In reply to Anti-stance:
I kind of like the look of Sportsters, but yeah, the HD guys think they are for beginners or small women. I don't get it.
Did Fonzie have one of those little Italian Harleys, or was that something else?
In reply to Anti-stance:
I kind of like the look of Sportsters, but yeah, the HD guys think they are for beginners or small women. I don't get it.
Did Fonzie have one of those little Italian Harleys, or was that something else?
Ok, did my research -
In the very early episodes, Fonzie rode custom Harley-Davidson models. In the later episodes he rides a Triumph motorcycle. Overall, the Fonz drove a variety of models including Harley Panhead, Harley Knucklehead, Harley Sportster, Triumph 500 CC Twin, Trophy 650 CC and a BSA.
What did he use to jump the sharks?
Otto Maddox wrote: What did he use to jump the sharks?
Skis.....
I really liked the old triumphs, until I've become spoiled by getting to place my grubby hands all over some BSA's working for Mecum. 
The women jokes are kinda like all the cockster and cayman jokes the 911 guys throw around. The sportster is honestly the only HD I could tolerate......I'd still buy a Victory though. 
I like the XR1200X. The rest of their lineup leaves me cold.
yamaha wrote:Otto Maddox wrote: What did he use to jump the sharks?Skis..... I really liked the old triumphs, until I've become spoiled by getting to place my grubby hands all over some BSA's working for Mecum.
He jumped something on a motorcycle, outside of Arnolds. Can't believe I forgot about Fonzie on skis with his leather jacket on.
Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to Anti-stance: I kind of like the look of Sportsters, but yeah, the HD guys think they are for beginners or small women. I don't get it. Did Fonzie have one of those little Italian Harleys, or was that something else?
I kind of see it the same as some 356 guys saying 911s aren't real Porsches, ac 911 guys saying the waterpumpers aren't real Porsches and on and on. It's annoying, but I'm not going to let it keep me from the brand.
Otto Maddox wrote: He jumped something on a motorcycle, outside of Arnolds. Can't believe I forgot about Fonzie on skis with his leather jacket on.
If it makes you feel any better, I had to google it(as I can't remember what I had for dinner 3 nights ago, let alone reruns from 15 years ago )
Cotton wrote: I kind of see it the same as some 356 guys saying 911s aren't real Porsches, ac 911 guys saying the waterpumpers aren't real Porsches and on and on. It's annoying, but I'm not going to let it keep me from the brand.
They all are that way, its like the community for Ion Redlines.......theres been a raging "Color War" over there for the last 8 years.....as to which(of the 4 colors) is best......
Also, I like the new 911's, but for me, the last of the drivers 911's died with the 930.....those cars just sat there plotting ways to kill you
Otto Maddox wrote: They could keep the look. It is the ancient engine that needs replacing. Does it have any redeeming qualities other than making potato noises?
The motor, suprisingly enough, has a lot going for it in the same way that a Royal Enfield or Ural does. It's relatively low maintenance. It's easy to work on. It's reliable if cared for and ridden with mechanical empathy.
The problem is that it holds true to old tech rules. It's heavy and makes very little power for it's size. It's just out dated. HD tried to update it's line with the Vrod. Their greying customer base rejected it. Instead of HD trying to attract younger buyers by refining the Vrod or finding out why it didn't attract younger riders they decided to listen to their current buyers. So, they stayed with the aircooled V-twin and continue to watch their show rooms turn into retirement homes.
Back to Michigan PD
The police there have a mission and HD is no longer helping them meet it. They need speedier and more reliable motorcycles. BMW makes those. If HD can step up and make a bike that's comparable I'm sure the police would love to get back on one. The ball is in HD's court. Make a product that does the job and the product will sell.
this reliability word keeps popping up. I'm still not seeing how the current BMWs are more reliable than the current Harleys...especially after owning one and spending time on the BMW bike forums.
I would like to see some of the current board members who have Harleys chime in on reliability, but they probably got ran off by the useless stereotyping.
