Harley Davidson Owners w/100,000 Miles on Bike

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Maybe a little impressive, But still didn't make it to 1,000,000 miles mark. Seems to be alot of close, but no cigar examples. So you mean to say out of the million or so bikes Honda made, none have made it to the magical 1,000,000 mile mark? No 1mm Kawasaki's? or Yamahas?, or Suzuki's?. And to those that don't know the difference, BMW's aren't considered metric bikes. Just like a Ducati, or a Ural isn't.,,


Last I checked....my "metric" parts and accessories catalog puts all those in the metric category. Even Triumph and Victory were listed as "Metrics".

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: KernelK
Just to put things in perspective, one guy is trying to make a living and the other is riding around on a fat lawmaker's pension and sponsership to boot. I'll bet the working guy on the 850,000 mile Viffer has about a tenth of what the Harley guy has invested with all his rebuilds and new engines.


Like I said, the million mile Harley is more about the stubbornness of the owner to keep it going more than the quality of the motorcycle. Harley gave him a bike for a PR stunt as part of their marketing, and god knows he likely had the equivalent several new bikes money in his million mile hog. If you have deep enough pockets and enough will you can make just about any bike last 1 million miles if you just keep replacing stuff. What impresses me more is how long you can go between the purchase and first needed engine rebuild/replacement.

 

[BigCahuna]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Maybe a little impressive, But still didn't make it to 1,000,000 miles mark. Seems to be alot of close, but no cigar examples. So you mean to say out of the million or so bikes Honda made, none have made it to the magical 1,000,000 mile mark? No 1mm Kawasaki's? or Yamahas?, or Suzuki's?. And to those that don't know the difference, BMW's aren't considered metric bikes. Just like a Ducati, or a Ural isn't.,,


Last I checked....my "metric" parts and accessories catalog puts all those in the metric category. Even Triumph and Victory were listed as "Metrics".
So, because they don't know the difference where a vehicle is made, how does that make me wrong?.,,

 

[BigCahuna]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: KernelK
Just to put things in perspective, one guy is trying to make a living and the other is riding around on a fat lawmaker's pension and sponsership to boot. I'll bet the working guy on the 850,000 mile Viffer has about a tenth of what the Harley guy has invested with all his rebuilds and new engines.


Like I said, the million mile Harley is more about the stubbornness of the owner to keep it going more than the quality of the motorcycle. Harley gave him a bike for a PR stunt as part of their marketing, and god knows he likely had the equivalent several new bikes money in his million mile hog. If you have deep enough pockets and enough will you can make just about any bike last 1 million miles if you just keep replacing stuff. What impresses me more is how long you can go between the purchase and first needed engine rebuild/replacement.
Can't get past the fact it was done on a Harley can ya?. Any bike, except a metric bike. Why did I say that? because it hasn't been done yet.What impresses me is how soon people tire of their "super duper" metric bikes, and just have to waste, I mean spend more cash on another one. So, if you buy a bike that has the capability of going "the distance", but nobody ever try's to do it, why do people talk so highly about them? Not even 1 person. Wouldn't the company that made the bike want someone to do it, or at least try? I guess they just try to appeal to the kid in those guys, by telling them how fast their bike is. That's until next years model comes out, and they stop making the model you just bought.,,

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: KernelK
Just to put things in perspective, one guy is trying to make a living and the other is riding around on a fat lawmaker's pension and sponsership to boot. I'll bet the working guy on the 850,000 mile Viffer has about a tenth of what the Harley guy has invested with all his rebuilds and new engines.


Like I said, the million mile Harley is more about the stubbornness of the owner to keep it going more than the quality of the motorcycle. Harley gave him a bike for a PR stunt as part of their marketing, and god knows he likely had the equivalent several new bikes money in his million mile hog. If you have deep enough pockets and enough will you can make just about any bike last 1 million miles if you just keep replacing stuff. What impresses me more is how long you can go between the purchase and first needed engine rebuild/replacement.


Spot on. I would bet that bike has not ONE SINGLE ORIGINAL MECHANICAL PART left on it! I could run a 50cc Chinese scooter 1,000,000 miles if I wanted to keep rebuilding it!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: KernelK
Just to put things in perspective, one guy is trying to make a living and the other is riding around on a fat lawmaker's pension and sponsership to boot. I'll bet the working guy on the 850,000 mile Viffer has about a tenth of what the Harley guy has invested with all his rebuilds and new engines.


