I love the noise

for me, as someone who’ll wind my car windows down for a better listen when i see a decent v twin coming up to overtake, the harley was sonically a disapointment. when my mate fired up his bike, loaded with screaming eagles, i did’nt get the butterflies in the stomach/hairs on neck type thing that i used to get from my old ducati – but then although my vtr sp1 with harris titanium pipes sounds awesome its not quite as divine as the duc!

Harleys aren’t about speed or handling. Remember that and use them “properly” i.e. relaxed, leisurely riding and just enjoy the whole Harley “thing” and they’re epic. Lots of noise, big/torquey/reliable engine, lots of chrome and even more road presence. 56mph cruising at near-tickover in the sun? Yes please…

Buell’s now, that’s a different story. Hot looks, good stiff chassis with decent handling and brakes and a stonking v-twin engine. What’s not to like?

Everything. Buells are toss. Utterly shambolic build “quality” and comprimised engine reliability/useability…

Is this just a case of Harleys not being niche enough for STW? 😛

Grumm – no – too niche if owt. The niche being all show and no go

TJ hate them so they must be something good.

Juan – stop being so obnoxious please – its getting really dull

Hmmmm, difficult one.

If you can separate the image from the reality, the new Sportsters with the rubber mounted engines look understated and are supposed to have much improved fit and finish.
Thought about one (1200 Roadster) a couple of years ago as well as a new Hinkley Bonnie and a Guzzi Breva.

The cheapest 883 Sportster:

Is only about a grand more expensive than the new Royal Enfield Classic:

Which seems pretty decent value to me.

They do all seem to be ridden by either patch club members or accountants called Nigel though. 🙂

As for the image, it’s not for me, and doesn’t suit our little island or roads, but surely the fantasist dressing up as an American and cruising down to Bacup is equally as valid/invalid as the dreamer in Rossi rep leathers on a Fiat logo’d R1 getting his knee down on a Milton Keynes roundabout? Each to their own and no harm done I’d say.

No bikes on standard pipes sound properly rorty these days, although the Italians seem to ignore the rules a little!

Personally, I currently have a thing about these:

which probably makes me sadder than any of them 😀

chioce for me was yank or jap , i went jap , got a yam xvs1100. all the gear on it looked like a tarts handbag, but had slash cut exhaust ,so was very load.

Foxy is it the vibration? 😮

When I win the lottery though, I will have one of these

A beautiful English motorcycle, improved by a Swiss genius and built by a Frenchman: http://www.godet-motorcycles.com/%5D

Want to pick it up and ride it to England for me Juan?

LOL @ Sandwich 😉

Looks like a Harley is not cool.
Don’t matter, I’ve got one of these…..

When you whack the throttle open the only farting sound you hear is me!!!! 😯

She’s faaaast!

So how many of the ‘Harley Haters’ have actually ridden one ?

I nver rated them until I had a ride on a mates XL883 then it kind of ‘clicked’, ear-to-ear grin and a nice laid back feel – if I ever got another bike it would be a Harley, I’m almost old enough but not fat enough to fill the stereotype 😉

Snaps – snap!! Although mine’s black. Reckon harleys are ‘marmite bikes’. Personally I don’t like ’em. Used to have an XBR500 and I think it sounded nicer – and looked nicer – than any harley I’ve seen/heard. And it did corners. And fast getaways. 😉

Whilst talking to someone who works in the business of recovering break downs from the roads of the UK he told me that the bikes they pick up way more than any are Harley Davidsons. Which I was quite surprised by.

Anyhow, you don’t buy it for reliability, handling, speed etc People buy them because it’s a Harley Davidson.

I’m not keen on them but I can see why others are.

As in my original post I rode a sportster and thought it awful. slow, vibrated, uncomfortable and didn’t handle. the handling was bad to the point of being dangerous

I’ve ridden bikes of many marques that would fit that description but have always put it down to me not being used to their characteristics or that particular bike not being well maintained.

The sportster I rode was smooth, comfortable and handled like any other cruiser I’ve tried, yes, it needed a bit more input than a typical cockrocket but was predictable and precise.

they’re ok if your into the whole cruiser thing and are into harley ‘lifestyle’ thang. I demo’d a XR1200, XL883 and a rocker recently and thought they were ok if you like retro/classic bike.

i think they are just about useful for British roads are no more out of place than the race reps.

I have ridden a Harley, and it was the biggest pile of shite I have ever thrown my leg over.

Purely for poseurs, imo. Under-powered, over-priced, under-braked, shit round a corner. Total style (debatable) over substance.

Ridden by wannabe Peter Fonda-likes.

I hate Harleys.

Arlen Ness on the other hand…

Thing is… If you took a Harley (leaving aside the various Rods, with the LC motor in) and stuck a Yamaha badge on it, nobody would buy them even if you knocked 25% off the price tag. They’re horrendous value. But they do what they do well once you ignore the fact that they’re laughably expensive.

But still, wouldn’t buy one. If I wanted something cruiser-ey and small, I’d get a Triumph twin. If I wanted something cruise-ey and big, I’d get a Victory Hammer.

And it might be stone-aged, but it’s a lovely motor in the right application…

Everyone should ride one of these btw, they’re hilarious. And harley dealers are great about testrides…

He he – I have just learned (well, yesterday) that my great uncle used to race one of these back in the day:

Rumour has it that before he died the bike, which was in absolute mint condition and fettled for racing, was dismantled, stripped, cleaned, wrapped in grease paper and stashed in a great aunts loft.

And it is still there.