I suppose everyone has their reliability problems.
Stereotyping: Back when I was still riding enduros and stuff, one of my buddies had a Glide of some sort which he traded in on a 6 cylinder Gold Wing. Of course all his Harley buddies rode his ass about being a traitor, etc but the next time they went off for a road trip he noticed that they could not pass a Harley shop; someone's bike always had something wrong with it. He said he spent more time in the parking lot waiting for one or the other of his buddy's bikes to be fixed than he did riding. In 3500 miles of riding the 'Wing never missed a beat.
Curmudgeon wrote: I suppose everyone has their reliability problems. Stereotyping: Back when I was still riding enduros and stuff, one of my buddies had a Glide of some sort which he traded in on a 6 cylinder Gold Wing. Of course all his Harley buddies rode his ass about being a traitor, etc but the next time they went off for a road trip he noticed that they could not pass a Harley shop; someone's bike always had something wrong with it. He said he spent more time in the parking lot waiting for one or the other of his buddy's bikes to be fixed than he did riding. In 3500 miles of riding the 'Wing never missed a beat.
Everyone has stories like that......about everything. I get to hear a lot of them with the variety of vehicles I have and believe me it gets old.
It reminds me of the muscle cars and trying to grab a (insert dollar amount here) bill off the dash. I used to hear that one all the time when I would go to cruise ins...made me grit my teeth. I'm sure there are some legit drag cars that could make that difficult, but my stock 71 454ss with 4.10 gears sure won't, although from the sound of it every other muscle car on the planet is so fast you just can't lean forward....lol....right.
Cotton wrote: It reminds me of the muscle cars and trying to grab a (insert dollar amount here) bill off the dash. I used to hear that one all the time when I would go to cruise ins...made me grit my teeth. I'm sure there are some legit drag cars that could make that difficult, but my stock 71 454ss with 4.10 gears sure won't, although from the sound of it every other muscle car on the planet is so fast you just can't lean forward....lol....right.
Oh brother... wildly exaggerated drag racing stories, thats a whole other thread right there.
Cotton wrote: this reliability word keeps popping up. I'm still not seeing how the current BMWs are more reliable than the current Harleys...especially after owning one and spending time on the BMW bike forums. I would like to see some of the current board members who have Harleys chime in on reliability, but they probably got ran off by the useless stereotyping.
My Business Partner rides Harleys.. he has had two since I have known him.. A Deuce and now a fatboy (?) the only time one was in the shop was when he dropped the Deuce on sand... unfortunately he was in the shop longer than the bike.. the good news is.. his new shoulder works better than the old one did before the accident
Anti-stance wrote:Cotton wrote: It reminds me of the muscle cars and trying to grab a (insert dollar amount here) bill off the dash. I used to hear that one all the time when I would go to cruise ins...made me grit my teeth. I'm sure there are some legit drag cars that could make that difficult, but my stock 71 454ss with 4.10 gears sure won't, although from the sound of it every other muscle car on the planet is so fast you just can't lean forward....lol....right.Oh brother... wildly exaggerated drag racing stories, thats a whole other thread right there.
I have only ever ridden in two street cars capable of that, and both were low, low 11-second cars with crazy gears and 4-speeds, and even then it's only really "the launch". A 1.4 60' time will do that!
Regardless of how you feel about H-D bikes, (and I think they are an embarrassment) this is cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgqmr2o3GHw
This isn't meant to be a comparo, different course, different riders, but here's a BMW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuaqeTL0kuc
Cotton wrote: this reliability word keeps popping up. I'm still not seeing how the current BMWs are more reliable than the current Harleys...especially after owning one and spending time on the BMW bike forums. I would like to see some of the current board members who have Harleys chime in on reliability, but they probably got ran off by the useless stereotyping.
Over 35,000 ( over 25k on my two, wife has put over 10k on her two) trouble free miles on four Harleys in 3 1/2 years.
