Topic: Harley & Honda *Side By Side*

[754]

When we consider a 40 yr old Honda today, we worry about bodywork guages and pipes, to make it worth biyong..

 A 2000 bike from Japan after 40 yrs it will be, how is the plastic and the electronics... and have you seen what very thin section diecast parts look like after 40 years.. ?

[Don R]

It's the same with modern cars, after they are 10 years old and the electronics go south and the doors won't lock and the windows won't operate who can afford to get new computers installed in the doors?

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

More of today's disposable society

[Deltarider]

the doors won't lock and the windows won't operate

I remember attending a press conference (launch of a new all terrainvehicle) where the engineers behind the table confessed that for carmakers doors and windows are the most difficult parts in the industry.

[Zaipai]

I guess that is what I was trying to say, every thing is disposable today. Ever try to get a computer part for a PC after its model has been discontinued after 5 years? I work with some companies that make some of these parts, I can tell you they make very little over what is needed for the bike/car... That is why I believe today's bikes will be (10, 20, 30 years down the road) a big old pain in the ass to work on. Course that brings up the whole "Will there be gas 10,20, 30 years down the road) debate but I digress..Its all just my opinion and really wont matter much until it happens, that's when we will know for sure.

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Course that brings up the whole "Will there be gas 10,20, 30 years down the road" debate

That's why I'm thinking on ways to do Hydrogen Injection via the vacuum ports 

[Zaipai]

Course that brings up the whole "Will there be gas 10,20, 30 years down the road" debate

That's why I'm thinking on ways to do Hydrogen Injection via the vacuum ports 

That would be awesome.. Post a thread if you get it working even if its just a mock up.. I bet it gets a lot of hits.

[Frankenkit]

I think, though, in a lot of ways we, as a riding community will do better down the 'will there be gas...' road by our heightened mpg alone.  Besides, our stuff can be welded.  We can fabricate a lot of parts for our bikes... damn hard to make your own plastics.

[kerryb]

I wanna go riding with Jerry too!

the best days to ride are the ones when I get to ride both in the same day....

[dhall57]

I disagree, I think with Harley's Revolution V-Rod engine and the 96 CI v-twin that comes stock on most of the other bikes , they rank up near the top. But my favorite is still the old work horse-the motor that saved Harley over 20 years ago, the 80 CI EVO V-twin. It sounds great and has decent power -no my 97 Wide Glide is not a race bike,but I didn't buy it for that. I take off down the road on the 750 K6 for 100 miles, come back jump on my 97 Glide on do the same thing. I love having two bikes and everyone else should to no matter what name is on the tank!!!!!

[Tnutz]

96 CI v-twin that comes stock on most of the other bikes , they rank up near the top. But my favorite is still the old work horse-the motor that saved Harley over 20 years ago, the 80 CI EVO

For what?  surely it can't be performance...maybe durability.  .  Look how well Buell faired....Great innovative bikes with probably the worst motor choice possbile.  (except the 1125R with the 150HP Rotax twin that Aprilia uses...to bad it was UUUgly)

[Industrial Cafe]

I think Buell was forced by Harley to use the parts they wanted.

[Industrial Cafe]

I think Yamaha, Kawasaki, or Honda should sponsor Buell now.

screw suzuki. they have enough recognition as it is.

[george]

I think they all have a well earned place. Of course the sohc 4 is why I am here , but I am the PO of many HD 's and 1 Buell , XB9R and they were all what they were , most awesome at the time that i owned them, some I really I really miss and some I am very glad they are gone .
George

[754]

Tnutz, can you fill us in on how well Ducati is doing at the drags? must be gobs of 250 plus HP ones out there?

 There sure are of another V twin make..

