I second that JamieWG, I've only owned my bike for a short time but I absolutely love it and my Harley helmet and chaps. Call me a RUB if you like but I saved a long time to buy a Harley. Yep I bought a name, at least its made in the good old USA and its not built with a bunch of cheep plastic.

 

Wow Jamie, that was profound!! I read all the put downs and complaints and take them with a grain of salt. I used to own a "wing" and it had its problems and so did the dealer. The biggest problem it had was the hit in my billfold when I sold it. I said it then and I will now, I will never own anything but a Harley ever, ever, ever!!! I love my Road King. If it has a problem we will fix it. That's it!! The RK is a solid, well engineered machine. I enjoy everything about it and nobody is going to take away from that. Harley drivers are different. Like the helmet sticker says, "if I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand." Buy your bike your going to love it and we will grow on you.

 

Cache,
You're gonna love the bike, no worries. Most of us have never had any problems. As has been said, many of the problems you read about on the forum are a result of modifications. There are thousands of possible modification combinations available, and it's unlikely that you're going to get it bang on the money without a little research, so folks have glitches, they come here to get 'em fixed, once fixed they're so damn happy with the bike they go riding and don't post the results. If you track down one of the Honda cage forums, where guys are tearing into their engines and changing everything out, and hooking up their computers to do remaps on the fly, working to make a 4 banger competitive with a v8...you'll see lots of issues. But those guys aren't dumping all that money into those cars because it's a cheap product, and neither are HD owners.

I own a Sportster, bought it hopped on it, rode it about 6 thousand miles in a trip, then changed the oil. Never had any issues with the bike. I now have a Street Glide on order, but I'm keeping the Sporty. I like HD.

JamieWG,
Critical thinking when applied to consumerism requires that we question the motivations behind changes in the products we buy. There are a multitude of reasons that a company might choose to make changes in their product line, and profit will ALWAYS be a consideration.

The MoCo is out to make money, and I have no objection to this, more power to 'em, and they can have some of mine. It is historically demonstrable that manufacturers use cost-cutting formulas to maximize profit, and they factor in numerous considerations when making those decisions, one of which is the expected life of the product. The are two ways to do long term R&D: do extensive in house testing and research, finalize a product with real world testing to it's maximum forseeable lifespan, release the final product...and pass the cost of research on to the consumer. Or, do in house testing and research, get a finished product with a reasonable success rate and calculated lifespan, pass it on to the consumer with a good faith gurantee to resolve any issues that arise. Most companies go with the latter. Including pharmaceutical companies.

As critical thinkers, it is reasonable to assess the changes, determine the possible motivations, and make judgements about the result. Much of the technical wrangling on this and other HD sites is a result of these judgements, so we see a lot of people questioning the MoCo. As is proper, question your government as well, they DON'T know what's good for you. And, just like politics, some of us are going to fall on different sides of the issues. Some folks think everything post-Ironhead was a mistake. Cool, no issues here, but I don't have one. The mistake would be that people who spend so much time on this forum are here just to bash HD. We have the extremes on either end, sure, but most of us are just after some truth.

By the by, I am NOT an engineer. But I don't think that just because someone IS an engineer they're inherently smarter than I am. I've corrected too many engineering mistakes to believe that.

Thanks, all, sorry about the novel. Enjoy the ride!

 

Crap shoot you say??...naw, I'm on my 15th (I think) Harley. Sure, there's been the occasional recall, every one taken care of promptly, and satisfactorily. Maybe some other odds and ends, but nothing to give me a headache. My 05 had the Stage ll big bore kit with cams and torque pipes installed, and runs flawlessly. Couldn't be happier.

 

Get it. Ride it. Enjoy it. I'm still on my first Harley. I have'nt needed another one. Or needed to do much to it.

 

Cache,

I’m responding to validate your skepticisms. These problems with HD and their motor bikes make all of us at times wonder of the MoCo’s decisions/intensions/motivations/agenda. HD is a business, which makes business decisions. (period) Maybe we expect too much from a company which by their own choosing or not has become a national icon, an American Icon.

BUT…

I’m puzzled why you are using this forum to convince yourself of your decision while you wait for delivery. I believe you researched Harley-Davidson and specifically the Ultra Classic. Hey, That’s >20K+ we are talking about for a UC. Why do you want to buy a HD? If you answered that question you probably would not be having cold feet right now or you wouldn’t be investing into the HD lifestyle. Good luck.

 

also keep in mind that a lot of problems are "self induced" caused by "mechanically inclided" crazies tryin to work on there own bike

 

Ive owned 5 HDs in last 10 years. Only real problem I had was when I blew the base gasket out of the rear jug on my 95 heritage. It was due to my own fault. Always, Always completely dry the engine after washing or riding through the rain if you can. What happened was over time riding in rain and not properly drying after washing, the rear seal broke down. This bike(06 Ultra) seems to run hotter than my last 03 Ultra. But the bike is smooth. I rode back from Gatlinburg a few weeks ago in freezing weather. I laughed all the way home. I couldnt help smiling the whole way. Listening to ONA on XM202, NFL football ect.... Its the most content I think I have ever been on a bike. HD hit a home run with the Ultra.
The only way you will not be happy with the Ultra is if you like sportier bikes like an FJR 1300. Which is one of the best sport tourers made. And if you read some forums they are full of people with problems. Such as extreme engine heat, and a mysterious ticking noise in about 1 out of 6 of them.
Only real gripe on mine is my wife has a hard time getting on the back. She is going to have to do some yoga or something. But when she gets on there she is all smiles. Other than that Im going to throw an oil cooler on her (the bike, not the wife) in March and I will be good to go. But I have done that on all my Harleys due to living in the south.

 

My experience from deleivery, pick up, ride home and the little riding I've done so far is excellent! I couldn't be more pleased.