Like I said, the million mile Harley is more about the stubbornness of the owner to keep it going more than the quality of the motorcycle. Harley gave him a bike for a PR stunt as part of their marketing, and god knows he likely had the equivalent several new bikes money in his million mile hog. If you have deep enough pockets and enough will you can make just about any bike last 1 million miles if you just keep replacing stuff. What impresses me more is how long you can go between the purchase and first needed engine rebuild/replacement.
Can't get past the fact it was done on a Harley can ya?. Any bike, except a metric bike. Why did I say that? because it hasn't been done yet.What impresses me is how soon people tire of their "super duper" metric bikes, and just have to waste, I mean spend more cash on another one. So, if you buy a bike that has the capability of going "the distance", but nobody ever try's to do it, why do people talk so highly about them? Not even 1 person. Wouldn't the company that made the bike want someone to do it, or at least try? I guess they just try to appeal to the kid in those guys, by telling them how fast their bike is. That's until next years model comes out, and they stop making the model you just bought.


It's very simple: they bought a motorcycle...not a cult!

I did notice something over the weekend, though: guys on Harleys tend to get REALLY peeved when passed by a maxi-scooter and a little Korean 250cc.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Maybe a little impressive, But still didn't make it to 1,000,000 miles mark. Seems to be alot of close, but no cigar examples. So you mean to say out of the million or so bikes Honda made, none have made it to the magical 1,000,000 mile mark? No 1mm Kawasaki's? or Yamahas?, or Suzuki's?. And to those that don't know the difference, BMW's aren't considered metric bikes. Just like a Ducati, or a Ural isn't.,,


Last I checked....my "metric" parts and accessories catalog puts all those in the metric category. Even Triumph and Victory were listed as "Metrics".
So, because they don't know the difference where a vehicle is made, how does that make me wrong?.,,


What makes you qualified to say that the people in the motorcycle industry are wrong if I may be so bold to ask? I don't care if my Triumph is called a metric, cause they use the metric system in that country.

As for me not standing that a Harley made it to one million miles...not that does not bother me. But it does not impress me either given the amount of rebuilds and replacement engines it took to get there. I bet you can get a piece of junk Yugo car to go one million miles if you had the will to keep replacing parts and fixing it. No different than any guy who likes his ride enough to keep it on the road for many years past the average lifespan of a vehicle. My dad still has his first car he got in 1959. It was made in 1932...but it is not a testament to the quality of engineering of Ford, but to the owners that kept it out of a salvage yard since it came off the line. A bike that goes 200k miles on the first engine impresses me more than a harley that needed a new engine or rebuild on average every 100k miles. The conclusion is based on facts and logic related to the machine, not the owner and his will to keep the hog going.

Harley makes a decent product, I won't argue that. But it is certainly not a stellar one.

 

[xl2006]

Okay now, don't be disrespecting the mighty evo. That motor saved Harleys [censored]. Sure first couple years had cam and lifter problems, but once that was corrected they became very durable reliable motors. I had an 88 heritage that I put over 100,000 miles on with very little problem. The twin cam is till improving on the design. The most reliable and easy to maintain engine the MoCo makes is the xl evolution motor. Very little valve train wear mainly due to the almost perpendicular push rod angle.

 

[Robenstein]

Yes the EVO was lightyears ahead of the Shovelhead and the Sporty Evo even more so than the ironhead. Honestly I prefer the EVO to the Twin Cam. It is certainly a much less expensive engine to rebuild or replace and the aftermarket is much more affordable. If I were to build a custome big twin bike it would be with an Evolution motor. The Twin Cam has advantages for sure in some areas, but it also has had its checkered past with cranks scissoring(on souped up engines) and the cam adjustment fiasco.

Yes...the Evo did help save HD from the same fate as many of the Brit manufacturers along with a healthy import tariff thanks to their lobby.

Like I said...good product, just not a stellar one.

 

[Silverado12]

I'm thankful for the tariff, as it saved an American manufacturer. Other countries support their industries when they need it. The tariff was on anything 750cc and up IIRC, so there were a lot of 700cc Japanese bikes during that time and they sure could make some power for the lower displacement. Harley didn't set idle during the tariff, though. The EVO came out in 1984 with the EVO XL in 1986.

