Motorcycle owners???

[Mangyrat]

Then i take it suggesting a any of the super moto's is totaly out of the question

[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.

[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.