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I ride a lot! Ive been stranded more times than Gilligan and the skipper combined on Japanese, Italian, and HDs.
Stranded on my 2000 RG twice:
#1-Bad cam position sensor.
#2-Flat rear tire.
Stranded on my 2005 EG turned RG:
#1-A bolt backed out of my intake, went through the intake, down into the front cylinder, and hit the piston. (FU*K!!!!)
#2-Starter pistion would not engage, easy fix (once we figured out the problem).
Do what you want, but you'll look better on the side of the road with the HD than a Jap bike!
20 bikes (metric and Harleys), hundreds of thousands of miles all over the USA, never been stranded once on any of them. It's all about how well you take care of your bikes. I do all of my own wrenching, and I'm religous about it. That way I know it's done right.
One footnote - I never run spokes. I've always gotten rid of my spokes when they came with the bike and put on tubeless tires. I've had flats, but have been able to fix them on the side of the road. If you get a flat with spokes, you are stranded.
I hope you have better luck than I have, I purchaced an 06 ultra 3 months ago and it has been in the shop 7 times so far. From an oil leak the first day to stumbeling, never have got it fixed yet, to engine /valve noise so loud you can hear it at 80 MPH!!!! The origional dealer told me to put louder mufflers on it so I dont hear it. The transmission sounds like it has 300k miles on it It is in the shop again, dont know when I will get it back. The real bummer is I havent had a bike in 30 years, and I shelled out 24k for this piece of s--t. Hope tou have better luck. Does anyone have HD phone number so I can give them a call?
ORIGINAL: Casper
Best to go out and test ride a Ultra and a new Wing and make your choice...on this forum your going to get mostly positive Harley responses, go to gl1800riders.com and you'll get the positive wing responses. you have to make the choice for yourself, not someone else making it for you.
I can't say anything bad about the Wing other than I didn't fit me, I'm 5'7" and the position of the drivers pegs and reaching around the motor to reach the highway pegs didn't work for me, you may be different and it'll work like a charm for you....try them both.
BMW, way too tall for me, didn't even look at it..
Great advice. Don't hand over 18-30K without riding the bikes. In thirteen and a half years, my Harley Electra Glide Sport (FLHS) has broke down numerous times, but luckily never out on a lonely stretch of road. Most of the problems have been batteries. Never anything that couldn't be fixed quickly by the nearest dealer, or by sending someone for a new battery.
You can go rent a HD in pretty much the model you are looking at buying. Costs under $200 for a 24hr period. It will be money well spent if you've never owned or ridden a HD before. Most of the Honda dealers will also let you test ride the bikes, check ahead before going. I'm leaning toward a new 'Wing myself, because I really like putting on the miles and HD hasn't made the touring bike I would buy. And I gotta agree with Casper, the BMW does sit higher. It's more luxo-sport touring. I've got a buddy that rides the big Yamaha and he loves it, so there are lots of motorcycles out there.
But if you Gotta Have A Harley.....Get a Harley. You won't be content with anything else. But there are other motorcycles out there.
I hope you have better luck than I have, I purchaced an 06 ultra 3 months ago and it has been in the shop 7 times so far. From an oil leak the first day to stumbeling, never have got it fixed yet, to engine /valve noise so loud you can hear it at 80 MPH!!!! The origional dealer told me to put louder mufflers on it so I dont hear it. The transmission sounds like it has 300k miles on it It is in the shop again, dont know when I will get it back. The real bummer is I havent had a bike in 30 years, and I shelled out 24k for this piece of s--t. Hope tou have better luck. Does anyone have HD phone number so I can give them a call?
Our state has a lemon law for original purchaser's, dealer gets 3 tries to make it right, they they are required to buy it back, including all extras, less ?cents per mile of use. I would check into it most states have it, or I would be on the phone with HD rep. they can get you fixed or into a new bike. The numbers are in the back of your owners manual.
I hope you have better luck than I have, I purchaced an 06 ultra 3 months ago and it has been in the shop 7 times so far. From an oil leak the first day to stumbeling, never have got it fixed yet, to engine /valve noise so loud you can hear it at 80 MPH!!!! The origional dealer told me to put louder mufflers on it so I dont hear it. The transmission sounds like it has 300k miles on it It is in the shop again, dont know when I will get it back. The real bummer is I havent had a bike in 30 years, and I shelled out 24k for this piece of s--t. Hope tou have better luck. Does anyone have HD phone number so I can give them a call?
Don't bother calling HD. They've already got your money. And a growing supply of bikes. The oil leak and stumble needs to get fixed by the dealer. Why can't or won't they do that? I know you probably don't want to hear this, but these things make lots of noise. None of which, if you are not used to it, sounds normal. If this is your first bike in 30 years, is it also your first Harley? It was mine 13 years ago after a twenty year absence. I had previously owned a Triumph 650 Bonnie and a BMW R75/5. So I knew what noise, vibration, clunky transmissions, and a smooth engine (the BMW flat twin) felt like. Or so I thought. I got five miles from the Harley dealer and almost turned back around to get out of the deal. Which probably wouldn't have been a problem in 1993 as it was extremely difficult to even get a new Harley. I probably could've made a couple grand on it. The bike rode like my old Peterbilt and shifted about the same. It would stumble and cough when it was cold because of the lean factory settings. But, eventually it broke it. And I added a few things to make it run better: Filter, mufflers, ignition, cam. I'm not saying that the noises go away, perhaps you just get used to them. Mine has 47K on it, still makes all kinds of valve/lifter noise. Tranny still growls/whines. At times it sounds like I've got an empty gas tank and someone put a handfull of ball bearing in it.
In 104k miles (so far) on this bike, I was stranded once 35 miles from my house. That was back in 1998, and the culprit was an unknown road obstacle that lacerated my front wheel valve stem, rapidly leaking the air out of the tire. Could not fix on the road, so phoned friend with trailer. Like who carries spare valve stems?
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