I tell everyone who will listen - riding a H-D is the best hobby I've ever had (and I been around a while)...

 

You're right about that. I swear, most Harley guys must be smoking crack cocaine considering what they want for their used bikes. Took me a year of searching craigslist, cycletrader, the paper, and dealers that sold used bikes to find one for the right price. Keep looking....you'll eventually find one that's priced right. Found mine at a car lot during the winter and made a deal. Good luck.

 

I never have bought a new bike and I never will. No matter how much money I made at the time. The feeling of having something shiny and new is fleeting. Then it's a used bike anyway.

As much as I love Harleys, I love riding even more. I'd rather ride something rather than nothing. Even if it wasn't a Harley.

That said, not everyone is in the position to buy a motorcycle. Let alone a Harley. Used or not. Life is full of priorities and choices. I'd rather my child have a morsel of food than a bike in the garage. In real life, it does sometimes come down to that.

Remember, there's more to a motorcycle than the raw cost of the bike itself. There's insurance, registration, maintenance (even if done yourself), gear... It all adds up. if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. Unless a motorcycle is your primary form of transportation and you don't have a car; a bike, especially a Harley, is a luxury.

 

You might be misunderstanding why it is that many people buy, own and love Sportsters. They might not interest you, but there are many who feel that is the only motorcycle they would ever consider owning. I've yet to meet anyone who owns one just to say "I've got a Harley".


Trying to equate sport bike and Harley markets is a complete mistake in my opinion. I've owned and loved plenty of sport bikes, but Most will not hold any value whatsoever because they become obsolete very quickly as the race tech advances year to year for the newest/fastest/winningest brand. Harley's have no such stigma, in fact older models - even of the recent motor generation incites loyalty among owners due to bearing specs, frame tweaks, and various minutia known to change from year to year (sometimes for the worse due to EPA resrictions and cost cutting measures). Harley's as a rule compared to most other brands actually hold thier value fairly well, and there is a reason besides owner stubbornness. They've stuck to a timeless formula. They were obsolete when we bought them new, but have characteristics that for the most part really appeal. Those bikes you think are outrageously priced often eventually sell.

An old sportbike is usually like cold leftovers nobody covered properly and few people want. They're owners are a more disposable focus market. An old Harley, no matter how trashed, can be revived, rebuilt, and run for 100,000s of miles with every bit of its original charm intact. Maybe even more character. People buy sportbikes because they are current. People buy Harley's because of something they probably fell in love with as a kid. Their grandfather's, father's or uncle's bike...or maybe no one in thier family, but someone in thier neighborhood had one growing up...or on a family car trip, squashed in the back of a station wagon in winter when the crazy guys on motorcycles rolled by making all that noise...it can go deep. Lots of people who buy new Harleys are trying to buy a piece of thier past. No one holds time against a Harley...that just means its getting closer to the source.

But it's not all just nostalgia. You're talking about a practically bullet proof machine that will fulfill a love for riding as old as two wheels. I keep up with my wife's Ducati pretty good in the canyons, but I'm still smiling when we're back in town putting home while her machine just wants to see redline at 25 degrees again. There's a reason you want one so I should stop preaching to the choir, just don't expect something different to be the same...if they were you'd just buy a great used sportbike.

If you don't like the price, keep looking...plenty of great used bikes for good prices. Especially off season, and you might have to look in another area.

Also gotta agree with Baka...any motorcycle is better than no motorcycle from a joy of riding perspective. And twisted has it right. It's about choice, not being a victim. No one is judging why some one waits to buy a motorcycle, just whether they are being honest about why with themselves and thier life.

Good luck with your search.

 

When I was a kid in the 70s visiting family in SD I saw a bunch of motorcycles. It was the Sportster I wanted from that day on. I'm on my 3rd.

 

Have to look around... A lot of good deals around here near chicago. People have to put priorities first. Saw a couple FXDBs for sale in the 7 to 9 grand range 07-08 yrs. Sold pretty quickly I imagine. Nice bike, I bought it new. Only time I will ever do that. When I was christened into harley. Sold it to dump the payment in 09 when the economy tanked. Well, actually traded it. But it doesn't hold a candle to the 84 FXR I picked up off my friend. More comfortable I think, faster off the line for sure. But then again, the FXR I picked up is the bike that got me into bikes... So to each his own... Trucker Gary

 

Exactly! For me it was a bunch of raked out choppers on our way to Ship Bottom NJ to visit family in '73 when I was 6. Man did they look "free".

That and my dad's old BMW R6 sitting in the garage on its center stand. I would sit on that bike for hours just imagining. Nothing beats the smell of leaded gasoline and cold waiting metal.

 

How in the hell did we ever do it?
I guess because I never expected to just plop down a pile of cash and have my "dream bike". Bought what I could afford. Knew it might be years to get it where I wanted it. Knew it might have to go on the back burner for a while. Knew that every winter, weekends would be spent in my shed or garage with several buddies working on what ever change or project we had going. We did everything on a shoestring, but we actually turned out some pretty nice bikes.

 

90% of this place wouldn't have a clue bro and yeah we did build some rightous scoot's on a shoestring plus had big fun doing it That whole thing about what's the difference between a biker and a rider comes to mind