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BMW to Harley, Why?


dhanson

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Try rolling a Victory Vision off a $20.00 dollar a day trailer in the long term parking lot of the Nashville Airport with one little ole wooden plank and a 75 year old guy on the other side of the bike helping you. That will get your heart going.

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no matter what I ride some of you knuckleheads will not be able to keep up on Sweeper or 12. :)

 

Who you callin' a Knucklehead????? :P

 

Really.

Someone has to lag behind to sweep up parts...

:rofl:

Whip, all in good fun, enjoy.

:wave:

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Someone has to lag behind to sweep up parts...

And apparently the states of VA. & NC. would like you to pick up any riders left behind, also. :grin:

100_2140.jpg

 

Pat

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" I'm sure I'm not the only one to note that the toilet paper cartel has, without fanfare, made commercial TP much narrower as, well, as butts have gotten wider."

 

Mark, I don't understand what Kim Kardashian (sp???) has to do with H-D. :S

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" I'm sure I'm not the only one to note that the toilet paper cartel has, without fanfare, made commercial TP much narrower as, well, as butts have gotten wider."

 

Mark, I don't understand what Kim Kardashian (sp???) has to do with H-D. :S

 

Why are you asking me? Ask Larry Kardashian, he's the one buying an HD.

 

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" I'm sure I'm not the only one to note that the toilet paper cartel has, without fanfare, made commercial TP much narrower as, well, as butts have gotten wider."

 

Mark, I don't understand what Kim Kardashian (sp???) has to do with H-D. :S

 

Why are you asking me? Ask Larry Kardashian, he's the one buying an HD.

 

LOL!

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

I just sold a Harley and bought an R1200RT. The Harley was a Super Glide Custom. It had foot pegs, and the biggest lean angle of all Harley's, plus I installed Progressive suspension. I ground down my foot pegs dragging in the turns. I got very connected to the bike and the bike put a smile on my face. I was right with my BMW buddies all day, but exhausted at the end of the day. I was taking too much of a beating in the wind, and getting too much wind noise, plus I was ready for a change, so I sold it. The great thing about motorcycles is there is no wrong answer, if you like it then it all good. The RT is so different, handles quick and precise, stops on a dime, and protects from the wind very well. I've yet to get that good feeling from it, but I know I will. I have less than 2k miles on it since I bought it. I wish I could have kept both, and I miss the Harley a little.

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I'm still trying to understand why a guy at our last BMW club rally was raving about his new HD and expected the rest of us care. I have nothing against the mark, but aside from a few close friends I just don't understand why someone's HD experience is important to my BMW experience. Do RT riders show up at HD rally's trying to engage the HD faithful? It's like being invited to see a baseball game from the owners luxury box and talking about how great football is the entire time.

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I'm still trying to understand why a guy at our last BMW club rally was raving about his new HD and expected the rest of us care.

 

Perhaps he was trying to be friendly.

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He was too over the top. Lots of guys in the club ride other bikes. We had Wings, Urals, Connies, Stroms, etc. show up and no one said a said a word, except...

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He was too over the top. Lots of guys in the club ride other bikes. We had Wings, Urals, Connies, Stroms, etc. show up and no one said a said a word, except...

 

still trying to convince himself?

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He was too over the top. Lots of guys in the club ride other bikes. We had Wings, Urals, Connies, Stroms, etc. show up and no one said a said a word, except...

 

still trying to convince himself?

 

Sounds more like just a guy excited about his new bike to me.

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Was he wearing a leather vest and a bandana? Those are the one's you need to keep away from. Unless of course you see manicured fingernails and chaps with fringe.

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He was too over the top. Lots of guys in the club ride other bikes. We had Wings, Urals, Connies, Stroms, etc. show up and no one said a said a word, except...

 

still trying to convince himself?

 

Sounds more like just a guy excited about his new bike to me.

 

+1!

 

I don't know that I've ever had "BMW experience" or any other brand experience; they're all motorcycles. As for the sports analogy, I think it would be more like going to sit in the luxury box at a baseball game and talking about how great another baseball game is. I'm not a sports person, but don't sports people do that? Or can you only talk about the game you're watching? In any case, BMW, HD, KTM, Yamaha, etc - same sport.

 

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He was too over the top. Lots of guys in the club ride other bikes. We had Wings, Urals, Connies, Stroms, etc. show up and no one said a said a word, except...

 

still trying to convince himself?

 

Sounds like that was happening on both sides of the conversation...

