Why Millions Buy Harley-Davidson Motorcycles 

@@robc4191 but maybe he should

Don’t listen to Rob C, do

Test ride several, find what fits you, never look back.

Hilariously true. I say that you should take one for a test ride and make up your own mind. I loved my Crossbones

Schrödinger's Motorcycle

I mean, they could explain that, but you don't explain the fishhooks to the fish; you have to keep luring them with The Shiny.

20?

Nah, they were screaming that when the Evo motor came out.

History and heritage means styling. The M8 is a sophisticated engine. The Twin Cam is a sophisticated engine. The Evo is a sophisticated engine. And so on. People act like there aren't literal engineers designing these engines. They can explain it all they want. The average Harley buyer doesn't care about the engine's sophistication. They care about styling and reliability. Harley has both - you can ride timelessly down the road for a 100,000 miles, rebuild, and hand it down to your kid who then rides timelessly down the road for another. There is no other brand that has this following. It is why they all at some point make a clone.

@@jc5604 They do make reliable engines, and the Revolution is surely appealing if they would put it in a decent package. That being said, there are plenty of other bikes with just as much reliability and following. Honda's regularly go over 100k, BMWs, Yamaha, etc.

Well, what are you waiting for? As someone said, C O S P L A Y F O R D A D S

You're probably old enough now...

You should have bought a Sportster then :D

Old fat guys can drive good bikes. They're not relegated to getting a Harley.

I'd have replied with "when harley builds a real bike"

Start by off roading.

I love em too, but would find it hard to go past the productions Adam Reimann does.

No joke, this guy is phenomenal!

How original of you. Haven't heard that one before...

@@rickybobby8224 I hadn’t heard it before, and I thought it was funny.

@@rickybobby8224 Theres a reason why it is in quotations ;)

To be fair my wife and I only have 3 Harley's, but at least a 100 T-shirts not to mention, gloves, jackets and helmet. Yplour statement is right on point.

@@angelalenna4387 oooh! A scammer!

I read once that Australia has the biggest population of HD owners that have two or more bikes. Your post confirms that!

Ah man, I’m exactly the opposite lol. I live about 30 minutes from Milwaukee, have never owned a Harley, prefer smaller and slimmer bikes, and am pretty young. In my 20’s. Not trying to be a jerk just amused at the polar opposite situation. But at least your butt isn’t killing you after 500 miles over the course of two days.

Absolutely! This channel is entertaining, even if you're not into riding motorcycles.

Triumph and Harley two companies who just about survived

@@FernandoHernandez-jw4yy I agree

Wait until you see the 1 legged prostitute near Aberdeen harbour(Scotland)....you mind will wander for the next few hours!

The main reason why I am not. 😵‍💫

He really has a way with words. Sets him apart from most other channels.

just cant look away from that death wobble...

Harley blows. Can't even get a dirt bike made in the United States. Good ol boys have to show up at Silver Lake Sand Dunes in their F-150 hauling a Honda

@@cats5351 And they love it. Honda and Yamaha bikes (although japanese) have been making such amazing machines for so long that it is basically part of American culture to own one. You can bet your bottom dollar a Honda bike will do what it's asked.

RU-vid ad revenue at least is paid in gringo dollars, while his salary from Fortnine is likely paid in the monopoly money that Canadian currency.

@seeni gzty Loving your Ryanesque hyperbole.

For sure, I love my 05 dyna, great bike lots of fun, I've had it for about 5 years now and just recently bought a Sputhe Chassis Stabilizer so I can dig into the turns a lot harder, but even stock it does pretty well. I come from riding gsxr 1000 in various other street bikes. But still I love my dyna. Can't wait to tighten it up though, next I want to get a GPR steering damper for it

It's pretty standard nowadays for youtube channels to have production crews. You've been watching too many basic-bitch motovlogs.

@@salazam Get a life

@@salazam name me a RU-vid motorcycle channel this good? Please! I'd love to watch it too.

@@Bob-Maplethorpe There are none that combine the honesty AND the production. That part is refreshing, I'll say.

@@salazam I follow a number of motorcycle channels from NA and Europe and one come close to the quality of Fortnine's work. The research methodology and depth of topic is what impresses me the most. When fortnine reviewed the Yamaha t700 their work was head and shoulders above anything else I saw. The section on anti-squat was soon stolen by others, I noticed. You can tell that Ryan has a strong science background, and is damned creative. Two great traits to possess. If you know of great sites, please share. I love watching informative shows.

I completely agree with you. There’s a Harley in our household and I now have a better appreciation of it!

I'll bet you're going out and buying one based on this video. Good luck!

For sure! This video sent chills down my spine and brought tears to my eyes. Your hard work is appreciated. Keep it up!

I'm not even a motorcycle guy... but this channel lives up to top gear in its best years...

I am in the market for my first motorcycle, and just about every hardcore Harley fan has told me to avoid buying a Harley if I want to ride it more than wrench on it. Basically the overall consensus is Harley post 2010 is cheaply made and over priced. I still want one though....😂

Still

with the white vans

Damn Daniel

I’ve got a KTM…. Same thing, I’ve bought lots of tools, however it’s 3 years later and it’s fucked!

