I think they need to include smaller entry level bikes with all the tech one sees on any late model bike, a competent liquid cooled dual sport & also a couple liquid cooled touring model’s with zero vibration, zero noise & good rider protection.
I think the company would benefit from that, and give more people what they want.
Someday soon I’m moving up to heavy touring bike, and would love HD to have what I want, so I can support fellow American workers..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzlN2zC8PU

Concerning your Honda being assembled by Americans, while you consider that a point of pride I’m deeply, deeply ashamed that there are Americans reduced to working for the Japanese, with the fruits of their labor going straight to Tokyo. But again, you created that situation with your undying support for the Japanese, I didn’t.

Concerning parts availability, yes, you will need parts and no, they won’t be available. You just haven’t accumulated any real miles yet. But why worry about that? You’ll just do what all owners of oriental bikes do, throw it away and buy another one.

Your Gold Wing may be able to outrun some Harleys but at what cost? It’s unquestionably one ugly monstrosity of a motorcycle, a fact you can’t escape no matter how fast you ride. Sure, you don’t have to look at it but other motorists do.

How ugly you ask? From the rear it looks like two Miatas humping.

Congratulations on going 32,000 miles. That’s over 10,000 miles a year, possibly a new record for an oriental motorcycle. How proud you must be. Shooting for 75K-100K before disposing of it seems extremely optimistic, though.

By comparison, my Harley’s approaching the quarter-million mile mark and still going strong. I have no plans (and no need) to ever dispose of it.

You claim that you haven’t seen more than 10,000 miles on the odometers of recent Harleys. Are you in the habit of hotwiring strangers’ motorcycles? Because without the ignition being turned on you won’t see the mileage of any Harley made since the mid-Nineties. Or do you ask random Harley owners to turn on their ignition to show you their mileage? I’m curious as to how you got these readings.

Concerning Harley’s woeful and highly regrettable practice of using certain oriental parts on their products, they pretty much didn’t have any choice. After the disloyal Americans sent all their money overseas to bankroll Japan’s motorcycle & auto industries in the Seventies, American companies who once made the parts for American vehicles couldn’t compete with the Japanese vendors’ prices, since the Japanese had virtually no R&D costs (they stole all their designs) and Japanese labor was literally pennies to the dollar.

In order for Harley to even come close to being competitive cost-wise, it had to deal with Showa, Keihin, & Nippondenso. But never forget it was disloyal Americans who created this situation. The MoCo simply did what it had to do to survive, as did all other domestic manufacturers. There were no Japanese parts on any Harleys until the second half of the Seventies.

And in case you haven’t heard, it’s been years since Harleys came with Keihin carburetors.

Concerning your joyful & triumphant reference to Harley’s recall, just type “Kawasaki recall” into Google and peruse the more than 92,000 entries. Or type “Honda recall” for 2,760,000 entries. Truth be told, many times more oriental motorcycles have been recalled than American motorcycles, and far more often.

Concerning layoffs during a recession, what would be your solution? Keep paying employees to make more product than is needed? What, you didn’t hear about Honda closing entire factories? Yeah, you’re quite the business guru, BlacKawk.

And finally, why do you refer to my bike as slow? Even weighing more than twice as much as your bike mine can easily outrun yours. Seriously, someone with a top speed of 105 shouldn’t throw stones.

According to MotorcycleUSA’s review of the KLR650, “The power output of the Kawi can be best described as extremely tame. The liquid-cooled mill lacks any real punch, which makes it a bit mundane on the streets.”

And according to Kelley Blue Book your bike’s retail value is $3,555 so I guess it’s not likely you’ll be in a position to badmouth Harleys from a personal experience standpoint any time soon. In other words, like most who disparage Harleys, your opinions will continue to be based on speculation and hearsay rather than actual firsthand knowledge.

