Total Motorcycle Community Forums

ok this IS a beginner forum so let me ask something that has been bugging me. everyone wants a harley it seems, or when they ask what you ride the first response is "Are you getting a Harley!?"

maybe it is just me (and my sport bike ducati fan boy attitude) but i cant stand Harleys!! 6 guys in my recent MSF had bike already, FOUR were harleys!!

what am i missing here? is it just the fact that harley is "americana"?
is it the de facto for bike standards?

one anti harley guy in my travels said "dont get a harley, you DO want to learn how to ride right dont you ". i think he meant sport bike are more nimble and require more skills but im guessing here.

thoughts?!?

Why do you care what other people want? DO you own stock in other companies? Would it help if you knew this Harley rider wants a Duc too?
You know it is ok to like different things right?

Ride your ride.

believe me, i am nor envious or care what people ride or like.

my question specifically is what makes people just want Harley or 'think' Harley? thats it.

what is it about the bike? again, i am a newb in this game so i dont know all the history besides what i have read.

is it the cruiser?
is the the 'americana' thing?
is it the bike itself?

obviously there may be more than one reason, i am just curious what they are

Well like most things everyone has different reasons.

For me it is a series.
Tradition. The guys in the family have been riding them since the early 50's.
Styling. To my taste there is not a more beautiful machine on the road than a big twin.
Quality. AMF doesn't own them anymore....HD makes a quality machine that will run well as long as you keep the maintenance up.
Easy Customization. With the bolt on aftermarket you know no one else will have one exactly like yours (unless you think all Harleys should be black, and those guys are out there)
I could go on and on but i think you see where I come from.

As for the gneral population...They like em cuz there neighbor has one. That and HD has an awesome marketing department that has ensured the name means Americana.

If you seach this forum you will find there have been many discussions on this topic already. It is many things, but a big piece is great marketing on the part of Harley. They have made it clear to the non-riding public that they are the bike to want, own and ride. You will find here there is a much smaller percentage that find Harley that important, but there are a few big fans of Harley at this site. Anyway, the best thing you can do is be educated yourself, and do what makes you happy. And be open to allow other people to have thier own opinions.

I am most likely going to regret this but I think I may know what he means. Let me try to rephrase his possible intent.

Since when did a quality bike with the features you wanted for a competitive price become second fiddle to the "status" name on the side of a gas tank?

This can apply to most of the major brands out there. Whether it be a sport bike, cruiser, touring, dirt or hybrid (i.e. dual purpose)

sorry mod, didnt realize this was discussed before.
my bad for not using the search box.

kingrobb: yes that is exactly what i was looking for. thanks

flw: that is sorta what i meant although i dont look at it that way. maybe if i had a honda instead of a ducati that would really bother me more. seems like HD people like Ducks too.

Harley's are for people who want to spend more for a motorcycle than it's worth.

flw wrote:Since when did a quality bike with the features you wanted for a competitive price become second fiddle to the "status" name on the side of a gas tank?

I think that depends on the person and how good they are at getting a deal. I ended up with my sportster over a shadow because the HD dealer would deal, the honda dealers around here wouldn't budge from MSRP. Got the sporty cheaper much cheaper than MSRP. I don't know any harley owners personally who have paid anywhere close to MSRP in this area. But I would suppose that also has to do with where you live, too.

I've said it before and I'll say it again....

Among people who do not ride, there are only TWO motorcycles:

Harleys.

Ninjas.

That is why people ask you if you are getting a Harley. They don't know about "cruisers" or "sportbikes" and they DEFINITELY don't know about other brands like Ducati, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, BMW, Aprilia, and so forth.

To non-riders, ALL cruisers are Harleys and EVERY sportbike is a Ninja.