Harley Davidson: uses a T45 to hold on a bracket that is used to hold a hose in place Also Harley Davison: Uses a flathead screw to secure my $300 seat so any crackhead with a pocket knife can steal it.

@@diamondmidnightgardener True ahaha

@@jonr4651 Well, if the crackhead can't steal it, he'll slice it. Don't frequent the city.

@@timjohnson1199 at least you keep the seat xd

It's not really controversial everyone knows that Harleys are overpriced, slow bikes that don't handle properly, some people just love them anyway. There is some appeal is staying true to their past but other manufacturers have managed to strike a good compromise between staying true to their ethos and still redesigning their models to make them better and more modern. BMWs and Ducatis still appeal to their fans for the same reasons they did 50 years ago but they didn't have to stop making new bikes or keep producing the old ones forever to accomplish that.

And be amazed at how incapable big tv cooperates lack in production quality

What did you learn from this video?

@@pookiewookie7679 could be my own ignorance, but I did not know the FatBoy was named after the atomic bombs. Also, as a mechanical engineer, the conservation of momentum walk-thru is interesting to review.

@@Daniel-dj7fh very true. And all of this is primarily the work of just two people. Par excellence.

the explaination about tank-slappers/death wobble is garbage and utter wrong.

Because Kawasaki is not a company of lazy managers and engineers 😆

@@fernandocbr did you not just watch the video?

@@steelsaddle2339 i watched it. And there are some Harley bikes I like, but I think they are too lazy and almost all the bikes seems the same with different colors, and it's not really so bad 😉

...and probably why Kawasaki runs a hefty profit without government bailouts...and remember the VN1500 Nomad? Looked equal to any touring Harley without breaking down, and at a fraction of the cost....

Really? Or is it the Harley owner in you who needs to believe that? 😆😆

Ride for the love of riding, not for the image.

I too have owned bikes since late 60s. When Willy D said that famous quote he was sitting at a bar with some friends and they were debating weather to ask some fat ugly chicks to join them. True story.

I highly DOUBT it's a true story,@@jimputnam2044 , especially considering you couldn't even get Willy's name right!

@@michaelscott356 Can't swear to true story was not there. Read it in a Harley history book I bought at the Harley Museum. Was a couple pages of" fun little known facts". How do you spell Willy?

But the main thing is you evolved...you grew a brain congratulations

Fun fact a bald eagle actually sounds like a seagull. They usually play red-tailed hawks screeches because they sound better.

@Overlander 123 Yes I've seen quite a lot of them in both Alaska and the Columbia River Delta.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

🤣🤣🤣🤣

@@GunFunZS I’ve grown to hate that over-used, clichéed (well you try spelling it!- Stupid auto-correct!!!) sound… every fucking Chevy truck ad in heavy rotation (“🎵🎶 Like a rock 🎶🎵… SKREEEEE!!!”) about one million other stupid ads (perhaps a SLIGHT exaggeration), and what feels like every other movie and cheesy sit-com (“Gosh, I guess we shoulda filled the tank before we drove into the desert- what are we gonna do now?!?!” …”SKREEEE!!!” Everyone: “Laaarrryyy!!!” Face-palm… Cue laugh-track…) has used that sound effect TO DEATH!!! It’s even used sarcastically ‘Cos it’s so… ubiquitous? No offense to any raptors who might be reading this (love your work, you mighty aerial hunters, you!!!), but if I NEVER hear that sound again, I can die a happy man… P.S.- SKREEEEE!!!

Everyone I know that had ridden on a Dyna (I know hundreds of riders throughout NY) for decade have never had this happen. I ask a ll the time at bike nights. Just like most Wrangler owners don't actually experience their death wobble unless they've been inappropriately messing around with their suspension.

The guy in the video owns that 99 Dyna, I'm gonna assume it's a great bike and not a death trap. I mean unless the guy in the video is an idiot and doesn't know what he's talking about.

@@DanBlackRacing It doesn't need to be a 100% of the time issue for it to be an issue. If you ask 100 people, and the very last one says yes it's happened to them, why would I want to buy something I know has a chance to just straight up buck me for no good reason other than being stubborn and resistant to change? If I'm going down, I'd prefer to have a fighting chance than to have my bike straight up assassinate me.

I’ve only ever seen people with sport bikes get speedwobbles lol. None of my dynas have had this happen

​@@DanBlackRacinghad death rattle in the old cherokee but never a wrangler. thought it was way more common in the cherokees and never really heard from other wrangler owners about it tbh

Hieronymus Bosch is a straight savage. The hell side of Garden of Earthly Delights is enough to make Beelzebub attend mass. ~RF9

@@FortNine Funny how we are attracted to things that are disturbing like that, that we should stay far away from. Like my infatuation with Royal Enfields.

@@FortNine Hieronymus Bosch c. 1450 - 9 August 1516) :)

@@CHURCHISAWESUM hey RE are pretty good these days

. . .which is why my Goldwing was built in Ohio.

Which is where the Kawsaki vn700 Vulcan came from. I had one of these. Rode great, handled great, didn't break down with lousy weather (Wales GB). Loved it.

Republicans are all about fair competition and survival of the fittest unless they make a shitty product and need the competition hobbled. Then they’ll talk about how we built up their industry after we nuked them because we’re good Christian people

But of course most metric cruisers are actually built in the US…

So much for being a symbolism of America, ironically too at the height of the cold war when the US was supposedly championing capitalism and free market economy🤣

There's clearly some top gear influence in his style.

