Motorcycle Riders, Harley vs. other????

Question

If you are an motorcycle rider/enthusiest which bike do you prefer and why? And I want to know WHY. Not Harley/Honda/Yamaha, etc. is the best just cuz it is, I want a details. I also want to know about your best most memorable ride.

Answer 1

Harley/custom.
Habit.
Been ridin' em for 32 years now, too set in my ways.
'sides, I like the old school, back in the day when you didn't need to lug a laptop to be able to figure out what's wrong with it. Back when they were easy to do your own work on.
Nostalgia thing, maybe.
I happen to like old things, old cars, old bikes, old guns, etc.
Like the bottom end torque. In the off season, I rent it out to pull tree stumps outta the ground.

Answer 2

Personally I go with the Harley. Rule of thumb is you never sell your Harley, but reality is we can't all have a garage full of them and frankly they don't run like a dream forever. With that said yes a harley costs more off the floor then other brands but the resale price and demand are much higher then other brands.

There is also the attitude that riding a harley brings. Imagine how people look when 10 Yamaha's ride down main street, now imagine the looks when 10 Harley's rumble down main street.

If reliability and comfort are your main goal, don't buy a Harley. My 00 sportster had two rebuilds by 06. My new Dyna has had a few factory issues but Harley is great about getting it taken care of. The 00 heritage has 90K miles with minor repair needing. So ya the Harley can do it but it is a rare story not a common story. Still reliable but not forever.

Have you noticed how many other brands take on the look of the sport touring Harley's? That says a lot, they all wanna be a Harley when they grow up.

Me I ride an 07 Dyna (Harley), as a small female rider I get a ton of double takes and would on any bike, but you don't hear oh man that hottie rides a bike, you hear that hottie rides her own Harley :-)

Answer 3

I ride Honda a CBR which is a sportbike(ie full fairings and four cylinder motor that toasts anything nonsportbike and some sportbike also). I choose to ride Hondas since they are the most reliable, meaning they NEVER breakdown and they have the best suspension for my riding style so they seem to give me the best idea as to what is going on where the tire grips the road. For me the fun in having a bike is the ablity to let loose every once and a while and really see what these bikes can do on a curvy road, just not so much so that I end up getting a case of road rash. I am happy to say that I have never dumped a road bike but have crashed dirtbikes on many surfaces(dirt, sand, swampy land and even the road, which by the way really hurt).

My favorite rides were my first time jumping my dirtbike as a 6 year old kid. Words cannot explain the fun I was having that day and looking back at it I would be willing to bet I only jumped a foot in the air but at the time it seemed as though I was flying 30. My current favorite trip is to go to the tip of Door County WI. At the end there is about 25 curves packed into about 3 miles of road all of which are second and third gear corners so the lean angles put you real close to the road seemingly blurring the pavement. There is an addreniline rush that beats no other that comes along with this. When you add a group of riding buddies and bragging rights that go along with being the quickest on that day it all adds up to alot of fun.

Answer 4

Whatever get's you in the wind, get's you in the wind. It's personal choice. I have had a Yamaha, a Honda, and several Harley's.
I prefer Harley's. Their are dealerships everywhere in case on is needed. I haven't found the need to use it for repairs, the Harley's since the Evolution motor they are much more reliable. The only breakdown I had was on my Honda Shadow. I did have a Clutch cable break on my SofTail, but I fixed it myself.
There is nothing that sounds like a Harley. I had my Shadow for a few years. No one ever complimented me on it, and it was a nice bike. My first Harley was a 1200 Sportster, and really, twenty comliments "Nice Bike" within the first month. You will hear that riding a Harley is a lifestyle, and it is. I am a Professional Counselor, but it's amazing that people think that just because you ride a Harley you are a "Biker". I even had a woman outside a Starbuck's say to a friend and I, after she locked her keys in her car, say "I should have asked on of those guys to open it for me instead of paying this guy to do it"....LOL. I told her I coudln't have broken into her car if my life depended on it....she was shocked!!!!
My favorite ride was to Sturgis and riding in the Sturgis area for the Rally. Mt. Rushmore looks great on postcards and T.V., but to ride up on it ad take some pictures...awesome. Iron Head Mountain Road and all the roads, including Custers Forrest were outstanding. The most beautiful riding country I have ever been on.