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I wonder if HD customer service is as schizophrenic as BMWs? How do they deal with potential recalls? I mean, how long did it take to get BMW to act on the fuel strip and fuel pump flange. Sometimes BMW behaves more like a manufacturer of chinese knock offs than a top marque. Just saying.

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And I know of multiple HD dealerships that basically won't work on older models.

Some refuse, some tell you it isn't their priority.

I'm sure there are plenty that can work on a 20 yr old hawg, just relating some area feedback.

HD recall

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Right, but I wonder if Eilenberger's second axiom applies to HD customer service?

 

And I'm sure based on BMW's usual reactions to these sort of things:

 

1. What problem?

2. Oh, that problem. First we've heard of it.

3. You caused it

4. Your environment caused it (fuel properties usually)

5. We have no problem

 

That's the gist. As it is, I do my own service anyway. Anything past the warranty is probably going to worked on by me unless it's a recall or an extended warranty like the fuel strip. If HD doesn't work on older bikes, no big deal. The aftermarket support is very good.

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Okay, so we have eight pages of comments. How many have made the decision to buy a HD? Whip got one. I saw it.

 

Ya but, Whip is a trend setter. :wave:

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Okay, so we have eight pages of comments. How many have made the decision to buy a HD? Whip got one. I saw it.

 

Ya but, Whip is a trend setter. :wave:

 

I guess we'll see about that....

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Mark thinks it is cheaper to just keep the BMW and slow down.

 

I tend to agree, but like to romp every now and then, but I CAN slow down, for a couple of minutes.

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Mark thinks it is cheaper to just keep the BMW and slow down.

 

I tend to agree, but like to romp every now and then, but I CAN slow down, for a couple of minutes.

 

Well, it IS cheaper to just keep the GT, but the slow down thing is more difficult than if I had a HD. It's a basic flaw in the BMW design. Turning the right hand grip causes more speedup than slow intentions might aim for.

 

According to Whip, he can beat anyone, anytime, on any squiggly road, on his Harley. I have witnesses to his statement to that effect.

 

And yes, Dave, I did see you slow down one time, up in Arkansas, for a couple minutes.

 

 

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Whip hasn't yet adopted the self deprecating humor that I have since buying my FLD, but I think soon enough he will. It's just not practical to challenge a bunch of guys on BMWs when you ride a minivan.

 

We've been oddly connected throughout the past year on this issue, he and I. He nudged me after I got the bug with some specific advice which I followed, and then I kept nudging him, and... in the end, we both dove off the bridge.

 

I definitely find myself more of a "BMW person" though. Still in the forums, still in the MOA, still writing for ON, and I don't have any plans to stop.

 

-MKL

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Moshe,

 

Had a customer tell me that buying a Harley is part of the process of finding out who you are.

 

Riding a BMW is for when you know who you are.

 

Enjoy the ride.

 

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Mmmm... If that were true, though, you wouldn't have so much cross-shopping. More Harley owners buy BMWs than any other brand. And more BMW owners buy Harleys than any other brand. Could be the similarities outweigh the differences - in the purchase decision, at least. Certainly not in functionality.

 

-MKL

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Mmmm... If that were true, though, you wouldn't have so much cross-shopping. More Harley owners buy BMWs than any other brand. And more BMW owners buy Harleys than any other brand. Could be the similarities outweigh the differences - in the purchase decision, at least. Certainly not in functionality.

 

-MKL

 

Naw, actually dual ownership of this type works well.

 

A Harley is what you ride when you want to have breakfast in another city.

 

A BMW is what you ride when you want to have lunch in another state.

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Dave_zoom_zoom
Mmmm... If that were true, though, you wouldn't have so much cross-shopping. More Harley owners buy BMWs than any other brand. And more BMW owners buy Harleys than any other brand. Could be the similarities outweigh the differences - in the purchase decision, at least. Certainly not in functionality.

 

-MKL

 

 

Oh I like this one! Very insightful!! :thumbsup:

 

I've had several BMW's. (some of the faster ones) Then decided I needed to slow down a bit. (getting older) I bought a new Harley Electra Glide. Really enjoyed the bike but my inner child told me, we just were not going fast enough. I spent several thousands of dollars to make it go much faster. IT WENT FASTER! Then a bit of common sense told me-----This frame, suspension, fairing, floorboards and total configuration just isn't designed to "go fast". The really fast curves were very entertaining! OK, now I'm back to BMW. An R1200RT. All is well! Olin shocks & springs helped that.

 

I liked the Harley but I'm much happier on my RT. :Cool:

 

Dave

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As someone who has owned and ridden a lot of different motorcycles I can truly say I like them all. I'd ride a pink Chinese scooter with a milk crate bungied to the rear rack and hold my head up doing it. I love riding just that much.

