Sorry to bust your bubble but the Japs now kick Harleys *** at Cornering,Acceleration,HP,Top speed,MX,Enduro,Freesyle that only leaves the ice racing and flat track to the Harleys,so they cant be THAT crap not can they?
You gotta have ***** to wind out a Suzuki hayabusa all the way,but then again you gotta have ***** to take a fast corner on a normal Harley,SCRATCHHHHH!!!The new V-Rods nice though,still not perfect.
But I still havent seen anything Japanese that can compare to the Harley-bad-*** look and blunt deep sound.Theyre both different styles,but neither is "crap coffee can".
I love Harleys but you cant go around calling others "jap-crap coffee can crotch rockets",if you dont like em you just dont like raw speed and handling...or if youve just got something against Japs,then I suggest trying Triumphs,Ducatis,Aprilias or KTMīs and stick to Harleys for looks and sound [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

You just NOW figured that out? Well no duh!! A crotch rocket and cruiser are two TOTALLY differnent machines!! If I wanted a Harley that could handle the twisties like the crotch rockets, then I would buy a Buell. You are comparing apples to oranges when you are talking about crotch rockets out performing Harley's in hp, top speed, accel, and handling. Two COMPLETELY different machines built for COMPLETELY different purposes. And since when was Harley competatively involved in MX, Enduro, and Freestyle? I don't ever remember them making a bike to compete in that. I also find it very ironic that the Harley wannabe riders spend hundreds of dollars to buy these elaborate exhaust systems to try and make their bikes sound like Harleys. LOL

 

Hey, Spain-boy, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying any manufacturer makes 'crap'. No manufacturer has some key-lock on a different kind of aluminum that makes their pistons go up and down the cylinder in a better way than the other guy. The technology is there for anyone to use. Take the best motocross bike. Any manufacturer from Harley-Davidson to Hyundai could make it. Yes. Sorry. It's true. The business of motorcycle manufacturing comes down to Material, Plant overhead, Facilities, and Market share. Mix into that: tradition and expected product placement, and you have Harley 2004. Never doubt for a second if Harley Davidson had a month of setup time they couldn't pump out Hayabusa clones, or if Suzuki had the go-ahead they couldn't pump out bikes indistinguishable from Wide-glides. There's no magic in the assembly lines, and nobody is in the dark ages. Be loyal to what you want and be happy with choice. We may live to cherish these times.

 

For the pieces of junk some of you have said they are my old 1972 Harley is still rolling down the road and turns as many heads now as it did when it was new.I will tell you like I tell all jap riders"come back in 20 yrs and we will see you is the fastest"

 

i ride with a few harley riders that are pretty cool and get a kick out of watching me pull a wheelie by them at 70mh, then their are those harley riders with their heads so far up their butts that they think their harley will kick a jap bicks a$$ in any type of compition as long as they do a few mods. like i said earlier, all through high school i wanted a harley but i like performance and the harleys were just to stinking high. in 99 i bought a buell x1 ligthning which was suppose to be harleys answer to the crotch rockets. it cornered great but it still played catch up on the straights with the cbr600s i rode with. the buell red lined to soon, topped out at around 130mph and had the worst shifter set up i had ever seen. it only took me three months and to swap it in on a triumph daytona. harleys are great for cruising but they are nowhere near a performance bike. the new v rod does a little better but it still has a long way to go. a few months ago i was in longview near the harley shop getting gas and a few harley riders pulled in to get gas. one was on a v rod and started being cocky about how fast it was. he said he didn't know if he could out run me on the top end ( no kidding) but he could take me in the 1/4. i wasn;t going to race but his buddies were just a little to big headed. he got a pretty good jump but i was a good two bikes ahead of him by the time i shifted out of second and for the rest of the race i just took it easy and never even got close to the red line and still beat him by about three lengths. thier attitude is what i'm talking about. what kinda crap did they have in their head to think a v rod could beat my busa? with some good mods the v rod would have stuck with a stock busa in the 1/4 but he could look at the pipe and tell there were some mods done. if i was to get another bike just for cruising it would be a harley but as far as them lasting longer? i have seen jap bikes that are 20 y/o and older that still look like new, my cousins 1983 honda v65 magna is still in great shape with close to 75k miles on it. it depends on how you ride them and how well you service them. harley riders are well known for cleaning their bike after every ride and doing regular servicing plus they don't run them very hard, crap they cost to much not to baby them. most jap bikes especially crotch rockets are rode pretty hard and most will end up in a scrap yard because of a wreck not because they are wore out. for you harley riders, if you like your bike thats great! ride it and enjoy it but don't stick your nose up in the air when a jap bike goes by or run your mouth about how stupid they are for buying a crotch rocket when they could have had a harley. that is the main thing that has turned a lot of people away from harleys. and yes harley did make dirt bikes back when amx owned them.

 

Oh yeah about the original post "If Harley D made a quad would I buy it?" not if they're going to sell it for $20K.

 

Bigbadscrambler,Im not gonna lie,the bikes in your pic pages are SURE to turn heads,hell it would turn mine...my post was saying that the Japs now own most of the riding styles and you shouldnt bash there machines just because they werent made close to you,America exeeds at almost everything else,so at least give credit where it is due.
Hey Glenlivet,no offence taken,but when I address you Ill call you by your user name,I expect you to do the same.
On a side note:Evil Kenivel used Harleys to do his enormous jumps if Im not mistaken. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thank you Choky. Now dont get me wrong. I believe that the Jap bikes have their place too. But for some people to just call Harleys crap (not directed towards you) because they cant out handle or outrun a Jap bike is just plain ignorant. I guys they watched Biker Boyz one to many times. Kinda like the whole "Fast and Furious" phase. And as far as handleing goes, well, the Japs arent the best out their either. Ever heard of a Aprilla? They just released a bike that has a power to weight ration that is 42% better than the Enzo Ferrari. That bike will out handle anything out there. Just perfectly balanced. And dont forget about the Ducatis (which are some SWEET sounding bikes BTW). And yes, Kenivel did use a Harley for his jumps. But his some Robby uses a dirt bike. Dont know which kind though?

 

Sorry bud, I thought I was being lighthearted. Was out of line. Yes, Knievel jumped Harleys, and before that a brand called American Eagle that was a U.S. framed (I think) Italian Laverda engined bike. These choices may have made for great patriotic fodder but given their weight and suspension, not so good for landings.

 

I bought the Raptor because I considered it the Harley of quads,its the best looking quad out there and it turns alot of heads,also the motor is not "bad" its just not the BEST out there but has $hit load of torque,it also doesnt handle the best but it can be controlled.Its also got lots of bling peices to get for it just like a Harley.In short,if a brand new dirtbike pulled up along side of me I KNOW it can out perform me,but I also KNOW/see that everyone around is looking at MY machine,not his,and its the same thing about Harleys.Here the Raptor660R is a D-dealers/mafia machine,and theyre known for it,its also a poor-mans Harley.Eyecatching=selling more $hit.
Mines a 04 so I could of got a 450 if I wanted...but it doesnt look like a Raptor,does it?The same as other bikes dont look like Harleys.
Believe me if I had the money Id get a V-rod or a Busa,depending on what I needed.