I gave this a lot of thought, after getting a rude comment from a coworker who rides a very nice BMW (he saw an improperly adjusted Softail with 2-up, bottoming out and told his wife, that's why he'd never have a Harley). While I gave his bike techno-kudos, I thought about that crappy comment long afterwards.

While he's got the most technically wonderful bike made, in ten years, it'll be just another ugly, used bike. BMW has changed their styling repeatedly over the years to embrace the latest and greatest. While it may not be a disposable metric, once it gets some miles on it, it'll be a bike that'll need some very, very expensive parts and exclusive, hard-to-find service for it. In other words, it's just a more-expensive disposable bike.

My 2003 Harley Davidson FXST will look ten years from now, just like a 1993 FXR or Softail looks now, or 1983 Shovel, or a 1973 FLH and we can keep going back, can't we? We've got over a hundred years of heritage behind the appearance and performance of our bikes. Nobody is crowing about their 1973 BMW Toaster, with it's poor braking and rigid-looking styling are they?

 

you are absolutely right in my experience. I have never had or heard any problems to/from metric riders, but most, even guys i know and are friends with, do comment on their ride in an "apologetic" manner. Kind of strange and uncomfortable...I compliment their rides and don't ever try to cast an aura of superiority

 

I dont have a problem with metric bikes at all. Ill tell you what if i couldnt afford a harley id be on a metric. Just so i could ride!

 

I don't get fake Harleys, especially new ones. If you get a cruiser, and you can afford a new Metric, you can buy a couple year old HD. That said, I've had fake HDs, $600 bikes I fixed up. And they were cool, but totally budget restricted. I can't for the life of me figure why people buy new ones though.

On the other hand, I love me some crotch rockets, Rice, British, Italian, whatever. Those things have a raison d'être: they are fast, and can turn. I'd be happy to own a Kawasaki, just not a fake HD model, but I"d take a zx6, zx10 or zx14 without batting an eye.

I do think real "iron" cruisers should be left to the Americans and Brits though.

 

I've been reading some of the responses to this thread and it got me thinking. I put up a thread a couple of days ago about my friend that works at OCC and how they aren't doing so well and he and many others might be out of a job soon.
Many people responded by "slamming" OCC for various reasons and I don't see any difference between that and what I'm reading here about how "Others" always put down Harley's because they are envious, or can't afford one or think Harley owners are arrogant, or whatever.
Just seems a little hypocritical to me. This isn't the first thread I've seen here on this subject and I don't have the time or inclination to go back through them all and see who complains about other people putting down what we ride and then doing the same thing too someone else. I really don't care....It's just an observation.

 

if it is not a harley i dont care about it.

 

Good post. About sums it up for me.

 

How'd you like looking at your friends rear 240mm tire the whole time? 'Cause unless he let you ride ahead...there is no way your bike was ahead of his.
The headlight may not be very attractive (they have a new version)...but that bike will eat up any other V-twin cruiser out there, with the V-rod coming in a close 2nd. I like the V-rod design, especially the Night-rod, but that M109 has pure low end torque AND high end power that Harley will never come close to.

 

That all may be true but the last 3 times me and a friend were hell riding he had a few different problems with his 109. First he cracked the drive shaft at the real wheel. Had to pay for repairs because dealer claimed abuse. Another time he destroyed a front motor mount. No warranty on mounts. And then the clutch got extremely hard to pull and didn't seem to engage correctly. Found the cable rubbed through under the motor mount and frayed up. No warranty on cables. All with less then 7500 miles. So I'll keep my Deuce and give up the 30 feet he can pull on me for the reliability of my Harley. Oh yeah, my deuce has 33,000 miles and only changed brakes and tires!

 

if you want power to smoke everyone out there dont buy a cruiser just buy an mv agusta harley owns them now and they will blow most supercars away, sorry but i have to laugh when guys brag about how much power their cruiser has