Motorcycle owners???

[EdgeMan]

Harley.

[Tdre977]

Harley.

Ehhh, Harleys are nice and all, but they cant hold a candle to the reliability and power of a jap bike.

[badwhale]

Ehhh, Harleys are nice and all, but they cant hold a candle to the reliability and power of a jap bike.

I don't own any Harleys.

That said, Harley has come a LONG way in the past several decades from the AMF years (where they got that stigma of always breaking down & marking their spot) as far as reliability.

Power? Well, there's different ways to look at that, and as far as I'm concerned, even my buddy's '84 CM400T is going to beat a Viper out of the gate. I don't need 140 horsepower at the rear wheel on a 600pound piece of machinery.

Will

[ndv21]

Nice to hear everyone's opinion. I went over to a local dealer today to look at some bikes in person. Spend about an hour there and man...those sales guys are freakin pushy!!!!

At one point I had to tell the dude "Can I just look at some bikes in peace? If so, I will take one home TODAY!". Of course he left and I was able to narrow down my choices to the following:

Suzuki Boulevard C50
Honda Shadow Spirit 750

On my way to the door I saw that prick and said "Happy April Fools" . I felt kind of a prick but he deserved it.

[dr. cox]

Nice to hear everyone's opinion. I went over to a local dealer today to look at some bikes in person. Spend about an hour there and man...those sales guys are freakin pushy!!!!

At one point I had to tell the dude "Can I just look at some bikes in peace? If so, I will take one home TODAY!". Of course he left and I was able to narrow down my choices to the following:

Suzuki Boulevard C50
Honda Shadow Spirit 750

On my way to the door I saw that prick and said "Happy April Fools" . I felt kind of a prick but he deserved it.

I have to say that is fucking awesome. Well played.

[EdgeMan]

Harley is all about torque and comfort (of course the sportsters are not as comfy as the touring class). That being said, a tricked sportster 1200 can light up the drag strip. Reliability, as Will mentioned, is a totally new ball game from years past. The warranty, especially the VIP, is unreal on a Harley these days. In two years I have not spent a dime on anything for my Wide Glide except gas and chrome... it covers everything, oil changes on up. I am not sure of the warranty on the rice burners but you can't beat the warranty on a Harley with a stick. Once you take a cruise on a HOG you will be hooked. Now the decision has to be this Nelson... Do you want to race from redlight to redlight? If so get a rice burner. If you want to cruise in comfort and have some serious torque and get from point A to point B in style, get a HOG. (The Honda Goldwing is an exception IMHO) I personally would never purchase anything other than a Harley. At the very least go ahead and get your motorcycle endorsement and test ride different manufacturers before you take the plunge. I would even advise you to rent different ones for the day. That is really the only way you can know you made the right choice for you and that is what matters.

[Eville]

I'm going to have to disagree with you Edge. Harley's are great for cruising long distances if you like your balls to be rattled numb. Most of the Japanese bikes are way smoother from my experience. They have similar styling, and the Honda shadow 750 has the same amount of torque as the Harley, but with an extra 20 HP. Not to mention they are far less expensive. Don't get me wrong, Harleys are alright. I am still have a 1200 Nightster in the running for my next bike, but the Japanese bikes are a much better value.

[Irish79]

I have a 2002 Volusia Intruder, which was the original name of the bike when it was released in 2001. In 2005 they renamed it the Boulevard C50. I have had it for 3 years and have been very happy with it, except for the seat. I don't know if the C50 comes with a different seat, but the stock seat sucks. Have you test ridden either bike?

[prophetic_joe]

In my experience, and from talking to quite a few others, most stock seats suck. The only way to actually get a decent stock seat is to buy a bike designed specifically to tour. As far as what bike to get all bikes rock, all bikes have positives and negatives. That said I have a 06 Honda Sabre 1100 and love the hell out of it. Wouldn't trade it for a Harley of similar size in a million years, may buy Harley if I go to a bigger bike but that is doubtful as well.

[EdgeMan]

I respect everyone's opinion. As you can see Nelson you will get may different answers due to personal tastes. I owned a Buell (harleys crotch rocket) and it had the same stance and ride (leaning over the tank and fast as hell) as a crotch rocket but that in itself hurt my balls before I ever left the driveway. It was just uncomfortable to me, very. On the other hand most of the jap manufacturers have copied the harley stance and look (Honda Shadow is one) through the years so maybe that is the answer for you. Plus the fact that they are less expensive than a Harley. Again, test riding several is the way to go. A salesman, of all people, told me something that might be worth mentioning... You should be able to go out in your garage and LOVE your bike before you ever get on it.

Good luck and have fun!

Donald

PS: And yes, most stock seats suck for the long haul. Also think of storage or the ability to add storage later because sooner or later you are going to get pissed if you don't have some kind of storage. And wearing a backpack is just lame (sorry backpackers it's just my opinion and we know what those are like =).