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Why are japaneese cruisers so cheap (so much cheaper then harleys?)

Your buddies are not the norm. Most new Harley's you'll see with 30-80k with no problems what-so-ever. The fit and finish of all of the components, including bars, grips, levers, tank, paint, etc is top notch.

I've had all kinds of bikes, and I like them all, but my Harley was ONE of my favorite bikes. The issue for me with it was the cost. I couldn't justify having a $20,000 motorcycle to cruise on.

And for those that say Harley's are for "image" not riding.... the same goes for sport bikes. You aint using your 180hp GSXR-1000 for anything more than 80mph on the freeway either, so don't spout on BARF like you're fucking Nicky Hayden. All bikes, other than pure utilitarian bikes, are purchased at least in part because of IMAGE. Because the buyer THINKS they look, sound, or feel cool.

Harley's are no different... except that people who own Harley's generally put a hell of a lot more miles down the road than your average sport bike rider. Sure, they may be mostly in a straight line, but that's not always the case either.
 
Antarius said:
Your buddies are not the norm. Most new Harley's you'll see with 30-80k with no problems what-so-ever. The fit and finish of all of the components, including bars, grips, levers, tank, paint, etc is top notch.

I've had all kinds of bikes, and I like them all, but my Harley was ONE of my favorite bikes. The issue for me with it was the cost. I couldn't justify having a $20,000 motorcycle to cruise on.

And for those that say Harley's are for "image" not riding.... the same goes for sport bikes. You aint using your 180hp GSXR-1000 for anything more than 80mph on the freeway either, so don't spout on BARF like you're fucking Nicky Hayden. All bikes, other than pure utilitarian bikes, are purchased at least in part because of IMAGE. Because the buyer THINKS they look, sound, or feel cool.

Harley's are no different... except that people who own Harley's generally put a hell of a lot more miles down the road than your average sport bike rider. Sure, they may be mostly in a straight line, but that's not always the case either.
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I agree with the image thing. But I don't agree that most H-D lifestyle guys ride anymore than any other group. There are a ton of bikes out there, 5-10 years old, with less.than 5000 miles on them, H-D or otherwise. Same thing with both groups. Get a bike they think is cool. Get cold. Get wet. Get scared. Stop riding. I think that here on BARF, there are a higher proportion of actual riders, we live the motorcycle life, so I'd say we ride more than the average rider, H-D or otherwise.
 
You are correct that here, on BARF, there are a larger portion of riders who ride -- say year round -- than not. But in the U.S., or even California wide, Harley / cruiser riders put more miles on than others.

Using the bay area as a sampling pool isn't really accurate. We're spesshooool here.
 
Well, up here in riding paradise it is the HD riders I see out more often . I chose what I ride to fit where I ride. Bikes (like me:teeth) are usually just a tool. The HD is not the best tool for a curvy road.
I can understand using a HD for long range, kick back and look at scenery type riding. I can appreciate their simple looks clean lines. I really wanted to like the ones I rode but the now de-funct Buell was as close to HD actually selling something that fits my wants/needs.
As far as the imports? I would check them out as well if I was in that market and buy the bike that tripped my switch. Service/cost if I need it would also play in to it.
DT
 
Antarius said:
But in the U.S., or even California wide, Harley / cruiser riders put more miles on than others.
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I've seen this often repeated as fact, are there any studies to prove this or is it just the general consensus?
 
Banjoboy said:
Most Americans don't buy bikes ta ride, they buy bikes fer an image, 'n Harley dun give's 'em the bad ass image they crave. :Pirate
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If you sub out "Americans" above with "people who buy cruisers" it works for me. I spose they are mostly Americans because of where we live and the patriotism angle.

I commute on a bike, as do many of you. There is no comparison with weekend riders. I care about fuel economy, bike weight, etc etc. Those people don't really have to.
 
Antarius said:
^^^^

Exactly.

People who have never owned or ridden a Harley for an extended period of time don't realize the quality of the motorcycle as a whole.

That costs money.
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This.

Antarius said:
Your buddies are not the norm. Most new Harley's you'll see with 30-80k with no problems what-so-ever. The fit and finish of all of the components, including bars, grips, levers, tank, paint, etc is top notch.

I've had all kinds of bikes, and I like them all, but my Harley was ONE of my favorite bikes. The issue for me with it was the cost. I couldn't justify having a $20,000 motorcycle to cruise on.

