I bought an 05 RK. They offered a year warranty with the bike but had to pay for the warranty for the duration of the loan. My thoughts... it been through there shop hooked up to a computer and had diagnostics ran on it. If any thing is going to happen it would likely be down the road after a year. So whats the point of wasting the money for 5 years when its only good for one!

 

I buy extended warranties on nothing.

 

well, there you go, you've answered your own question. don't buy the extended warranty. i've gotta wonder what forums you've been reading though. most of what i read boils down to this: if you ride a bazillion miles a year, plan on keeping your bike forever, and don't plan on doing any mods, then the extended warranty could be good for you. if, however, you don't ride that much, or trade bikes every couple of years, and/or plan on doing some mods to your bike, then the esp is gonna more than likely be a waste of money for you.

 

Says it for me as well.

 

Two of my last three Harleys were as reliable as a rock. The third blew up in large part because of the mods done. Taking apart the engine, the technician said the work looked like it was done with a chisel and a ball peen hammer. I had a warranty on that one -- glad I did. And always, always, always get the tire insurance. That has paid off big time for me...

No offense but I think you are a troll...

 

Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you were the Big Kahuna of Forums.

 

I'm riding an 07 V Star 1300. 16K Nothing special. Have not dome anything but oil changes and tires. One recall.

Last (and only) Harley was an 87 FXR I sold into the "Harley bubble' in the mid nineties, then followed by a couple used Honda Shadow VT1100s, Metric standards, Never needed any work done on any of them. Never left me stranded. They just ran until i got tired of them. I am tired of the 1300. Want to step up

Been watching the market and used late model low mileage Harleys have become plentiful and as affordable as the big bore air cooled Yamahas. Might be a good time to get back in the pool and not take a huge depreciation hit.

My hesitation is reliability somewhat given my trouble free experiences over the past 15 or so years and especially maintenance. I realize the basic technology is old and HD is squeezing as much as they can from an old proven design. This is not a "white paper" bike and I am not a wrencher so I am researching as much as possible the common issues over the past 8 years or so. Cam tensioners, stators etc. I wil try to scare myself out of the purchase. If I then decided I am in, I will look a great deal on one.

One thing I remember about my FXR is you really needed to understand the way it worked and have some tools ready. 20 years ago I had the time to wrench and didn't mind it. Now I despise having to do anything a Wal Mart socket kit cannot cover. I tend to strip allen bolts and break manifold bolts off in the block when I attempt garage fixes just adding accessories.

 

No offense but I think you may be too "sensitive". I have a legitimate question regarding a bike that has a long time irrefutable reputation for minor and a few major issues. I had one. I know they can be as temperamental as a Ferrari.

I never thought of tire insurance. The last time I replaced tires. I bought Metzlers they cost $400 purchased and installed by the dealer. I don't mind that kind of expense.

 

just like anything else it depends how long you are going to keep the bike,how many miles will you ride it, and are you mechanicly inclined, not that you real have to be with a new harley because they dont have half as many problems that people say they do. id say skip the warranty an buy some chrome

 

I didn't realize you were this Forum's self appointed Cop. Every forum has them. Join a forum a whole two years, make thousands and thousands of posts and self appoint........ I get it. The same guys who shout "Use the search function' then whine about another digging up and old thread.....