Harley Davidson

[sixxdeuce]

I might be buying a Harley, I can get one for dealer cost. I really wanter an R6 or a cbr but I just couldnt afford the rediculous insurance on one. Harleys are made alot better now and definatly hold their value the best. I was looking at the sportster 1200S. It says its got high comp. heads and hot cams. adjustable suspension and sticky tires, what do you guys think? Oh yeah, I can also get a buell for dealer cost too, but i think insurance cost rules out one of those.

http://www.harley-davidson.com...yling

[miteymax86]

Buy a SV650 or a FZR600 both are sportier, have decent aftermarket support, will be better on gas, cheap on insurance, and leave that Harley far far behind.

[sixxdeuce]

Who makes these bikes? I have considered a yamaha R6, Buell lightning or fireboldt or a CBR600 but they cost way too much to insure, I really dont want anything built by suzuki or kawasaki. I am a new rider so I want something easy to learn on and dont need insane amounts of power

[jmillheiser]

whats wrong with suzuki. they have the best aftermarket support of any bike maker.

if you must go with some kind of harley get a buell

[miteymax86]

Yeah, alright, that narrows it down to an FZR600(Yamaha) or you start in on the cruiser segments of Honda, Rebel etc... but for a sporty-bike that's a non-Suzuki/Kawasaki the FZR is pretty much the only way to go. I am perplexed at the opposition to the Suzuki though, as Suzuki North America doesn't require full-coverage insurance for bike financing

[sixxdeuce]

I just have never been a real big suzuki fan. From my experience, although this is with off road dirt bikes and quads, yamaha and honda were the best quality and most reliable.

[SmithSR]

I agree 100% about suzuki, they've got huge aftermarket support, and they build top notch bikes, also known as the GSX-R lineup. I ride a CBR600, easy to control, not too much power, not really a learner bike, but a good bike for all around use IMO. cost is ok, insurance not an issue, reliability is excellent. I'd have a gixer, but too much power for my skill level.

[Tino]

whats the figures for insurance on a bike?

[miteymax86]

Depends on the bike, years you've been riding, and record obviously. I think my last quote was like 2gs a year for bleeding edge 600cc sportbike(full-coverage), whereas the SV650 was like 1K, and a 2yr old SV was like 800, which is what I pay for liability on my Maxima(clean record too, knock wood) lousy insurance companies. Take an MSF rider course(insurance break, waives your road-test requirement if your state has one) and get a used bike and ride smart to keep your insurance down at the beginning.

[littledoomy]

I have a FZR600 and insurance is only like 30 bucks a month. It's definitely worth the cost!

[SRdS14]

dude..my friend just bought a 01 gixxer 600 and he pays CHEAP for insurance. i am not joking i think its like 85 bux a year...

[LaureltheQueen]

my moms probably trading her beetle for our insurance lady's harley.

[fast_s13]

drive an import and ride a harley never work

[SmithSR]

Nah, do whatcha want. One of the top salesmen at the local Honda dealer, who owns a '02 S2000, and drives a company v6 accord, also shows up to work on his $20K harley on sunny days. He's a good pal of mine, and just happens to like a little bit of everything.

[SilviaLuvr]

I might be buying a Harley, I can get one for dealer cost. I really wanter an R6 or a cbr but I just couldnt afford the rediculous insurance on one. Harleys are made alot better now and definatly hold their value the best. I was looking at the sportster 1200S. It says its got high comp. heads and hot cams. adjustable suspension and sticky tires, what do you guys think? Oh yeah, I can also get a buell for dealer cost too, but i think insurance cost rules out one of those.

http://www.harley-davidson.com...yling

no to bash or anytihng but last summer while working wit my godfather, how owns a kawasaki 900 (i think), this guy was telling me how him and like 8 of his harley boys went to vegas from jersey. The guy had a kawaski and his friends like i said b4 had harley's anyway, from what he said, all the harley's had problems as soon as they got georgia. teh harely's were weekend worraiors and were like 99' and 00' not alot of miles on wm and the guy wit the kawaski had a 97' (and when i say kawaski i don't meann the sports bike virgin). he said the only problem that he had was oil everyone else had major problems. IDK from what the guy told me and everyone else that were on the site at the moment hoe drove bikes (which were like 10 of them) all agreed that the harley was an over priced piece of junk and any owner would have to agree when it comes to comparing an american bike to a japanese bike. IDK thats what they said. im just trying to look out for you, but if you want to buy it, more power to you and good luck.

[sixxdeuce]

Yeah, i understand that Harleys are not quite as reliable as import bikes, but I have no plans to ride cross country. I just like the raw power and rugedness of a harley, and I hate how crotch rockets sound. I will check with my insurance and might get a buell, the dealership that Im getting hooked up at takes in trades so maybe I will get a used S1 Lightning if one comes along.

