Harley-Davidson

I have been riding for 30 years. I have never ever owned a Harley Davidson. As a matter of fact, I was quite opposed to the idea. I was a BMW GS rider for the last several years. I got with some older gearhead type guys, who were into BMW's as well. But all of them had a Harley in the garage too. After a couple years, I started getting the itch for one. So I picked up a 1983 XLX Ironhead 1000. It was a really fun bike, but it was also a death trap with fasteners always coming looses, iffy brakes, ect...
A good friend of mine owns a car dealership and picked up a 2005 XL1200C at a repo auction. The bike only had 3000 miles on it, and was running like crap from sitting, but I picked it up for a song.
Took it to my local dealer who spent about an hour on the carb, and it was then running great.
I have had this bike since Oct 14, and I have rode it almost every single day. I LOVE THIS BIKE. I never really got the Harley thing, but once you own one, it becomes more clear. No, it doesn't handle great, it is quick, but not fast by any means. But it does seem to have a good bit of soul.

Call me a convert. I still make fun of guys who buy all the Harley clothes though :)

Take a nice bike and mess it up...and then bring it back in for service?!

Do you think Harley on a whim puts out products like these to the public and do you believe these people are using any thought process? Would you like to ride these bikes knowing what you see?

Washing and polishing all that chrome dosen't make for a safe ride. Most of the public goes through rear brakes as fast as a rear tire. YOU, need to be looking at the WHOLE bike not just the BLING BLING. That also goes with READING the MANUAL. DO NOT mix the DOT 4 AND 5 brake fluids!

Recently bought a used 2004 Sportster with relatively high mileage. 24K. Starter was the first to thing to go. Was expecting a repair cost of maybe a couple hundred bucks. Was pretty much floored when I heard $600. ($350 for the part, $250 for labor). Really soured me on the whole Harley ownership thing. I know that the line is quality cost money. But $600 for a starter is ridiculous. Gonna put it up for sale at a loss. It's a shame because I really liked the bike.