For years Harley has had us by the ***** charging ridiculous amounts of money for their add-on parts, clothing, acc. etc.&nbsp\\;Now we have to spend thousands to fix a lean running bike from the factory in order for it to run well. Supposedly this is all due to the EPA if you really want to buy into that crap!&nbsp\\; I say this is CRAP because Victory, Yamaha and all these other manufactures are not having any problems with EPA compliance on air cooled motors that are exceeding harley performance right out of the crate! Look at S&amp\\;S with their new X-Wedge and all of their other EPA compliant air cooled motors. Also with all this talk about Harley possibly coming out with a water cooled engine (Other than the V-rod) to meet the EPA guidelines&nbsp\\;is also crap!&nbsp\\; They are begining to remind me of the AMF days, I thought they were onto something with the Nightster and then they go and come out with the Rocker, Fat Bob and Crossbones. which are all IMO CRAP designs until you spend even more money to make it look and run right. If they accessorized the stock bikes like the CVO models or took a look @ what people are really doing with their bikes like on forums such as this and came out with something comparable and sell them @ a fair market value they would be better off but then again the CVO 110" are not running to lean and hot!&nbsp\\;You can buy a custom cheaper than it would cost you to tear into your stock bike and replace everything the way you wanted it to look and run!&nbsp\\;Harley is obvious on a downward slope again. Maybe due to the economy, but certainly because of the terrible designs and money it costs to get what you want after all the $$$$ dollars&nbsp\\;of purchases. which I&nbsp\\;guess leads back to the economy thing. Maybe I just like the more traditional bikes but a water cooled Harley is far from traditional and then again neither is a Victory but there all kinds of custom builders out their that can design and build your bike cheaper than the cost of a Harley.
Until Harley pulls their heads out of their @$$es I won't be buying another one. Besides I always wanted a nice oldschool looking panhead so I think I will look into building myself my own custom which I think is money well spent instead of spending countless hard&nbsp\\;earned&nbsp\\;$$$&nbsp\\;on a bike based on a stock design.
Now don't get me wrong I love my Harleys as I have 3 but I just am not going to be buying into all this hype for quite some time. besides you can also buy a used Harley with a couple thousand miles that has already been customized and tuned way cheaper than a new one! all because someone bought into Harleys brainwashed ideas and found out their $18,000 bike actually cost them $30,000 and when they were done and the hype wore off&nbsp\\;they could not afford it anymore.
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This may spark some fury but is purely based on my opinion!

 

Actually from what I have read this is all being driven by the European emission laws.&nbsp\\; Harley met them with the 2007 model.&nbsp\\; So you might still get Japanesse bikes being sold in the US market only that wouldn't meet the European regulations but they aren't going to be designing new ones that don't met the strict European guildlines.
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But just think perhaps some kids won't get asthma because of the less&nbsp\\;polluting Harleys.&nbsp\\;
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You can ride your Harley stock.&nbsp\\; The next Harley I buy I plan to leave stock with the possible addition of a tour pack.

 

Well,
I agree with you, I bought my first HD last year and it will be my last. Too much crap you need to do for a new bike. I like it, but it is not worth the money. I have had several bikes and this one is no better than all the others, it just cost a whole lot more. I'm sure we will be flamed for this but oh well, I have already moved on and won't be returning until the moco can build a bike right.

 

The other manufactures including Victory and many of the Japanese brands meet Euro3 standards, same as HD. You can leave your bike stock and drastically shorten the life of your 20k investment.

 

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Well I have a 2006.&nbsp\\; So what is it about the new bikes that will shorten the life of my bike if I don't modify it?

 

They are running way to lean and hot and have the issues such as pinging etc. it's not like the good old days where you replace a jet adjust timing and be done with it. you have to pay some jack@$$ to maybe try and tune it right with a computer or buy some aftermarket crap!

 

I was referring to the 07 and after models. Thats when the heat issue first showed up.

 

Is the problem with totally stock bikes or on bikes with after market pipes?&nbsp\\; I haven't heard about the problem on here before. Is it common on the post 2006 bikes?

 

This subject has been flogged to death on this and every other forum I visit...if&nbsp\\;anyone&nbsp\\;thinks there are other bikes out there superior to H-D, why not just buy one? It's really just that simple...&nbsp\\;

 

So you contend that Harley designed the new bikes to wear out much sooner if you leave them stock? (interesting)