Frank, if you want to remain a "mystery HD employee" it might be a wise idea to remove your name from your profile.

 

The mystery HD employee is only a screen name. I never intended to be a true mystery employee! I work at the Capitial drive plant so it's no mystery!

I have to disagree with some of the comments about quality control. Quality control is a top priority and any employee on the assembly line can and will shutdown the XL line if a problem is found. There is a lot of pressure put on internal and external vendors to make components to the exact specifications required by the engineers. Inspection is done at every stage on the line with a final hot test done to each engine before it's shipped. It really is a team effort to build a quality XL engine.

Think back to the old days of HD, they wouldn't be selling the amount of bikes they do every year if they continued on the poor quality path they were on. The HD name will only carry a company so far.

HD

 

I did the tour at Capital drive last year and loved it. I was impressed with the overall professional attitude by all employee's. Keep up the good work. P.S. your guy in Canada at Deeley's, John White, is one of the best representatives your company has. Just thought I would tell you some good, as you probably only hear the bad.

 

Your right we have thousands of great reps of the company, they do a great job for us and help keep me employeed. I'm glad you enjoyed the tour!

HD

 

I'll just comment on one more thing and hope you will bear with me as I have already written essays here and must be annoying you. Harley customer service is not flawless, but they are one of the best I have encountered. I have had a toyota and honda car before this and let me tell you Honda will not recall/warranty anything without being dragged kicking and screaming. Harley on the other hand will recall/warranty much more willingly and I highly respect that. They have always been polite to me as well. Although, it does take the service department a few tries to get anything fixed. I don't exactly agree with their throw parts at it until it's fixed without diagnosing policy. Of course, this might be conincidence based on my small sample, but I think it's accurate.

 

Well, here's my take as a new Harley convert.

When your demand outpaces your supply year after year and profits are sky high there isn't much motivation to improve your product. Now that Harley supplies appear to have exceeded demand (new and used Harleys are significantly cheaper now than a couple years ago) and the dealer showrooms are loaded, I'm guessing Harley is going to be improving the entire line. The current Sportster is hugely improved. I'm reading the Dyna line is now vastly improved. There's a couple new variations of the V-Rod.

I've been riding Japanese for 30 something years mainly because of price gouging Harley dealers. I always wanted one but I refuse to pay more than MSRP for anything and I want to see what I'm buying first. Well now I can walk into a Harley dealership (not all yet) and buy any model I want without putting up with that list BS and I'll pay MSRP, maybe less. And used Harleys aren't selling for rediculous prices anymore. That and the fact that Harley is building a better bike, ie my 06 Sportster, that IMO gives up nothing to a Japanese bike in terms of function or value.

And I can do something with my Harley that's near impossible with any Jap bike. I can ride it daily for the rest of my life and never have a problem getting parts or acessories for it to keep it like new for as long as I care to. And you can't discount the importance of the vast aftermarket for Harleys. If you tire of it you can give it a makeover at will and for a whole lot less money than for parts for a Jap bike if they are even available.

But there's still something I can't put my finger on about my Sportster that makes me feel a certain way when I ride it. Kind of like rumbling along in a 69 SS396 Camero. Yeah, that twin turbo Civic can take you in a quarter mile but who cares. It's not all about performance numbers.

So far my Sportster hasn't given me the first problem. But if it does I'm ready to accept a certain amount. After all a 69 Camero needs more maintenance than a Honda Civic too but it's worth it.

 

Don't have any gauges on my 05 Sporty but the speedo and Mine is rock stesdy at any speed to 100 MPH. Maybe them Sloptails and Dynaturd speedos bounce but not mine. Paint as good as any I have seen. Not claiming it's any better. Fit is better than any other bike I looked at when I was shopping and looked at and rode every brand. Handle bars on the Suzuki, felt soft, Yamaha seat was just off somehow, and the overall bike looked like it was made from a basket case, the Honda, please, between the seat and tank you could see half of the rear tank or front seat bolt, don't know which it was, when you sat down on the bike you looked down between your leags and there was the bolt head and washer, plain as day. turn signals on the Honda were rubber mounted to the forks and "bounced" once on the road. Plastic, Harley uses their sahre. Fit of the Harley is far superior to any bike out there. Now that we have done this guys research he can go chugg some beers, and lay a few College hard bodies!