These videos are on one end of the spectrum. At the other end lies "Yammie Noob" Plenty in between too, but Ryan's videos are the pinnacle.

It's amazing. Has to be one of the best channels on RU-vid whether or not you care about motorcycles.

What is your motorcycle model my friend ? i understand your feeling

Still have my HD FXRS-SP but as I got older I got a Triumph Tiger 1050. Love it

Nice nice. What kind of bikes do you own now sir?

Lots of evo Harley engines will run 100k miles without much of a fuss. Reliability isn’t much of an issue

weird, usually people switch to harley the older they get

Imagine how much more memorable they would've been if you had REAL horsepower. Harley power is cute.

@@OmGiTsMeTaStY There's a certain magic to riding slow and easy, with a nice exhaust noise on the rear, you don't need to go 120 mph like an asshole to enjoy riding.

They wouldn't be worse either, unless your memories are all about having single pin cranks? And some more people might still have their memories if their bikes didn't kill them.

@flippy5118 yeah cause it's the bike that killed them.....

​@@OmGiTsMeTaStY it's not the bike that kills you, it's riding it

Hold my vodka, comrade. ~RF9

Isn’t the Ural a BMW ? The Russians captured the BMW factory that the Nasties built after they advanced into Russia. They were pushed back so quickly they abandoned the factory and it became soviet property. A friend had one in the U.K. .. pig to start unless it was freezing cold, then it would start first kick !

@@robplazzman6049 well, actually, m72 is indeed a copy of bmw r71, but Urals and now discontinued Dniepers have made quite a long way. Maybe changes are not so significant as in milwaukee8 comparing to knucklehead, but modern Gear Ups are quite different from the old m72, and even later soviet models.

Haha they both share same cool factor

Royal Enfield: hold my tea

I have never had any "death wobble" I can just about guarantee you the motor mounts on those bikes were TRASHED. If you are worried about it though you can spend a couple bucks like $400 max and get those upgraded mounts and then you can be sure it will not do it. But seriously I have riden the damn wheels off my Street Bob and my fathers Switchback even driving like a complete A-Hole I could not get them to wobble.

It was a glamorous dance...until it wasn't.! 😁

@@Doobie603 the anomaly. 👍🏼

FortNine's explanation of swingarm twist has me all worried about my BMW's single-side swing arm!

@@sgomez3047 Yeah, I was really pulling for him! I thought for half a second he might do it, then I sadly realized that he’d crossed the event horizon, so to speak..😬

@meow purr wouldn't the answer be go find people who accept you for whatever bike you own? I rather ride my grom with other people who like it than force myself to get a Harley to fit in. If I want an HD, and any other bike, I want it for me, the friends will follow

My '79 XS650 also made my butt feel nice... :)

Moco means booger in spanish

I don`t object to Harleys, I object to Harley Riders.

@@phillip2169 100%. Its funny, Im just outside the Mecca of HD (Milwaukee) and most of my friends and family are metric fans. I love my Harley, I just dont like the culture that surrounds their riding community.

I’ve had many motorcycles and dirt bikes over the years and still have a garage full of them. I love all types of bikes from the smallest to largest. I have an ‘04 softail night train, that I bought new. The reason it’s one of my favorite bikes is because of many of the things he said in the video. It’s not a really fast bike (for a Harley it is), it’s definitely not comfortable (not even by Harley standards). It does, however, have a certain feel about it that I’ve never really experienced on many other bikes. Despite not handling very well it makes you feel one with the road, it’s long and planted so to speak. Which makes it a hell of a lot of fun to ride especially in a stretched out semi relaxed position. Just like his comparison with todays vehicle my soft tail is definitely an old muscle car in a world of modern bikes and I love that about it. Not all Harley’s are the same, of course. They all have a much different feel. A Roadglide to me is basically a medieval couch but when comparing it to other touring bikes it’s something different and a lot of what I said above can be applied.

I’ve owned two Wide Glides, the current one being an 07 I bought brand new. Never once in the tens of thousands of miles have I ever experienced “Dyna Death Wobble” this is the first time I’ve ever heard of it.

​@@chadkimmel8957 I'm with you there! I bought my first Harley, 7 years ago, an '06 wide glide. I've put 25k on it, myself, and this is the first I've heard of the potential issue!

@@KJ-kc3dm I'm the original owner of an 93 FXDWG Michelin suck.

@@chriswilliams9069 In 2013, I set out from central CA on a mission to 'bag' the 13 states I had never previously been in before...ALL of them east of the MS River....first 'new' state, Georgia. Even though I had previously been to Key West, (Twice) revisited there again....and I was riding a Honda ST 1100. While riding the Blue Ridge Parkway in VA, I met a guy who was riding an identical bike as mine. Long story short....he lived in Alexandria, VA (about a mile from the Pentagon) and invited me to his home for the night..(I ended up spending three.) He also had a Harley he wanted me to ride, so I did, while he rode his Honda. We rode almost 100 miles, often passing through some 'parks and other slow areas where people were walking. I soon observed an odd thing.....we passed many people walking and so many of the women walking ignored him, who was leading, but waved at me as I passed by on 'my' Harley. My Honda sported some after market exhaust and was not quiet by any means, but the Harley sounded more like a motorcycle? Anyway, I was always quite puzzled by this reaction. BHE

There are 2 types of people. Those that use the metric system and those that have been to the moon.

