Why did you Buy a "Harley"

[ugocon]

In my earlier years I liked speed, going fast, racing with other bikes on the road...
Never thought about Harleys: Ducati or other Italian brands did the job perfectly! :s

Then in Italy they started controlling the speed on the roads...
Now passing the speed limits has become very risky: steady or mobile detectors are all over the Nation: a quick way to finance the always empty pockets of the City Administrations!! :49:

Moreover, getting older, I appreciate going slow, enjoying the view, breathing the wind quietly....

I needed a bike enjoyable at 90 kmh (about 55 mph) or less, confortable, reliable.

What's better of a living legend?

Harley is the mandatory choice: style, beauty, torque, sound.... and history!

There's plenty of Japanese bikes that can do the job, but simply aren't Harley!

Ciao
Ugo

 

[Vibratinharley]

I am by no means cheap but I don't throw money away, to buy anything other than a Harley is doing just that...throwing money away...
Real Americans Buy American...:USA:USA:USA

Gary, I think I have to agree with you and this will be another reason why I am gonna keep riding Harley DAvidson. I don't know what came over me as I was considering a different bike all together. Wow, what would I do with all my Harley gear and t-shirts. Also, somethimes I feel my harley might be lacking in certain areas but one thing is for sure, It's by far the coolest looking ride and made in the USA! What more could you ask for.

 

[Merlynn]

I bought a Harley because I couldn't get SCUBA qualified. Seriously!

I had planned to get SCUBA qualified on vacation. Some weeks before my vacation began I caught a cold. I ignored it. I'm at an age when one should not ignore colds. It turned into bronchitis. I got treated and was mending when my vacation started but SCUBA was out. So I'm down in Key West with my girlfriend playing tourist when all these motorcycles come roaring into town. It was September and the annual Peterson's Key West Poker Run was on! Thousands of beautiful machines manned by good people bent on having a wonderful time.

I'd had a bike in my early twenties, a Honda 400. Great bike. Sold it when I got rear ended and then transferred to Germany. Hadn't ridden since. But seeing all those bikes and the sound of those engines brought back a hunger to ride a motorcycle again.

Took the mandatory safety course for the endorsement and bought a Harley Sportster. Initially because of the social aspect. Buy any other bike and you're an orphan. Buy a Harley and you have friends everywhere, a social network of places to go and friends to ride to those places with. I bought the Sportster because it was the cheapest and I made the common mistake of thinking 1200cc would be easier to handle than 1584cc.

After lots of upgrades I realized the Harley bug had bitten me hard. Like most of us I traded it in after 10 months on a Road King. Just over a year later realized I really liked touring and the RK wasn't quite what I wanted for that So this month I went a little crazy again and traded the RK for an 09 Ultra. Here I stop.

To recap, Initially it was the social aspect but after 10000+ miles I gotta say these bikes have some kind of magic in them. I can't imagine riding anything else.

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

I bought a Harley because I couldn't get SCUBA qualified. Seriously!...QUOTE]

Wow...SCUBA...that one took me by surprise...almost made the connection before the read...Harley "Beach Bars" and land of surfboards (I'm in SoCal)...but this one is 'about as far out as one could get as to the reason for a Harley! LOL :bigsmiley20:

Gary, I think I have to agree with you and this will be another reason why I am gonna keep riding Harley DAvidson. I don't know what came over me as I was considering a different bike all together. Wow, what would I do with all my Harley gear and t-shirts. Also, somethimes I feel my harley might be lacking in certain areas but one thing is for sure, It's by far the coolest looking ride and made in the USA! What more could you ask for.

Hey Vibratinharley, glad you are "warming up to your HD again" really good keeping on...keeping on, and from this newbie HD rider...:cheers

 

[STEVE07]

Gary, I think I have to agree with you and this will be another reason why I am gonna keep riding Harley DAvidson. I don't know what came over me as I was considering a different bike all together. Wow, what would I do with all my Harley gear and t-shirts. Also, somethimes I feel my harley might be lacking in certain areas but one thing is for sure, It's by far the coolest looking ride and made in the USA! What more could you ask for.

I'm sure glad to see your coming back to it! mind you after what I have read of your experience I can't blame you for being a little sour. Glad your getting over it:bigsmiley8:

 

[bfmitch]

... I gotta say these bikes have some kind of magic in them.

Hmmm. Magic. Maybe that's the explanation.

The first Sportster I remember was Bronson's. You remember the TV show. I was just starting High School at the time and couldn't drive anything except a tractor. Sometimes my father would let me drive the car on the dead end dirt road leading to our farm.

Later on I learned how to ride in the dirt on a friends little Yamaha and Honda. Finally I got a motorcycle license and learned how hard it was to make enough money. I was still fascinated by the Sportster but it was just too expensive for my wallet so I owned Honda, Yamaha, etc. Remember? A brand new Honda 350 cost $600 in 1972. That was a pile of money for me at the time. I sold the last of those bikes in 1980.

