My stepson graduated from a yamaha training school last year. he worked at a yamaha place for a year and they laid him off. He loved working on yamahas. Now, he has a chance to work at a well respected harley place and they will even train him. He is relectant to work on Harleys because all he heard at school (and even on the street) was that Harleys are basicaly junk! Is this really true or just trash talk from people who cannot afford to own a harley. I am pretty frustrated so I am hoping to get some unbiased answers here.

Thank you in advance.

 

I love Harleys, also own a Yamaha, and my first new bike was a Yamaha, so I think I can answer your question honestly. A career at HD will be much more rewarding than Yamaha, he will be with a better, more bike commited public than the rice rocket youngsters that leave the game at 30. HD riders are lifers. Jap bike riders don't respect anyone over 35(IMO), where HD riders search out guys with years of experiance, so his value goes up with age rather than down.

 

I have a '79 ironhead that some might call junk. I just think it needs a little more TLC than more modern bikes.

I also have put over 10,000 miles on my '04 with only basic maintenance. No problems to report here.

I think that most people who talk trash are 1) have never had a harley and are basically talking out their *** 2) are jealous and just trying to talk up their own brand because they don't have a harley or 3) Just @$$holes who are trying to get a rise out of you.

Harley's are every bit as reliable as other bikes nowadays.

 

Howdy Bobby, welcome to the forum. I think that there are people out there that are going to bad mouth whatever someone else has without having any personal experience about what they are talking about. I've met nice people on bikes other than Harleys. I have met a lot of Harley riders that are excellent people. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate a bit if someone offered me a chance to be a Harley mechanic. I really don't care what a person rides as long as they are having fun doing it. No offense to the other bike builders, I've always had a thing for Harleys. As for what is junk and what isn't, you could take that same argument about cars and anything else. Personally, I'd do the Harley thing and ignore what everyone else thinks. My 2cts worth. Good luck

 

The "Harleys are junk" thing is BS pure and simple. Most of the people who spout it are either jealous because they can't afford one or are simply ignorant of reality. Like was alreadt mentioned, your son will have a MUCH more rewarding career working on Harleys and interacting with people who, for the most part, live the life and love riding for the sake of riding.

Cheers!
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I have owned 3 brand new yamahas, all were excellent bikes, no problems what so ever, but the same can be said about my harley also. If I were him, I would take the opertunity to go to school free and learn another product, can only make him more valuable to employers. He doesn't have to be married to the job, if something better comes along grab it, i'm always on the look out for my next career!

 

There was a time, briefly thank God, when Harleys were not so reliable and some ignorant people jump on that as an excuse to bad mouth ALL Harleys. Not so any more, Harleys are built to last, appeal to a much more mature group of people, and have retro styling. This type of styling can be also seen in the automobile world eg. the Prowler, PT Cruiser and others. So I would say that working in a Harley shop is a worhy undertaking. $0.02

 

Here we go again[sm=bling.gif][sm=funnypostabove.gif]

 

I am not the mechanic in my family, nor am I even remotely inclined...I'll admit it! But I do have SOME common sense. When defining JUNK..I think of something that doesn't run without a lot of effort, something that costs more money to keep than it's worth, something that's just plain ugly to look at, something that sits around and collects dust...and I could go on and on...(and no, I'm not yack'in about my old man, LOL) My point is our Harley's do NONE of these things. They make noise (something like "Varooom, Varooom...potato..potato..potato..." with one flick of the ignition switch when we start 'em up, other than gas and oil, we really don't have to spend a lot of money to keep 'em running, they're freekin gorgeous! and every second we can, we are out playing with 'em...HHHHMMM...JUNK??? HARLEY????I think not!

 

bobby18301,

He will enjoy working on the simple, but proven engine that HD keeps improving as needed, alot more that woking on the metrics, I know cause I have tinkered with both. The electronics are complicated to a degree but what brand is'nt.

What I think is a super big plus, once he gets trained and well experienced he has options, lots of HD mechanics strike out on their own, open a small shop of their own and if they're good they will do well. There will always be a market for him, as some people trust the small shops more than the Dealers, not to mention the savings they get. Harley has been building bikes for over a hundred years and if the world lasts, HD will see another hundred. Sometimes opportunity only strikes once.

Hope everything works out for him.

John TN