Curmudgeon wrote: I suppose everyone has their reliability problems. Stereotyping: Back when I was still riding enduros and stuff, one of my buddies had a Glide of some sort which he traded in on a 6 cylinder Gold Wing. Of course all his Harley buddies rode his ass about being a traitor, etc but the next time they went off for a road trip he noticed that they could not pass a Harley shop; someone's bike always had something wrong with it. He said he spent more time in the parking lot waiting for one or the other of his buddy's bikes to be fixed than he did riding. In 3500 miles of riding the 'Wing never missed a beat.
A friend has a GL1500. Last summer, he needed a vacuum line (or was it a coolant hose?) replaced. He's not mechanically inclined, so he paid a dealer to do it. $600 for a $26 hose.
In reply to RealMiniDriver:
H-D dealers do work for free and give the parts to you, you have to practically fight them off as they hand you wads of cash! Only a Honda dealer would charge $600 for a part the owner can't name let alone change himself, I bet he knows every single thing they did to the bike while robbing him.
pres589 wrote: In reply to RealMiniDriver: H-D dealers do work for free and give the parts to you, you have to practically fight them off as they hand you wads of cash! Only a Honda dealer would charge $600 for a part the owner can't name let alone change himself, I bet he knows every single thing they did to the bike while robbing him.
this is exactly what we need. .....more smart ass responses like this. Way to go! I'm starting to think Harley threads are worse than the political ones.
Cotton wrote: this is exactly what we need. .....more smart ass responses like this. Way to go! I'm starting to think Harley threads are worse than the political ones.
Its not just pres......this E36 M3 has been on both sides.
I just want an Indian......
Same thing as car threads...Some guy says his BiTurbo went 200K with nothing more than routine maintenance. This proves that anyone who says BiTurbos are unreliable is ignorant and probably stupid. And if you believe you anything different than him, you are one of the sheeple. Then some other guy chimes in telling how his uncle bought a brand new Camry and it exploded into a ball of flames driving around in the dealer parking lot.
Anecdotes are interesting but not particularly useful.
Luckily for us, Michigan relied upon instrumented testing to help them reach a decision.
RealMiniDriver wrote: A friend has a GL1500. Last summer, he needed a vacuum line (or was it a coolant hose?) replaced. He's not mechanically inclined, so he paid a dealer to do it. $600 for a $26 hose.
Regardless of what you think of any of the brands or their motorcycles, it's obvious that Honda is quite proud of their motorcycles, parts, and service. They're good bikes but man is that stuff expensive. Ain't a thing on a Honda that is cheaper (as in lower cost) than another brand.
And I say that as a Honda buyer - I bought my wife a Honda SH150i last year and man their parts and accessories are big money.
My point was that dealerships exist to make money and the owner of the GL1500 probably wasn't all that accurate in retelling the tale of what the service department actually did and didn't do. Every dealership, H-D or not, and I figured that would have been obvious but since I named H-D explicitly I can see how it probably didn't come across that way.
RealMiniDriver wrote:Curmudgeon wrote: I suppose everyone has their reliability problems. Stereotyping: Back when I was still riding enduros and stuff, one of my buddies had a Glide of some sort which he traded in on a 6 cylinder Gold Wing. Of course all his Harley buddies rode his ass about being a traitor, etc but the next time they went off for a road trip he noticed that they could not pass a Harley shop; someone's bike always had something wrong with it. He said he spent more time in the parking lot waiting for one or the other of his buddy's bikes to be fixed than he did riding. In 3500 miles of riding the 'Wing never missed a beat.A friend has a GL1500. Last summer, he needed a vacuum line (or was it a coolant hose?) replaced. He's not mechanically inclined, so he paid a dealer to do it. $600 for a $26 hose.
Anecdotes: in all the time I have been in the bidness I cannot count the number of times someone has come in with a check engine light, needed (for instance) ~$750 worth of work which just happened to include spark plugs. Then the next thing I hear is 'those rotten bastards charged me $750 for a tuneup'. So forgive me if I tend to ignore those.
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