I may have to make enquiries about getting my grubby mits on it… keep it in the family like 🙂

Failing that I may just have to get me one of these:

know **** all about motorbikes
but did see a middle aged banker type and his missus come out of a posh london flat dinner party got onto their harley and manage to lay it down trying to do a u turn, his missus threw a hissy fit and i had to help him right it, weighed a ton
caused a fair bit of damage and wouldnt start afterwards

Juan – stop being so obnoxious please

Pot kettle black

caused a fair bit of damage

To the road or the bike?

juan – Member

Juan – stop being so obnoxious please

Pot kettle black

When have I ever been obnoxious to you?

yeah, bring it on – forum bitchfight 😆

Mid ninties, i borrowed a Sportster 1200 from a friend for a weekend. Took it to Wales to enjoy the valley roads. It wasn’t a great success, the missus found it cramped n uncomfy on the back. It didn’t go, didn’t stop, didn’t go round corners and had a pathetic fuel range – hit reserve after 50 miles!! Oh jeez! And every time we stopped, people wanted to oggle the bike and talk b”4llocks to me. I really can’t get my head round the appeal of them; all mouth and no trousers! I was so glad to get back to my own bikes at the time …a K100, which was practical, and a KMX200, which was FUN!

I roda a Sportster and a softail of some sort about a month ago. I loved them to bits, to the point I shall be selling my Bros and buying a HD hopefully soon. No go? So what? I’m not in the hurry. Comfort for a pillion? On a big one was great, Sportster looks better with a single seat anyway.
If you need explaining a Harley, you won’t get it.[u]

I’ve had 3 Harleys (in Oz) – LowRider Sports, Springer, and an ElectraGlide. It’s nearly 15 years ago now since I had them so maybe they have improved since.

What I learned from them was to ride slow and enjoy the ride. At appropriate speeds they handle and stop ok, but they were definitely not suitable for much over 140kph on any sort on back road with bumps or corners.

Simple question, if you enjoy riding, which is the best bike – the one that gets you there in 1 hour, or the one that gets you there in 1 hour 10 minutes?

Simple answer, the one that takes the longest – you’ve had more riding pleasure 🙂

I think I prefer BMW boxers but one of the new Sportsters would be nice once we get some of this global warming we have been promised.

i’d have one of these in a heartbeat

@ Stratobiker – that’s a beut of a Kawa you lucky sod

Harley did you say?
This is MrCM’s ride of choice…….

Ridden a couple of Harleys in the 80s and disliked everything about them, at the time I was obsessed with RDs – 250E, 400E, 350LC so the concept of having your feet in front of your hands was an anathema, as was your hands being higher than your hips.
I’m sure they are better now but they are designed for long straight freeways where everything pootles along between 50 & 60. Look and sound great in SoCal but in Sheffield the holes in the road would shake them to bits.

Love the Dnepr/Neval jobbie, is this the one with a driven sidecar wheel, if so I think I am torn between that and the bikes from the Mac Motorcycles workshop – I prefer this one to the Peashooter (all very 80’s Bloodrunners):

But back to Harleys – there are so many more enjoyable bikes for much less money I cannot see why anyone would spend the dosh. Now has anyone built a single speed motorbike?

I can’t ride bikes…never really wanted to, but from my view, I reckon they are tubs of lard that need a serious servicing to get them to run properly. Big, useless beasts that do nothing but shout ‘Too much money to waste’ to the world…I think there are far better bikes out there for much less money – no idea why they are so popular as they look seriously overworked and under-engineered pieces of junk.

I know heehaw about bikes but that is my Harley Opinion…

aslongasithaswheels – @ Stratobiker – that’s a beut of a Kawa you lucky sod

Thanks, though it’s not luck. It took a lot of hard work to get that together.

SB

@ RobS – have you been in that loft yet?

When have I ever been obnoxious to you?

To me never, but ot neil on the other hand…

Nah – it’s a long way from here… got to move and see what space is like and then perhaps get my Dad to ask if it is still there, and looking for a new home 😉

Rode a Fatboy for a day in Las Vegas a few years ago. It was fun but the brakes were awful, it vibrated so badly my vision got blurred and it was so heavy. The torque from the motor was great but overall I was disappointed.

The Confederate Wraith looks good though.

Yes, yes it’s all to easy to slag Harleys off: Slow, coarse, poor handling yada yada yada…Yawn.

Why? Because (To borrow an Offspring lyric) it’s cool to hate.

At the end of the day Harleys are what they are, their image and their history are carved in stone, it’s not faked. Andhat’s something no Jap bike will ever have, no matter how hard they try to clone them.
I’m not a Harley rider, and I’m not too keen on the big tourers, but a Fat Boy is a great looking bike, and some of the newer flat-track styled bikes are soooooo cool. Classy, understated bikes.

I doubt I’d ever buy one (If I wanted to go slow and look good, I have a yearning for a Guzzi) especially in the UK. I couldn’t be bothered with all the cleaning they require in our climate! But I’d love to tour the USA on one. Pisspot lid, mirror shades, wifebeater, ripped jeans ( 😉 )…. Yeah I could get into that for a bit. 🙂

You gotta have the bike you want, it’s gotta make you feel good, which is why I bought my little Monster. I could have had something faster, ‘better’, more powerful… But it made me laugh, it made me happy.

And I’d rather ride a Harley than a Goldwing or similar, or than drive a car, too.
🙂

Mate has a Fatbob, and all the comparisons between it and all the Japanese Sports bikes is to miss the point by a country mile. the HD isn’t about knee down, all out acceleration, it’s about a cruise to a nice pub on a sunny day on country roads, it’s 60mph relaxed riding, not hiding behind a fairing trying to hang on. Different kind of fun all together.

PP has it about right, HD does have heritage, they’re just not fashionable, but the experience is no more fake than the Rossi/Stoner wannabes.

as an ignorant non-biker i always liked the look of sports bikes more. i like this one, though:

When it come to motorbikes, PP is the daddy 😀