Check out this Harley Model W for those of you that have never heard of it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw365H3Pos0

 

I have a V ROD and 3 other Harleys first off they are all Harleys and all V twins i remember when i bought my V ROD some of the bikers in the dealership said why did you buy that it aint a proper Harley .... bigotted attitude then 2003 still have those kind of people around today so it seems they obviously know more than i do ....... i dont have a reason why i bought them neither do i need one all i know is it's a spiritual way of life for me and that's all that count's .....

 

There has never been a generation set against Harley advancing in technology and model lineup until this one.
If you look through Harleys long history, you'll notice there were always new models and technological advancements. Today for some reason, that wouldn't fly. Beats me.

 

An excellent point and very true.

 

Yep! I had an 09 VRod - it was definitely diff from my '10 RK. I really like the V it had scary power and operated in a much higher rev mode that the RK

IMHO V's are def a Harley - If they could get that motor in a touring frame
HD would have all the horsepower they need...put a set of Bub JuggHuggers on a V and they sound like a drag race HD

If I were younger - I'd still have that VRod - awesome and scary power - but not very comfy.

 

+1 on the Glock, hands down the most reliable handgun ever made (not including wheel guns, of course) I own a G20- 10MM with over 2,500 rounds through it with ZERO FTF's or FTE's

And I live right down the road from the Ruger plant...


PS, did the gun forum die or what ?

 

Look I'm not married to the H-D brand, or the V-twin engine. I got my FXD because I got a VERY good deal on a new leftover 09. Had a local Honda dealer agreed to my price on new Sabre before I got my price on the FXD I could easily be on a Honda right now. Had a local Triumph dealer been more reasonable about my offer on a Triumph Speedmaster or America, I'd be on a Triumph with a parrallel twin right now.

That 865cc Triumph puts out a lot of power, 60hp, compared to about 66hp on a stock TC96. So there is a lot to be said about having something other than a V-twin.

Further, when it comes to air cooled V-twins, H-D has some serious competition from Yamaha and Victory. Look at a comparison of the Raider with a 113ci engine, the Victory Hammer with a 100ci engine, to the H-D Rocker with the 96ci engine.

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs...out-69801.html

They are able to get greater displacement, with much better dyno results, and still comply with the EPA regs.

I like my FXD, but there is some serious competition for H-D out there, and I probably got such a good deal on my FXD due to that competion. This is especially true because H-D doesn't have any real "entry level" bike to build brand loyalty in new riders. So as new riders look to upgrade from a true beginner bike they are comfortable with brands other than H-D.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

H-D needs to build brand loyalty in the new/young riders. Why would a brand new rider buy a slightly top heavy Sportster 883 Low that turns out about 40hp for $7300 when they can get a Kawasaki Vulcan 500LTD that turns out about 46hp costs only $5000, and is cheaper to insure due to lower cost and smaller displacement (despite putting out more horses)?

H-D needs to produce a less expensive, lighter, well balanced, true entry level bike to attract new and younger riders. The younger generations are willing to ride something other than a H-D bike, so with good bikes like the Vulcan 500, Yamaha 650, etc out there, H-D is losing out on the entry level riders.

Make a bike that has around a 500cc engine, that puts out decent power, has not only a low seat height, but a low CG so that it's easy for novice riders to handle, and a price that is close to some of the competitors.

 

Yeah I ran into some of those Yamahas and Hondas... lol. I felt bad when the frustrated owner of that Honda 1800 even realized he needed me to throw out a rope for him to hold on to so his bike could keep up with my Sporty. Don't believe everything you read and despite after market exhaust I am yet to hear one sound as good as any Harley much less have the feel of one. Maybe that's why those foreign bikes have no resale either which considering what we spend to personalize our machines would be a better consideration then the up front costs. On another note my Gawd man does not anyone ride to back American made anymore, to show American pride? I just can't seem to comprehend this boasting of foreign machinery. Guess I was raised differently. I mean I have nothing against foreign bikes on the road but to hear boasting for foreign and nothing but complaints for domestic just has me dumbfounded. I do not think some realize how much work and design is involved for an unbalanced air cooled bike to compete against an easier designed balanced water cooled bike. Come on give Harley some credit.

 

When I bought my RoadGlide, I bought it because I liked the bike itself. Not because of the brand.

 

A few of us were talking about that on the Sportster forum recently. Turns out, that stereotype died back in the '80s. Harley's made a lot more technological advancements popular than most other manufacturers.

Off the top of your head, can you name another motorcycle manufacturer whose entire lineup (including their smallest bikes) has EFI? Harley is, to my knowledge, the first company to embrace that new technology this wholly and completely.

Off the top of your head, can you name another motorcycle manufacturer whose entire lineup of street-legal bikes was all either shaft-driven or Kevlar/Aramid/carbon-fiber belt driven before Harley? Most other manufacturers have been trying to get away from chains for a while, but it's Harley that made it so popular. Victories, Yamahas, etc. would probably still be chain-driven if Harley hadn't pushed the development of belts made from modern materials and worked out a lot of the kinks.

There are more examples: dual-compound tires stock on tourers, disc brakes all around (hell, Honda's knockoff of the Sportster still has a drum brake on the rear, and it even costs more than an entry-level Sporty!), fly-by-wire throttle control, ABS... turns out Harley is just really good at picking which new technologies actually improve usability and maintainability, and eschew the "tech-for-tech's sake" "upgrades."

And of course, we're all out buying them. We don't stick our noses in the air and refuse to buy them because they've moved on past cables, carbs, points ignition, and all that crap. Harley customers like it modern... but only when there's a good reason for it! Don't stick a radiator on my engine; I don't want to have to check yet another fluid, fix yet another source of leaks, and have yet another periodic maintenance to perform. But yes I do like my oil-free belt drive, thank-you-very-much!