasaki Nomad 1500 from '00 - '05. Before purchasing my Kawi (made in Lincoln, NE), when I went shopping for an HD, I never felt welcomed at a dealership. Oh, and those, "pay $5 to take a hammer to a metric cruiser" events didn't do a lot to make me feel welcomed either but, whatever. Hope the money went to a good cause.
OK, I get it, I rode up to the dealership in a '98 Honda 750 ACE Classic (pic below) so I'm clearly not one of the faithful. But, from my sales experience, this marks me as a natural cross-over. Right? Why sell a part or an accessory to an existing customer when you can sell an entire motorcycle to a new customer? And that phrase, "can we upgrade you?" is intensely off-putting, esp. when it is delivered before even a greeting. No need to criticize the competition, IMO. So, I feel like I got 2 strikes against me right off the bat: I always wore the protective riding gear so that got a lot of looks back then (less so now though) and on a Japanese/metric/non-HD. How many times do I have to get beat up before I figure out that not only am I not one of the gang but am not welcomed? Not too many.
I begrudge no one anything. I'm happy for people's success, I'm thrilled for you. Truly. I just responded to a welcome post that he was so happy to have the HD that he always wanted. That's great! To save and work and aspire for 20 years! That is just AWESOME!
In May '05 I bought a Yamaha FJR 1300 and rode it for 11 years. In 2016 I bought a 2015 Yamaha FJR 1300 (it's basically unchanged style wise). I will always admit it doesn't get the looks of a Harley but it sure puts a smile on my face.
I know I am thin-skinned. Not to admit would be dishonest. Does it hurt? Do I remember those days? Hell yeah but from the utter-humanity that I have shared with several members in private posts in this amazing forum, there is a lot of hurt period.
I droned on too long. I apologize. Just some thoughts from the other side of the fence (I grew up in Nebraska so I can write that with a high degree of authenticity!). Let me just say this: I sure like sharin' the fence to jaw-bone with you all!
I talked to their e-commerce guy Dan to confirm the INNOVV k2 camera system was in stock and ready to ship. He confirmed it was and promised it would ship that day if I got the order in right away. He sent an email with a click to buy button in it which made the purchase super simple.
We talked on a Saturday. I got the camera two day later.
Great service. Very friendly. A great resource for parts.
Wow, @18deluxerider, you are a VERY brave poster! What a question! But, if interested, I'll share my experience. Having never owned a HD is my 1st comment. At the same time, I've posted elsewhere why I am here so I won't repeat.
I rode a 2000 Kawasaki Nomad 1500 from '00 - '05. Before purchasing my Kawi (made in Lincoln, NE), when I went shopping for an HD, I never felt welcomed at a dealership. Oh, and those, "pay $5 to take a hammer to a metric cruiser" events didn't do a lot to make me feel welcomed either but, whatever. Hope the money went to a good cause.
OK, I get it, I rode up to the dealership in a '98 Honda 750 ACE Classic (pic below) so I'm clearly not one of the faithful. But, from my sales experience, this marks me as a natural cross-over. Right? Why sell a part or an accessory to an existing customer when you can sell an entire motorcycle to a new customer? And that phrase, "can we upgrade you?" is intensely off-putting, esp. when it is delivered before even a greeting. No need to criticize the competition, IMO. So, I feel like I got 2 strikes against me right off the bat: I always wore the protective riding gear so that got a lot of looks back then (less so now though) and on a Japanese/metric/non-HD. How many times do I have to get beat up before I figure out that not only am I not one of the gang but am not welcomed? Not too many.
I begrudge no one anything. I'm happy for people's success, I'm thrilled for you. Truly. I just responded to a welcome post that he was so happy to have the HD that he always wanted. That's great! To save and work and aspire for 20 years! That is just AWESOME!
In May '05 I bought a Yamaha FJR 1300 and rode it for 11 years. In 2016 I bought a 2015 Yamaha FJR 1300 (it's basically unchanged style wise). I will always admit it doesn't get the looks of a Harley but it sure puts a smile on my face.
I know I am thin-skinned. Not to admit would be dishonest. Does it hurt? Do I remember those days? Hell yeah but from the utter-humanity that I have shared with several members in private posts in this amazing forum, there is a lot of hurt period.
I droned on too long. I apologize. Just some thoughts from the other side of the fence (I grew up in Nebraska so I can write that with a high degree of authenticity!). Let me just say this: I sure like sharin' the fence to jaw-bone with you all!
Respectfully,
Patrick
My '98 Honda ACE 750.
(end)
The funny thing about all this is I would say 90 percent of Harley owners started with metric bikes. Then, of course, at some point, we were hit by the holy, guiding light of Harley Davidson and our eyes were opened to the endless possibilities and our worlds became perfect. I hope it will happen to you one day, brother.
The funny thing about all this is I would say 90 percent of Harley owners started with metric bikes. Then, of course, at some point, we were hit by the holy, guiding light of Harley Davidson and our eyes were opened to the endless possibilities and our worlds became perfect. I hope it will happen to you one day, brother.
@tmac TMACC, if you are coming through Chicago, maybe up to see the amazing HD Museum (an absolute not miss!), or Uke's let me know and I'll have a grilled steak ready for you. We'll drink cold Miller Long Necks and talk about how great motorcycling is.
@tmac TMACC, if you are coming through Chicago, maybe up to see the amazing HD Museum (an absolute not miss!), or Uke's let me know and I'll have a grilled steak ready for you. We'll drink cold Miller Long Necks and talk about how great motorcycling is.
Last month I needed a headlamp and a few related parts for my 2014 FLSTC. I called the parts department at Superstition HD in Apache Junction, AZ. I was reading my list of parts numbers on the phone to the guy in the parts department. He asked if something had melted (it had). When I went to the dealership to pick up the parts, the guy I'd spoken to on the phone suggested I might want to go with a non-HD LED headlamp instead of what I asked for. He gave me good instructions on how to make it work, and it worked out fine.
A couple of near firsts here: (1) He knew about the parts he was selling, and (2) he knew what he was talking about.
I was impressed.
03-30-2020, 09:21 PM
The Ranch