Amen brother!!!! Same here. My Spyder was the biggest P.O.S. I have ever owned, even against all the cars I have owned.:gah:
H.D. Almost the worst bike.
- Thread starter Trent
- Start date
Amen brother!!!! Same here. My Spyder was the biggest P.O.S. I have ever owned, even against all the cars I have owned.:gah:
Ya, well, I was told back in 1974 when I bought a new Arctic Cat snowmobile that I would be sorry because they were nothing but problems. Three years later after a ton of miles and HARD riding the thing still ran like new and was never back to the dealership for anything. I have yet to take any of the Harleys I have owned back to the dealership I bought them from. Of course I have only been riding harleys for about 35 years!! ThumbUp
Exactly how I feel. I always use the term 'jap" and in no way thinking it's an insult.
I also use "Brit", "Canuk", "Redneck" - no big deal.
BTW, Usually I will use the term "UJM" which means Universal Japanese Motorcycle" I see that term in almost all motorcycle magazines.
Like Dragonrider, I'm really sick of all the PC crap going around nowdays. :gah:
That's the problem today - it seems everyone is soooo damn thin skinned. When I was young our neighborhood had at least 5 differnt nationalities and we all told ethnic jokes and we all laughed and tried to come up with a better one - we all knew they were jokes.......NO ONE WAS AFFENDED!!!
Have a nice day
Garyd,
I agree 100% ThumbUp,... These whiners are getting a bit old,:drama:.
I agree 100% ThumbUp,... These whiners are getting a bit old,:drama:.
made me feel like Paula Dean for a min.
well, ok maybe not that long.
well, ok maybe not that long.
I have to agree that Harley Davidson is almost the worst bike and in my case it's almost the worst trike. I have a 2010 TG. I have had numerous problems with brakes, and tires. The heat is terrible even after changing to VH exhaust removing the Cat converter, and replacing tuner and air breather. I am going to test drive a Honda GW this spring and go from there. I have a friend that has a GW and with a 6 cylinder and there is no comparison. It is trouble free, heat free, and much more comfortable to drive.
That is how I feel about my trike that I have owned since new in Dec 09.
Mark
That is how I feel about my trike that I have owned since new in Dec 09.
Mark
Mine must of been built in the middle of the work week. 2010 Tri, happy with it and would buy again.epper:
epper:
If you test ride the Wing, especially if its a Hannigan your going to be switching trikes. FWIW I had a majority of the heat licked on the 2010 Triglide I used to own. What drove me to switch was I was starting to not trust it. My Triglide was a nice looking trike, road pretty good, handled real good, but I questioned reliability after seeing all that failed on my dads 09 and what I could see happening with my 10 past present and possibly future.
If an electrical gremlin had not cropped up I may still own it. After being stranded for 3 days 1,400 miles from home when my dads 09 start button shorted for the 2nd time I vowed that I would dump my 10 if it even looked like it was going to strand me. The following year 90% of my electrical system went out 500 miles from home, as luck would have it I got it back when I pulled the Maxi Fuse then reinstalled it and cycled the ignition switch. I had some tell me it was possibly the ignition switch getting ready to go bad, I figured enough was enough. I got home cleaned it up, stripped all the good stuff off it to sell and traded it in for a new 2012 Wing.
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Google hot riding GW, I think you are in for a surprise!
My '09 had brake problems, other than that it has been the best motorcycle/trike I've ever owned. I never listen to Honda owners. If you don't like Harleys why are you posting in the Harley section anyway?
My 12's been cool as a cucumber. Only time I've seen any higher temp on the gauge was some slow traffic which moved fast enough to keep the fans from coming on, yet not fast enough to move enough air over the radiators to cool it properly. Kind the same thing that happens with an air cooled engine that is not getting enough cooling air over it due to slow moving. When I would hit a traffic light the fans would come on and the temp would drop right back down to normal.
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Up until I bought my Wing I always owned Harley's, I still own my 06 Ultra which I bough new back September 05. I agree most Honda owners may have never owned or wrenched on a Harley, in my case 99% of all my wrenching is on Harley's. I have my dads 09 up on the lift right now, just replaced the inner primary bearing for the 3rd time, the primary chain tensioner, the front break pads and tire. I'm making an air cleaner backing plate modification now to vent it into a catch tank instead of caboning up the pistons with the crud from the breathers.
