I appreciate the constructive comments and will purchase the adj pegs--I know that will go a long way to making the wife happy.

And for those who going down the "not a Harley Guy" road, well, I rode a Harley before the majority of the current "Harley Guys" were weaned off their training wheels. And perhaps I am not a Harley Guy. But I am a motorcycle guy. I have put more miles off the road than most Harley Guys put on the road. And I have done my fair share on the road.

Again, I love the bike but understand my wife's complaints, complaints that Harley has addressed via their catalog. And again, $350 for an oil change is just wrong.

But again, thanks for the info regarding the "comfort bars" and the adj Kuryakyn pegs...

JackL

 

I've had hondas and suzukis for 17 years and always dreamed of buying a Harley. I finally got to the Harley dealer a month ago and 45 minutes later I purchased my 2011 elctra glide limited. I'm loving every minute of it even if there is a ton of **** that I would love to modify. I gotta recoup a little save some money and then I will modify. Every morning I start that baby up at 430 am to go to work and still can't believe that I am riding my dream. As far as the wife she ain't talking to me yet still pissed that I spent this money so I got her the sticker that says " I got a Harley for my wife,
The best trade I ever made"
I've ridden small and large cruisers and tourers there is NOTHING LIKE A HARLEY!

 

Nice looking wife, and the bike's nice too. A lot of what you say is true. I guess it's all part of HD's individuality, freedom, and lifestyle baloney they try to indoctrinate their customers with. It is amazing to me with the incredible technology available in the automotive world, HD still does things so 50's and 60's- ish. Two main reasons I bought a HD versus another brand. One, it used to be there was a dealer almost anywhere you went if you needed help on the road; and, two, I've been an oil/cooled guy even in my cars, so I wanted the same in my bike.

 

+1!! What he said.

ps...Hope you get your cable fixed soon

 

[quote=Navyrep1;8588668]Awwww come on guys....you're being way too hard on the Beav tonight. At least lube up first. He dreamed about a bike, bought a bike, now Mamma ain't happy. As we all know; if Mamma ain't happy then nobody's happy. He obviously talked her into it, she's not happy and wants her pants back now, and now he's taking his lumps. Why he'd air his dirty laundry here for the entire world to take shots at him....well, that's anyone's guess. Gee, how dumb is that anyway...go to a HD forum, talk about your "extensive research", shitty product, too much money, and resultant buyer's remorse because it isn't perfect....scale of 1 to 10, that's at least a 9. Dear God man! Get a grip. I've heard about some of those city people that take pleasure from getting beaten....you must be one of them.}
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This is pretty funny and entertaining . . . LOL

Ya gotta admit though, after inciting over 80 some posts there is a nerve being hit.
I feel your pain , Jackloganbill !!
My wife has the airhawk seat cushion and a pro pad gel pad installed. I still have to give her a break after about 2 hours in the saddle.

by the way here is a good deal on the slanted bag rails; http://www.surdyke.com/AdvSearch.asp enter P/N = 49179-09 in search window

 

I would somewhat agree with your general complaint, for the cost of one of the touring bikes you'd expect a bit more in return. Remember though, you're paying for style and character, not engineering supremacy. If you want a 2 wheeled transportation appliance, a Goldwing is a much better choice. Harley knows we'll pay out the wazoo for a stock bike, then spend a large sum after the fact personalizing it to taste, fixing what we individually feel are the shortcomings.

Most people complain about the heat. It personally doesn't bother me, I've done a stage 1 but have left the stock header and just live with it. My girlfriend doesn't think the profile guards look any better and they wouldn't help her complaints, so I haven't put them on my bike. As for the shocks... it's rougher than I expected, but is still better than my previous bikes so I'm not complaining.

I did ride several new Harleys before buying mine, so I did have a bit better understanding of what I was getting into, though. As others have mentioned, a longer demo ride would've revealed the shortcomings for you.

 

I completely understand your frustration, especially about mama being uncomfortable. A couple of observations, however. First, I didn't see your location but this is an air-cooled bike and there is NO SHORTAGE of complaints, gripes, fixes and products aimed directly at that problem on this forum. Ya can't say you ain't been warned...


Second, well.... trying to figure out how to put it... you said yourself that you had Harley's "since before y'all were a twinkle in yer daddy's eye" or somesuch... Well, since you went on to other brands then I assume that your Harley experience wasn't all slurps n roses. You must have know from that experience that Harleys have, uh, "character".

Perhaps you assumed that a spanking new $30K+ Harley would be diff'rent? Or perhaps the Harley mystique/aura/history/pride just doesn't speak to you in the same way it does to others, allowing you forgive her transgressions? That's not a knock on you for wanting a trouble-free ride, but that is also not a Harley. Maybe it is a GoldWing; I'll never know cuz I drank the Kool-Aid and I now unabashedly belong to the Church of Harley.

Good luck and ride safe,
Sin'

 

All of your complaints are fixable. Not everyone has the same complaints so there is no way Harley can build the perfect bike for everyone. As far as your "research" goes, I don't think so. Everything you complain about has been beaten to death so nothing you say should be a surprise. Good luck with the fixes. Ride safe.

 

I like my Harley a bunch, but I'm not one of those guys who get's a Harley tattoo and would never consider another bike. I would probably switch if there was another bike that fits my needs better, but the fact is, there's not.

If reliability and lower maintenance cost is a big consideration, the Goldwings can be a bike worth checking out. But for one, they don't fit well at all if you're over 6 foot tall. Sure, they make accessories to try and combat the issue, but you still are no where near the comfort level of an HD touring bike even if you aren't long legged. Oh, and guess what? Goldwing owners complain about the suspension too, although that's supposedly addressed in the 2012 models, but the jury's still out on that.

Yes, the heat issue bother me. A lot. I live in Texas and I really don't enjoy riding in July and August. I've got different headers, synthetic oil, stage one... but it's still hot. But from what owners of other bikes tell me, theirs are hot too. Maybe not quite as much, but still very hot.

It does cost a bunch to service your Harley at the dealership, and there are quite a few things on the list to service. But unlike many other bikes, Harleys are fairly easy to do it yourself, and there's tons of resources out there to assist you; from Harley's excellent service manual, to DVD instructions, YouTube videos, and of course this fourm. I do routine stuff like oil changes myself, and found a good Indy to do some things, and I take it back to the dealer for others. But keep this in mind: even though HD service departments aren't cheap, they're everywhere. If you have a problem on the road, there's always a dealership at the next larger town, and most of them will work you in for priority service. Try that with ANY other brand.

The bottom line is that Harley makes a damn good bike. Not perfect, but still very good. But if some other bike works better for you then go for it. But read the owner's boards about complaints first. None of the others are perfect either.

 

Harley has two options that will help your wifes leg issues. They have a tapered saddlebag guard that slopes downward. I'm guessing that is the fix that you mentioned. The other, which will cure it 100%, is to switch to the Street Glide bag supports. Then the offending bar goes away. I'm sorry your not happy with your purchase. I love my bike and think its the most comfortable and best riding motorcycle I have ever owned. I did do a Stage 1 to cool it down and make her sing, but that's it so far!