Did they just wear out? Are the riders to old to ride? Are they not fast enough to keep up with the Joneses (and the Screamin' Eagles)?

Just curious about this observation, as I enjoy the forums and have learned a lot of interesting information. But sometimes it seems as if about 80% - 90% of the folks are either on a new scoot or about to buy one (or even ANOTHER one). I'm finding that I need to dig pretty deep to find good discussions about mid 80's to late 90's baggers. Maybe my Ultra will become a true classic sooner than I thought.

Jammin' in the breeze,

Dutch

 

Dutch

I think motorcycles have turned into cars...They get traded in or sold for new ones every couple of years any more. I guess the words "NEW and IMPROVED" carry a lot of weight.

 

I'm with you on that one Dutch. I ride a 1998 FLHT last year for EVO in a dresser.

 

Rebuilt my 89 last year and it runs great and is fast enough for me. I'm only 40 so I have a lot of years left to ride. I would agree that the HD market has changed in terms of people trading them in like cars now a days.

To me, This forum is great for overall knowledge of new products and then I look at seeing what I will need to fabricate in order to use it on my bike if I like the product enough.

For the real down and dirty EVO tech the best place I've found is http://groups.msn.com/harleytechtalk/evo1340.msnw

 

I enjoy my evo. Thanks for the link to the Evo tech link!

 

Thanks for the link the the HTT forum. Looks like some decent info about EVO's there.

 

Well, I'm not putting down the newer bikes. I've just always been curious as to why so many folks seem to be making such an effort to have a new one. In my limited way of thinking, it would take less effort to keep / refine what you have. Of course, that presumes that someone actually got the bike they wanted to begin with. I've owned about 30 motocrcycles and 15 cages and only 3 of my bikes were new (because they were "demo" units, I was a Suzuki service manager) and one cage (and I do mean that literally, a NICELY modified '01 Jeep TJ, loaded, lifted and locked).

I recently sold my Jeep and bought my first Harley (too bad I missed out all these years!) and maybe I just lucked into a great deal, but when I'm out there bustin' bugs, I can't figure out what about a newer scoot would bring me that much more enjoyment. ?? I guess, I'm just so tickled to actually be riding a Harley that nothing else matters. Hmm... Well, one thing is for sure. I ain't tradin' in the wife for a newer, smoother, sleeker, faster model with bigger jugs (carefull now, that mind gutter is awfully close!) and I see no reason that my '95 Ultra shouldn't serve us fine, far, far down the road.

 

I made the same observation not too long ago. In fact the first time I posted something regarding a problem with my bike (1993 FLHS) one of the replies was " 1993? why don't you get a new bike?". Real nice. This seems to be more of a social forum rather than a tech forum. Still an interesting forum to post to with a nice bunch of people, but if your bike is more than a few years old don't expect much help with technical questions.

 

LOL!

That reminds me of last week. I dropped by a local HD dealership to pick up an oil filter and this nice, friendly gentleman who cordially greeted me and inquired as to what I was currently riding (I had a helmet in my hand). I replied that I had a nice '95 Ultra. He said "Really? You need to trade that in on a new one!" I'm thinking... "why? is there something wrong with mine?"

Next time, I'll try to remember to ask why.

 

This is a broad generalization [which I know, can step on toes sometimes] but I believe a fair assessment, none the less, based on my years of experience on both sides of the dealership counter and with reading hundreds of pages of industry periodicals every year as well.

I happen to agree with jsd245's thoughts and I think this is indicative of many recreational motorsports users these days- motorcycle, PWC, snowmobile, etc. Over the past decade or so, the powersports manufacturers have worked hard to draw in as many new users as possible, especially those that in years past were not considered as "typical" candidates for powersports equipment. As a result, you have an entire new type of user, one that is not accustomed to working on their own products, diagnosis of problems, keeping the unit long term, etc.

This isn't a dig on powersports users that fit this 'new' mold, it's just a shift in the user profile in general. With this shift, you will see a lot less of knowledge transfer- at least first hand knowledge anyway. For all the fuss about dealer wrenches and service shops, these shops are busier than ever for a reason. In general, web forums can be extremely useful, as long as you are patient enough to sift through the dribble and learn to identify those that have had their hands dirty for a long term vs. those that believe post counts equate to true knowledge.

1340 EVOs rock, would love to pick up a project 1340 sometime in the relative near future myself. So don't give up, there's plenty of good info on the trusted lump that saved HD from oblivion! Just ask around.....