@@TheHortond You do know the guy that send the USA to the moon was actually a German using metric? He despiced the imperial system and all the dimensions were converted from metric to imperial only so it could be build in the USA?

@@jordanpost1876 Plenty of Americans have no idea that following the end of WW2 the head of NASA was legitimately a uniformed Nazi that we hired on to lead our space and rocket agency... But yeah, muricah!

They talked about this on Archer years ago.

@@philipmarr7325 What’s saddest is that most Americans who know about this, only know about it BECAUSE of a cartoon. … Really goes to show you how far our education system has fallen.

I'm not a Harley guy (although I have owned two Buell XB's and absolutely loved them), but I do think their way of using crude yet simple ways of taking a problem you couldn't live with and reengineering it into a problem you can live with, is actually pretty clever in its own way. My beef with HD's isn't so much the bikes (even if they do seem a bit overpriced for what they are), but rather the attitudes of SOME of the riders. After enough HD guys look your Japanese or European dual sport up and down, scoff, mumble something about "American made," and then ask when you're going to step up to a "real" motorcycle, it begins to get a bit obnoxious. Something similar can be said for SOME BMW riders too... And to be fair, the vast majority of HD guys (and Beemer guys) IMHO are wonderful chaps who are all just in it for the love of the ride...

Like beer!!

@@Edhooey You mean like the way Harley deals with their overheating engines? Instead of making them liquid cooled, which would solve the problem, they install a device that shuts down a cylinder when the engine overheats...brilliant!

@@jamesbottger5894 Now that...yeah, that DOES seem more than a bit asinine haha!

@@jamesbottger5894 I've riden my TC in the hotest weather in AZ no problems. Ever hear of a oil cooler? Every engine is cooled by oil so cooling the oil makes a lot of sense. Or did I miss something?

There's something to be did about " not moving forward". That's something I've never understood, "new is better".

CW: boomer take. "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand"

This happens in Indonesia. Where a simple soft tail would cost over $70.000 the same as a Ninja H2

This happens in Europe too. They are so expensive, only hardcore fanboys (i mean... true men... ofc) buy them.

The Japanese were dumping meaning selling below cost. Here's a for instance. I bought a 1983 Goldwing brand new in 1985 .Honda tried flooding the market back then. They released the unsold 1983's in 1985...considered a new bike with new warranty. Bike originally listed for $4800 . I bought it in 85 for $3600 The 83 bikes came out in the fall of 82 like they all do. It was obvious they were dumping to ruin the market for anyone else. 1983 is when the 45% tarriffs took effect April 1st 1983 I would imagine my $3600 price included the tariff so Honda really took a bath trying to flood the market.

@@YouTenaza Depends on the country. In some, they pretty much cost the same.

what the hell is bancrupcy? Bankruptcy?

Buy a bike, never get married, end the bloodline. SIR YES SIR XD

Low iq take. You can buy literally any other bike that DOESNT suck.

Are there any „non-ass-less chaps“ tho?

Always said I’d never own a Harley… then the pan America dropped. I bought that sucker sight unseen. I’ve never loved a bike more.

They would be leather pants then, and its pronounced shaps like champagne, chauffeur, chaperone and chaparral, where the name comes from

You can definitely wear a full face, but it's gotta be Biltwell or Simpson.

Sounds like you should try a 1200 sportster, But then the typical Harley guys will say it's a ladys bike 🤕😹😹😹 only bikes harley makes id buy are the sportster1200 and the PanAm 😹 A Half sized PanAm to compete with the Tanere700 would be awesome 😻

And my dad's first bike was a 1950's harley which caused him to never buy a harley ever again.

The Pyramids and the Pantheon are both antique, but one is twice as old as the other.

Yesterday's technology for tomorrow's price.

Allow me to steal your genius comment

In all seriousness, I have no idea why anyone would buy a Harley when there are Royal Enfield available for 1/4 the price that actually offer a genuine 1930's motoring experience. And a good example of the 1930's, rather than a bad example.

And that you don't have to shell out money for a vibrator..

I live in the Pacific Northwest in WA. I can't tell anyone that I don't ride a Harley. People only know about Harley's here. There's always a feeling of discomfort when I tell them I ride a sportbike. I can buy 3 sportbikes for cost of a used Harley.

And now you don't have to deny being gay. They just know it.

My ass is way too boney for a harley. My pelvis would disintegrate.

@@michaellehto1697 Not at all. They're some of the most comfortable bikes made. Take it from someone in his 50's who's lost enough of his butt to make sitting on bleachers for more than ten minutes feel like torture.

touring link solves it but without it tar snakes are spookey

Wobbles have a multitude of reasons: tire inflation, suspension, unbalanced wheels (spoke ones), rake and trail, bearings, tire alignment, road condition, etc., and, of course but never spoken, pilot, through rigid arms that don't let direction accommodate it's course, so amplifying the very harmonics of the wobble. In the end, it is hardly a H-D problem; virtually any bike can be subject to wobbles.

