Hate to even ask but...
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 279
Likes: 0
RE: Hate to even ask but...
Either your friends dog ate his homework or he is an idiot. The point of an EFI bike is to feed fuel in proportion to the mass of air available in order to reach an ideal stochimetric point (map). High altitude or sea level the bike will be fed what the map tells it. As far as carb'd bikes go I live in Salt Lake at 4500' and one of my favorite is is over Wolf Creek pass at about 9500'. I do it all on an old 88 e-glide with wifey and I 2-up and have never pulled over to adjust the mix, just to open a beer.
RE: Hate to even ask but...
ORIGINAL: mmurray49
OK -
As I mentioned in another post I'm in the market to buy soon. An acquaintance who claims to have "really done his homework" told me this AM to reconsider a Harley purchase seriously given the potential maintenance/repair costs. He said he's known Harley owners who've been "bled dry" in repair costs and repeated tune-ups. Then he mentioned situations where HD riders in high elevations have had to stop to "tune" their bikes because of the leaner air (or what ever). I'm thinking if that's true, it's probably true for any air/fuel mixture dependent vehicle...
ANyway, yes - he may be on Honda's payroll but he is recommending I go Japanese. My heart is with HD but I am interested in the truth. If you can speak to this issue (which I'm sure has come up many times - or maybe not) I'd love to hearing the strait up on this.
Thanks.
OK -
As I mentioned in another post I'm in the market to buy soon. An acquaintance who claims to have "really done his homework" told me this AM to reconsider a Harley purchase seriously given the potential maintenance/repair costs. He said he's known Harley owners who've been "bled dry" in repair costs and repeated tune-ups. Then he mentioned situations where HD riders in high elevations have had to stop to "tune" their bikes because of the leaner air (or what ever). I'm thinking if that's true, it's probably true for any air/fuel mixture dependent vehicle...
ANyway, yes - he may be on Honda's payroll but he is recommending I go Japanese. My heart is with HD but I am interested in the truth. If you can speak to this issue (which I'm sure has come up many times - or maybe not) I'd love to hearing the strait up on this.
Thanks.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,371
Likes: 11
From:
RE: Hate to even ask but...
Tell you buddy I am sorry to hear Honda is closing their US Motorcycle operations and moving it back to japan because of very weak sales. I guess he never made that great of a motorcycle at honda....
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,015
Likes: 5
From: Alaska
RE: Hate to even ask but...
Did the maroon also tell you that Harleys leak oil ? 
Any recent vintage HD that is taken care of will only have routine maintenance costs. Oil, filter, etc. Now since it is an air cooled engine you need to change those out every 3000 to 5000 miles. Most will only need to do that once a year as they will not ride more than that. I do mine about 4 or 5 times a year.
Any recent vintage HD that is taken care of will only have routine maintenance costs. Oil, filter, etc. Now since it is an air cooled engine you need to change those out every 3000 to 5000 miles. Most will only need to do that once a year as they will not ride more than that.
I do mine about 4 or 5 times a year.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,785
Likes: 4
From: Oklahoma
RE: Hate to even ask but...
In four years I have owned three Harleys, all used. I worked my way up from a Sporty to a Dyna SuperGlide and now an ElectraGlide Classic. The total mileage on these bikes has been right at 60,000 miles, of which I have put on 49k. I have had exactly two unscheduled maintenance issues. The spline on the front pulley on the Sporty stripped out because the previous owner liked to pop the clutch and do burnouts. The cam chain tensioners on the Dyna had to be replaced at 30k. This is a known weak point on the TwinCam 88 motors, and as far as I know it is the only weak point on that motor. My out of pocket expenses for these two issues has been less than $400. I do my own scheduled maintenance, as Harleys are easy to work on with a shop manual. You can too.
Before owning Harleys, I owned six different Japanese bikes, five of them used.On thelast, a Suzuki 1100, I had replaced the starter, stator, and two shaft drive components when I sold it at 53k.
As for riding enjoyment, there is simply no comparison! I never found myself getting "withdrawal symptoms" if I couldn't ride the metrics inthe way I do if I go several days without riding my Harley. A Harley gets in your blood in a way no other bike does. Your friend is giving youvery bad advice.
Before owning Harleys, I owned six different Japanese bikes, five of them used.On thelast, a Suzuki 1100, I had replaced the starter, stator, and two shaft drive components when I sold it at 53k.
As for riding enjoyment, there is simply no comparison! I never found myself getting "withdrawal symptoms" if I couldn't ride the metrics inthe way I do if I go several days without riding my Harley. A Harley gets in your blood in a way no other bike does. Your friend is giving youvery bad advice.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 383
Likes: 2
From: Cleveland, OH
RE: Hate to even ask but...
The biggest difference you will notice between your friend's Honda and your Harley-Davidson is that when you come out of a bar, his Jap bike will be kicked over on its side and the Harley is still standing.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,074
Likes: 12
From:
RE: Hate to even ask but...
ORIGINAL: FreestateXL
Your "aquaintance" needs to re-do his homework.....................
Your "aquaintance" needs to re-do his homework.....................
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Hate to even ask but...
Well if your "friend" were given a test with question based on his homeword he would get an E.
Don't listen to anyone but yourself and do you own homework. Test ride all the bikes you like be it metric,Harley or whateverand that will give you the best idea of what you'll be happy with not what people tell you you'll be happy with. Good luck on you quest.
Don't listen to anyone but yourself and do you own homework. Test ride all the bikes you like be it metric,Harley or whateverand that will give you the best idea of what you'll be happy with not what people tell you you'll be happy with. Good luck on you quest.