[55fbomb]

the vrod will never sell because it doesnt sound like a harley, thats about the only reason.  Most harley riders i have met ride harleys so they can put on drag pipes and rev thier engines and refer to it as their harley and have thier harley stickers and t shirts and mailboxes and toilet seats and sunglasses.  9 times out of 10 when i pull in somewhere on my honda the harley guys all look out of the corner of thier eye and turn their backs.  but then i have met the guys that come over and ask questions and tell me about the one they had and all that stuff and thats cool.  I HAD a harley, and unless someone gives my one to sell, i will NOT have another.  and to my eyes they all look pretty much the same.  i feel for the money they want for one you can buy twice the bike for half the price.  if a harley is what floats your boat, then good on ya, at least your out riding.

[dhall57]

True hard core Harley riders that live, breath, and sleep the POTATO-POTATO-POTATO thump of the old style V-twin is a hard group to convert over to anything else. In there eyes if you buy a V-Rod which is a Hi-Tech water cooled V-Twin that has completly different sound, and looks more like a modern motorcycle of the 21st century, than you hadn't bought a real Harley. And the Top Brass at HD knows this- they know where there bread and butter is coming from. So you see pretty much the same from them year in and year out. A Harley is a Harley you like them or you dislike them, but to still be around since 1903 they've got to be doing something right wouldn't you say. DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS !!

[Retro Rocket]

but to still be around since 1903 they've got to be doing something right wouldn't you say.

If it weren't for government bail bouts they would have gone bust years ago....

Mick

[traveler]

This thread makes me laugh.

It's as if you're saying if you like Blond girls, then you MUST dislike brunettes and redheads.  

The only new bike I'd like to have is a YZF-R1.  Why?  Performance, and the cross-plane cranked 1000cc engine with Fuel Injection.  But, even though I could AFFORD to buy one today....I won't.  Why?  I like the older stuff.

Comparing a Harley to a Sportbike is apples to oranges.  A harley is like a 1932 Ford street rod.  The sportbike is like a Ferrari.  You can't compare a '32 ford hot rod to a Ferrari...they are not in the same genre.

I got into this SOHC business, because it is a blend of both.  I get to have a sportbike, with a 4 cylinder...but it is a classic, air cooled, that can be built as a custom.

You're beating up on Harley, and praising Ducati....but I cannot tell you how many times I have had someone tell me "Why spend the money for a Ducati, when you can buy the same performance from one fo the Big 4?"  Skip telling me how much better the Duke is.....Yamaha RULES the GP world.

So see...you are quick to jump on the "let's bash Harley" bandwagon, without realizing that not everyone want's a sportbike.

It's like being into cafe racers, and bashing somone for restoring an SOHC to stock.

Everyone has there own way to go.  What's sad is that some act as though there is only one way, and it is THEIR way.  Maybe because I am in my 40's I have learned that life is not quite that simple.  Others will no doubt have to learn that when the time is right, I suppose.

As bad as regulations are getting....you'd think ALL motorcyclists would stick together.  Unfortunately, people still feel the need to be childish, and want to form cliques.

~Joe

[754]

What I find amusing is the need to run down something you dont care to own. If you dont want brandX dont buy it, You dont have to be a missionary and try to convert them all..

 No matter how good something is, or how fast, or improved.. does not mean it is for everyone.

 As long as they are on 2 wheels, they are probably having fun..

[Scotty J]

Another bored board, another "My bike-is-better-than-your-bike" thread.  This gets old.  I've never ridden a Harley, but I do own 2 Buells.  Both have been relatively trouble-free.  Besides vibrating a bolt free every once in awhile (Lok-Tite is cheap, yet invaluble), I haven't experienced any of the traditional Buell- or Harley-esque maladies.

Bikes are like tools: there's one for every job.  A long haul on a sport bike is torture and carving twisties on a wide-glide is spooky, and driving a screw with a hammer aint easy, but you'll eventually pull it off.

But black bikes are faster.

[Industrial Cafe]

black bikes are faster.

[Retro Rocket]

Yamaha RULES the GP world.

WRONG, if Casey Stoner hadn't been sick it is quite obvious that Ducati would have won again......and NO i am not a Ducati fan, i am a motorcycle lover.....

Mick

[Tnutz]

This thread makes me laugh.

It's as if you're saying if you like Blond girls, then you MUST dislike brunettes and redheads. 