@•••[S]EX-Vlog Go to My Channel A solution doesn't always need an answer, they provided an alternative in terms of design and function. This creation also has it's own 'issues,' but the consumer ultimately decides to choose one product over another for different reasons. Like the rotary engines introduction, wasn't meant to replace CDI engines, just an alternative, again with it's own issues (apex seal failure), but also with applications still produced & it's own community of support. Not all 'inventions' are direct solutions, but offer variance & growth, in most instances.

I get that this is a joke, but is that really what a misfire sounds like on a v-twin that isn't a single pin crank? I seriously don't know. I had a duel pin crank Honda vtwin but it never misfired.

I absolutely love the single pin crank Harley air cooled engine sound. I have always ridden 4 cylinder street bikes, and I hate the modern liquid cooled V-Twins. But the air cooled Harley bikes sound so incredible. The idle is perhaps the nicest, most soothing sound, of any engine in the world.

@@Ritalie Straight 4 motors are a blast to ride ride on weekends or afternoons, like joy riding. But I will always prefer an air cooled vtwin with a single pin crank for my daily riding. 12k rpm on a 4 is just unpleasant to hear for long sustained speeds like when I some times do 2 hour commutes to another city, and I don't like the feeling of needing to rev up to access power when I am in traffic. On a v-twin you can pop the clutch and have its full power before 3k rpm. Thumbs up to air cooled twins having a hypnotic sound. I really enjoy the bit of orderly valve clatter, likr a jar of nickles and dimes shaking in perfect time.

@@johnraconteur1723 Very good, I totally agree. My Sportster says the same to me. I have always loved tractive engines over revving stuff. Which is why I reckon the VW Beetle is the car equivalent.

@@johnraconteur1723 Sportsters sound the best because they still use the gear-driven Evo engine that can idle at 500 rpm. Valves clacking, gears wining and chains whirring.

Very nice Story...thank you for Sharing it 🙂👌🏻🇸🇦

I rode that exact same bike, a '73 R75/5 from about 1985 to 1993. A fantastic motorcycle, easy to work on, and very fun to ride. Eventually bought an '88 R100GS Bumblebeemer, which I still ride at age 60.

@@wiscgaloot One can still buy replacement parts for those since so many are still on the road. There's owners that are pulling out their /5's from barns where they sat for the last 30 years and got them running after cleaning the carbs, changing the oil and putting fresh gas in the tank. Then they do an Aggie overhaul (wash, wax and polish) before selling it for $4000 to $5000.

@@billwilson3609 You can still get parts? What's crazy is about 8 years ago I took my '88 R100GS to San Jose BMW and they refused to quote a tune-up, that the owner would call me. Which he never did, then he whined and complained at me after I left a 1-star review on Yelp. My only gripe about that /5 was that the electric starter was weak, I often had to kick start it.

@@wiscgaloot Yep. Parts are available online from independent shops and big dealers like MAX BMW in New England. If they don't have it then owners buy from shops like Motobins in Great Britain and Uli's in Switzerland. I've been buying parts from Capital Cycle since 1976. They were mail order with an 800 number to call in orders, see what they have in stock or get advice. They sent out an annual paper catalog then sales fliers each quarter with a list of discounted parts. I still have a store of new points, condensers, light bulbs, control cables, timing chain & gears and other stuff that I bought at discount. My last call was in 2000 to see what they had in back that was "blemished" new stock. That call got me a pair of new stainless steel silencers for $240 and new self adjusting Boge shocks (/7) for $29 each because their boxes were dirty and creased. The /5 starter motor is identical to the one used in VW Bugs so we took ours to a local starter/alternator shop to have serviced. They also could readjust a wonky voltage regulator and change out bad diodes in the diode board. The voltage regulator also is identical to the one used in VW's plus the larger VW 6 volt ignition coils will fit the holders and not rub against the gas tank. That was common knowledge with touring riders who could find those at K-Marts across the nation after the BMW shops had closed for the day. We bought our replacement bearings and seals at local bearing supply house. Most also sold the industrial cross bearing used in the driveshaft and could change them out for like $30 (parts and labor). Just needed to have the rear drive removed and the shaft tunnel cleaned of oil so it wouldn't run out onto their work bench. BMW used an unusual starter relay that made the starter button inoperable when the motor was running and prevented power from going to the starter solenoid when the battery had a low charge. You probably started using the kicker when you heard the relay clicking. My dealer showed a trick to prolong battery and starter life by using the cold weather starting procedure when the engine was cold or warmed up. You turn on the enrichers/choke then used the kicker until one side was on TDC before hitting the starter button. That drew in a rich mixture that ignited as soon as the button was pushed in. Doing that helped me to get 7 tears of use out of the small stock battery. My '73 was the later long wheel base model so moved the battery holders back against the fender so I could use a bigger battery for Goldwings and Electra-Glides. Did that after having to run on battery power after the charging system went haywire while riding back to Longview from Houston. Stopped at a full service gas station in Nacogdoches for gas and to see if they had any old battery cables and car batteries I could rig up to finish my ride home. They didn't so called friends with a truck to come fetch me. They arrived so got the bike loaded in back then went to a few bars to check out the college babes. Paid a cover charge to enter one since they had a band that night we never heard of before that blew us away. Turned out to be Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble before they hit the big time. Once home I checked the VR to find it was off so had it readjusted at our nearby starter/alt shop for the cost of a cold 6 pack of beer. I've heard strange things about BMW dealerships not wanting to work on the older bikes. One older man freaked out when a dealer in KC said they wanted $500 to schedule a tune-up with parts and labor added to that once done. He was steered to a 1%'er shop in Overland Park that did a major service that included a tune-up and CV adjustment for $230 while he watched.