Answer 5

i ride a harley and a victory. i have had owned 7 harley's and other than the first, an 88 sporty 1200, and the 84 flhx, i have had no problems. i ride hard. to be fair, the sporty was used and had a lot of miles on it. the flhx needed top end gaskets and a final drive belt, again, normal ware items with the age and milage on it. the only other used bike was an 86 fxr. it was in good shape and gave me no problems.
the victory is an 06 8ball. i test rode one and bought one. it seems that victory spent a lot of time making their bikes right.
other than these bikes, i have not owned anything else.
i like the harley's for their long distance ridabillity. the 8ball also has this. most of the crotch rockets seem uncomfortable, at least they look like they are.
i also like the fact that they are american owned companies. i know there are japanese parts on the h-d, but it doesn't matter. if i didn't own one and i could only afford an old honda or the likes, i would probablly own one, but not the crotch rocket type.
too many memorable rides to share. i average about 10,000 to 12000 miles per year, i've only been riding since 1994, my longest one way ride is about 550 miles.

Answer 6

I ride a Harley. They are the best looking and sounding bike. The most important thing about Harleys, I think, is that when you buy one, you also get into a special family. A commaraderie that I don't see shared by too many other brands. In the last decade or so, Honda and Vulcan riders have started forming their own groups, which I think is cool.

I've been around Harleys and bikers a long time. The whole image of a biker has changed and more people are riding and experiencing the awesomeness (is that a word?) of it.

Most memorable ride is my ride to Sturgis every year. I meet some really great people along the way.

Answer 7

on the road Harley is my first choice..they last much longer.
have plenty of power and ride beautifully..
are easy to keep running as long as you want..my brothers is a 1936..
the longer you keep it the more it's worth !

on the dirt i will choose the jap bikes.
their light weight, high power and the disposable nature of them makes them the perfect ride to trash

most memorable would be my first trip up 101
the California redwoods are so big it is hard to believe it's real..
met up with 10,000 other riders at the eel river..
skinny dipping with thousands of friends was a real trip..
after we cooled off Harley had bar-b-q steak dinners for everyone..we raced partied and swam Saturday and Sunday..
Monday was a carefree ride down the coastline back where i come from....from that ride on i was never quite the same..

this was a long time ago,
before runs were kid friendly...
back then it was X-rated anything goes.
today's runs are very tame by comparison.

not just a different time,
it was a different world

Answer 8

I currently ride a Honda shadow. But the important part is not the name on the side of the tank. I also own a 78 Honda restoration project and a 01 sportster. The Honda is my every day ride. I only ride the Harley if I have to. It is just too small for me.

As for the most memorable ride. 12 of us rode from Boston MA to Buffalo NY for a guys weekend this summer.

Answer 9

I like my Honda. I have a Honda Super Hawk/ VTR1000F. My personal pref. because Honda has a proven name that last. They are hard working and they usually take care of there rider as long as there rider takes care of them. I don't like Harley that much because you are buying the name. have you been in a Harley dealer lately. $22,000 $30,000 these are not uncommon price tags. you can get a Honda for like $10,000 $15,000 and it still looks good has all the bells and whistles. I also like Yamaha. I have just lately started to like the way they look. they are strong and they have the technology to make it that much better. I mean look at an R1 or the V-star. they are magnificent bikes and they ride smooth and they last. The V-star is a wonderful Cruiser with a large amount of pwr and a cushy ride. I am sure that someone else will have a different opinion, but hey opinions are like assholes we all got one! ;-)

Answer 10

My hubby is a motorcycle courier, he preferes the Vstrom but also takes the harley out, he says the harley is cheaper and easy to maintain, while the vstrom is more powerfull but it cost alot more to keep up as in genral maintence .

he likes both, apples and oranges, he chose the harley because he dosent like forward controls , and harley offer both forward and standard controls.