The alternatives to Harley Davidson
Discussion
Janluke said:
The whole slowing down thing is interesting. I've had several pals who have swapped Sports bikes for nakeds, cruisers or supermotos because they "felt" the "should" be slowing down due to kids on the way, getting older, partner pressure or losing a fellow rider. In most cases they swapped back within a year often blaming the bike when in fact they just where not ready to reduce the pace
Yeah, if you ride at 3 figure plus everywhere on a sportsbike, you can do similar on an adventure bike, naked, cruiser if you want to and your neck muscles are up to it 
I find the lack of a screen/fairing does help a lot in keeping it in points versus prison territory
Indian.
If you want an alternative to a glide choose a Chieftain or Road Master. Road King alternative would be a Chief Vintage. Or of it's Sportster territory then a Scout. The Indians are quicker, handle better and are better specced that anything HD offers out-of-the-box. Some great heritage with the brand, and there's the added advantage you don't have to cut the sleeves off your jacket, grow a beard or ride with a scowl.
I've got 5000 miles on the Chief now, and its a fantastically capable bike...if you like the style, which I do.
Shameless opportunity to post up a couple of pics
If you want an alternative to a glide choose a Chieftain or Road Master. Road King alternative would be a Chief Vintage. Or of it's Sportster territory then a Scout. The Indians are quicker, handle better and are better specced that anything HD offers out-of-the-box. Some great heritage with the brand, and there's the added advantage you don't have to cut the sleeves off your jacket, grow a beard or ride with a scowl.
I've got 5000 miles on the Chief now, and its a fantastically capable bike...if you like the style, which I do.
Shameless opportunity to post up a couple of pics
Thats an awesome Indian! Thats a bit bigger then a scout though.
Janluke said:
The whole slowing down thing is interesting. I've had several pals who have swapped Sports bikes for nakeds, cruisers or supermotos because they "felt" the "should" be slowing down due to kids on the way, getting older, partner pressure or losing a fellow rider. In most cases they swapped back within a year often blaming the bike when in fact they just where not ready to reduce the pace
Well if they had track bikes they may have scratched that speed and performance itch, allowing them to chill on the naked. Maybe?Also Supermoto's dont slow you down all that much. They just make you want to wheelie, throw the bike in corners and do skids.
Supermoto's can be more of a liability! I have put mine away for this year.
Still... crusing along chilling is sort of appealing. That Moto Guzzi is calling me.
Edited by Renn Sport on Thursday 25th June 12:13
I've been in the same boat lately.
I needed a bike that eats up miles like it's nobodies business, shaft drive, plenty of HP and wind protection. The VFR1200F fit the bill perfectly.
However, I changed work and the bike is no longer a requirement due to plenty of parking and light traffic. It gets used around town were, tbh, everything above 1st gear is a bit much.
So, I've been looking at "café racers", for their look, inherent coolness and seemingly ease of use.
The Moto Guzzi V7 has caught my eye. And for it's price, it looks flippin' ace. The Thriumph Thruxton is another contender.
I know these bikes will still ask you to go fast, but I'm telling myself it'll be nowhere near the pace of the VFR.
I needed a bike that eats up miles like it's nobodies business, shaft drive, plenty of HP and wind protection. The VFR1200F fit the bill perfectly.
However, I changed work and the bike is no longer a requirement due to plenty of parking and light traffic. It gets used around town were, tbh, everything above 1st gear is a bit much.
So, I've been looking at "café racers", for their look, inherent coolness and seemingly ease of use.
The Moto Guzzi V7 has caught my eye. And for it's price, it looks flippin' ace. The Thriumph Thruxton is another contender.
I know these bikes will still ask you to go fast, but I'm telling myself it'll be nowhere near the pace of the VFR.
Casios keep better time than Omegas, but you can keep your Casio. I want a FatBoy because of Terminator and the name. I'm aware it wont be the most agile, light, best-at-job bike but it's what I would have in my garage were I to scratch the itch. All the non bikers asking you "Is it a Harley?" and you having to explain "No, its actually better because...." and you lost them at "No".
Get the Harley and be true to yourself that you don't care how far it can lean and if you will have chicken strips on it.
edit to add, But I really like your Indian Mr.!!
Get the Harley and be true to yourself that you don't care how far it can lean and if you will have chicken strips on it.
edit to add, But I really like your Indian Mr.!!