 

[BigCahuna]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Maybe a little impressive, But still didn't make it to 1,000,000 miles mark. Seems to be alot of close, but no cigar examples. So you mean to say out of the million or so bikes Honda made, none have made it to the magical 1,000,000 mile mark? No 1mm Kawasaki's? or Yamahas?, or Suzuki's?. And to those that don't know the difference, BMW's aren't considered metric bikes. Just like a Ducati, or a Ural isn't.,,


Last I checked....my "metric" parts and accessories catalog puts all those in the metric category. Even Triumph and Victory were listed as "Metrics".
So, because they don't know the difference where a vehicle is made, how does that make me wrong?.,,


What makes you qualified to say that the people in the motorcycle industry are wrong if I may be so bold to ask? That's an easy one, I can read a MAP. I didn't coin the phrase "metric bike" but at least I comprehend where they come from. Like Harley is an american bike. Truimp, Norton, Bsa,Are British bikes. BMW bikes are from Germany. Ducati's are Italian. And all the Japanese bikes are considered metric bikes.And if they are telling you a Victory is a metric bike, you better find another part supplier. It doesn't make a bike a metric bike ,just because it uses metric sized nuts or bolts.

 

[Robenstein]

If it is made in a nation that uses the metric system then it is a metric bike. Metric does not equal Japanese only. So British, German, Italian, Austrian, etc....all Metric.

I don't get the people that call Victory metric, I think they do it as a slam against any US competition for Harley by using the term in a disrespectful way.

 

[gman2304]

I wonder how many metric fasteners are on Harleys. Yeah, calling the Victory a metric ,is a conspiracy that started with the HOG chapter in Spirit Lake, Iowa which happens to be the final assembly plant of Victory motorcycles. It's now spreading all across the U.S. and the world to HOG international chapters. I'll bet if truth be known it is being promoted by the Harley marketing dept to stifle any U.S. competition... hence they all go around and say metric in a disrespectful way ...! The MOCO needs to be diligent because at last count Victory had 2700 paid members to over one million members for HOG. Oh never mind ...Harley has no U.S. competition....my bad...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: gman2304
I wonder how many metric fasteners are on Harleys. Yeah, calling the Victory a metric ,is a conspiracy that started with the HOG chapter in Spirit Lake, Iowa which happens to be the final assembly plant of Victory motorcycles. It's now spreading all across the U.S. and the world to HOG international chapters. I'll bet if truth be known it is being promoted by the Harley marketing dept to stifle any U.S. competition... hence they all go around and say metric in a disrespectful way ...! The MOCO needs to be diligent because at last count Victory had 2700 paid members to over one million members for HOG. Oh never mind ...Harley has no U.S. competition....my bad...


That must mean they produce the best bikes...hilarious!

 

[dr2152]

I have never heard a Victory or the new Indian called a metric bike. Our local Harley dealer says Harley is one of three bikes built in the US. Must be the group I with doesn't care what you ride. If you want to bad mouth someone else bike you will be riding by yourself.

 

[Robenstein]

JP Cycles Metric Cruiser Catalog puts Victory in with the rest. Not many parts for them in there versus the Japanese cruisers, but they sure have them listed in there along with Triumph.

 

[gman2304]

Typical Grampi....I was basically saying 'tongue in cheek' that the moco sells maybe 50 times ' a guess ' as many motorcycles as Victory. Nothing about quality was mentioned. If the Harley marketing dept ever jumps ship and goes to Victory, then Harley is doomed. It's always been about the Harley marketing dept deceiving the American motorcycle buying public. Yes...they're that good... and they've been doing it for 111 years.

 

[Robenstein]

Well Harley's marketing dept has not been that good at it for much of that history. Only in the last 30 years has the company done VERY well...for much of its history it did mediocre to poor in terms of numbers of bikes sold.

My only qualm with them is who they market it as an American motorcycle when in fact they cannot legally put "Made in USA" on the bike. Most nowadays say "Assembled in USA". Yes they employ a lot of American workers in assembly lines and in their dealership network, but they walk a fine line between spin and lying. I saw a news story about how a guy bought Harley parts...from Harley that said "Made in USA" on the packaging but right on the part said "Made in China". Harley said it was a mistake of course...I just laughed and said "Harley probably meant the packaging was made in America"

Deception or not...it works and they sell lots of bikes.

 

[endeavor to persevere]

All companys are global now days and source parts from many different places. Not every Honda motorcycle is made in Japan any more. They are made in many different places including China and they source parts from all over. They have to do this to stay competative.

 

[Robenstein]

I understand that parts get sourced from all over. However, you should not market it as an American made motorcycle if it isn't able to be legally labeled so on the product(51% or more of American components). I know my Triumph has Japanese and German parts, and I am sure a fair share of Chinese ones, but it can still be labeled legally as "Made in Great Britain".