2013 Harley-Davidson Breakout CVO: Voted Awesome

[jstark47]

........the weekend warrior types but everyone needs to remember that those people are not limited to Harley Davidson, and they only represent a small group of people who ride HD.

Around here (south New Jersey) "weekend warriors" are the huge majority of HD riders. Yeah, I know a few serious riders who ride HD, go touring, do the Polar Bear runs, etc.... but over 90% of the HD riders are the "few hundred miles a year" type.

The number of low mileage HD's our local Craigslist is remarkable. From this morning:
'04 Road King Custom 3600 miles
'05 Road King 6200 miles
'02 Road King Classic less than 3000 miles
'03 Road King 7200 miles
'07 Sportster 3563 miles
'08 Dyna Superglide 2200 miles

..... and it goes on and on. That's just from the 1st half of the 1st page this morning.

So Harley's gonna cash in on this tendency, and market a $26K piece of a$$ jewelery. To each his own, but to me, spending $26K on a Shiny Object is UNCOOL!!

[BobK]

Here's me and my friend posing with our bikes near the end of a 2000 km, 5-day bike trip:



The CVO has a bit too much chrome for my taste, but I'd have to ride it before dismissing it out of hand. The red one's not bad. I wonder if they'll make one in orange.

[totalmotorcycle]

jstark47 - I do see your point about the low milage on the used Harley-Davidsons; but I don't see the same concerns as you. I think judging a rider based on per year milage is an easy trap to fall into, many dedicated riders (I think you would count me one!), wish they could ride more miles per year (I'm lucky if I can get in 3000), due to their work load or family life. Then there are those who do the "Iron Butt" rallies and put on more miles than everyone else and they could easly look down and say... 50,000 miles on that 2009? Gesh, that's a weekend rider there. HAHA. So I don't judge myself, after all, Michael Philps could say he is the only decent swimmer in the world and where does that leave 99.9999% of us at? HAHA.

One of the things Harley-Davidson has an issue with is price (IMO), it takes some serious cash to afford anything other than a Sportster (which are good value) and then you need to have a good job which means lots of work hours which means less riding. I wonder if you look at the cheaper big cc bikes out there (say, a KLR650) and due to their price you'll see much more miles on them?

Anyways, back to the Harley-Davidson Breakout discussion.

BobK - Great photo! How are you liking the XR1200 and have you had (or heard) any issues with it's plastic gas tank and ethonol gas (expanding the tank and pushing it out of it's housing?)

Mike

[BobK]

I've read about the tank problem, but haven't seen it here. I don't think there's ethanol in the gas we get here. When I was in Germany some of the pumps were marked E10, so I don't think it's in the regular fuel.

[totalmotorcycle]

I've read about the tank problem, but haven't seen it here. I don't think there's ethanol in the gas we get here. When I was in Germany some of the pumps were marked E10, so I don't think it's in the regular fuel.

Unfortunately here in Texas, USA; that's all you can get (ethanol fuel), there isn't any "pure gas/petrol" to be found at any station.

Mike

[JackoftheGreen]

It's certainly not my usual bag to come riding to the defense of HD, and I'm not. But I will come in to defend the chromed-out cruiser segment, regardless of who builds it.

Fact is, there's no such thing as a poser bike -- only poser riders. We're all 'weekend warriors' of one kind or another, unless some of you are posting to this forum from the smart phone of the hooker you buried in the woods last night and have plans to hock her jewelry this afternoon to buy rx. I know I've never personally met a " 1%'er ", and I'm happy to keep it that way. I assume most of you are too. Being a weekend rider doesn't make you a poser, it makes you a citizen, father, husband, wife, mother, and generally a contributing member of society. Nothing wrong with that.

But if you drop 25k on a bike, spend your weekends polishing it in your driveway while blowing through a cooler of beer, and ride it a grand total of 200 miles between the spring and fall equinoxes (equini?), then you're a poser, whether your bike is a chromed out HD with apehangers and skull valve stem caps or a sleek plastic BMW with Arai and Fox decals all over the fairing. No poser bikes -- only poser riders. All that exists between chrome and plastic is a question of taste or style, and sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

All that said, this bike? Epic fail. An obvious Vulcan 800 clone, right down to the fender mounts.

P.S. Mike, (answered via PM)

[HYPERR]

Here's me and my friend posing with our bikes near the end of a 2000 km, 5-day bike trip:

The XR1200R is about as far away from a poser bike as they come. Every person I ever saw on the XR was an experienced rider who knew how to ride and logged ton of miles.

[jstark47]

Fact is, there's no such thing as a poser bike -- only poser riders.

I don't agree. This bike is a perfect example of a poser bike. It can't tour. It can't commute. It shouldn't go off pavement. You wouldn't even take it to a bar if it was raining or muddy or dusty, or anything except warm and dry. That doesn't make it unique, there are many bikes that could be critiqued that way. My step-daughter's Nightster is an example. But.... the Nightster costs 37% of what this bike costs. I can sort of justify a $10K bike whose primary function is just to look cool. But $26K should buy more than looks. This is a bike whose value-add consists mostly of appearance: it's impressively shiny, has gorgeous chrome and paint (HD has the best paint in the business). It's all about "hey, look at me!!" while being conspicuously short in the functionality department.

And that typifies poser.

[BobK]

Say hello to my little friend:



She had a good time posing on my bike.

[jstark47]

Say hello to my little friend:

She had a good time posing on my bike.

I figured she was maybe your granddaughter?