For $6500.00 he's going to have a hard time finding a worthy Harley unless he wants a beat up Sportster. For the same amount of money he's going to be able to buy a much nicer Jap bike. Not everyone can afford Harley's. I myself being one of them.. Someday maybe but not now. I'll take my 2010 Royal Star thats cost much less than its competitor the Road King.

Also, last I checked those retro Honda's and 750 specials are hot item to be had. Buddy sold his Yama 750 special last year for over $8,000.00

 

...lets see a 60 yr jap demand 10 grand plus...Heck I never heard of a 60 year old jap bike selling..

Paul,would you settle for a "JAP engined" bike?
Of course you could only run it in your summers as it burns methanol and Castor Bean Oil for fuel.

 

And I never argued that fact. Heck, I never even brought up resale. But if that's a point to make, the "Jap" (I cringe at the use of that term) bikes we've had all sold for the same cost we got into them for. I guess riding a "domestic" bike in country makes for an easily accessible, readily available product. (Brings up a totally random question, why won't an American producer do the same in it's own domestic market?)


I agree its about getting on a bike. I only have one hand and I wanted to ride so dang bad that I modified my own bike to ride.

Please don't take personal offense at my lack of enthusiasm for a Harley. Why do folks get bent out of shape at others who don't care for Harleys?? Come-ooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

I really don't care. My point in my reply was if 6-7k was what he had to spend, the are plenty of good bikes out there of the nonHarley brand that will do the job. Getting into a newer Harley for what he has will be tough. If he's going to be riding 2up he'll definitely need more bike than a later model entry level ride.


Just 'cause it ain't Grey Goose doesn't mean it won't get you drunk!

 

I just sold my 86 zuk GS750T for 3X what i paid for it and i put 8K miles on it, had 18K when i sold it, wasn't 10 grand but still went way up in 3 yrs, and would smoke most hardly's

not the most comfortable but great milage.

i would go for a mid 80's mid 90's jap if it's economy your lookin for.

for most of my life i rode a big thumper duall sport, my last one was an 87 XT600 with 29,000 miles great old bike.


Darwin

 

Actually I would prefer Hemp to be legalized...So I could burn hemp oil based fuel...

 

Watch ebay, there was a dresser on there for like 6 grand, guy had in the ad "I need 3 house payments NOW." There are a lot of great buys out there this time of year. I snapped my loaded 2000 Indian Chief for $7500.00 last fall. One on there for 8k now, 16k on an 88 S&S motor, they usually run 14-20k. If you want a cheaper HD, try a Sportster with a 1200 kit. Tons of Sportsters for under 8k, most under 5k

 

I see what ya mean but I guess I am just doing my part in buying American with everything that is going on.

 

FWIW, I have been thru the Harleys, Japs, even went thru a Brit period, BSA,Triumph, then Norton.

When the kids get out of the house, I am getting a BMW R series. I am sure the newer Harleys are a heck of a bike, but the price is stupid for what you get. I try and stay informed, and you can pick up a heck of a R series for your kind of money, they ain't flashy, and yes, they are shaft drive, but they just roll on down the Hwy...........

For basic transportation I don't know of anything better.

 

If money was no issue I would buy a Harley. Im on a budget and therefore instead of riding an old beat up Harley just to say I do, Im going to get a nice metric bike that nobody will be able to tell the difference in at 70 mph. Does anyone have any factual information (recalls, poor economy, defects) about why not to buy a certain bike?

 

And I respect that.

 

My Mac is better than your PC. Speaking of American made: I have never gotten to ride a Victory. Is anybody familier with them from a reliability and ridability point of view?

 

Hmmmmm......do I hear banjos in the woods???????

I rode a Kawasaki Concours for 10 years. 6K on the clock when I got it in 2000 and 103K when I sold it in 2008. The Concours 1000 is the best bang for the buck and you can eat Harleys for breakfast. As long as you keep it under 5000 rpm, it's a docile bike although a little heavy around town. Wind it out and you find out that the ZG1000 is built on the old Ninja 900 muscle bike. All I ever did was replace tires and change the oil with an occasional timing chain adjustment. The new Concours is a 1400 cc machine but I've never riden one. Right now I'm riding a Goldwing GL1100 built in Ohio and I may be adding a 2001 H-D Sportster with the 883 engine that I'm thinking of putting 1200 jugs and pistons on.

Harleys are nice bikes, as long as you don't get an AMF era bike and this will be my second one. However, don't let brand loyalty blind you to a good machine. I'd never heard of the Concours before I bought one but I put 97,000 miles on one in 8 years. A few add ons for comfort and you couldn't get a better long distance cruiserr with performance. The Goldwing is more comfortable but just doesn't have the spirit of the Connie.

 

Well, my Kawasaki was made in Lincoln Nebraska by Americans and my current and last Goldwing were both made in Marysville Ohio, again by Americans. As for a Japanese company, yes the Japanese bikes are built by companies based in Japan. Ownership though is by the stockholders. Harley Davidson has a higher percentage of foreign stockholders due to the status of owning H-D stock.

My first bike was a 1954 Harley FL (I think) with the suicide clutch. Good bike but too much for a 16 year old who had never ridden a motorcycle before. I personally don't care what someone else rides. As long as they enjoy the ride, that's all that matters. Plus watching out for cages. When I got back into riding, I got a small Honda. Most of my bikes in the last 20+ years have been Hondas because they are reasonably simple and quite reliable. I did have a 1980 KZ1000 that had been converted to 1340 and scared me everytime I got on the throttle.

Anymore, I pretty much stay with shafties and the ride is just fine. I ride to enjoy the ride, not impress other people. I also appreciate 30-50 mpg.

 

I never had a problem with the HD assembly plant in Brazil because they were doing it to beat tarifs thus sell more bikes overseas. I hope that is the same reason for the plant in India. At least most of the parts are still US made.

 

Well this is what Im getting into. Pick it up Saturday.