I agree, Same price get the 08. Lower miles and 2 years newer. bigger tank and EFI. Or try and get the 06 for 14K. a 88" carbed bike would be cool if the price is right.

 

Your buddy works on more Harley's because there's alot more Harley's out there. Find yourself a nice ride that you can afford and enjoy the heck out of it. You'll never look back. Welcome to the club.

 

I will say you guys break the rep of most harley guys I have run into. I usually get no respect until I blast them out of the way on the highway.

....I know for a fact my 1300 will smoke a fatboy. Where is the mods page so I can open this thing up when I get it home. Already told the guy I wasn't paying more than 14500 for the SG.

 

And I forgot to mention the remainder of the warranty.

 

Its like an american car you can do most the wrench work yourself and the forums are very helpful.

 

Go with the 08. Several differences between the '06 and the '08 you're looking at. '08 has 96 vs. 88 cu in motor, 6 gallon tank vs. 5 gallon tank, Brembo brakes, EFI vs. Carb, 6 speed vs. 5 speed, additional engine stabilizer bar/motor mount on '08 and a few other things as well. Both are good bikes and would serve your purposes equally well, but for the money I'd buy the '08.

 

I'd go with the 08 too

 

By the way, just an aside after replying to your post I ran across a listing of motorcycle recalls as published by the NHTSA that I thought you might find informative. http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/mo...006/index.html HD has been around for 106 years and like anything else, their product has improved and so has the reliability factor. Because HD's are so popular there are a lot of opinions about them both in general and about their reliability, or lack thereof. Most of what I've heard are from uninformed sources...people who do not own an HD and even sometimes from people who do not ride at all. Kinda like, they heard it from a friend...who heard it from his friend who knows somebody that rides a Harley sort of thing.

Anyway to get back to my point, the link I provided above lists all of the motorcycle brands that have had recalls dating all the way back to 1967. Just to give you some idea for HD's reliability, I went back and looked at the past 5 years....and there was not 1 single recall for HD between 2004 to 2009. However, there were several japanese brands listed during those years. As a matter of fact, you may be surprised to learn that for every single year between the years 2004 and 2009 there was at least 1 japanese manufacturer on the list (Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki or Suzuki). Most years there was more than 1. In total I counted 16 motorcycle recalls for just the past 5 years between the 4 japanese brands I mentioned. The data is contained in the link so you can check it out for yourself. From this do I mean to imply that japanese bikes are not reliable? No. However, the data is provided by the NHTSA who is an unbiased 3rd party, so it should at least serve to quell your fears about HD's being unreliable or somehow inferior to japanese quality. On a personal note, I've never had to do anything to either of my Harley's other than routine maintenence and unlike all the rumors...never a single drop of oil has ever leaked out.

Having said all that, I've ridden on the streets for 23 years now and besides the Harley's I've owned, some of my other favorite bikes are japanese bikes that I used to own. All were great bikes and all of which I wish that I still had today. All things being equal, if I had to choose only 1 bike to keep in my garage and ride indefinitely I would choose a Harley. As a matter of fact, I've bought 4 bikes in the past 4 years (2 were HD's). I like a variety of different bikes and different syles of riding. Recently, I sold all my bikes....except one...the one you see in the photo below. It's all I need.

In closing, just a couple other quick thoughts to feed your brain. HD is without exception the most copied motorcycle brand ever. HD sells more bikes every year than all of the 4 japanese brands put together. HD has more dealers nationwide than all the rest and there is far and away more parts/accessories through the aftermarket by at least 10 to 1. HD has the largest (international) owners club (over 1 million). HD holds it's resale value better than any of the japanese brands. So what it all boils down to is what kind of bike you want to be riding. If you buy a Harley, you will find yourself in good company with many others.....most of whom if they were honest with you would tell you that they to used to ride japanese bikes also. So it's your call, but at least now maybe I've given you a few things to consider when deciding whether a Harley is right for you.

 

The bikes are pretty much bullet-proof... Not much to them, doesn't need any more maintenance than any other motorcycle. In fact, I think they need less because you don't have to touch the valves.

I think most owners go way overboard/paranoid on some of the maintenance items and a lot dealers just bend people over for it. My local dealer wants $500 for a 1k service, which is absolutely absurd considering what it entails.

That being said... In terms of resale value they are better than Japanese bikes, but BMW's have always been and probably always will stay the highest in resale...

 

Too late with the VTX, it already rode off the day you bought it. As far as extras adding value, that depends on if the new buyer wants what the bike already has. Usually adds no value when traded and little when privately sold.