Thread: New Harley or stick with the old?

Originally Posted by Utopian

This thread is not helping my ever increasing urge to finally get a Harley. The only one I have ever owned was a Harley Baja 100 about 40 years ago.

I had the same exact bike. I don't remember too much about it other than it being 2 stroke, winning the Baja 1000 at some point and having a scary looking frame!

Originally Posted by RiseAbove

I had the same exact bike. I don't remember too much about it other than it being 2 stroke, winning the Baja 1000 at some point and having a scary looking frame!

Yeah, incorporating the cylinder head and transmission as an integral part of the frame seemed like a bad idea even for me as a 14 year old kid, but my options were limited as my dad told me that I could not buy a Japanese bike. I paid $450 for that bike which was all the gopher money I had. Two weeks later I learned that my dad did not know that Hondas were made in Japan. Sorry I'm a big fan of Harley road bikes but my Italian-made spaghetti Harley was nowhere near in the league of Honda dirt bikes.

I'll always love the old Triumphs, but not feeling their new stuff besides the Speed Triple.

Those BMW's are strong. I saw the shows Long Way Down & Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor and his friend putting them through hell going around the world.

Originally Posted by KsStraightShaver

Firstly I have to agree with Tc there's nothing better than a shovelhead.

Next I wouldn't own anything made by Harley after 06 as that's when they quit building carbureted bikes an I'm not a huge fan of fuel injection on my bike I also am not a big fan of abs on cars or motorcycles an it seems that's now a standard option for Harley so if it were me I would stay with the older Harley's but that's just my 2 cents.

I've never owned anything later than a 99 FXR. The 2016 i took out today was a real nice bike, and the warranty is a plus, but i like to take things apart and put my mark on my bike, and i'm not sure i'd feel comfortable doing that with a brand new bike, not to mention taking away the plus point of having the warranty by doing custom motor work.

Originally Posted by RiseAbove

I'll always love the old Triumphs, but not feeling their new stuff besides the Speed Triple.

Those BMW's are strong. I saw the shows Long Way Down & Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor and his friend putting them through hell going around the world.

There is something to be said for loving old bikes. I loved the old Triumph, except for the Lucas electrics, the nearly impossible to synchronously tune throttle body carbs, and the Whitworth tooling and the clutch locking up from too much Iowa humidity. But, the take off speed of an F-111 and the land speed record cache made up for a lot.

The shop basically hosed off the BMW and replaced some plastic bits. It spent less time recovering than I did. The "Long Way..." movies are what made the GS bikes, pretty much dual-sport anybike, popular. I was on a mountain dirt road at the time. I had some luck that night.

Motorcycles, any kind, are not what they used to be. I wave at anyone on a motorcycle and don't care what kind of ride it is. If they care, that's their problem. Occasionally, I even wave at scooters just to keep them confused.

If it's a Harley it's got to be good. Currently I'm running a 06 Heritage with a 95 engine and a 204 cam. Carburetor. Good torque and rides good. The other Harley i had was a 54 when i was a kid. loved it wish i had it back.

I completely agree I can't leave anything alone either it all has to be opened an changed to my liking wether it be for more Hp or better reliability so warrantys don't mean much to me.

I am currently riding an 02 (TMC)Thunder Mountain Custom. Which was Harley's custom line for about 7yrs I believe an it didn't even stay stick for long.

You could always buy a buell for dirt cheap an then use it to build a complete custom. Redneck engineering has some awesome frames an rollers for sportys/buells an every engine in between maybe take a current bike you own an give it a new lease on life with a custom frame/roller an utilize everything from your current bike.

This is something that you will have to decide. There is nothing like an older Hog but then again there is nothing like a new Hog. They are completely different for so many reasons both tangible and intangible and the love affair for each generation is not comparable. I would give anything to have my 77 Sportster back. Oil tossing chain driven beast that it was. Then again I would happily buy a new one for totally different reasons. Love them all for what they are and what they mean to you. After all it's a friggin Harley.

Ride hard or stay home...

I miss the old Brit classics i had, despite having to put an oil pan underneath them each night to save my garage floor. Always wanted to build a Triton.

I used to have a worked Buell motor in a Sucker Punch Sally frame. Great bike. This time around i want to go with something big on torque, comfortable, able to carry bags and still be sporty in the bends when the bags are off. Maybe just get another FXR to ride stock now and do some wrenching on it through the winter. Love the frame geometry and rubber mounted motor on the FXR.

Look at the road glide, they brought it back this year, great format. And the 103 with a set of woods cans and your off to the Aces on torque. Add that with a good tuner them it,ll be right, oh don't forget the crap exhaust needs to be gone too. Or just cut the catylitic converter out and add some slipons. Tc