Hooli said:
bogie said:
If you want to ride slowly, get a piss pot helmet and sunglasses, then you wont go above 50mph very often on anything
b
ks, I ride faster in my open face than my full face lid. The noise comes from the correct direction & the view is better so I feel more in control. I always find my eyes are streaming from the wind and im fearing bird/insect strike ...last year I had a bird and 2 big bee strikes to the face. The scars I have from teenage off road riding with open face remind me dailyI do have a convertible helmet and prefer it open around town, but I don't feel safe in an open helmet at NSL +
Gusto said:
I want a FatBoy because of Terminator and the name. I'm aware it wont be the most agile, light, best-at-job bike but it's what I would have in my garage were I to scratch the itch. All the non bikers asking you "Is it a Harley?" and you having to explain "No, its actually better because...." and you lost them at "No".
When there's an Indian parked up beside it, trust me, no-one's going to ask what your Fat Boy is - they're all round the Indian taking photos. They get waaaay more interest from non-bikers than Harleys do - trust me What's especially nice is you get older folks who come up and want to share and reminisce.For me, even though I like the style, Harley Davidson (like Ferrari) is a toxic brand. Too much undesirable baggage no matter how good the product might be.
bogie said:
Hooli said:
bogie said:
If you want to ride slowly, get a piss pot helmet and sunglasses, then you wont go above 50mph very often on anything
bks, I ride faster in my open face than my full face lid. The noise comes from the correct direction & the view is better so I feel more in control. I always find my eyes are streaming from the wind and im fearing bird/insect strike ...last year I had a bird and 2 big bee strikes to the face. The scars I have from teenage off road riding with open face remind me dailyI do have a convertible helmet and prefer it open around town, but I don't feel safe in an open helmet at NSL +
As for bees etc, it's odd I hardly ever get any but I do recall how often I heard them wearing a full face. Maybe I'm so ugly they move out they way?
Moto Guzzi Griso's are quite nice - a bit cruiser-ish and a bit café racer, maybe. Yamaha XVS1300 Midnight Star are awesome handling - you can get the footboards scraping on a dead straight road at 40 without leaving your own lane. I suspect the novelty might wear off eventually though.
Here is a photo of my Honda Rune (along with my concours T100) well worth considering there were only about 2000 made in 2004 and about 20 in the UK and very occasionally one comes up for £15-16K. Wherever I take it I get crowds of people admiring it and at the 2 wheel extravaganza the other day there was a fairly regular group of people around it all day, most people think it's a £50k custom job although they did cost Honda $120,000 each to produce (reportedly) It is a big comfortable cruiser and the flat 6 1800 cc engine pulls with monstrous torque and it's heavy weight disappears over 10 mph. Not to everyones taste but of the three of us local guys who own them we will never sell ours, potentially a good useable investment too.
Edited by BIRMA on Thursday 25th June 19:17
Edited by BIRMA on Thursday 25th June 19:24
Edited by BIRMA on Thursday 25th June 20:03
tvrolet said:
Indian.
If you want an alternative to a glide choose a Chieftain or Road Master. Road King alternative would be a Chief Vintage. Or of it's Sportster territory then a Scout. The Indians are quicker, handle better and are better specced that anything HD offers out-of-the-box. Some great heritage with the brand, and there's the added advantage you don't have to cut the sleeves off your jacket, grow a beard or ride with a scowl.
I've got 5000 miles on the Chief now, and its a fantastically capable bike...if you like the style, which I do.
Shameless opportunity to post up a couple of pics
I have a CVO Roadk King, great bike, handles well, has a 110 engine, never have a problem keeping up with sports bikes on ride outs. But Indian are worth having a look at. I would consider an Indian next, but some of the above comments are not strictly true. Haven't read anywhere that the Indians are quicker and handle better, unless you browse the Indian forum site. Most ride reviews do not come to that conclusion. If you read the forums, there are plenty of issues with the Indians, new bike, the engine has only been around just over a year, so still an unknown. They have had issues with soft paint, although they are moving painting to a new facility to counter this. As for Heritage, if that floats your boat, Indian name has been around, but it has been used by 3 different manufacturers before Polaris bought the name. As for not having to cut your sleeves off to ride one, I would disagree with that, as the majority of Indian riders are ex Harley riders, so unless they updated their wardrobes, same people. But the Scout does look good and I am looking at one for a second bike.If you want an alternative to a glide choose a Chieftain or Road Master. Road King alternative would be a Chief Vintage. Or of it's Sportster territory then a Scout. The Indians are quicker, handle better and are better specced that anything HD offers out-of-the-box. Some great heritage with the brand, and there's the added advantage you don't have to cut the sleeves off your jacket, grow a beard or ride with a scowl.
I've got 5000 miles on the Chief now, and its a fantastically capable bike...if you like the style, which I do.
Shameless opportunity to post up a couple of pics
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff