Motorcycle Reliability

[Van]

The difference there is in the types of failures people typically encounter with Harley and BMW. As your link stated, Harleys tend to have major problems. They're stone-simple bikes and still they aren't reliable. BMWs tend to have pain-in-the-ass problems as a result of all their extra computerized/electronic gadgetry. It's the same story with their cars.

[kcdave]

Talk all the shit you want on Harley, but I dare you to show me a finer bike than this one.



Sold my Vulcan last fall for the simple reason that is just was not a Street Glide. However, the Vulcan
was 100% reliable. Never a single issue.

[Van]

There are so many bikes that are better than that Harley, christ, we'd be here all day if I named them all.

Please try not to confuse "It's Ah'mur'can, and I'm from the Heartland, so dammit, I have to like it!" with 'superior quality.' That bike will not turn, stop or go as well as most other bikes will. It won't accelerate nearly as hard off the bottom or throughout the midrange or especially on top as countless other bikes will. It won't last as long or require less maintenance. It isn't as affordable. Plenty of other bikes are more comfortable.

In a nutshell, it doesn't do much of anything better than most other bikes besides being your favorite Harley. Oh, and the one halfway decent thing about that bike? The motor? The liquid-cooled motor, which is otherwise anathema to Harley? Of course Harley had to have Porsche design it for them.

[Diego in Seattle]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Knock on wood, no problems yet with my Nomad.

[smackaholic]

When was the last time a Harley Davidson won a Moto GP?


...or even a Superbike race since those are more closely related to the bikes on the street?

Harleys have absolutely nothing in common with superbike. They used to dominate dirt flat track racing and may still for all I know. They do run some forms of drag racing. Other than that I don't believe they bother.

[Van]

When was the last time a Harley Davidson won a Moto GP?

Never.

...or even a Superbike race since those are more closely related to the bikes on the street?

Never.

[Van]

Of course Harley represents well in flat track. It's their own spec series. Other makes are usually legislated right out of any chance at being competitive.

In any series where open competition is encouraged Harley not only never wins, they typically don't even participate.

[smackaholic]

Of course Harley represents well in flat track. It's their own spec series. Other makes are usually legislated right out of any chance at being competitive.

In any series where open competition is encouraged Harley not only never wins, they typically don't even participate.

I seem to recall yamaha challenged harley at flat track back in the 70s. Actually, more like cleaned their clock till they got legislated out of it. I think it was some sort of insane 2 stroker. And I believe Kenny Roberts was the rider. Is there anything King Kenny ever rode where he did not buttfukk the competition in the mouf?

[smackaholic]

Dirt flat trackers prolly have the largest testicles of anyone on the planet. You really do need to be batshit crazy in addition to talented to succeed in that sport.

100 mph sideways traffic jam!

[Van]

Those ice racer dudes are also fairly testicularly blessed.

[Trampis]

Buying a Harley isnt about buying a bike, its about buying in to a culture. Genious marketing really.

Its as-if paying $18k for a Harley instantly makes you a badass. Most of the time it makes you look like a financially challenged douchebag. Same theory applies to tattoos btw.

[smackaholic]

Those ice racer dudes are also fairly testicularly blessed.

Yeah those crazy viking fukkers that put spikes in their tires aren't wound too tight either.

[Dr_Phibes]

Don't understand the Harley thing. If you want looks, get a Royal Enfield at half the cost. But then when you stall in traffic, you have to kick it over, you can't press a button and pretend it never happened. Air cooled bikes rule OK.

[Van]

Aside from my own bike along with the Bonnieville, the Moto Guzzi V7 Special and the Griso 1100, this is probably the only other air-cooled bike I want...



I'm going to check it out in the flesh today.

[Van]

You and your assfucked back will thank me.

[Van]

With the addition of vibration-isolating rubber motor-mounts Harley has somewhat managed to quell their bikes' penchant for shaking themselves to death. They're nowhere near as bad as they used to be.

That being said, and considering their relatively meager power output, the things still don't last anywhere near as long as any Japanese or German equivalent, never mind their abysmal overall performance and lack of consistent reliability.

[Van]

a lot of it depends how you're using the bike

If you're touring, really touring - then the Goldpig is the only way to roll

If you mean "luxury touring" then this...



...would like to have a word with you, as it has firmly supplanted the venerable Wing as the Gold Standard in luxo-touring rigs.

If you don't require everything-and-the-kitchen-sink in your definition of "touring," well then, this...



...would also like to have a word with you, as would this...



...and a good half-dozen other similar rides.

If you're just crusing around town a Harley isn't going to fall apart at 12K

No, probably not, but is that really where we want to set the reliability bar: "not falling apart" at a measly 12K miles? Seriously, man, don't be such a harsh taskmaster!

I rent one a cople times a year and never had any problems

Well there you go. No truer trial by fire hath noble motor steed ever endured.

[smackaholic]

The HD sound is shit, IMO, next to a proper 90 degree V twin like Ducatti.

[Van]

The truly special thing about the HD sound is it's usually accompanied by very little actual acceleration. Guys make their bikes as loud as hell yet the damn things still can barely get out of their own way.

The three best sounding bikes: Ducatis with race Termignonis, Honda V-4s with gear-driven cams and proper pipes, and uncorked Triumph triples.

[kcdave]

Enough with the Beamers, Van. Ugliest fucking bikes on the road. I wouldn't ride one of those on a dare.
Half the point of riding a bike is looking cool, and no one is looking cool on one of those. They are the Prius' of bikes.
Beamer riders are old dip shits that wear those goofy ass hats with the snap down bill, and smoke a pipe.

[Diego in Seattle]

If one is that concerned with the sound they can just invest in some Vance & Hines pipes (which my bike came with). Buying a jap bike & then purchasing the pipes will still leave your wallet way ahead than if you go for the HD.

[Van]

Good comparison of a Ducati vs the other one I failed to mention, a GSX-R, both with pipes...



I have to say, I think the GSX-R actually sounds meaner. It sounds more hot-rodded.

Honda V4...



Triumph triple...



While the Ducati might sound the baddest when merely blipping the throttle, I think the V4 Honda and Triumph triple sound better on full song. At speed the Ducati takes on more of a flat, droning note while the V4 combines the high-end rip of the inline-4 GSX-R with the throaty growl and individual pulses of the V-twin.

The GSX-R revs so high, wooo, it just sounds perfectly terrifying.

[smackaholic]

Enough with the Beamers, Van. Ugliest fucking bikes on the road. I wouldn't ride one of those on a dare.
Half the point of riding a bike is looking cool, and no one is looking cool on one of those. They are the Prius' of bikes.
Beamer riders are old dip shits that wear those goofy ass hats with the snap down bill, and smoke a pipe.

First off, it's a Beemer.

Second, you are the worst kind of poser moron.

[Van]

Enough with the Beamers, Van.

Nope. They have to be mentioned when the talk turns to touring bikes. They invented the category, especially Adventure Touring. The Gold Wing was clearly the best in the business for a good twenty-plus years, but it has been eclipsed in its own specialty by the inline-6 BMW.

I'm more of a Honda guy, but when credit is due, hey, credit is due.

Ugliest fucking bikes on the road.

Which one? All of them? Every single one? Do you really want me to post a shitload of pics of far uglier bikes from other makes?

I wouldn't ride one of those on a dare.

Smart move. You're better off sitting at the cafe mewling with like-minded posers about how your bike looks rather than spending any real time riding it and finding out just how lame it actually is.

Half 100% of the point (for me) of riding a bike is looking cool,

We never would have guessed.

and no one is looking cool on one of those.

You're downright pathetic. Real motorcyclists laugh at you, just so you know.

Oh, and yeah, your kind sitting on the curb doing everything but riding look infinitely cooler than...



...and...



...and...




Put simply, you're an embarrassment to real riders everywhere. You're the worst kind of cliché.

[Dinsdale]

If one is that concerned with the sound they can just invest in some Vance & Hines pipes (which my bike came with). Buying a jap bike & then purchasing the pipes will still leave your wallet way ahead than if you go for the HD.

^^^^ Has no clue about cylinder alignment.


Frankly... Van and Diego, while nice enough guys, have their own wing in the Dork Hall of Fame.


They think they look cool in a Volvo wagon. It's turbocharged, and it outaccelarates a 63 Split Window.

[Van]

Yes, Dins, by all means, please expound on your "cool" bonafides as they relate to you, me, and motorcycles.

This ought to be beautiful.

[Van]

schmick, I never really liked the sound of two-stroke race bikes. Every time I drew near to Laguna Seca during the two-stroke Grand Prix years the place always sounded like it was being attacked by swarms of pissed off bumble bees. Shrieking four-strokes sound much ballsier to me.

The two-stroke smell is good, though. You're right, there.

[Dinsdale]

Yes, Dins, by all means, please expound on your "cool" bonafides as they relate to you, me, and motorcycles.

This ought to be beautiful.

Nice attempt at deflection.

This wasn't about you, me, and motorcycles. It was about your unmitigated dorkitude.

[Van]

Which you attempted to illustrate by some bizarre depiction of me proudly driving a Volvo wagon. This, in a thread where we're talking about motorcycles.

Yeah, that follows.

[Dinsdale]

I rest my case.


Dork.

[Van]

Remember Mgo's thread a month or so ago about you?

He may have been on to something.

[Dinsdale]

No.

And I'm not in nostalgia mode.

[Trampis]

No.

And I'm not in nostalgia mode.

So...are you a Harley guy or not?

You posted in a Harley vs everything else thread without stating your preference...bad on you bro.

[Felix]

I always LOVED the sound of the 2 stroke triples:



They sound like nervous power chords.

ah yes, the H2 Triple which I owned and lived to tell about it......and just like in the video I remember lifting the front wheel off the ground while traveling at better than 60 mph.....unlike the cat in the video, mine was completely unintentional.....

don't know how long that dude has owned that H2, but rack that cat's ability to stay alive.......so far

[Felix]

The one in the video looks exactly like my buddy's.

that was the 72 H2, which came in one color-blue
mine was a 73, which allegedly was more refined (rubber grommetting, steering damper) which was supposed to result in a much smoother ride-yeah, fucking bullshit-those things were made to do one thing and one thing only and that was go fast in a straight line (which they did like nothing else I've ever ridden)

Alas, a few beers in him and no helmet and at night, he met a tree when he left the road.

the 750's were much more squirly than the 500....lose your concentration at the wrong instant and that monster would get away from you in a hurry.....you're buddy's not the only one that ate it on an H2, I knew two guys here in Idaho that both crashed on 750's......ones in the ground, and one is eating his food out of a straw for the rest of his life.....

[smackaholic]

That Triumph triple does sound nice. It sounds sort of like a V-6, but better. My old SHO with the yamaha V-6 sounded sort of like it, but, in a bad way. It was kinda fun to bounce it off the rev limiter though. Too bad the bloke riding it left his bullocks in his OL's purse and fails to properly wind the piss out of it. The GSX-R sounds nasty in that jap inline 4 sort of way. The duc just needs to be heard live. Listening to it on youtube just doesn't cut it. It is all about the tone. And yeah, 2 strokers are fucking nasty. Love their sound, be they 250 singles or 750 triples. They are just evil sounding. One of the most badass bikes I ever heard was a V-max with pretty much straight pipes. When I heard it I could have sworn it was a small block chevy, until I turned around to look.