I had a bmw k1300r that i sold to buy a roadking cvo...
That thing was crazy fast. My brother has vmax, and I would put the beemer against the vmax any day, but as stated earlier, nothing beats the way you feel on a harley...

L

 

He can run faster but he will never ride with STYLE and he can't catch that no matter how fast he is!!!!!!!!!

 

Style is subjective.. I used to get young hot girls doing the necksnap when I was out on my crotch rocket, even when they were with their boyfriends and husbands... Now I get the big fat biker looken chicks with a missing tooth giving me a smile and a thumbs up.....Thats an honest to GOD, No ****..

 

seem to have provoked a lot of thought with this one.

no doubt that my sporty is still infinitely better sounding and looking than 90% of what i see out there, i love it, and everyone else does too and has questions about it and wants to know more.

just why is harley still waiting 35 years to come out with a more powerful line of engines???

I know everyone on here would be happy to see it, it's no coincidence that all the harley enthusiast on this forum dump all sorts of money into their bikes to strip the crappy stock parts away and get some more hp and tq and handling... I've now spent more time and and money than i should have to get my stock bike running and looking right (but it has no doubt been fun turning thy wrench)

just think harley should step up their baseline a bit and stop incorporating all the goodwill of their brand into the price of the bikes. I mean pound for pound the essential stock parts coming off a stripped ricer are much hire quality and worth a lot more than those from a baseline sportster.

anyone know what it would actually cost to build up a sportster from stock parts relative to comparable crotch rocket of choice? useless exercise...likely, but may just show what percentage of our bank accnts are actually paying Harley for their name

i still love'm, don't write me off

 

Ain't that the truth!

 

welcome to reality. you buy hype when you buy harley.

your choice is clear:
buy in with blind loyalty
open your mind to other options

there are people on other brands who still believe the hd hype. there are people who've never ridden who believe the hd hype. go to parties/rallys/dealerships and you'll find non-bikers on hd's buying into the hd hype. its soooo persuasive.

if you become more than a consumer of hd, you'll start looking at other bikes with an interest in their design purpose. this is dangerous thought within the hive mind, and it wont be long before you're labeled a motorcycle enthusiast (someone who likes bikes and rides the snot out of them but could never be a biker because they aren't conforming to a stereotype).

good luck. your image is doomed.

 

whapworth
"anyone know what it would actually cost to build up a sportster from stock parts relative to comparable crotch rocket of choice? useless exercise...likely, but may just show what percentage of our bank accnts are actually paying Harley for their name"
, i get where your comming from but most cruisers produce about the same power and torque , around 50 - 70 hp no mater how big the engine , the thing is a cruiser is just that , a cruiser , doesnt matter if its a jap or british copy , or a guzzi or harley , its built to pose on , look cool and sound great , harley have the sound spot on , with a set of slipons of course , they could do a gel seat or some better springs as standard, i give you that, but the engines and gearboxes seem to be bullet proof and go on alot longer than japs or brits , they hold there money better aswell , i think there about 20% over priced to start with compaired to the imports over there and about the same over here ,but thats proberbly because of the unions in the HD factory, id rather give the price as it is , being built in the U.S.A ,than save a couple of grand and have em built in india or china ,
at the end of the day its personal choice ,

 

Why bring a knife to a gun fight??

 

My best response would be: "So????"

If you want to be a pretend racer, you should have gotten a pretend racing bike and matching multi-color leather suit.

If you bought a Harley to race against sportbikes, it says more about your knowledge than about Harley. If I buy a 30-06 rifle for bird hunting and then can't kill any birds, while my buddy gets a bag full with a $250 shotgun, that doesn't mean my rifle sucks or a need better sights - that means I didn't pick the right tool for my purpose. My rifle may still be bettter quality and worth more than the shotgun, but that doesn't make it a bird gun.

 

See my comment above - it's even more clear with you than the OP that your comment says more about your lack of knowledge than about Harley Sportsters being failures as "sport bikes."

I'm starting to think the reason I never run into you in Shelbyville and Louisville is that you don't really own a Harley.