The only new bike I'd like to have is a YZF-R1.  Why?  Performance, and the cross-plane cranked 1000cc engine with Fuel Injection.  But, even though I could AFFORD to buy one today....I won't.  Why?  I like the older stuff.

Comparing a Harley to a Sportbike is apples to oranges.  A harley is like a 1932 Ford street rod.  The sportbike is like a Ferrari.  You can't compare a '32 ford hot rod to a Ferrari...they are not in the same genre.

I got into this SOHC business, because it is a blend of both.  I get to have a sportbike, with a 4 cylinder...but it is a classic, air cooled, that can be built as a custom.

You're beating up on Harley, and praising Ducati....but I cannot tell you how many times I have had someone tell me "Why spend the money for a Ducati, when you can buy the same performance from one fo the Big 4?"  Skip telling me how much better the Duke is.....Yamaha RULES the GP world.

So see...you are quick to jump on the "let's bash Harley" bandwagon, without realizing that not everyone want's a sportbike.

It's like being into cafe racers, and bashing somone for restoring an SOHC to stock.

Everyone has there own way to go.  What's sad is that some act as though there is only one way, and it is THEIR way.  Maybe because I am in my 40's I have learned that life is not quite that simple.  Others will no doubt have to learn that when the time is right, I suppose.

As bad as regulations are getting....you'd think ALL motorcyclists would stick together.  Unfortunately, people still feel the need to be childish, and want to form cliques.

~Joe

Yamaha rules because of Rossi....Now Lorenzo rules because of Rossi doing all the hard work perfecting the bike.

And in the matter of 500,000 dollar GP machines that arent based on street bikes at all (although i bet you knew that  )
why does it matter.  I bet you also knew that Ducatis GP bike is a v4 as no one races twins in GP due to the HP need.

Maybe you should go look at WSBK stats from 1990 to 2008 and see where Yamaha is...or isn't...  

not like i really care about Racing in relation to what i drive on the street.   Hell a ZX10 can womp me but Kawaski can't do #$%* in MotoGP or WSBK.  No application to real world.

[Tnutz]

This thread makes me laugh.

It's as if you're saying if you like Blond girls, then you MUST dislike brunettes and redheads.  

The only new bike I'd like to have is a YZF-R1.  Why?  Performance, and the cross-plane cranked 1000cc engine with Fuel Injection.  But, even though I could AFFORD to buy one today....I won't.  Why?  I like the older stuff.

Comparing a Harley to a Sportbike is apples to oranges.  A harley is like a 1932 Ford street rod.  The sportbike is like a Ferrari.  You can't compare a '32 ford hot rod to a Ferrari...they are not in the same genre.

I got into this SOHC business, because it is a blend of both.  I get to have a sportbike, with a 4 cylinder...but it is a classic, air cooled, that can be built as a custom.

You're beating up on Harley, and praising Ducati....but I cannot tell you how many times I have had someone tell me "Why spend the money for a Ducati, when you can buy the same performance from one fo the Big 4?"  Skip telling me how much better the Duke is.....Yamaha RULES the GP world.

So see...you are quick to jump on the "let's bash Harley" bandwagon, without realizing that not everyone want's a sportbike.

It's like being into cafe racers, and bashing somone for restoring an SOHC to stock.

Everyone has there own way to go.  What's sad is that some act as though there is only one way, and it is THEIR way.  Maybe because I am in my 40's I have learned that life is not quite that simple.  Others will no doubt have to learn that when the time is right, I suppose.

As bad as regulations are getting....you'd think ALL motorcyclists would stick together.  Unfortunately, people still feel the need to be childish, and want to form cliques.

~Joe

It was a reply to people basing modern twin performance on that thing that Harley puts into bikes.  People see twin and sadly it gets lumped into the same category as an HD.  Annoying as hell.  Hell i have owned a v-star 650,  I have ridden alot of bikes from Jap UJM's, Cruisers to full on Sports.  

Maybe i should base all 4 cyl performance on my cb550....they are all 4 cyls after all