Things I Love & Hate About: Harley Davidson

Let me start this post off with some salient facts about myself, I own a Harley Davidson XL883, and I could not be happier with it. Harley Davidson is one of the oldest and most respected of all motorcycle manufacturers, weathering recessions, depressions, poor manufacturing and strikes that laid low storied companies like Vincent, Norton, Indian and yes, even Triumph, which has roared back with a vengeance. Make no mistake, I love Harley Davidson. That said there are a few things that irk or downright piss me off about the motor company.

First off, one of the biggest things I love about Harley; they make sexy bikes. No other motorcycle manufacturer can even come close to the stripped down badness of a Harley. This is taken from the March 2008 copy of Cycleworld, where the new softail Rocker C was stacked up against Yamaha's Star Raider S:

"In terms of appearance, the Rocker is the runaway winner, a minimalist bike with so much custom "cool" that it's hard to believe it rolled off a major manufacturer's assembly line. The Motor Company is to be congratulated for having the stones to produce a bike that so closely emulates one-off customs yet still behaves like a real motorcycle. Plus, it's a Harley, a factor that offers a cachet no other brand can equal."

As far as ascetics go, very few bikes can come close a Harley. It should be noted that the Rocker got a seriously favorable review, but for reasons I will discuss later it lost the head to head match up. Harley Davidson has come a long way as far as quality is concerned as well. However it's not all roses. Japanese bike manufacturers still outclass Harley when it comes to a few key areas, especially brakes:

"But in terms of function, the Raider S excels in virtually every aspect-engine performance, handling, cornering, breaking, comfort, versatility. It's also some $3300 cheaper, giving it a huge edge in the more-for-less category. Simply put, it's just a better all-around motorcycle."

That is the unfortunate truth, I bolded the price differential because the displacement on the Yamaha was a massive 1900ccs while the Rocker uses the same 96ci (1584cc) engine that most Softails do. The price differential brings me to my next point, and I suppose this has to do with the cachet that is so intrinsic to the Harley experience.

When I walk into a Harley dealership, what do I see? Doctors and Dentists and professional types of all stripes. That in and of itself is not a bad thing, however when one looks at some statistics about the average Harley rider, it becomes somewhat annoying given their 'bad to the bone' marketing and attitude. Unfortunately there is still another beef a lot of bikers have with Harley: it can be somewhat of a fashion show. Too many people decked out head to toe in brand new orange gear that's never seen the highway.

I may make 'Things I Love & Hate About' a regular thing on this blog, but we'll see, this one turned into quite the long winded article. I am a new motorcyclist, and I fully realize my conception of Harley Davidson will change over time as I ride more, own different motorcycles and (hopefully) attend NAIT for a pre-employment Motorcycle Mechanic course next year, but for now that's how I see The Motor Company, lots to love, a few nagging things to hate.