All what I am bloody saying is that why in the name of God the same guys who do this (check the slide show), when it comes to producing big powerful cruisers, totally get their buttonhole reamed by the limeys and japs?
wcbstv.com - Hooray For The Red, White And Zooom!
- cruiz-euro
I don't think they do, man. I think the quality and maintanence issues as well as fit and finish of a harly is generally much better than a similar product from another manufacturer.
Harleys don't really require any real maint beyond oil and transmission fluid changes. They rarely break down and those that do have usually been modified from stock extensively (or poorly, in the case of "loud pipes").
Yamaha valves have to be checked every 8k. Drop the exhaust on a RoadStar to do an oil change. Check the weld detail on a VTX swingarm...it looks like crap. Suzuki Intruder batteries install from UNDER the bike. Engine drops on hondas to swap out water pumps. It goes on and on.
Hell, a 17k Road King now has Brembos, ABS, heated gear, good rubber, and a quality build. You can wax it, change the oil, and ride it stock and be sure that it will require next to no attention for 20 years or 100,000 miles. That's an engineering feat any way you look at it.
Harleys make sense in America. We are a wide open land of mostly straight roads and police who take speeding way too seriously when you're out in the boon docks. Sportbikes are honestly fairly useless. I guess this is just the way we evolved.
As an owner, Harleys must have some appeal, otherwise you wouldn't own one.
