Giving thought to replacing my Goldwing, and being in the September of my years (67), I have given lot of thought to buying my first Harley Davidson. It is the thing to do, after all. An "American" bike, with an American sound, and all that.
Being a Harley owner makes one a member of an informal fraternity, and if you want it, a member of the Harley Owner's Group, which sponsors more motorcycle-related events and causes than any other similar group in the country.
And in addition to the cultural stuff, and assuming that the Motor Company has gotten past all of the quality bugaboos that plagued it during the AMF years and for many years thereafter, the question becomes, whether it actually makes sense to buy one. As pure motorcycles, Harley's are questionable, at best. They are relatively slow, don't handle well, and cost a lot to maintain.
The three things that Harley owners grasp onto are, (1) the unique sound, (2) low-rpm torque, and (3) the reputed high re-sale values. The sound truly is unique, and I have to admit that once you get a "taste" for it, there is nothing else (among motorcycles) that sounds as good as a full-throated Harley pulling away from a stop sign. The torque? Well, that's another story. There are several "metric cruisers" that have similar torque characteristics - maybe better, so that the torque is just a trait of high-displacement V-twins, not some special Harley advantage.
And the high re-sale value may be difficult to realize, in actual practice. Harley's carry higher initial prices as new bikes (seldom discounted by dealers), that carry forward over the years. But people buying a used Harley EXPECT to see expensive aftermarket pipes, seats, and chrome hardware - without which you will have a difficult time selling it at all - so that re-sale price advantage may disappear completely. You pay (typically) $20 thousand for the bike, add $4 thousand in aftermarket doo-dads, and sell it for $12 thousand four years later. Compare that with, say, a Honda VTX 1800 that cost half as much new and will sell for $6 thousand four years later, and the prospective buyer doesn't really need to see all that after-market garbage. So that Harley is worth twice as much after four years, but you have more than twice as much into it.
And without any doubt at all, the Honda VTX is every bit as good a motorcycle as the comparable Harley.
As a final note, one must also consider Harley's two significant drawbacks: The vibration and the heat. The vibration issue is one that Harley long ago gave up on solving. Their "solution" is to mount the engines in rubber, so you don't notice it as much. But you still can't see anything in your rear view mirrors when stopped in traffic on a Harley. Second, since Harley's are air cooled, the heat wafting up from the engine can be debilitating to the rider when traveling in traffic. Sometimes the engine actually over-heats and you have to pull over and let it cool off for half an hour. Both of these are incredible shortcomings in "modern" motorcycles that are sold at premium prices, and Harley owners just accept them because they know it won't change in their lifetime.
So after trying several Harley's over the past couple weeks, I simply could not see laying out a premium price for a very marginal product. My Kawasaki Vaquero is simply a better motorcycle than the comparable Harley's (Electra Glide Standard or Road Glide), and I got it for much less money than the comparable Harley would have cost. And it sounds great as well. I guess I'll never own a Harley. This is probably going to be my last bike.
Specifically, I got a 2011 Vaquero with 11k miles on it, absolutely better than new (aftermarket pipes, Corbin seats, plus, plus, plus) for $9,300. A comparable EGlide standard would have been at least $15k from a dealer.
Being a Harley owner makes one a member of an informal fraternity, and if you want it, a member of the Harley Owner's Group, which sponsors more motorcycle-related events and causes than any other similar group in the country.
And in addition to the cultural stuff, and assuming that the Motor Company has gotten past all of the quality bugaboos that plagued it during the AMF years and for many years thereafter, the question becomes, whether it actually makes sense to buy one. As pure motorcycles, Harley's are questionable, at best. They are relatively slow, don't handle well, and cost a lot to maintain.
The three things that Harley owners grasp onto are, (1) the unique sound, (2) low-rpm torque, and (3) the reputed high re-sale values. The sound truly is unique, and I have to admit that once you get a "taste" for it, there is nothing else (among motorcycles) that sounds as good as a full-throated Harley pulling away from a stop sign. The torque? Well, that's another story. There are several "metric cruisers" that have similar torque characteristics - maybe better, so that the torque is just a trait of high-displacement V-twins, not some special Harley advantage.
And the high re-sale value may be difficult to realize, in actual practice. Harley's carry higher initial prices as new bikes (seldom discounted by dealers), that carry forward over the years. But people buying a used Harley EXPECT to see expensive aftermarket pipes, seats, and chrome hardware - without which you will have a difficult time selling it at all - so that re-sale price advantage may disappear completely. You pay (typically) $20 thousand for the bike, add $4 thousand in aftermarket doo-dads, and sell it for $12 thousand four years later. Compare that with, say, a Honda VTX 1800 that cost half as much new and will sell for $6 thousand four years later, and the prospective buyer doesn't really need to see all that after-market garbage. So that Harley is worth twice as much after four years, but you have more than twice as much into it.
And without any doubt at all, the Honda VTX is every bit as good a motorcycle as the comparable Harley.
As a final note, one must also consider Harley's two significant drawbacks: The vibration and the heat. The vibration issue is one that Harley long ago gave up on solving. Their "solution" is to mount the engines in rubber, so you don't notice it as much. But you still can't see anything in your rear view mirrors when stopped in traffic on a Harley. Second, since Harley's are air cooled, the heat wafting up from the engine can be debilitating to the rider when traveling in traffic. Sometimes the engine actually over-heats and you have to pull over and let it cool off for half an hour. Both of these are incredible shortcomings in "modern" motorcycles that are sold at premium prices, and Harley owners just accept them because they know it won't change in their lifetime.
So after trying several Harley's over the past couple weeks, I simply could not see laying out a premium price for a very marginal product. My Kawasaki Vaquero is simply a better motorcycle than the comparable Harley's (Electra Glide Standard or Road Glide), and I got it for much less money than the comparable Harley would have cost. And it sounds great as well. I guess I'll never own a Harley. This is probably going to be my last bike.
Specifically, I got a 2011 Vaquero with 11k miles on it, absolutely better than new (aftermarket pipes, Corbin seats, plus, plus, plus) for $9,300. A comparable EGlide standard would have been at least $15k from a dealer.
