Are You A Motorcycle Rider/Owner? Do You Recommend Honda, Harley, or Yamaha?

Question

I have been researching possibly buying a used/pre-owned motorcycle. I love Harley Davidsons like the Sportster and the 1200 series, but man are they expensive and I heard very high maintenance. I have heard that Hondas and Yamahas in the higher powered models are easier to maintain and cheaper to service. What is your opinion on owning a bike and what is your preference. Still, there is nothing like that Harley sound when it's cranked up on the freeway. Thanks

Answer 1

i ride a sportster, and for the money, i'll stay with it. it will easily handle interstate speeds, maintainence is no more expensive than the ricers; take care of yer bike, it will take care of u. this applies to ALL bikes.
for the power to weight ratio, reptilian manuverability, and the best gas mileage of the fleet, the sportster is where its at. ignore that moron that has no clue about a sportster. a big twin cant lean as far as a sportster will; it will lean 32 degrees on 1 side, 34 on the other side. a big twin with floor boards will scrape way before u get to that point. sportster's will also have alot more pickup off the line than a big twin, and will sip gas compared to a big twin.
if u set up a sportster properly, it can be a decent and cost effective tourer....but this wont make it like a road king either.

if u prefer the harley sound, then get a harley. everything else is a poor imitation. if what u want is a harley, no other bike will give u satisfaction like hd.

this guy took a sportster on the recent ibr ride. this is the most grueling ride u will ever make. 11,000 miles in 11 days. for a so-called 'bar hopper' or a 'chick bike', he finished in 3rd place. this bike basically is the same as the bike i ride, but he outfitted more electronics, and rigged up extra fuel cells that would give the bike up to 10 gallons worth of fuel. here's the link for it. http://www.donahuehd.com/?05ibr

so a sportster wont do 0-100 in 3 seconds....speed kills more squids than cars. sportster's are also very easy to change ur own oil. i would advise a 1200 sportster vs an 883, but an 883 can be turned into a very potent little hotrod with just a little effort. i would not advise straight pipes. they hurt low and midrange power. my bike is 100% stock, and i get on average on interstate riding, mid 50's mpg.
rap with other sportster owners here: http://www.sportster.org/

sportster's are very fun bikes to ride. those that say different dont have the balls to throw a leg over and actually take it for an all day ride on the twisties.

Answer 2

The Yamaha Vstar 1100 is in the middleweight category along with any thing between 1000cc to 1500cc and is made for cruising easily at Highway speeds , The Honda Shadow 750 and 883 Harley are more city riding (Bar Hoppers) The Shadow easily surpasses the 883 in Everything from Comfort, reliability, and handles like a dream .The Honda Shadow 750 is a quick little bike and will give just about any other bike out there a good run, even bikes twice its size ,I would put a Honda 750 up against a Harley 883 any day of the week . For a 883 to beat the Shadow then the guy riding the shadow is not a very good rider . Neither Bike is a girls bike that's ridiculous to say certain bikes are made just for a woman,

Answer 3

If you like the look of a Sportster then get one. Don't listen to anyone that says it is a woman's bike. The 1200s have plenty enough power to get you in trouble, man or woman.

If you are shopping for used bikes then you should be able to find some 1200 Sportsters at the top of the price range of some comparable foreign bikes. They don't hold their value as well as HD's bigger bikes. I would caution you to look into getting a Sportster with a rubber-mounted engine. If not, it may vibrate too much for your taste. All Sporters 2004 and after are rubber mounted. Before 2004 I think it was an option.

As for quality, HD has come a long way in recent years. Their reputation will never live up to Honda's and the other foreign manufacturers (mainly because they were so bad during the AMC days) but a newer Harley will probably not give you anymore problems than a foreign bike.

In my opinion, if you've identified a bike that you really like then the battle is over. By a good used Sportster and enjoy!

Answer 4

I'd recommend getting the Harley. I use to own Jap bikes but once I rode a Harley my Jap bike days were over. I think they sound the best, ride the best, are the most comfortable bike out there, best looking and are very reliable. Harleys are not constantly breaking down and I do most of the maintenance myself. That way I know what's really been done on the bike and doing your own work gives you more pride in your ride. Everyone who rides a motorcycle should be able to change their own oil. That's a basic maintenance item, easily done and saves you money. If you can't do that you deserve to spend big bucks at the service department or perhaps should not be riding a bike. No, I'm not a grease monkey but I can read a service manual. You can too. If you really are interested in the Harley, you'll never be happy with any of the other brands you mentioned. Every time you're out on your bike and a Harley goes by, or I pull up next to you on my Harley at a red light, and you hear that sound you'll be kicking yourself. You have to be true to your inner self. Now go out and get that Harley.

