Buy or Pass?

Don't settle, get the bike that you really want. Why spend
money on something that you really don't want?

I rode jap bikes when I was younger mostley 750's cause they were all over, I had no idea you could make them cool.Save your money and buy that harley,you'll love it way more cause its what you always wanted.

Buy the bike for $1900 and resell it at the end of summer ..maybe make a few bucks towards your Harley

Originally Posted by LEGACYTATTOO701

Buy the bike for $1900 and resell it at the end of summer ..maybe make a few bucks towards your Harley

this would be a great option... but I agree with what people are saying about depreciation. He's having trouble selling it at $2500. He's had offers for over $2k, but once the fees are factored in I would be lucky to make any money.

waiting for an ironhead!

My uncle just saved himself enough cash to buy his dream Harley. Thank god he bought the 1 year extended service option, because he's only been able to ride it 2 of the past 6 months... Save face, Save up and find a better deal on a jap bike. No sense in throwing money at an eventual turd on 2 wheels...

Maybe it's the mechanics....?

I hate to sound all "Harley Davidson is the only motorcycle in the world, everything else is garbage and will be spit on for eternity" as some people feel the HD guys think..........

But there ARE reasons to go HD:
Aftermarket- There is a LIMITLESS aftermarket for HD parts. Knuckle parts are being repopped and compatible with most HDs to this day.

Availability- There are tons of old HD's floating around. "Harleys never die, they just get rebuilt."

Depreciation- I know that a Sporty can be found pretty cheap....but compare an 81 Ironhead's value to a Virago or something like that. Now compare a 99 Sporty 1200 to a Vstar of the same year.

Parts- There are dealerships and catalogs all over for HD parts. Most all swap meets carry mostly all Harley parts. All my friends who "wanna be different" and ride jap bikes are always sorely disappointed when they start looking for parts. It sucks that some lil esoteric, year specific part is gonna keep your jap bike shut down for a month while it's on order for a "monopoly" price.

Easy to work on- I ain't saying a new Harley is easy to work on....but being air cooled has some advantages.
An OLDER bike is way easier and cheaper to wrench on. An old HD motor is just a glorified Briggs&Stratton anyway. And if you can't wrench well.......well there are tons of dudes that can help you out as far as HD goes.
Have you ever worked on a 30+ year old Goldwing? It sucks compared to a 30 year HD.

Oh yeah. And it's a freakin Harley. No offense to the trumpet guys or XS or CB or whatever you ride guys. Just speaking from my personal experience. I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons....but I felt like venting a lil on the "why HD" subject.

Originally Posted by Bandersnatch

Oh yeah. And it's a freakin Harley. No offense to the trumpet guys or XS or CB or whatever you ride guys. Just speaking from my personal experience. I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons....but I felt like venting a lil on the "why HD" subject.

Please don't lump Yamaha and Honda in with Triumph.

Triumph has more than double the history than those bikes that poached the vertical twin look.

Triumph's first motorbike was produced in 1902. Harley was founded a year later.

Triumph>Harley =no duh.

Remember when the Evo came out?

What kind of bike was Triumph making back then?


(a 'bing bong' goes here)

Originally Posted by Bandersnatch

Remember when the Evo came out?

What kind of bike was Triumph making back then?


(a 'bing bong' goes here)

Remember when Harley was completely fucking bankrupt and they were going to eat a shit sandwich if it wasn't for a certain bowling pin manufacturer?

1967. You wouldn't be enjoying that alternator shovel if it weren't for bowling.

At least Triumph took their insolvency like men.

Bowling Sucks! Bing Bong!

I'm for buying an HD, you will enjoy it...like a high maintenance girlfriend, it takes some work but damn it's fun to ride and brings envy on the boulevard Saturday night. --Ride On

Originally Posted by CRFyou

Remember when Harley was completely fucking bankrupt and they were going to eat a shit sandwich if it wasn't for a certain bowling pin manufacturer?

1967. You wouldn't be enjoying that alternator shovel if it weren't for bowling.

At least Triumph took their insolvency like men.

Bowling Sucks! Bing Bong!

