Harley Davidson in trouble.

Dominic

@hywelg - yup ! 61,000 miles in 2013 ! including London to Istanbul in 5 days ! Had the piles to prove it !

@Sinbaadi - yup -they are all show and no go but with a speed camera every 50 yards these days who can use the "go " -they are very comfortable putting along at 60mph -they are a  very agricultural cruiser -reliabilty is the worse issue 

Have to say the Diavel is a cracking machine but the Triumph Rocket is just too big and hefty although I rode one from London to Milan a few years ago ( with screen ) and it certainly eats the motorway miles - 

octatonic

Myranda said:

H-D have trouble because this is nicer:

Or this... 

I REALLY like the new Diavel... (though... clearly it should have been named the Diablo... I mean... why Diavel?!)

I love the Rocket- it is a bike I will absolutely own at some stage.

They are a handful though- I'm not hugely into the smaller Triumph cruisers though- there is something about a parallel twin that just doesn't sound or look right on a cruiser.

I'd like to see them use the 1050 Speed Triple engine in some sort of cruiser.

Not sure about the Diavel, much like the V-Rod. If I was in the market for a big but fast cruiser it would have to be the Rocket III.

57Deluxe

Panama_Jack666 said:

Harley's are to bikes as tractors are to cars.

When I got my new MGB Roadster in 1978 my Dad used to call it a GT Tractor... He's dead now but I still have my MGB

Myranda

57Deluxe said:

Panama_Jack666 said:

Harley's are to bikes as tractors are to cars.

When I got my new MGB Roadster in 1978 my Dad used to call it a GT Tractor... He's dead now but I still have my MGB

Blimey... I think you over-reacted!! It's only a bike

Myranda

octatonic said:

Myranda said:

H-D have trouble because this is nicer:

Or this... 

I REALLY like the new Diavel... (though... clearly it should have been named the Diablo... I mean... why Diavel?!)

I love the Rocket- it is a bike I will absolutely own at some stage.

They are a handful though- I'm not hugely into the smaller Triumph cruisers though- there is something about a parallel twin that just doesn't sound or look right on a cruiser.

I'd like to see them use the 1050 Speed Triple engine in some sort of cruiser.

Not sure about the Diavel, much like the V-Rod. If I was in the market for a big but fast cruiser it would have to be the Rocket III.

Funny, I'd like to see the Rocket III engine in a naked sports bike... a little like 

I also like the idea of the Diavel because it's all modern and engineered.. looks grrrrreat

octatonic

Myranda said:

I also like the idea of the Diavel because it's all modern and engineered.. looks grrrrreat

I'm not against either the Diavel or the VRod, I'm just not sure about them.

My main bike is a super-naked- what I love about it is that it is fairly easy to ride despite the absurd amounts of power.

The heavier neo-cruiser (?) thing just seems like an odd blend.

I'm glad that brands are doing it, just not sure it would be for me.

hywelg

octatonic said:

The heavier neo-cruiser (?) thing just seems like an odd blend.

Not if you're 60+ with a stiff back and prone to seizing up. My return to biking after many years will be to this just as soon as I collect it.

Mark_R

I do not get the point of Harleys, too big to fit through traffic, less MPG than a ford focus and heavier than big ben.  No wind protection, no cornering ability, shody brakes (by most standards).  The Japanese and Italians have all developed hypersport bikes and then used that same technology to improve the naked customs.  Aluminium frames, cast alloy wheels, detuned sports engines, why have a one trick pony HD custom when you can get a Aprilia or Ducati that looks like a naked custom and was built to tear up race tracks?

We need Manic to join this thread, I'm sure he will settle this debate

57Deluxe

Harleys do look the business aesthtically, but soon as you stick an old fucker on one with full face and body-armoured gear, tootling round a round about, they look rather pathetic.

I like the custom look more now... The Suzuki M1800 ain't bad...has an ALIEN quality about it...

http://databikes.com/imgs/a/d/h/o/i/suzuki__m_1800_vzr_with_280_tires_2006_1_lgw.jpg

Phil_aka_Pip

This for me

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1461/6266009/18917777/317148600.jpg

p90fool

hywelg said:

Wow over 30,000 miles a year! On a Harley!

Why so shocked? They're infinitely rebuildable, utilitarian machines underneath the shiney chrome.
I rode a '58 H-D for 17 years, for 8 of those it was my only transport, no car, no other bike.

Don't get me wrong, Japanese bikes are great fun, but they're the Line 6 of the bike world, just landfill-in-waiting.

I've even had my Indian-built Royal Enfield for 12 years, using it all year round, and in that time I've also ridden and scrapped seven or eight Japanese bikes.

Biking is not all about attacking every single corner as hard as you possibly can, which is probably why I'm still alive after 32 Welsh winters doing it.

Sports bike guys love to slag off Harleys, but decade by decade we watch them come and we watch them go.

paulnb57

TTony said:

My little sister has a Harley.

True (apart from the "little").

She used to be a prison governor.

Also true.

  

You don't mess with my sister …

@TTony I may have worked with your sister……...

Panama_Jack666

p90fool;974776" said:

hywelg said:

Wow over 30,000 miles a year! On a Harley!





Why so shocked? They're infinitely rebuildable, utilitarian machines underneath the shiney chrome.

I rode a '58 H-D for 17 years, for 8 of those it was my only transport, no car, no other bike.



Don't get me wrong, Japanese bikes are great fun, but they're the Line 6 of the bike world, just landfill-in-waiting.



I've even had my Indian-built Royal Enfield for 12 years, using it all year round, and in that time I've also ridden and scrapped seven or eight Japanese bikes.



Biking is not all about attacking every single corner as hard as you possibly can, which is probably why I'm still alive after 32 Welsh winters doing it.



Sports bike guys love to slag off Harleys, but decade by decade we watch them come and we watch them go.

You're watching them come and go because they're improving on design, year on year.

p90fool

Exactly like digital modelling then.

sinbaadi

You should ride a horse then

p90fool

No chance, bloody dangerous things!

gubble

As a biker who has had a number of sportsbikes I'm now getting to the point where I can really see the appeal of a cruiser.

I've no bike at the moment but when I eventually get another one it won't probably won't be a fairing clad Japanese sportsbike which will end up with me loosing my license (or worse).

Having done the whole sportsbike thing I can see the appeal and part of me still hankers after getting on a bike with serious horsepower and riding it like I stole it. However looking back the best times I've had on bikes have been on my non sportsbikes, simply getting out there and experiencing the freedom not chasing the next apex.

Other than being at the TT on a sportsbike my fondest memories are probably the summers evenings on my 125 or my GPZ500.

I really do quite fancy one of these though:

stickyfiddle

Weren't the first Bigsby springs just valve springs from Harleys?

I don't really do motorbikes, but I'd like an MX5. Suspect this isn't the thread for me..

octatonic

stickyfiddle said:

Weren't the first Bigsby springs just valve springs from Harleys?

I don't really do motorbikes, but I'd like an MX5. Suspect this isn't the thread for me..

Don't say that- we all need a haircut from time to time.

ICBM

stickyfiddle said:

Weren't the first Bigsby springs just valve springs from Harleys?

No!

It was a clutch pedal spring from an Indian .

I have that on good authority from the chap who owned the UK rights to Indian Motorcycle parts a few years ago. Paul Bigsby was associated with Indian and Crocker motorcycles before WWII.