How do you know someone is an engineer?

@@SavedbyHim 🤣 I walked into that one. In Canada we go a step further by wearing an Iron ring on our pinky!

@@KSMotoCafe Really? never heard of that. I'm an electronic tech. I do all the Engineer's dirty jobs ;)

When was that?

@@elken4289 8:59 Made the video 10x better for me

This made my day

@@elken4289 8:59

This lol.

I love Harleys, but i hate Harley

@@thesebas3090 That's the correct attitude in my opinion.

Strongly agree!

@@thesebas3090 Yup, sums up my feelings exactly. ~RF9

Fortnite? really?

@@alphawolf2993 thank you for pointing out autocorrect's misdeed kind sir

Agreed. F9 and Zack and his buddy videos for Revzilla (previously Motorcyclist) are the best on RU-vid.

dont

no

I have owned a Harley Davidson, they are nothing special, Harley Davidson sells a phony image, I traded in my Harley Davidson for a Yamaha Star Venture Transcontinental and the Yamaha is a superior motorcycle, this comes from someone who has owned Kawasaki, Honda, Victory, Harley Davidson and Yamaha. Of all the brands I have owned the Harley Davison I would rank last.

"Probably not, but you can understand why someone might" seems to be the theme, here.

at the very least, don't buy a dyna glide

I too went Indian recently for my first bike. 2017 scout.

I went with a 2017 Scout Sixty for my first.

Chief Dark Horse Bodder 2023.

I had the same thought process and just got a Scout Rogue Sixty. Great bike and even though it weighs within 20lbs of my Shadow 750, it feels extremely light and doesn't take much to get up and go.

The difference between Harleys and Corvettes is that Corvettes can actually perform.

I can only confirm. I was riding on my 30 year old Japanese sport bike with a couple friends on Harleys. Not only were the Harleys the slowest but also the least skilled riders in my observation (although being ‘veterans’ given their personal mileage). At the end of the day we had - one near-accident by almost flinging out of the corner (if you have only ridden Harleys your whole life you’ll seemingly never learn the duality of counter-steering and lean-angle properly, imho) - one engine breakdown (head gasket blown) - another breakdown (battery died due to overcharge, as far as I understood the road assistance guy’s diagnosis due to broken charging regulator and/or due to vibration damage). The whole 3 day ride didn’t even last 1000km, of which the Harleys made it about to the half-distance mark. The two broken Harleys (with all modifications) were about 50k euro in total. All while my old Jap plowhorse cost around 3k euro (with the topcase, panniers and mounts being almost as expensive as the bike itself 😅).

@@ElDuderino999 You assume a lot about riding skill from the make of bike one rides...I don't know who the hell you were riding with but I find that hard to believe or maybe not...All bikes break down, lack of maintenance, however myself and many of my friends who ride Harleys very rarely have problems...And for skill level good God the sport bike shit I have seen blows my mind right up there with the wanna be tough guy fake biker Harley assholes....Remember many Harley riders have had or have Japanese bikes, dirt and street, for the street I currently have a 2013 ZX10, a 2010 Road King, 1973 Moto Guzzi Eldorado, Yamaha Zuma 50, 1975 Kaw F-11 and F7 and a half dozen dirt bikes....I have had breakdowns on Japanese bikes, German Bikes, British, Italian you get the point...One thing I have discovered is many people who hate on Harleys never owned one, rode one for over an hour or rode them for a week (I know you will say you don't want to, closed mind and all) and they think that all there is to riding is a sport bike designed for a 140 lb rider to ride on a race track for 20 minutes, I have one, and have had many, I know they suck for over a 30 min. ride...The rush is great however not so good for a long ride...Have an open mind and try different bikes they all have their place...And relax, one day your bike will have it's turn.

@@markjohnston2675 and you do seem to have a nice stash of spare time to argue with complete strangers over the internet. Get well soon, pal. My opinion stays (adapting the iconic Honda slogan): “You meet the vainest while mostly inept riders on a Harley” 😅

While at a racetrack, some harley riders came for a charity ride or something. When they left the staging area, oil, oil everywhere

@@piotrplewa1889 Harley buyers celebrating overpriced crap before it was cool 😂

Man I'd love a half-track! Wouldn't love the mpg though. Lol

@@ryanmounce2850 Or the maintenance.

In HD's defence it wouldn't be a full size half track 👍

@@dalel3608 oof. Hell no. I barely manage to keep my "normal" engines running. No telling how bad I could mess up that behemoth! Lol

I’m riding since April of 69, bought my first new one May of 70. A new Sporty that bike has 138,000 on it. I still own it. I bought a new one every 10 years since, never sold one. Road one for work for 30 years. Bought a few I of them also. I own 10 all in my garage, all running like clocks. How many of yours do you still own after 50 years? Former Motor Officer.