 

I currently have 4 bikes, a 1973 Suzuki GT250, a 1976 GT250, a 2011 Harley Road King and a 2002 Harley Super Glide. I've owned two BMWs, one was an R65LS and the other was an R1150RT. To be honest, the only reason I got rid of the RT was the miserable braking system. The Super Glide was the first Harley I ever owned but not the first Harley I ever rode. I rode a Shovelhead at work for a time during my career.

 

1986-07AllanampAllanII_zps32a5fcfa.jpg

 

For me, the HD hits the mark. I've ridden far and wide on every bike I ever owned and the Harleys are no different. This is my Super Glide with a little mud on it.

 

2003-07AK62DirtySuperglideatArticCircle2_zps20cf8b49.jpg

 

2003-07AK65AllanatArcticCircle_zps425803bf.jpg

 

I like the elemental nature of the machine and despite the obvious shortcomings (power, brakes, suspension and being too heavy) a Harley isn't a bad choice;) I can't say that I'll never own another brand but I enjoy my HDs a lot. However, one of the frustrating things about owning a Harley is that if you really ride it, wear functional riding gear and refuse to wash the thing you don't have anything in common with 99% of HD owners. There's a good reason why they call it the Harley OWNERS Group as opposed to the Harley RIDERS Group.

 

I'm not knocking the "lifestyle" thing, to each his or her own; it just isn't for me. Hence the reason I still stop by here and lurk. The people here for the most part are more about the ride than the bike, and those are my kind of people.

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As someone who has owned and ridden a lot of different motorcycles I can truly say I like them all. I'd ride a pink Chinese scooter with a milk crate bungied to the rear rack and hold my head up doing it. I love riding just that much........

 

I like the elemental nature of the machine and despite the obvious shortcomings (power, brakes, suspension and being too heavy) a Harley isn't a bad choice;) I can't say that I'll never own another brand but I enjoy my HDs a lot. However, one of the frustrating things about owning a Harley is that if you really ride it, wear functional riding gear and refuse to wash the thing you don't have anything in common with 99% of HD owners. There's a good reason why they call it the Harley OWNERS Group as opposed to the Harley RIDERS Group.

 

I'm not knocking the "lifestyle" thing, to each his or her own; it just isn't for me. Hence the reason I still stop by here and lurk. The people here for the most part are more about the ride than the bike, and those are my kind of people.

 

I have enjoyed reading each of the comments here and feel "travelinman's" post sum it all up well! :thumbsup:

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>>>I can't say that I'll never own another brand but I enjoy my HDs a lot. However, one of the frustrating things about owning a Harley is that if you really ride it, wear functional riding gear and refuse to wash the thing you don't have anything in common with 99% of HD owners. There's a good reason why they call it the Harley OWNERS Group as opposed to the Harley RIDERS Group.

 

I'm not knocking the "lifestyle" thing, to each his or her own; it just isn't for me. Hence the reason I still stop by here and lurk. The people here for the most part are more about the ride than the bike, and those are my kind of people.<<<<

 

COULD NOT have said it better! I like the bike. I don't give a crap about any "lifestyle" and my gear is my gear no matter what I'm riding. Well said!

 

-MKL

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Not 'til the weather warms up...

What are you talking about? It's 75 F. :clap:

Of course, you have to watch out for all of the 4,000# snowbirds this time of year. :eek:

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Not 'til the weather warms up...

What are you talking about? It's 75 F. :clap:

Of course, you have to watch out for all of the 4,000# snowbirds this time of year. :eek:

 

Stinking Michiganders and Ohians...

 

so glad I moved away from the bay area

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Guess I don't get around here much anymore but when I do these kinds of threads crack me up. The irony of BMW guys bashing Harley guys for what they choose to wear, really? Have you looked in the mirror lately?

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Not 'til the weather warms up...

What are you talking about? It's 75 F. :clap:

Of course, you have to watch out for all of the 4,000# snowbirds this time of year. :eek:

 

Stinking Michiganders and Ohians...

Hey, Matt, don't forget all the folks from north of the border who still haven't converted from KPH to MPH. Oy!!!

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Not 'til the weather warms up...

What are you talking about? It's 75 F. :clap:

Of course, you have to watch out for all of the 4,000# snowbirds this time of year. :eek:

 

Stinking Michiganders and Ohians...

Hey, Matt, don't forget all the folks from north of the border who still haven't converted from KPH to MPH. Oy!!!

 

That's because we converted decades ago -- from MPH to KPH (in 1977, if I recall correctly).

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