UH OH !!! Sounds like a spot check is in order.

Had leftover chili today (2ND DAY IN A ROW)
Details soon.

 

Yeah? And the resale on your bike will be $h!t in a year or so too. Everyone of you sheep want the latest and greatest. This years most awesome Softail ever will be poo-poo in 2020. And a dealer will always try to stick it to you on a trade in no matter what you drag in.

 

Completely irrelevant I keep my bikes for ages still got my old 1988 Evo , my 2018 Street Bob who knows , I reckon it'll be my last bike I own.
But I did sell my 06 Twinkie cause it was $hit. Funnily enough my old Evo is now worth more than that Twinkie I sold.
Later h8er hahaha.

 

Let's find out if that is true instead of spewing it and taking it as gospel. What model Evo and what model TC?

 

I'm not young and I'm not old.. so I'm not sure where exactly I fall in Harley's target demographic. However here is my take on the new bikes.

I currently own 4 bikes, one being a '11 softail and another a '10 Dyna. I've had a previous softail (sold it). I have an old honda CB, and a new 2018 Fat Bob.

I've also had Kawasaki cruisers and Triumph motorcycles.

I think this is a bit relevant because I'm in a good position to compare the new 2018 softail directly to the softail and dyna I have next to it, as well as some other bikes I've had.

Build Quality:

First, there is nothing cheap at all about the new softails. There is no plastic on the bike, no plastic covers. etc. anywhere. I feel like this is just people making **** up and hating for some reason.

Comparing quality, it's there. It feels...solid and well built, but it's also obvious that with the new bikes they put a LOT of thought into them.. not just for the end user, but because it's just smart manufacturing and business as well. A lot of these things translates into easier and better things for people using the bikes. A good example is the brake line. If you want to change your bars you no longer have to buy an entire setup, just the one piece. Same with the clutch. While this saves Harley money, it also makes servicing and changing components cheaper, faster and easier for the end user. So why not, when it's a win win as far as I'm concerned.

People want to hate on some changes but the fact is smart manufacturing isn't bad, and NONE of the things I've seen like that struck me as cheap or them cutting corners.

Nothing on the bike reminds me of anything similar to a metric bike, with the exception of the fork lowers. However, this has been the case with Harley for years due to who manufacturers them.

Performance:

My 2018 fat bob is the best handling bike I have ever ridden. The worst thing harley did in my opinion was call it a softail. it's anything but. I ride a fatboy and this thing handles nothing like it. Handles nothing like my previous softail.

I have what I would consider a fairly sporty dyna and this new bike blows it out of the water.

The characteristics of the engine are much different, and for me one of the first things I noticed was the low RPM then engine idles in (around 800rpm) I thought i was stalling out as I'm used to a much higher idle on the other harleys.

While I prefer an unbalanced and rubber mounted motor, I also know the technical and performance limitations of them, and especially how that translated into the Dyna frame. This M8 motor does have vibration and you feel it.

The monoshock is better than the softail shocks in every way, but softail to softail, since you don't see the shock it's not (look wise) much different. What IS noticeable is the difference in ride quality. It's excellent. With after market it will be even better.

The new frame is stiff. You feel no flex when riding, no slop like the older softails, and no wobble/ flex like the Dyna. The new softails just rail around the bends.


Looks:

This is subjective and I think the thing that is really causing a divide between Harley enthusiasts. I personally like a lot of things and hate a few. The things I hate (like most things on harleys) can be changed.

But I feel that the people out there bitching about these changes are the same people KILLING Harley. They bitch and bitch. They hate change. They feel that somehow evolving as a motorcycle or brand diminishes their connection with their current bike. A lot of them don't even ride their motorcycles well enough to even appreciate the changes to handling/performance or why they were even implemented in the first place.
But they were also implemented because Harley can not keep doing nothing just to appease the people who want things to always stay the same.

If you hate how the bike looks, fine. But people saying it's cheap, plastic, jap, metric, what has harley done?? etc. are talking out their ***.

People have always hated and bitched about every change Harley has made. This is no different.

 

Kinda like how you are right now...

 

Actually, never mind.

 

Is the whining about people whining still going on?

 

These models over time will be a marketing triumph I reckon , they've had to keep us old farts happy and get new buyers in at the same time not an easy task.
And yea they've done it the Softails look very much a Harley line descendant with a natural progression but with enough changes to visually be a modern rig .The Low Rider looks to me more Low Rider than they've been for years, the colors and graphics are very retro and it's a stylish bike too .The tech side is what will get a new HD wannabe in too , this tech makes them ride and handle better, go harder and look better.
That freaking Fat Bob will get newbies in in droves, it looks so different it's definitely a here and now statement more than anything HD has ever brought forwards it's a game changer.

 

I like all the dark Touring bikes, and the Heritage. Who else has a favorite?