Why are Harleys cool?

[ZooTech]

As usual, a stellar rebuttle from Gummiente.

Thank you, thank you very much. And it's "rebuttal", not rebuttle. Use your words, Zoomie.

Touche'. I have MicroSoft Word's spell checker to thank for that.

But people like Zoomie and D86 just don't have enough riding experience for their opinion to matter when it comes to Harleys (or pretty much anything else), so they can be safely ignored.

Another attempt to dismiss me, Gummi? I'm flattered that I mean so much to you. Any idea how much experience I have with Harley?

[bok]

what was this thread about again?

threads like this make me laugh though at how ignorant and hypocritical we can all be. 11pages of HD is good, HD is bad....screw that noise, HD is a brand just like Honda, Suzuki, Ducati whatever. by purchasing a bike from any manufacturer you are buying into that brand and there is something about that brand that appeals to you.

Honda used to crow that "you meet the nicest people on a honda" which was how they got the average person to think of bikers as something other than Hells Angels, coupled with the nearly indestructable Honda Cub it made for a good sales gimmick for them.

So if we went on history only, The Honda brand, it's bikes and their riders would have to be the biggest bunch of Beaver Cleaver wannabees on the planet because they are all "nice guys"

That isn't the case just like HD isn't just an "Outlaw" brand. They can charge more than Honda for their bikes all they want, and will stay in business as long as people desire their product and can still afford to purchase them.

Back to the original point of this whole senseless thread:
The thing that makes a HD worth more money than my Honda is mostly the fact that they use more actual metal and chrome than my Honda. My spirit has all these nice parts that look like metal but are actually plastic (i could replace them with real chrome or get metal fenders put on if i reall cared but i don't)

Would i rather have a nice Fatboy? sure, it's one of my dream bikes, but it's not in the financial picture right now.

[Gummiente]

HD is a brand just like Honda, Suzuki, Ducati whatever.

Exactly! Nicely put.

The thing that makes a HD worth more money than my Honda is mostly the fact that they use more actual metal and chrome than my Honda.

True, metal and chrome plating do cost more than plastic to manufacture but there's a lot more to it than that. There is product markup to consider, Harley does tend to overdo it a bit on that one. There's also a well-paid workforce building the bikes as well as the continuous cost of upgrading assembly equipment and locations to consider. And of course, the ever present stockholder who keeps demanding more and more profit. Harley will continue to charge whatever the market will bear in order to maintain their profit margin, but here in Canada the pricing is not as out of whack to the competition as it seems to be in the US so that's kind of a moot point.

[bok]

06 Shadow Spirit - black, no extras MSRP = 8649
06 Sportster 883 - black, no extras MSRP = 8479

WTF!?!

now granted, my honda dealer gives me a great deal on anything i buy, but those prices now have me thinking of running down to Kanes after work to check things out.

[Gummiente]

I'm flattered that I mean so much to you.

Yeah, you're my reason for staying on this forum.

Any idea how much experience I have with Harley?

Yes, the same amount as you do with motorcycles in general - very limited. You're in, what, your third year of riding now? On your second bike? You're still wet behind the ears.

[Gummiente]

06 Shadow Spirit - black, no extras MSRP = 8649
06 Sportster 883 - black, no extras MSRP = 8479

WTF!?!

Told ya.

[bok]

i think it's another 100 bucks to take the training wheels off of the 883 though

[Gummiente]

i think it's another 100 bucks to take the training wheels off of the 883 though

Still puts you $100 under the Honda. You can buy an HD t-shirt OR a belt buckle with that.

[bok]

[Gummiente]

NOTICE: The preceding three posts were intended to be humourous and should not be viewed as inflammatory by actual 883 owners or other Harley owners with belt buckles and t-shirts (like me), nor should it be viewed by the Harley-haters as license to let loose with another "brilliant" salvo of tired cliches.