Damn! You too bikerlaw? There sure are a lot of cancer survivors in this forum... God bless all of you!

 

+1on this statement. Still on my 2003... Will own it when i die... hope it ain't on it when it happens

 

got an '86 old enuf????2 years from ......

 

I will take my 03 any day over a new one. The older the better IMHO

 

And to you.

 

I don't know about other "newer" bike forums, but I can tell you in the Dyna forums most of us if not all of us praise the FXR as the best handling Big Twin from Harley. I myself could vouch for that because I learned how to ride on a 90 FXR and rode it till I moved out and my dad still currently has it with 80+ thousand miles on it and still running strong. This summer when my parents were up visiting he got to ride a new bike for the first time and he was impressed and came back with the biggest smile on his face. The power and the shock of going 50mph in third gear when he thought he was only going 35 until he looked down, just wasn't ready for it to get up that quick.

As for me I went with my 08 TC96 because it was time for me to get my Harley. I wanted new because I don't ever plan on selling it and I wanted a bike that is mine from the beginning. As for the "do-dads" it depends on what you consider do-dads. I buy new things I don't consider do-dads, but make my bike my own like custom paint, different apes, got rid of brushed nickle for chrome. If money is the problem and people think us TC guys are all rich you should look in our mods for under $50 thread and How to under $50. There are a lot of ingenious TC guys out there that love saving the bucks. Someone said us newer bike owners do it all for looks and not to ride. Someone in the Dyna forum bought a early 90s FXR very, very low mileage, so posers are in all realms of the HD world. There are a lot of wrenchers in the TC world as well. Yes the world has changed. You may know how to wrench on carb bikes by hands on tuning with a screw driver and the TC guys tune using computers and may have to do a dyno tune or go for a tuning ride with the laptop in your backpack plugged into the bikes computer. To me it's all wrenching no matter what year or motor you have just newer technology.

Now as for pride. Just because my bike is all shinny and nice doesn't mean I don't ride it. If I have an investment I'm going to take care of it. Taking care of my bike makes me proud that I own a Harley, I love my bike and I enjoy cleaning it after a ride once it's cooled off. Plus it's so much easier getting the bugs off before they harden up. I ride 64 miles round trip to work everyday during ride season and usually clean the bugs everyday to every two days and detail on the weekends.

 

Frankly, I feel sorry for the twin cam guys. Most of them never had the chance to buy a new Evo, or they'd all know what they are missing. Not that the Evo was perfect. We all know about the inner cam bearings, the weak lifters, engine cases and base gaskets. But we've also fixed all that stuff.
When you buy a brand new Twin Cam, you get no outer cam bearing- not even a bushing!-, you get the rinky-dink chain-driven-tensioned cam design, you get the inadequate INA crank bearings.......... Just try re-engineering all that stuff! Not to mention the cheapo six speed tranny that they had to try to quiet by putting a compensator on the back wheel??!!!..... and there's the frame problems with the Touring bikes (supposedly fixed with the current models, although the jury's still out on how long the new two-piece touring frames will last). The newest Dynas still have the inadequate two rubber mounts instead of three. And so on.
I think the styling of the new bikes is the one area where Harley hasn't fallen down. Harley was simply lucky in the Evo era that Vaughn Beals came along with AMF and miraculously became a true Harley guy instead of the corporate shill/bean counter they intended him to be. Ever since he left Harley has been making the same mistakes AMF made; too many bikes, too quickly, not enough quality control.

 

Guess I will check in with this thread. I rode sportys exclusively until I started to work at a local HD dealer in the parts dept. Shortly after I started, I got an 02 lowrider and then when the 2010 touring bikes came out, I traded in to get a leftover 09 RK.

Bikes are a to-each-their-own kinda thing. I never quite got that one-with-the-bike feeling with the TCs. They felt too refined for my tastes. I loved my old ironhead sportsters but wanted to stick with a big twin, so about a month ago, I traded the 09 RK to a guy I used to work with for his 87 EG plus lotsa doe. This is the kinda bike I have been subconsciously looking for. I feel a connection with this bike.

Ironically, with the area we were in, we tended not to have a lot of evo customers, so I really dont know much about them. Know lots about the TCs and sportster.

Oh and isnt it funny how HD is backward engineering their big twin motors? Interesting..........

 

Glad to see you speak out for what you believe in and shows passion but you are guilty of stereotyping as well. Some of us Evo riders do know EFI, laptops and tuning using data recording sytstem, technology hasn't passed the tractor engine riders

Shovel riders wore the "See no Evo" shirts, Evo riders carried on the tradition and soon the TC will be forced out by a emmisions engine with a regenerating burn exhaust system and TC riders will say "what the h$ll were they thinking, I'll ride my TC to the end"

My shovel buddy calls my Evo RK a Goldwing so a few shots of do-dads from the Evo people doesn't add up to that but it is in good fun.

 

This is what riding partners are all about. Some of the newer riders have lost this way of thinking. I have 2 riding partners who both ride twin cams but have the old time thinking. 2 of the best guys you'll ever meet.

These kind of people are hard to find, but you do tend to find them riding the older Harleys.