ok the other post got me thinking but mostly this.
my dad has an 07 harley streetbob probably the baddest harley out there only cause it is the lightest w/ a 1600 cc engine but besides that. we were doing a SIMPLE thing. taking turn signals off putting a rubber grommet on the shaft then putting them back on. it took us about two hours because we had to take off the shocks lower the tire remove bolts then go to the harley dealer to buy the rest of the F&^&* parts cause they were 2bags instead of the 1 they gave us and finally put it back together. rediculus

harley has crapy engineering, pathetic customer service "at least in fort walton beach, fl.", and not a very long lasting product( my dad has 3k miles on his 07 and stupid stuff is happening. the kickstand spring fell off!, the master cylynder is corroding. the triple trees are oxidising, and the list goes on!!.

my question is this, do yall think that harley will stay as "on top" of the buisiness as they are currently or do you think that the public will realize that they sell crap and stop buying?

oh yea i did find one think i like about a harley....the kickstand wont roll forward and kickup.
take it easy and sorry for the loooong post.

 

HD will eventually have to upgrade their air-cooled V-Twins and slap a radiator (gasp!) on their bikes. They finally came around to fuel injection and 6-speed trannys. Wow! Victory, "the new American motorcycle," thankfully has avoided the trap that Harley is in and uses that new fangled water-cooled technology.

Price is another whole issue --- $20K for a bike?

 

By the beach location you gave, I would have to assume that corrosion is related to salt water spray or just being near the ocean. As for all the other stuff, I don't like Harley's either. My dad gets mad when he rides with me because people actually stop to look and compliment my bike. His softtail looks like every other Harley with a set of pipes and no one notices and/or says anything.

 

LOL!
[sm=vader.gif]

 

American car companies, at least, are now paying the price for being ridiculously out of touch with their customers. Toyota is by far the most cash-rich of the automakers because they sell reliable cars and trucks, not disposable units. Daimler/Benz sold off Chrysler for a fraction of what they paid for it (mein Gott!) because American slush engineering and German precision don't mix. My point is that Harley, despite having official corporate input from European and Japanese manufacturers, falsely believes the strength of its brand is untouchable, unique, and infinitely bankable. Did you know they tried to copyright their exhaust notes?

 

Harley is widly successful, and will continue to be.

 

as long as there's rich people and rednecks

 

Harley's are like katana's. I have no idea why they are still using that technology or why people are still buying them.

And as far as cars go, imports are doing so much better now, in part, because they are being assembled here in America.

When your looking to buy anything you really shouldn't count what name its got on it or where it's from. You should go by performance, style, how much you like it, etc. Saying anyjapanese importis a good reliable car is a safe but, but it doesn't apply to all of their product. Mazda for example makes good realiable cars for the most part. But if you have been around Mazda's rotary engines as much as I have you'd see how that just isn't the case. Thats why theres such a big market for american v8 into rx7 swaps now.

 

they actually did copyright them!! so nothing else sounds exatly like it

 

Ford owns Mazda...my bad, Ford has a controlling interest in Mazda's shares