Examining registration data for classic motorcycles (built before 1981) shows us that, on average, about 43 percent of motorcycles survive past 12 years of age. This is about 2/3 the life of a car. This graph starts with classic bikes that were registered in 1992, then shows how quickly each make falls off on average. Surprisingly, the bikes with the most staying power haven’t been Japanese or German but good-old American Harley-Davidsons, and by a wide margin. If a Harley-Davidson made it past 12 years old, it had a 75 percent chance of making it all the way to 25 years. Japanese motorcycles benefit from generally high standards of build quality, but are also often cheaper, ridden hard and sometimes crashed. Harleys, on the other hand, tend to enjoy more careful ownership. Their owners are also inclined to just enjoy the act of riding rather than trying to qualify for Moto GP every time they saddle up. Ultimately, it seems that the disparity is due to Harley primarily building cruisers while many imports market far more sport bikes appealing to folks who like more speed and risk. Hondas enjoyed the highest survival rates of Japanese motorcycles, due possibly in part to their big touring bikes like the Gold Wing, which like Harleys more often have careful long-term owners. As for Yamaha, only 30 percent of their bikes that made it to 12 years old then made it to 25. www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/graph-of-the-week-how-many-motorcycles-left-by-brand/

@@jonnymac8925 In my experience, most people that own Harleys in fact hardly ride them at all. They ride them a few weekends in the Spring, a couple of weekends in the Fall and thats it. The bikes are more of a status thing than anything else. You are indeed correct in that they are better taken care, because they sit in garages and are hardly ridden. With the Japanese brands they have continually gotten better in terms of build and tech, there is little reason to hold on to them when you can get an very good lightly used one and new one at a reasonable price.

I own a 2021 Harley and a 2019 Indian. The Indian developed an issue since new, but the Harley developed five issues in just 6 months.

@@tyroneshoelace4872 curious what model Indian/Harley and what the issues were?

So with that being said, I got rid of all the non American parts and replaced them with all American after market parts!

@@joalvarez6252 And now you have a $100,000 dollar Harley...

@@JHV166 not exactly, but its all about the prestige of owning an all American Bike! What do you ride?

@@joalvarez6252 2008 Ultra Classic.. About 15K miles a year... No problems, just replace tires and brakes and add fuel and oil...

@@JHV166 good deal Jim! The maintenance on a HD aint all that bad!

Ty

I think if a Harly detractor ever came up with an original thought, I'd just pass out. You idiots haven't the brains to express yourself so you settle for worn out, silly assed one liners.

Excellent comment Jonathan! LOL

that explains why i dont see any harleys for sale as a project bike. they all crashed and been scrapped.

@@carlcollins3705 maybe it's because the one-liners keep being relevant lmao

This one always makes me think that the 90% just went full easy rider and never went home. But the point is to mud sling, which is a practice I don’t really understand.

The younger generations are saddled with a bunch of student loan debt for useless degrees. They don’t have the disposable income to spend on a $20,000+ harley. To be honest it is their own fault, but the result is the same.

​@@Prosecute-fauciI was happy to even get approved for my '22 Nightster. Felt that I was around the 560CS range. Turns out I'm closer to 600CS. But to tell you the truth. If Harley pulled the trigger on the Bronx, I'm sure it'd sell as well as the PAN Am/Sportster S/Nightster. But the seller feedback and headache of the Revo Max 975T platform is just... Yeah, Harley should've really thought this out, it's still an early platform.

​@@Prosecute-fauciAlso, We may never see a time when Harley will be releasing a Sub-$10k option. Sportster/Nightster Revo Max line is $13k range. $15k if including Dealership fees.

@@Prosecute-fauciand Harleys aren't worth half their price tag, you 40 IQ boomer

The Buell was a step in the right direction. Too bad they killed it.

Hear Hear. So true I run a 81 FXEB and a 72 XLCH, Rarely have I had a problem always fixed things up in minutes on side of road with a screw driver and a couple of wrenches. except for a flat tire had to drag a log out of the ditch to get up high enough to get the wheel off.

Japanese bikes USED to be like that. I was given a '73 Yamaha TX750 (he had to repay a debt) that had been torn 100% apart and shipped in milk crates. I was able to intuitively reassemble, tune and ride that bike in the early '90's. Since then however, the Japanese love of plastic and unique model-based parts has made them disposable, at best. It's tough to find a bike lover who would not be proud to ride a Honda 750 Four. They did make some great bikes for a decade or so.

Damn all those tools in your saddlebags?? The pullers and valve tools, ridge remember, ring compressor, not to mention a damn OXY acet rig and heavy assed boring bar...no seriously I want to see ANYONE "completely rebuild" any year engine with tools that fit in their saddlebags....LO fing L

Funny because my friend rode to cali from nj on his harley. He had no issues other than the issues he ran into. Had to ship it home

Get a Honda rebel to keep in the back of the garage. All the best and congratulations on getting back in the same town as your wife. Sometimes we do what we gotta do. It’s nice to follow the heart, too. My heart wants to get back on two wheels. Not sure if I ever will. But I keep dreaming.

