Turning 65 myself this year. Still have my eye on a Road Glide. But it would have to be really sweet...I love my Heritage.

 

I have an '05 Heritage -- 40k miles and running as strong as ever with no issues. SJ Ron

 

133k-4 rebuilds.

 

My 07 Heritage has 104,500 miles and still runs like new. It has a 103" top end that was installed at 0 miles, no oil usage, no smoke, no leaks, no noises. I ride it like I stole it and it will still outrun any new stock 103" bike.

 

To be honest I have never had a singular bike long enough to ever find out. I always lost them to a divorce, sell for the benefit of the kids, hard times, blah, blah, blah.

This one I plan on riding until I am physically unable to or I die. Nothing on my motor is stock, with the exceptions of the cases of course. Everything else has been replaced, upgraded, built or rebuilt.

It's a high compression motor so I'm not sure but I don't think that will play a role in an early death. Barring something breaking, considering how I take care of my bike and how I ride I see no reason why this motor won't put out 100K.

I know this will draw fire and it can be debated until the day we all die but i believe using synthetic increases your chance for a better, cleaner, cooler running motor with less wear on all the moving parts and little to no sludge build up in it.

This is not a statement to start a debate, it's just science, product used and personal experiences with the 3 over a period of 40+ years of riding.

 

Same as RoadKing and Tbone said above with my 07 Heritage..
Now with 53k on her, I did usual stg1 with SERT, Dyno and Syn oils at the 1k service.. That let her breath better, run cooler and smoother..

Then at 15k I added the cams.. To give her the extra punch I wanted.. They also cooled her down some more and I got 2-4 mpg better mileage after adding them

Been running syn oil since 1k miles and she feels like she's running stronger every year i have her.

Glad to hear RK has put over 100k of trouble free miles on his... I truly believe mine will also do that...

If I put another 50k on mine in the next 7-8 yrs I'll be 73 with 100K on her.. So this may very well be my last new bike... Or it might NOT.... TeHe..




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Impossible to predict... there are far too many variables.

I believe that Harley >counts on< bar hopper and Sunday riders. There are very, very few parts of a Harley that are as good as they need to be for a long rider. My latest lesson for this was by chance there was a super sale on a seat at the local HD Dealer that fit my bike. (IOW it was finally priced at what the retail price should have been). I have a waffle gel pad that I used for long distance riding. When I put on the new seat (retail was double the cost of my stock seat) I went on a 380 mile ride with only stops for gas and didn't take the seat pad. The difference is surprising to say the least.

This stuff is true for my bike and has been supported to my dismay by my expenditure history:

My stock cams lasted 50k. They didn't fail... but when I did the cam chain tensioners I got a look at the cams and one of the journals was losing the hard coating and would have eventually made the bearings come apart. This was due to the heat in the engine (rear inner cam bearing journal) and the lousy stock bearings. Upgrade cost to Torrington bearings from the factory? $20 maybe...

Here's some more...

You don't deserve to see properly at night... unless you spend $500 to upgrade your headlamp to LEDs.

You need to die when your bike just stops running while riding at speed because your Chinese ignition switch is junk. Short life (I had three) HD switch cost? $130... long life J&P switch cost? $40.

You need to buy a battery every 2-3 years.

You need to replace your fuel filter every 25k.

You need to replace your cam chain tensioners every 35k. (Best to change to adjustable push rods so you can properly inspect your tensioners).

You need to replace your wheel bearings at 50k.

Your front brake master cylinder needs to be replaced at 50k because the brake fluid seeps and ruins your paint or your chrome.

You need to check your primary chain tension every 25k because you don't deserve and automatic tensioner that costs about $50 more than the stock one.

You need to replace your brake rotors to floating rotors that cost $50 more than a stock one so that they last longer.

You need to replace your voltage regulator that was made in China or wherever... and your stator and maybe your compensator too. Good ones in the USA cost $40 more.

Your bullet style snap in signal lenses break from vibration at every 10k or so... if they haven't already fallen out... known as the fall out maintenance plan so why make them any better approach.

You don't deserve a tachometer. You also get to replace your speedometer at 35k.

You don't deserve a 6 speed transmission with overdrive to keep your touring rpms (and gas mileage) in a wallet preserving mode.

You don't deserve a better designed manual cruise control for about $75 extra.

You need to throw away a bunch of perfectly good handlebars, foot pegs (which you already upgraded to get rid of the junk ones that came stock), and seat in order to get the bike to fit you ergonomically.

You need to spend $200 to have your rusted stock spokes upgraded to stainless because you didn't deserve $50 better spokes from the factory.

The inside of your wheel rim is rusted due to moisture entering at the spoke nipples and condensing. Buy a new rim for $200 when you upgrade your spokes. Or, buy an aftermarket tubeless laced wheel for $250 more than the factory wheel.

You need to spend $350 to get your fork bottom legs chromed because the clear coat on the stock ones doesn't last the road splatter.

You have to change tire manufacturers to double your mileage but get the same performance at the same cost as stock.

You get to throw away your third set of custom flush mount gas gauge and fuel cap and go back to stock because your custom gas gauge looks good but keeps failing and your pop up fuel cap keeps sticking and won't pop up.

The frame, paint on the tins, upper fork tubes, stock gas cap, your rotor, your fuses, and the long block of your engine are pretty good though.

What does this mean? If you want long mileage and quality buy the last items and then build a custom bike with your own wrenches.

P.S. All of these "corrections" were readily available when my bike was made. This list of issues came about when I was asked about how I spent my money on my bike in a survey. I wish I hadn't done the survey... it was waaaayyyy too depressing. At least I was able to do the work... if I had paid to have it done by a dealer... well, I don't want to think about that.

C#

 

I believe that Harley figured out their demographic and builds the bikes accordingly.

Most go on average, 5000 miles per year. (We used that figure when figuring trades at the Dealerships I worked at.)

Most see rain rarely, and are cleaned / polished regularly. They'll look good a long time.
The exceptions to that practise have to keep their bikes in exceptionally clean condition.

My bike was an early twin cam with the forged crank and Timken bearings and ran a relatively short 4" stroke. Harley was still refining the motor in '99 and overbuilt the '99 to '02 models. (Mine has 150,000 miles on it.) Harley figured that out and went with cast cranks and cheaper roller bearings since then.

They know their market.

 

First top end at 120, bottom end at 150, just turned over 165,000 miles.
Mobil 1, oil change 5000-10,000 ride in extreme conditions every day (see video at bottom)
No burn outs, this is my daily transportation.
If you don't abuse them they are good for 150-200 unless something breaks like 02's did.

 

Well it's good to see this thread still has some life in it. I am within a week or so of hitting 100K. My 05 Heritge purrs like a kitten still. I have run syn since 1000 miles and amsoil since 10K. Change every 5000 miles without fail. I did install the camchain tensioner upgrade which included an improved oil pump, but nothing else. I inspected the pads a few thousand miles ago when changing tires. Virtually no wear in 60K miles I am happy to report. I have had my share of main shaft seal and transmission problems, but that is another story.

A note on the tires. Went back to Dunlop after several sets of Metzelers. Met a Harley rep in Daytona that said they put Dunlops on the bikes for handling. I switched back and could not believe the difference. Almost ran off the road when I left my drive first time. Like power stearing. I'll be using Dunlops from now on, reduced wear or not.

Back to mileage. I thought I'd check in because I am considering a 3000 mile trip and don't want to get stranded out of state. I am encouraged by what I am reading. BTW, what kind of resale value is there after 100K?