[SilviaLuvr]

teh jap bikes don't all come is crotch rockets. you can also bet the HD look and sound from a import. like i said the guy tah t i was working wit, he pulled up on his bike and i was like "nice HD" he looked a t me and said that it has a kawaski i was like . looked and sound like an HD. what he did was shave everything off b/c he goes to biker bars and he knows he'll get flamed. he said he had a few HD's and all of them the took back b/c tehy all had problems. he luved teh look of em and sound like you but they were really unreliable. so he got the kawasaki. LOL he was probably like stupid ricer LOL!

[SmithSR]

I respect all riders, even if they don't like me on my jap bike. Jesse James builds some sick bikes, and i guess he's best known for his *cruiser* bikes, but he's modded some sick sportbikes too. Harleys are cool in their own way, just like metric cruisers or honda davidsons or whatever name they have. Maybe when I'm older and my back hurts from the sportbike riding position, i'll switch to a cruiser.

[sixxdeuce]

It will be a few months before I buy one so I will have time to think it over. Are their any Jap bikes that hold their value near as well as Harleys do? I want a brand new one, but seems like any import depriciates alot more than a HD as soon as you take it home.

[SilviaLuvr]

I really don't know. I don't think so though being an import bike and all. Import cars don't get that much luv in the states unless your spenidng $300K know what i mean

[SmithSR]

everything loses value the instant you drive it off the lot! have you owned a bike before? what is your riding experience? If you're new to bikes, man, take it from me, don't get a new bike!! get a good quality, used bike that doesn't cost an arm and a leg so when, not if, but WHEN you lay it down, you won't consider suicide.

[sixxdeuce]

Of course everything looses value when you take it off the lot, it just seems that the Harleys hold their value much better, plus this year is the 100th anniversary models so it might be a collectors item someday. I have never owned a street legal bike so I will be new to riding on pavement, kinda, and highways.

[SilviaLuvr]

tha hwole value thing is confuseing me. why is it that smoe cars hold more value then others? for example a 1942 Lincoln continental resales at $125,000 or a 1974 Jauguar E-Type resales at $52,000 or how about a 68' lamborghina miura sales at $21,000. I don't get it. why do certain cars care a higher value???

[Tino]

Jesse James has modified sport bikes but never built a custom sport. Custom Built sport bikes are not worth the trouble for many a reasons. Don't get me wrong I love both types cruiser and crotch rockets.

[Radian]

I agree with SmithSR 100%. My impression is that this is your first bike. You need to know that EVERYONE that rides a motorcycle will go down, it is just a matter of time. I've been riding for about 3yrs on an '86 yamaha 600cc street bike. It works great and has plenty of power+handles like 100x beter than a harley would. I went down a few months ago becuse of a cager and total cost to fix was like $200. If that was a brand new harley try ~5gs. Just something to think about. That cost will be ofset because of the dealer discount thou.What kind of riding are you planning on? Do you drive fast? then you are going to want to ride fast and I would go with a buell. Actually I'd go with an SV650. Fantastic bike, great blend of comfort+performance, and they have a V-twin so it gets that low potato-potato harley sound and torque up the A-hole.my $0.02

[Radian]

PS Factor in another $1000 for leathers. Please take a serious look at them. A good 2 piece suit will run around 1g, but it is totally worth it. If I hadn't been wearing the pants my legs would have been scraped down to the bone. With them I was bruised but totally ok. Watch a motogp or ama race sometime. Atleast one person will fall almost every race, they slide across the track, get up, kick the bike and walk away-because of the protection of the leathers.You might be hot, but you'll keep your skin.MFS is also a great idea.

[Tino]

Bike parts in general are retartded. You could buy a brand new rb26dett engine for the same price as a little 89 inch rev-tech or ss.

[stretch240sx]

what ever you do dont buy the buel... they are way underpowered to be a sport bike. if you buy a harley buy what thye are good at and buy a cruiser/sportster.

if you want a sport bike then get a R6 or CBR600 or the gixer

[sixxdeuce]

Is the buell really that under powered. Remember I am a new rider and the buell makes 92 hp and only weighs 385 lbs. They look pretty bad ***, the frame is also the gas tank and the swing arm is the oil resevoir. plus for an extra $600 (less for me) you get a race chip, intake and exhaust.

[JESTER]

Harley Davidsons suck a$$. I had a 2000 Sportster 1200. Bought it new off the show room floor. They had it in the shop the two out of the first three months. sold the oil leaking POS and got me another Suzuki.

Dude, you said no Suzuk's or Kawa's. Are you nuts??? GSXR1000 top of the line super bike. ZX6R 636 kick butt middle weight. Kawasaki and Suzuki are the way to go. Honda and Yama's are good, too. I am just a Suzuki man.

Like some others have mentioned, get a Suzuki SV650. I had a 99 model and it is by far the best bang for the buck, and one of the funnest bikes out there. Also to have graced my garage was a 92 Katana 750, and my current bike the TL1000S.

So I am some what knowledgable on Suzuki's and V-twins, owned three of each. If you have any questions, fell free to ask.