@@just-dl I'm now 81, but am seriously considering riding my ST 1100 over 1000 miles (one way) to pay a visit to the UFO museum in Roswell, NM......before giving up riding for good. When it comes down to the bottom line, absolutely nothing equals the riding experience.

@@blackholeentry3489 got a 20yr old Pan European (ST1100) here in the UK, its alot of bike for the money, sold my Softtail Heritage & bought the Pan. Do miss the HD tbh, but not enough to get another.

@@wetincornwall6882 I'm just curious....what is it about the Heritage you miss? I rode Harleys solely for almost 20 years and there is absolutely nothing about them I miss. For many years I rode with a group of about ten who twice a year made the 550 mile ride to Death Valley. Often we'd swap off just for the Hell of it. My best friend had a Yamaha V-Max...a fun bike to ride for a short distance, but not one I'd want to ride all day. Over the years I've ridden and owned a wide variety, but think I've bought my last motorcycle, as I'm shortly turning 82 and think it wise to quit while I'm ahead. I've said for over 20 years..."I don't want to be in the situation where an accident is the reason why I quit." BHE

I hope you doing well guys. Good that you are so adventurous at almost 82. Was just reading your comments and decided to say something nice :) I personally never rode a bike, but got interested in the topic and now watching all kinda of videos. Maybe some day i will afford one and will ride like you :)

I absolutely love small twins. I am not really a fan of large 1000cc V-Twin liquid cooled racing engines, because they are not smooth, and don't like city traffic. Small engines are so much more pleasant for actual street riding, especially in traffic, because you don't get the violent chain lash at low speeds like you do with a large V-Twin like the V-Strom 1000.

I completely agree. That you should learn to spell.

couple that with naming models after devices used for war atrocities and the horribly insular, conservative, flag-wavingly nationalistic attitude and no h-d for me either.

@@daos3300 Do the letters FO mean anything to you?

@@daos3300 If I remember right I think it was the Japanese who bombed Pearl Harbor in the first place and as far as flag waving no one's stopping you from flying your own gay pride flag.

@@1motomanic yes, all military targets. Americas deliberate bombing of civilians can't be compared. Biggest war crime if ever there was one

@@1motomanic Found the exact presumed Harley rider he was talking about. Attitudes like that don't invite anyone who's not a conservative Nationalistic American into Harley riding, or even motorcycling as a whole.

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY OF 1960 , but . . .prices of 2021 ! well done Harley ! lol

The company was born in a shed!

They are all over priced

A 2021 low rider starts at $14000 not $20559... all bikes worth buying are overpriced at this time.

@@PEGuyMadison Canadian...

Yeah, but no. It is sorta a fat bike, so it could just have been named for its thicker lines.

It’s not a true story.

It blew Nagasaki a lot

Well Harley's mortal enemy were always the Japanese companies, so it does make sense if true.

Pure urban legend only. "The name is said to come from the bike's "massive presence.” " - Wikipedia

The Harley technology gave me the nostalgic feeling. When I pushed it down the road back to my house, I felt like it was a 1950's Harley.

I just saw a t-shirt with an illustration of Reagan with the caption, "I smell commies!" LMFAO

Same-ish. '00 FXD here with a frankenstein setup (Wide glide forks from a softail standard, Road king front wheel, looks like a "modern" FLH). It wobbles if I bump the forks at speed but it doesnt throw itself into an uncontrollable mess. Id like to change the swing arm bushings eventually.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a Harley lover who is not also a Ducatti lover. Both have the right to the label "Legitimate".

My shirt reads the best thing in the Harley shop window is the reflection of my Ducati!!!😀😀😀🏍🏍🏍🏍🍺🍺🍺🍺

I'm not a big fan of either brands, and I'm not American either, but Harley is MUCH larger than Ducati. Ducati is just "one" of em. Like "orange crush" or "moutain dew" but Harley? They are like Coca Cola classic!

@@brunovincent2381 mmmmmm orange crush !!!! NUGRAPE !!! YUMMMM Harley 🤮🤮🤮🤮🏍🏍🏍🏍🍺🍺🍺 not my taste!!

Those critics are fitting for Lots of bikes, Same critics because i Bought a ktm :D

Best edit in the episode! I was laughing my ass off!

We have a comedian on our hands here

I'm an American engineer. When solving most problems, I convert to metric first and convert back to Murican units at the end. It's a signicant competitive disadvantage.

@@Liberty4Ever sounds like a personal choice.

@@Face_RC - Yes. I choose to work in a rational internally consistent system where 1000 cubic centimeters is a liter, rather than trying to remember how many odd cubic inches are in a gallon, or for that matter, how big the king's foot was. Even trying not to fill my head with arcane nonsense, I still can't help knowing that there are 7000 grains of wheat in a pound. I doubt that'll be useful when trying to create a human settlement on Mars.

@@Liberty4Ever again, personal choice. If some numbers are too complicated for you to grasp, use the ones that work for you. They all lead to the same place.

no

@@Българиянадвсичко-с9ж Ouch.

C'mon Harley send Ryan a Pan America!

@@Българиянадвсичко-с9ж ... all bluster, like their customers ...

Good luck with that mate

I had them both,just switched to Moto Guzzi 1400 Custom,best bike. Need to mention that I'm big fan of Guzzi,still have 350 Imola since I was teenager...