Every make has some problems. I wouldn't condem a whole line of bikes just because a few have some problems. My 03 Ultra had a ton of problems. My other 8 Harleys ran like a top.
There's no way in the world I would ever ride another UJM. ThumbUp........unless there was no other choice.
Besides GW's are waaaaay too quiet and are huge .....and I hate frame mounted fairings with a passion.
There's no way in the world I would ever ride another UJM. ThumbUp........unless there was no other choice.
Besides GW's are waaaaay too quiet and are huge .....and I hate frame mounted fairings with a passion.
Dragonrider,
The reason Honda owners post here in the Harley section is because they really wanted a Harley
.And they all know...... that you meet the "nicest people on a Harley"
.Butch: I can tell you he has been taking pictures for you. He didn't forget. Mike
Dragonrider,
The reason Honda owners post here in the Harley section is because they really wanted a Harley
And they all know...... that you meet the "nicest people on a Harley"
I don't blame them
But seriously, it always seems the Honda guys want to talk down on the Harleys, and Harley people just always say I wouldn't have a Honda period.
I would love to have a windshield like the GW, recessed back from the face of the dash/fairing face. I'm bad at needing to shove crap up there like in my truck lol, it'd probably blow away anyhoo.
I like the electronic display on the Can-Ams. Shows speed, temps, radio station, direction, etc, etc.... Don't know if Harley is making any headway there with the '14s, haven't really sat and studied that in!fotainment system yet.
I love my trike, don't care what anyone else thinks esp. a Consumer Reports survey.
So let's all just take our crappy vehicles and ride!
the headline should give you a fair indication that the author has a harley hate agenda. a fair non biased title qould say something like "which bike manufacturer has the most problems" or if you have to mention a brand a fairer title would be "BMW has the most reported problems"
the sample group poled was very small, 4000 bikes in a world of millions.
poorly and incorrectly reported percentages... 1 in 3 is 33,3 percent...1 in 4 is 25 percent. this is not what the graphs indicate.
i could go on about how statistics can be manipulated to prove any point. But why bother, when bias is clearly evident the rest is just bad journalism...
the sample group poled was very small, 4000 bikes in a world of millions.
poorly and incorrectly reported percentages... 1 in 3 is 33,3 percent...1 in 4 is 25 percent. this is not what the graphs indicate.
i could go on about how statistics can be manipulated to prove any point. But why bother, when bias is clearly evident the rest is just bad journalism...
Me too. The day I can't own a Harley is the day I go back to 4 wheels.
I haven't forgotten you, I'll post pictures and a writeup once I get it completed.
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Dragonrider,
The reason Honda owners post here in the Harley section is because they really wanted a Harley
And they all know...... that you meet the "nicest people on a Harley"
I guess its my lucky day, I own both
.
I'm not that crazy. If there were no Harleys, I'd be on some other motorcycle, whether it's any of the jap bikes, italian, british or even chineese. If it has 2 (or 3) wheels I'll be riding. Worse case - I'll even ride a scooter (did that when I was younger- even a moped once).
I remember a few years back when I attended a study for Harley. They were looking for input on water cooling Harleys. A few of the old geezers said "If Harley ever went water cooling they'd give up riding". What narrow minded thinking. I thought the whole idea was the freedom of riding in the wind - what difference does it make what you are sitting on?
I prefer "old Clifford " (my big red ultra / moto trike) but I would drive anything . Ive put lots of miles on yamahas , and Hondas .
just some thing about a harleyThumbUpThumbUp
just some thing about a harleyThumbUpThumbUp
Well I have read all the thread. I also have owned and rode almost all brand of motorcycles, including 7 Harley-Davidsons. Sorry 3msocko, my worst Harley was my 2006 Ultra which I had converted to a motor trike. After $11,600 in engine repairs that I had to pay for out of my own pocket, because Harley said you can't convert their motorcycle into a trike. I decided that I could not afford to own that bike any longer. So I sold it and by the way the person that owns it today still drives and love it. Since then I have own an 2009 Ultra, a 2010 CVO Ultra, and a 2013 Triglide. I have loved them all. I don't know when but I look forward to purchasing my next Harley Davidson. Thank you all for a very interesting tread, I have very much enjoyed read it.
another point missed in this poor piece of misinterpretation of facts is that there is no reference to mileage done.. if you new the actual percentage that HD accounted for by sales and then take note what percentage of harleys you see when out riding, you will notice that on average HD owners ride more just for the fun of it, and therefor the actual MILES traveled verses BREAKDOWNS may look a lot more in HD's favour, same applies to BMW. someone noted the BMW is a bike for riding around the world.