And for those that say Harley's are for "image" not riding.... the same goes for sport bikes. You aint using your 180hp GSXR-1000 for anything more than 80mph on the freeway either, so don't spout on BARF like you're fucking Nicky Hayden. All bikes, other than pure utilitarian bikes, are purchased at least in part because of IMAGE. Because the buyer THINKS they look, sound, or feel cool.

Harley's are no different... except that people who own Harley's generally put a hell of a lot more miles down the road than your average sport bike rider. Sure, they may be mostly in a straight line, but that's not always the case either.
Click to expand...

And this.

redtail183 said:
I've seen this often repeated as fact, are there any studies to prove this or is it just the general consensus?
Click to expand...

Leave the state on a long ride...take note of the motorcycles you see. If you can, look at their odometers when stopped. Scientific? No. But what you do see may surprise you...it shouldn't.
 
corndog67 said:
Judging by the number of low/almost no miles Harleys that I see, I don't think they ride any more than anyone else.
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Yeah, it would really surprise me. If you think about it, even weekend-only sprotbilers likely put on way more miles doing the curvy road thing. It seems like cruiser folk take straight shots to destinations then chill for long periods of time; places like Murphys for example.

And I had to have a veteran explain "trailer queen" to me when we were talking about the Sturgis phenom. Yes, I had been out of motorcycling for that long. The idea still cracks me up.
 
Kornholio said:
Leave the state on a long ride...take note of the motorcycles you see. If you can, look at their odometers when stopped. Scientific? No. But what you do see may surprise you...it shouldn't.
Click to expand...

Anecdotal at best. Yes, I often leave on long trips, the four corners most recently and later this year I'm going up to Oregon and traveling all the way down the coast on a Lighthouse tour. On my Goldwing. I see Harleys, and others.
 
55.7% market share in 2011. Whether they're garage queens or not, they outsell over half the market.
 
Bay Arean said:
Yeah, it would really surprise me. If you think about it, even weekend-only sprotbilers likely put on way more miles doing the curvy road thing. It seems like cruiser folk take straight shots to destinations then chill for long periods of time; places like Murphys for example.

And I had to have a veteran explain "trailer queen" to me when we were talking about the Sturgis phenom. Yes, I had been out of motorcycling for that long. The idea still cracks me up.
Click to expand...

The trailer queen thing is much more prevalent in people who collect classic cars. Its kinda sad really.
 
Kornholio said:
55.7% market share in 2011. Whether they're garage queens or not, they outsell over half the market.
Click to expand...

People often make incorrect conclusions about where the majority congregates.
 
redtail183 said:
Anecdotal at best. Yes, I often leave on long trips, the four corners most recently and later this year I'm going up to Oregon and traveling all the way down the coast on a Lighthouse tour. On my Goldwing. I see Harleys, and others.
Click to expand...

Completely off on a tangent, a rider just recently completed an Iron Butt ride: Key West, Fla to Prudhoe Bay, Ak in 23 days ON A URAL! :thumbup
 
redtail183 said:
People often make incorrect conclusions about where the majority congregates.
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And some people are often sheeple and believe what they hear rather than experience it for themselves. YMMV.

I said it another thread and I'll say it again...

The majority of HD haters are sportbike riders and thus, their argument is invalid. Of course a Harley isn't going to compare to a sportbike. They're worlds apart in almost every aspect. That's a straight apples to oranges comparison.

Now if you compare a metric cruiser to a Harley, the differences are vast. First off, while decent motorcycles, metric cruisers lack the fit and finish of a Harley Davidson. Their look is plastic and cheap with the wiring harness completely visible and tons of gaps in the poorly lined up panels. They're cheaper because they're built in the cheapest way possible and it shows. A few years ago, I had my heart set on a Kawasaki Vaquero. I loved (and still do) the Street Glide but couldn't afford one so I started shopping the market for comparable models. The Vaquero was the only real choice. First impressions are pretty big though and the Kawi failed right away. The gigantic, ugly wiring harness is totally in view and ruins the lines of the engine and tank. The controls are cheap plastic and feel flimsy under operation. The engine is great with plenty of power for a cruiser of its size, but that doesn't make up for cheap parts, corner-cutting assembly and lack of quality control. Unless of course that's their intent which honestly is just sad considering it wasn't but $1000 cheaper than the Street Glide.
 
Kornholio said:
And some people are often sheeple and believe what they hear rather than experience it for themselves. YMMV.

I said it another thread and I'll say it again...

The majority of HD haters are
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When did I say I was an HD hater? That's a leap, why so defensive?
 
Why are my levi jeans a fraction of the price of designer jeans? This isn't a very difficult question to answer.
 
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