Over and over again, posters here bemoan the lack of power of their Harleys, and claim the Motor Company is 'not keeping up.' The current hot thread has such coments as:[/align][/align]" let's face it they are the slowest damn things on 2 wheels"[/align]"their antiquated motor designs"[/align]"All I am trying to state here is that the Harley, off the line is about as slow and cumbersome as they come"[/align]"it frustrates me that a stock meanstreak can outrun a stock softail harley costs 2x as much "[/align]"In the metric market you don't have the problem of having to modify your engine and buying tons of accessaries"[/align]"Then there's the problem of clanging and whining in the transmission. There's no way the metric market could get away with this"[/align]"but everyone has known for years that Harley has had the weakest bikes on the market"[/align]"But I would of like to of been informed of exactly what I bought , before I bought it."[/align]"cause after you take away the loud a*s pipes, you have nothing but a big to heavy slow air compressor."[/align]"Hey, the HD Big V-Twin is the world's most efficient device ever created forconveting gasoline into noise without creating power. God, I love my RKC. "[/align]"[/align][/align]What's the saying? Opinions are like *****, everyone has one![/align]This thread is to debunk all of the above comments with facts.[/align][/align]All performance stats come from Motorcycle Consumer News. This is anexcellent magazine (www.mcnews.com)devoted to testing motorcycle products. They accept no advertising, and "tell it like it is" with their comments. Unless otherwise noted,I will be taking information from the Jan 2007 issue, pages 32-36, which is a synopsis of road test results dating back to 1999. Information will include testing date and model, rear wheel hp and torque,[/align][/align]I will be posting testing results of V-twins similar in size and weight to the Harley Road King, as that was the bike the poster on the other thread was bemoaning. These are bikes classified by MCNews as "heavyweight cruisers."[/align][/align]I will then post some V-Rod stats, vs the other specialized V-twins, such as the Yamaha Warrior and Kawasaki Mean Streak.[/align][/align]Hopefully, when you look at these facts, you can agree with this opinion, also taken from the other thread:[/align][/align]"Problem is that too many did not ride in the 60's, 70's and 80's...these new bikes are great."[/align][/align]PLEASE GIVE ME A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO COPY AND PASTE THE NEXT POST BEFORE MAKING COMMENTS. [/align]

 

All testing done with California legal emissions on stock, as delivered, motorcycles. Dyno tests at Cycle City Dynomenter, Irvine, California, corrected for temp and barametric pressure. Quarter mile times as indicated by Stalker Radar. Variations due to temp, barametric pressures, humidity and wind are factored in: Maximum variance .3 mph on quarter mile times. It should be noted that not one of the bikes in this first group could attain a speed of 100 mph as delivered by the factory, EXCEPT the 2007 Road King, which attained a top speed of 109.7 mph.[/align][/align]
[/align]Bike Test Hp Tq Wgt1/4 Mile Time/Speed[/align][/align]FLHRTC883/99 62.376.5 750 13.94 @ 91.85[/align]FLHRS TC96 4/07 66.44 78.34 74413.44@ 96.44[/align][/align]Yamaha 7/99 52.1 83.1 740 14.2 @ 91.15
RoadStar1600[/align][/align]Kawasaki [/align]Vulcan1500FI8/00 54.0 73.5 72013.63@ 94.82 [/align]Drifter 1500FI 7/00 54.6 100.1 74113.94 @ 92.60[/align]1600 Classic 7/03 55.4 81.5 74413.65 @ 94.33[/align][/align]Suzuki[/align]Intruder 1500 4/98 52.9 73.5701 14.15 @ 92.10[/align][/align]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/align][/align]
"it frustrates me that a stock meanstreak can outrun a stock softail harley costs 2x as much"[/align][/align]FXST [/align]Softail 11/99 57.7 71.8 664 13.13 @ 98.99[/align]$12,355 cost[/align][/align]Kawasaki[/align]Mean Streak 10/01 62.7 75.6 69513.29@ 99.52[/align]$10,999 cost[/align]120 mph Top Speed[/align][/align]Yamaha[/align]Warrior 4/02 71.8 92.4 654 12.25 @ 105.52[/align]$11,999 cost[/align]125 mph Top Speed[/align][/align]Harley[/align]VRod[/align]VRSC 11/01103.2 72 619 11.38 @ 119.07[/align]VRSCR 5/05102.2 68.4 63612.07 @114.81[/align][/align]2007 VRod [/align]VRSCX 6/07 107.4 75.9 675.511.46 @ 117.57[/align]1245 cc[/align]138.1 mph Top Speed[/align][/align]As you can see, when you compare "apples t

 

Ok

 

Can't get on mcn site. Too many harleys riders trying to find out how fast their hogs are!