Answer 5

in the last 41 years I have owned 26 motorcycles, the last 5 were all harleys. Including my new '07 ultra classic.
I found most of the hondas to be great bikes, the yamahas I had a little more trouble with as far as being high maintenance,and the kawasakis where always giving me trouble. I switched over to harleys and have never looked back. And sportsters are really very low in cost right now. I see them in good used condition all the time for 3-4 thousand dolars. Also, just FYI, right now harley has a $99.00 down program to let you buy a new 1200 sportster ( they are discontinuing the 883 sportster this year). Everyone has an opinion on which bike is best etc. My suggestion is this, continue to talk to as many people as you can, check out the bikes from all the manufacturers, check the newspaper to see which ones hold their resale value and figure out what type of bike you really want ie crotch rocket, sports bike, cruiser, touring etc and then make your choice. Also, your gonna want to actually sit on the bikes to see what fits you and what is comfy.
In the end, it doesn't matter what kind of bike you ride, just ride!!

Answer 6

if your going to leave it stock get a 3 or 4 year old sporty there are a lot of low mileage ones around cheap because people usually trade up to a big twin within a couple of years.
the maintenance will actually be lower on an older sporty than an old buzz bomb because you can do oil changes your self, they require NO valve adjustments, they only have 0ne carburetor,they have actual bearings on all moving parts instead of just putting the cam or shaft straight into the aluminum casting as disposable oriental bikes & 2008 twinkies do.
the high maintenance Harley story's are caused by people like me that buy 25 to 60 year old Harley's(Harley's are never junked out) & then hop them up to be faster than the new ones. when you take an old machine that has been crashed many times & change the internal parts to make double the originaly designed h. p. you have something that leaks oil & breaks bolts on a regular basis, but its worth it to me to pull up next to some dude on the inter state on a shinny 07 for a roll on then dissapear over the horizon, turn around to the opposite lane & wave to him as we pass in the opposite direction while he's trolling along at115or 120thinking he's going to catch up. then I go back to the shop & start replacing bolts for the next time.yeah I'm a crazy old grey beard! theres still a few of us around but fewer every year.soon we'll all be gone so you citizens can relax.

Answer 7

Hondas are reliable and generally require less frequent maintenance than Yamahas. Chrome won't get you home and neither will "that Harley sound". Get a Honda Gold Wing and a recording of a Harley "cranked up on the freeway" and play it through the Wing's stereo speakers..

Answer 8

I ride a 2006 883L SPORTSTER i love my bike and no one makes fun of it. i get a lot of compliments on it. most people (99%) that make fun of sportsters have never owned or ridden a sportster. my bike is fast and and handles the corners real well. i can out accelerate just about all the big bikes from harley unless they are the V-rod or are no longer stock and have upgraded their original performance to surpass the sportster. even then i give them a run for the money so if they have any bullshit to say they can say it to the back of my jacket as i pull away. here is my advice to you :
*** first decide what kind of riding you plan on doing the most. are you going to do alot of long riding. if you are then go with a cruiser type which harley has plenty of. some imports such as the v-star are well suited for this as well. the sportster or the crotch rocket will not be very comfortable for that type of trip. although i have done it before in the past . sportster have a small capacity fuel tank of about 3.3 gal. and about 4.5 gal. for the sportser custom model. the 3.3 gal will get you about 150 miles to the tank and the 4.5 gal over 200 miles. what kind of rider are you? do you want to ride relaxed and cruise or ride fast and hard. the sportster is made for that, hence the name "sportster". it's a sporty little bike which was designed to take on the british bikes back in the days. it was made for a new category of american bike. none of the "real " harleys from then could challenge and keep up with the brit bikes. you can't compare a thoroughbred with a clydesdale, right? both impressive but designed for different task.
*** second thing to remeber is that the harley will usually keep their resale value better than imports(on the average).
*** third thing is the maintenance and repair cost. i have owned a honda(1985 V65 Magna - 1100cc) and my 06 sportster, both of which i have wrenched on. i have also fixed other peoples bikes and have found both import and domestic to be more or less equal in the price range. one key thing to remeber is that i speak of the dealer prices for the harley and honda. aftermarket prices are a different story in my dealings. there are so many venues for aftermarket harley parts that you can get a great deal. i go to bike swapmeets and always see alot of harley stuff and very litlle import stuff. i actually see more european bike parts when it comes to imports than asian bikes.
*** fourth thing and the MOST important is this:
"it's all about the ride".
be comfortable with what you ride.
be comfortable with how you ride.
be comfortable with who you ride.
anybody doesn't like your bike then that's their opinion and that's not the crowd you should hang with. if they feel that strong about it they should buy you a new bike. then you will have two bikes. you are doing the right thing by asking for opinions but don't feel pressured.
****last thing is that i ride with friends and no one talks down on anyone's ride. our group varies but we ride with import bikes amongst us all the time. harley riders seem to wanna ride together more than people with import bikes. it would seem that you will find more bike rallys and things to do pertaining to bikes when you have a harley. whatever you decide goodluck.

Answer 9

If you want a Harley, buy a Harley, because if you don't, then you'll always be dissatisfied with whatever you're riding because of the unobtained Harley.

Me, I like the putt-putt sound of a small dual-sport. Don't like the lack of power of those, though. LOL. I ride a 1985 Yamaha Virago 700 because it was given to me. While not my style, it's been reasonably reliable during the past ten years and 50,000+ miles.

Answer 10

I prefer Harley Mostly because it's American, and the best quality bike. I've also owned Honda's and have had no problems with them. What ever you buy, avoid Yamaha, they are nothing but problems