A lot of sports bikes only come out of the garage for a few hours on the occasional sunny sunday. thus their mileage would be less, so less chance of a malfunction.
A lot of sports bikes only come out of the garage for a few hours on the occasional sunny sunday. thus their mileage would be less, so less chance of a malfunction.
We see a lot of low to very low mileage Harley's in the states, the same with the metric bikes also. Very serious riders are few and far between, you'll find more of them on forums than anyplace else. In my neck of the woods you'll see bikes out and about during the week, but come the weekend they are thick as fleas on an old dog. We call them weekend warriors because they get them out on Saturday & Sunday to bar hop and put around then put them away the rest of the time.
When I used to visit the Harley dealer often I saw plenty of real low mileage bikes, thought about buying a few of them at one time when I was looking to pick up a 2nd one. Back before I bought the Triglide I had I thought about doing a conversion. I found an 06 Ultra which at the time was 3 years old with 2,500 miles on it, I almost bought it but then decided on the Triglide.
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Yep most manufacturers won't help you out with engine failure when you trike it, even though the damage would have happened 2 or 3 wheels. The weak link on the pre 06 Touring Twin cams were the cam chain tensioners, never knew when they would fail. Could be 10,000 miles or 70,000 miles, they've also had pretty weak crankshafts since 03, and the cranks still do fail more than they should.
rmrc51
Lost In The 50's
I can't believe this thread is still going. :cxtv:
Leave the poor Harleys alone! Every make has their lemons. Harleys are great! ThumbUp
Leave the poor Harleys alone! Every make has their lemons. Harleys are great! ThumbUp
- Thread starter
- #57
Wow... I see this thread has over 12,000 views since I posted it a coupla weeks ago! Must be deemed an interesting discussion alright. The posts about miles traveled verses problems make some sense to me. The guys in the shop at my dealer told me that they think the average motorcycle owner here in Idaho rides between 4,000 and 6,000 miles per year. That will vary according to climate of course. Colder regions are even less. There are a lot of bar hoppin' weekend warriors here also...just for show and no go. My dealer has a used 2011 TG for sale just like mine that has 7,500 miles on it. Looks like new. But I think the more miles the more mechanical problems could have a bearing in this subject alright. Some of us ride for the sheer joy and pleasure but some ride to look cool. And when you ride for that reason, your lack of miles means lack of breakdowns fer sure.
We have over 300 members in our chapter and I'll bet 60% don't put on more then 2 or 3 thousand miles a year. One of our LOH members said she won't ride unless it's over 75 and sunny.
I don't think very many have even been out of the state.
I average 8 to 12K a year. If I wasn't still working 40 hours a week I'd do a lot more.
I don't think very many have even been out of the state.
I average 8 to 12K a year. If I wasn't still working 40 hours a week I'd do a lot more.
- Thread starter
- #59
That's good ridin' Gary. I work 60+ hours a week and still managed to rack up 33K in 2 1/2 years. No long trips planned this summer as we are going outta the country a coupla times instead. I also know people who do 4K miles a year or less. All depends on how much time ya wanna spend in the wind I reckon. I know we love it and jump on that crappy piece of crap Harley every chance we get. Just got a call from the dealer... Mine is finished and ready to break in the new stuff. Thankfully my extended warranty covered the vast majority of all the work on that piece crap!!! Will happily pick it up tomorrow.
Will happily pick it up tomorrow.
I never had a BMW but my neighbor had 2. He was gone on those things all the time and when he got home from his latest trip, they always went into the shop for something that needed fixing. I think that's why he had 2 because one was just about always in the shop. I've had Harleys for over 40 years and really I only had 2 that needed a lot of TLC. A pan that was just this side of impossible to keep running and a shovel that always shook parts loose and leaked a lot. Other that those 2, mine have been as reliable as you could ever expect them to be.
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