 

H/D's are NOT about performance. If you want performance, sell your H/D and go buy a sportbike.

~Joe

 

Tell that to the thousands of guys that spend big bucks making thier hogs fast.

 

"In the metric market you don't have the problem of having to modify your engine and buying tons of accessaries"

I taught MSF for six years, using Hondas, Yamahas, and Suzukis. The first thing our state's MSF mechanic did was drill out the idle caps and tune the bikes so they would run at slow speed without stalling. Companies like Cobra manufacture FI modules for dozens of bikes of various makes.

"Then there's the problem of clanging and whining in the transmission. There's no way the metric market could get away with this"

The number one complaint on several of the Yamaha cruiser models is noisy clutches.

"But I would of like to of been informed of exactly what I bought , before I bought it."

With dozens of magazines offering road test results and critiques, all racing to be the first on the news stands with new model testing, that comment is just plain ridiculous.

"Hey, the HD Big V-Twin is the world's most efficient device ever created forconveting gasoline into noise without creating power. God, I love my RKC. "

Although that comment was made in fun, it should be noted that the Harleys still remain one of the top bikes in fuel mileage. Anyone who has taken a road trip with riders on other makes, can attest to that fact. Most of the competition struggle to get
[/align]40 mpg. We average 42 mpg on our Ultra pulling our Bunkhouse camper.




[IMG]local://upfiles/38853/69266C0114CE404F92D56C2E2DE91227.jpg[/IMG]

 

WHAT WE HAVE HERE............IS........A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE. THEIR ARE SOME MEN YOU JUST CAN'T REACH.

You would make an excellent attorney. Everyone knows of the problems with Harley. Its no secret dude. Buy one and you will find out quick.
Your taking isolated situations and trying to build a case to suit your opinion. Why arn't you out on that wonderful Harley rather than ranting in here ?

 

If that comment was directed at me, right now it's 44 degrees and pouring rain in SW Mn. As far as riding, we purchased our trouble free '06 Ultra on 6/21/06 and will be taking it in for it's 20,000 mile checkup on Friday. And we have an 8 month riding season in Mn.

Every now and then, someone talks about their fine BMW's. Here's a little research I did on that when a BMW rider was knocking Harleys. He rode a R1200 RT boxer, so I compared it to a 1200 Sportster.

A check of the BMW site has 1200 boxers base priced from $12,600 for the bare bones R1200R to $16,650 for the tour equipped R1200RT, both of which have 85 ft/lbs of torque at 6,000 RPM.

Harley base prices out the most expensive 1200 Sportsters at $9695, the lowest at $8895. None include fairings or bags. Torque is 79 ft/lbs at a much lower RPM of 4,000 RPM. Hiway milieage is 57 mpg.

The forums on Rider magazine have been full of complaints about BMW's problems the past few years, with many recalls. Here's a list of their recalls,

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/mo...bmw/index.html

For the extra price and "German engineering," I wouldn't think they would be on the list at all!

No matter who produces a bike or car, no matter how much testing is done, the real test does not start until the public gets them. That has certainly been demonstrated with the TC88 cam problems and now the TC96 driveline problem on the '07's. Kawasaki had plastic oil pump gears failing. Honda has had overheated Gold Wings, broken frames, and now the lastest-- incredible front end wear showing up around 20,000 miles, with the "fix" costing about $2000 (MCNews, March '07).

 

Are you aware that large letters in your post means your SHOUTING! I don't like getting drawn into these threads but WTF! Maybe he's not out riding because it's raining in his part of the world. Maybe he has a family obligation and couldn't get out today. I don't know and neither do you so let's not jump to conclusions. Obviously the original poster is tired of folks slamming Harleys on this forum and is providing facts tobring balance to the discussion. My take on the whole situation is there are to many people in cyberspace that like to hear themselves bitch, and would pi$$ and moan about whatever bike they owned. It's more comforting for these folks to blame an inanimate object than to look at their own negative attitude and lack of knowledge and failure to do their homework. I love everything about my Harley and wouldn't change it for anything else. Lots of members feel this way, so don't be surprised when we defend our wheels and if you can't understand that you can always start your own forum. If I in any way misjudged the intent of your post, I sincerely apologize.