Hey! Nobody can remember what happened in 1967 (myself included, seeing as I wasn't born). We're talking about 1984! The "modern" era for Harleys...

Triumph was building the T140 in 1984. (Of course, they weren't exporting them to the U.S. Seems that somehow the tariffs on imported motorcycles jumped way up around then.)

When an H-D guy brings up Triumph in the '80s, you're supposed to say something about Les Harris, the guy who built them under license between the bankruptcy / Bloor takeover in '83 and the new models starting production, keeping production continuous since 1902. Then, to deflect attention from that possibly-weak argument (and 1989), you're supposed to say something disparaging about Harley begging the government for trade protection as the only way to prop up their non-competitive product (they were getting absolutely reamed by the Japanese around then... from 80% market share to less than 20% market share in less than a decade), while simultaneously beginning to outsource much of their parts production to Japan... exactly the country whose bikes they were trying to have taxed!

Then you mention how instead of just producing throwback styling exercises and focusing on their image, Triumph went on to produce competitive street motorcycles in every class above 600cc. And then you say something about the Rocket III...

And then you make fun of their chaps.

And then you realize that the thread has completely sidetracked into Triumph/Harley bullshit (which is, to be fair, my favorite kind of _____/Harley bullshit))...

Wasn't it about a Suzuki or something...?

Yeah man. Don't buy that Suzuki.

You're right dude!

Rob, you need to tell that ironhead to lick your bag, and buy a proper Triumph. 1974 or older. You want it to shift on the right side.

Bing Bong!

junk pile alert.

Originally Posted by CRFyou

You're right dude!

Rob, you need to tell that ironhead to lick your bag, and buy a proper Triumph. 1974 or older. You want it to shift on the right side.

Bing Bong!

Or the reason why those ironheads shifted on the right..... and a multitude of other points and counters.
Save a few more bucks and buy a shovel, or some more money and get a pan, and maybe some more and get a knuck.
Witty remark here
sass there
Bob's your uncle.

Trumpets are rad.... and there's plenty of jap bikes that are cool too.
The coolest ones are the ones people actually ride. HD or whatever.

Sorry bout the threadjack and the lame "HD is cool" tiff.
Good times

ive owned a "real triumph", now i own a bowling pin harley. i wont buy another triumph...., enough said!

Originally Posted by Bandersnatch

Or the reason why those ironheads shifted on the right..... and a multitude of other points and counters.
Save a few more bucks and buy a shovel, or some more money and get a pan, and maybe some more and get a knuck.
Witty remark here
sass there
Bob's your uncle.

Trumpets are rad.... and there's plenty of jap bikes that are cool too.
The coolest ones are the ones people actually ride. HD or whatever.

Sorry bout the threadjack and the lame "HD is cool" tiff.
Good times

I have two uncles named Bob.

Branden, a triumph is on my list of shit to own, but bike #2 is gonna 100% american (Made in China)

Don't be a pussy...

Ride an Excelsior!

Originally Posted by CMA406

ive owned a "real triumph", now i own a bowling pin harley. i wont buy another triumph...., enough said!

I would like to get an old harley. But I feel like I've so much time in British bikes learning all their nuances that starting over on a harley would be annoying.

Plus I've already bought Whitworth sockets and wrenches, a clutch hub puller, and tappet block tool. I'm in too deep!!

Originally Posted by CRFyou

I would like to get an old harley. But I feel like I've so much time in British bikes learning all their nuances that starting over on a harley would be annoying.

Plus I've already bought Whitworth sockets and wrenches, a clutch hub puller, and tappet block tool. I'm in too deep!!

I hear that man, and honestly i got love for the triumphs, it was the first motor ive ever split the cases on, and now i got a brit clutch hub puller, valve tools, and a shitload of other ones collecting dust on my bench! My triumph was a great bike tho, ran like a fuckin top.

In a perfect world id have it all, but when it comes down to it, now that ive tried em both (to an extent) Id take the Milwaukee iron...

Originally Posted by bobbystat

Im in a motorsickle pickle...
...I told myself the next bike is a Harley.

What is a man to do!? Help me guys

Never settle or compromise on your goals. Only fools are ever satisfied.