[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Harley Davidson Reliability (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 6/24/2012 9:01:47 AM EDT
| Just remember, No Bar is too Far. |
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Ive owned:
BMW x2 Kawasaki x2 Yamaha x1 Ducati x2 Aprilia x1 Harley x3 My Harleys had ZERO problems and I put over 40k miles on them since '08. There is not a whole hell of lot to go wrong with them if truth be told and their manufacturing process has gotten terrific. No they were not fast nor performance bikes, but they were one helluva an everyday machine. |
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Have had a MC endorsement since I turned 16, the year was 1980. I have, up until the last 2 years, predominately ridden over driving as we have great year round riding here in Georgia. I have owned 2 Hondas and 2 Harleys, the Harleys, a 94 Low Rider Custom purchased new with 60,000 of my miles and a 2003 Firefighter edition Road King, also purchased new, had given me over 50,000 miles when it was sold. Each Harley was perfectly reliable and did the daily transportation role for years without any problems, neither bike ever needed anything more than normal consumables at regular maintenence intervals, neither bike ever marked its territory either. Haters will hate but the Evolution motor and Twin Cam platforms are excellent and reliable engines and gave me lots of miles without and problems whatsoever. To the person who asked if I would ride in a plane with a harley motor I would say yes.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIs45EByKNE |
98% of all Harley's ever made are still on the road, the other 2% made it home.... It should be against the law to use Harley and reliable in the same sentence. JD Power did a survey of motorcycles sold in the US a couple of years back. Most reliable Victory Highest customer satisfaction Victory Most unreliable Harley Davidson Most HD riders don't even try the Iron Butt Rally anymore since they can seldom finish the 11,000 mile ride 2011 IRON BUTT NO Harleys finished http://www.ironbutt.com/IBR/2011/html/3.html 2009 IRON BUTT NO Harleys finished http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2009/2009IBRfinish.pdf 2007 IRON BUTT only one Harley made it all the way http://www.ironbuttrally.com/ibr/2007/html/2.html |
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Quoted:
Nobody pays any fucking attention anyway, so I'm just going to post a pic.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/vanilla_gorilla911/Octobertrip224.jpg I knew I could count on you for a pic.
Rexburg Idaho, August of last year. 
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Quoted:
The Evolution drivetrains are well-designed and reliable. They've been around 28 years but I guess that's still not long enough to dispel HD's well-earned reputation for producing undependable engines and transmissions. Evo engines are solid, I'm still not sold on the Twin Cam, I certainly do not like HD's patent locks. 5 speed trannys are smooth, reliable, and easy to rebuild, a huge improvement over the old 4 speeds. I have a 91 FXR. 
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| There's a lot of bullshit in this thread. I was a young sportbike enthusiast, sold out for money after kids were born. Now I'm older with arthritis and carpal everything and don't want to drag knees around the sweepers anymore. I would not hesitate to own a newer Harley. In fact, I'd love one. The guys I know who drive them to work everyday have no problems or complaints. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Nobody pays any fucking attention anyway, so I'm just going to post a pic. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/vanilla_gorilla911/Octobertrip224.jpg I knew I could count on you for a pic. Rexburg Idaho, August of last year. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/ak_rabon/DSC_0031.jpg Camera died, so I'm short on new pics right now. Soon as I get my new one, I'll have some more traveling pics to post. |
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Quoted:
I don't know much about HD.....but I know that video someone posted of one in the burnout thread was HILARIOUS. I laughed and laughed and laughed hahahaha. here lets try it with some beer down there....this'll be bad ass! This one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzlN2zC8PU |
| The reason most HD motors become unreliable is because owners tear into them and rod them out with modifications that they dont need. If left pretty much stock(just jet them or a small injection mod and change the pipes),they will last for a long, long time. Even some minor head work and adding a different cam and they will still run for a long time and give plenty of performance. |