I can understand that.
I usually don’t think about that since I am a mechanic by trade and have a buttload of tools . But yeah, that is definitely something that you have to consider….the maintenance and repairs. 😊
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Harley Davidson Gripe
- Thread starter Get_Training
- Start date
I usually don’t think about that since I am a mechanic by trade and have a buttload of tools . But yeah, that is definitely something that you have to consider….the maintenance and repairs. 😊
I do love the old school hogs. A good bit of the are trash but if you get ahold of a good one that has been restored or you can restore one, they make for a fun ride.
Now I don’t knock the jap bikes as much as a lot of these guys do. I ran a couple of the larger CC Hondas and Kaws in my young days. They haul azz and run forever !! Smooth too.
My MOM & DAD both rode. Mom run a Honda CX500 and dad rode a few different jap dressers. 😁
Now I don’t knock the jap bikes as much as a lot of these guys do. I ran a couple of the larger CC Hondas and Kaws in my young days. They haul azz and run forever !! Smooth too.
My MOM & DAD both rode. Mom run a Honda CX500 and dad rode a few different jap dressers. 😁
I do most of the basic service on my bikes. But anymore, there is a need for $pecialized tools to perform some operations. For instance, I purge the brake fluid every 2 years. On Harley's with ABS, you you need a special tool to actuate the ABS pump to do the job correctly. The tool is like $800.00. The dealer charges me $150.00 to do the job. For as long as I keep bikes (I like variety and sell them off every few years), it's worth it to me to let the dealer do the work.
Don't even get me started on the silly maintenance minder warning that shows up on the dash for manufacturer service intervals (Ducati, Moto-Guzzi). Again, a spendy little tool to reset. Luckily, my Moto Guzzi dealer is cool and will reset mine, but that is a 3 hour deal to drive up to the dealer, get it done and drive home. Motorcycles are a blessing and a curse.
But....
Then you've got a Harley...
When I used to go to Daytona for bike week, the roadside was full of Harleys and guys with their tool kits out.
We just buzzed merrily by on our "Jap Crap". I sure miss that '73 Kaw Z1.
Right, you could find your way to and from Bike Week by following the parts that fell off.
Perhaps the old iron. Modern Harley's are among the most reliable bikes on the road.
I have owned British, German, Jap, Austrian, Italian and of course Harleys. The Harley build quality shames the Jap bikes, Beemers have their share of problems. KTM's? Fuggetaboutit, unless of course you like the service department at the dealer. Italian bikes? Well, it's Italian!! haha
6 speeds made a big difference
Roughly 15 years ago I walked into a dealership that was owned by a close acquaintance of mine, It was spring time in Milwaukee WI and bikes are in HIGH demand that time of year and in general in higher demand back then.. I had a pocket full of cash to the tune of 15k. The dude would not haggle on a high market price of a used bike. He told me… “sorry man, cash won’t get you any deals right now, I’ve got a deal with the bank” last time I’ve ever messed with a motor vehicle dealer of any sort! I had purchased 2 bikes with him previous to this and hung out with him at local rides and such along with doing some electrical work in his dealership at a discounted rate! Phucin scoundrels, all of em!
Did she have the turbo??
You were either way in front of me or behind me on all those trips because I didn't see that many down, and the ones I seen were at stop lights and at gas pumps falling over! To drunk or to stoned to remember to put their foot down ....
during the Olympics' I road my B-I-L's 74 Kaw, due to parking was 25 dollars a day and would not leave my Harley alone anywhere in ATL....
the kaw you could leave it anywhere with new tire's, full tank and a mcrib on the tank and it would be there at quitting time...........fun fact every time he rode with me, I had to help push it off most times' when we stopped...
(I'm shure I had to have been a sight doing that!)
back to the story I fixed the kaw to be able to ride it and my first day on my way home I found out what a high-speed wobble was, and it was unnerving to say the least. he called me when I got in and told me about the death wobble !? yeah no sh*t i replied..............
I had always wondered why he never went over the F-n speed limit when he rode with me!
I still own that FXR
