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Nightster is a 1200...the Iron 883 is the smaller engined bike.
I liked the looks of the soft tail rocker, but i think it's gone from their 12' lineup. The sportsters look pretty good too, along with the V-rod. I'm not a huge fan of the rest of their lineup.
I did a demo day on a XR1200 which i chose to ride cause it was most similar to the SV650 i showed up on. It has tons of performance look, and a high seat / center of gravity, good ground clearance etc...But it really could have used a Buell motor, cause the 1200 Evolution really just felt out of place with that bike. Was kind of a shame cause i love the styling, but that was about all.
Just went to the Harley dealer near me. I've never been in a harley dealer before, and I'm not too familar with the products. The first bike I sat on was a Sportster 48, and I fell in love! What a cool looking bike, it feels very well built, the seat is comfy, the clutch on the bike was so smooth to pull in, the shifter was easy to reach due to the forward controls. Brakes were nice and strong. I'm amazed by this bike, if I had the cash I would be riding it right now.
I don't know if harley's are the bike for me, but they just do something when you sit on one, you just feel bad-ass! You don't get that with other bikes IMO.
I'd feel more "bad-ass" if I sat on a Hayabusa or ZX-14. But it's all personal opinion. I have nothing against Harleys, since speed isn't everything. Actually, I like everything with two wheels and a motor.
I'd feel more "bad-ass" if I sat on a Hayabusa or ZX-14. But it's all personal opinion. I have nothing against Harleys, since speed isn't everything. Actually, I like everything with two wheels and a motor.
Well, I don't care for Harley's that much myself. If I won one or someone was going to sell me one for a very good price I would take it. The main thing that keeps younger riders like myself even looking at harley as a place to buy a motorcycle is the price. That 48 I looked at is the same price roughly as a new compact car, so yeah. I can buy a bike for 10k or a used car for the same price.
Harley needs to lower their prices alot! I can get a Honda or other japanese bike that has the same styling of a Harley for half the cost. In fact the new 2011 Honda Shadow RS looks just like a sportster, but it's 6k out the door. If Harley wants my money, they need to make a bike that normal joe can buy without selling his arms and legs.
You can go on eBay and Craigslist and get a used Harley, and that's the only way a normal person could get a Harley, but even then people charge just as much as the dealers for their used bikes. It's this Harley culture that drives the prices of the bikes up. If it went away, I think the prices would go down, but it doesn't change the fact that you still feel bad-ass sitting on one. IMO.
The difference between the Honda shadow 750, and the Nightster 1200 would be night and day if you lined both bikes up and tried to drag race em...the Harley would pull away and never look back...Also, the biggest thing i hear people love about HD is the sound, which really is difficult to replicate even if you're on any number of Japanese Cruisers...A Japanese cruiser can be louder than a harley, but rarely will have the same note, no matter what you do to the pipes.
I think the Honda Shadow ACE 1100 can come close to the sound because of the single pin crank (similar to the Harley Davidson design) which gives a great lopey, potato-potato-potato sound...but still not the same. I also think much of the culture is what contributes to the "bad *ss" feel...There are numerous bikes that are better performers, straight line, twisty roads, or open interstate. Personally, I don't think Harley really makes a bike that bests ANY of these categories, but it doesn't mean they make bad machines...and they definitely have a huge market.
Best phrase i heard however was...Harley Davidson is a Marketing company that happens to build motorcycles...walking into their dealerships will essentially confirm this.
I also think the Japanese shrank the market when they began simply copying V-twin cruisers. Previously, they were building fast, high performance cruising motorcycles, along with small engined bikes as well. I can personally vouch for running dead even with my friends 96ish 883 sportster while on a 79 honda 400 twin. But now, the Japanese are trying to beat harley at their own game, and instead of building the awesome machines that got them where they are, they've essentially dumbed down the argument to 2 cylinders and 4500rpm. BOOO.
Harleys are good motorcycles but for me it's way overpriced. You don't receive what you paid for. It's old technology and it's not for everybody. That's why you can see many Harleys for sale with low millage. That people just were caught by Harley marketers. I used to have a lot of motorcycles and Harley as well. I would think twice before buying Harley. I'm not saying it's bad motorcycle, but just not for everybody. It's slow, handles relatively bad, heavy, not many HP for the weight. To fix it you have to spend a lot money. Result - to much money just for a motorcycle. Also all good models like FXR, FXDX, Sportster R have been already killed by HD management.
. Also all good models like FXR, FXDX, Sportster R have been already killed by HD management.
You forgot to add Buell to that list. Really wish i could have convinced my wife to let me buy one of their final model bikes...they were nearly giving them away, and all the ones not sold...went straight to the crusher...gah
As an admirer of bikes, have found this thread and posts quite entertaining and educational... +100 to all :up:. Rode a small Honda and a cousin's Kawasaki back in college, just around town, never on highway. Only thing keeping me away from buying a bike is the safety aspect of it... too many ppl killed, injured, maimed due to fools [cagers AND/OR bikers (one killed + another seriously injured in two separate cases just this past week in this area, where vehicle (a) turned in front of a bike, and (b) didn't stop at stop sign)] and/or circumstances [debris, critters, rocks, etc.], that if were in a 4-wheel vehicle, very minor injury at worst [relatively speaking] would occur. So,,,for now, I enjoy the open-air feeling via my convertible .
It's made in America that all you need to know. We have sent way too many jobs out of the country.
Keep Americans employed, let those foreign countries take care of them selves we don't need to be buying their products.
If you don't like a Harley buy Victory or some other American brand.
This is a worthwhile sentiment, but I wonder how many people who ride H-Ds drive Japanese or German cars. I think that's more important than the relative smallness of the MC market.
Beyond that, based on rumors I've been hearing, Harleys won't be built in the USA that much longer. I ride a Triumph, and these are made in Thailand, not the UK.
Also consider that the UAW probably has a strong grip on Harley workers, and the last thing we need is another unionized company in Wisconsin feeding off the few people left there that actually pay taxes.
Finally...
Q: What's the difference between a Harley-Davidson and a vacuum cleaner?
Pretty sure Harley Davidson just opened up a factory overseas to build motorcycles there too. Which would mean that HD would now be hiring foreign workers to build "american" bikes, outside of America and supply those bikes to the world at a cheaper costs than importing the same bike from American workers.
I guess that goes back to the argument though, is it better to buy an American car assembled overseas, or a foreign car assembled in America? The typical argument i hear is "Well, the profits from the foreign car get shipped overseas and the profits from the American car stay at home". Honestly, i wonder the truth to that. The profits from a foreign car built here in America will go back to whatever that home country is, that country will then spend that cash as they see fit, but you can bet that parts of it will be improving factories, expanding, etc often in the country where the vehicles are manufactured. If it's an American company, they're going to do the same, meaning more hiring overseas, modernization overseas, and jobs within the company that we'll never see...All while adding their name to a stadium here, and touting how American the company is.
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Really wish i could have convinced my wife to let me buy one of their final model bikes...they were nearly giving them away, and all the ones not sold...went straight to the crusher...gah 
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