I didn't ride for quite a few years while the kids were growning up. No money to spare.

Then, about 13 years ago, a friend asked me if I could help him get his Sportster running. It had been made during the AMF years and had a lot of problems but we got it going. Pretty much rewired the entire bike. That got me fascinated by the Sportster again.

Finally I was able to buy another bike. There was just no question in my mind that it would be a Harley Davidson Sportster. I bought my 883 Custom last June and I've put 5K miles on it already. We're planning to buy a touring model this winter. Probably a Road King 'cuz I like the looks. I've taken every chance I could get to ride one when there was a demo at a dealer.

To be fair I've considered (kind of a thought experiment) the Japanese bikes. I've looked at a BMW but I just don't see a motorcycle when I look at one. Probably they are fine machines, just not for me. I've even test ridden a Triumph Rocket III and looked carefully at the touring version of that bike. Believe me when I tell you that they named it Rocket for a good reason. If all of a sudden there were no more Harleys I'd probably go with the Triumph.

However, there is something about a Harley. Maybe magic is the best term for it. I think it's a combination of a bunch of things. Metal instead of plastic, fit and finish, the sound, the feel, the history. Whatever it is, those other bikes don't have it and the Harley Davidson bikes do.

 

[STEVE07]

Hmmm. Magic. Maybe that's the explanation.

The first Sportster I remember was Bronson's. You remember the TV show. I was just starting High School at the time and couldn't drive anything except a tractor. Sometimes my father would let me drive the car on the dead end dirt road leading to our farm.

Later on I learned how to ride in the dirt on a friends little Yamaha and Honda. Finally I got a motorcycle license and learned how hard it was to make enough money. I was still fascinated by the Sportster but it was just too expensive for my wallet so I owned Honda, Yamaha, etc. Remember? A brand new Honda 350 cost $600 in 1972. That was a pile of money for me at the time. I sold the last of those bikes in 1980.

I didn't ride for quite a few years while the kids were growning up. No money to spare.

Then, about 13 years ago, a friend asked me if I could help him get his Sportster running. It had been made during the AMF years and had a lot of problems but we got it going. Pretty much rewired the entire bike. That got me fascinated by the Sportster again.

Finally I was able to buy another bike. There was just no question in my mind that it would be a Harley Davidson Sportster. I bought my 883 Custom last June and I've put 5K miles on it already. We're planning to buy a touring model this winter. Probably a Road King 'cuz I like the looks. I've taken every chance I could get to ride one when there was a demo at a dealer.

To be fair I've considered (kind of a thought experiment) the Japanese bikes. I've looked at a BMW but I just don't see a motorcycle when I look at one. Probably they are fine machines, just not for me. I've even test ridden a Triumph Rocket III and looked carefully at the touring version of that bike. Believe me when I tell you that they named it Rocket for a good reason. If all of a sudden there were no more Harleys I'd probably go with the Triumph.

However, there is something about a Harley. Maybe magic is the best term for it. I think it's a combination of a bunch of things. Metal instead of plastic, fit and finish, the sound, the feel, the history. Whatever it is, those other bikes don't have it and the Harley Davidson bikes do.

My neighbour who is 70 yrs. old purchased a Triumph Rocket this year and rides it like a 20yr. old kid. It's kind of neat to watch, Him and His buds all a bunch of retired professionals formed their own club they call themselves Wiley.G.Cayote All ride Sport bikes and none of them seem to give a darn about anything but riding and riding fast.

 

[bfmitch]

I know that there are some bikes faster than the Rocket III. I don't think I want to ride them. I couldn't even find a road where I could let the big Triumph really get going. The acceleration was truly stunning. Not stunning like beautiful. Stunning like getting smacked up side the head with a 2x4.

It's big. It could carry two people and all their gear and never work up a sweat. It actually handles pretty well. It accelerates like it's being launched from a catapult. It costs just about the same as a Road King. But, it's not a Harley. It just doesn't have that magic.

It also loses $2000 more in value than a Road King does as soon as you drive it off the lot.

 

[Vibratinharley]

I'm sure glad to see your coming back to it! mind you after what I have read of your experience I can't blame you for being a little sour. Glad your getting over it:bigsmiley8:

Yeah, I am gonna keep it for a while. I am having them install a chrome front end kit while they have it apart. It was only a couple hundred difference. I figure if I am gonna keep it, I might as well make it the way I want and continue the customization process.

 

[cromwell]

Wwll needed another form of transportation and when the gas prices were hitting $4 a gallon. when looking for a bike. My dad had Harleys in the 60-70 so as a kid I was give the bug. Purchase my first Harley an 09 1200C Sportster in Sep. It sure beats the RM/XR 125 and 250 I used to race in the 80.