Bob Meek's blog

Clayton, interesting discussion. First the most popular foreign named bike, Honda is manufactured at Marysville, Ohio and Florence, South Carolina. Kawasaki at Lincoln, Nebraska. From my prespective, the notion that a person cannot afford a Harley as opposed to a foreign bike is no longer true. When my wife was ready for her first bike she wanted a Sportster. After sitting on probably 50 bikes she decided on a Honda Shadow that she put 15,000 miles on in 2 years. The price $9,000 out the door, I could have purchased the Sportster for the same $$$$. The Shadow was safe and reliable, but did require constant drive chain maintenance. This was a great first bike and she graduated to a Softtail. Her first comment after we got it home was "I didn't realize how much I was getting beaten up on the Honda". She has had it 4 months and put 5,500 miles on it and would not give it up for anything. The new Harleys as a whole simply do not break down any more than other bikes. If the others are so perfect why do their dealers have repair shops?. Most Harley riders cause their own mechanical problems. BOB

My 1989 FLH is pushing 150,000 miles. The engine has never been apart. Normal maintenance and fluid changes every 2,500 miles. It has been to Sturgis from the West Coast several times and is getting ready to go to Chicago. It has a performance cam and re-jetted carb. It must be one that the company did right. BOB