Glad to see someone else cares about odo readings. My 2007 KLR650 clicked over 32000mi around a week ago and is still pulling quite strong, thanks very much. I’m quite happy with my black plastic trinket. It’s gotten me to both ends of the west coast and I’m sure will get me out to the east coast before I retire it at perhaps 75-100k. I’m not sure I’ve seen any recent Harleys with odo readings over 10k. Not that I look that carefully, the places I ride most often are pretty unfriendly to HD’s style of bike. Mainly because they’re filled with rocks, dirt, and creek crossings. Too bad no “American” motorcycle company (wait, what’s that I hear? Harley sources out-of-country parts as well? You need both metric AND fractional wrenches to work on the things? I hear some of them even use the same Japanese-made Keihin carb MY bike does!) builds a dualsport that I can get my hands on out here in California for a reasonable price.

I’m even happier that I have spent less than 10k on a bike that just keeps on giving and giving…It has its warts and soft spots, but at least that’s all stuff I can fix at home on my own time, and the bike’s not subject to recalls with numbers in the six digits. Take a look in the “Top 5 Related Posts” below the article:
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/recall/harleydavidson-recalls-111569-motorcycles/

I’m not a “Harley Hater” as you so proudly deem those who don’t agree with your viewpoint. I just question H-D’s usefulness and relevance, and the appeal of having a 1940′s-tech farm tractor motor between one’s legs. And to be honest, I never could understand the aesthetic either. Maybe it’s because I prefer riding my bike to polishing it. And prefer my bikes quiet.

Oh, and all the claptrap about foreign “betraying the American worker” is a load of bull. How is it HD keeps ending up having to manage through big worker strikes? Why did they have to recently lay off 3200 workers? There are plenty of American companies who didn’t have to lay anyone off during the recession—don’t go trying to blame that on anything but bad management. I suspect that that sort of analysis is out of your depth though.

Regardless, I’m glad you’re happy with your bike. Enjoy the slow ride into the sunset!

See, Harley’s forte isn’t coming out with a different whizz-bang motor/frame combo every couple of years, which makes all past parts not only instantly obsolete but also hard to find in a few short years.

Instead they continuously improve and refine existing products, making radical changes only in ten-to-twenty year intervals (Knucklehead, Panhead, Shovelhead, etc.). Even then many components remain interchangable between different years and models. Very, very convenient.

As far as performance goes, a Harley Big Twin has more torque at idle than many oriental bikes do at redline. All that torque means you’re not constantly shifting so you can relax and enjoy the ride.

And unlike 300-pound plastic bikes, Harleys aren’t blown all over the road by crosswinds. My Harley will easily go twice any speed limit in my state, why on earth would anyone want to ride faster than that?

But riding really isn’t what buyers of plastic bikes are interested in, is it? Their idea of “motorcycling” is doing childish tricks, not actually going somewhere. They’re more akin to skateboarders than motorcyclists.

I’d gladly race any crotch rocket from one end of the country to the other for pink slips because I can ride all day and then some on my Harley. Thousand-mile days are nothing to me.

My passengers always seem pretty happy, too, unlike the passengers I see precariously perched on plastic oriental wheelie toys who look like they can’t wait to dismount and call their chiroprator.

Concerning trikes, lots of manufacturers make trikes, not just Harley. I’d prefer a sidecar if the need should arise, but so far I’m fine on two wheels. Concerning me preventing Harley from making trucks, well, here you’re just flaunting your ignorance of the Motor Company once more. Harley doesn’t make trucks.

“Racial bias”: You’re confusing race with nationality. I support the United States of America, not some country halfway around the world that I’ve never even seen. That would be ludicrous.

“Gloating over knowing the word ‘affluential’: Hey, you’re the one who made a big deal about it. Turns out you’re wrong about a lot of stuff.

You seemed to enjoy you gloating over knowing the word “affluential”, but failed to realize your entire argument is based on a ridiculouslty apparent racial bias. Jap bikes? Oriental trinkets? Motorcycles should always be about performance, no matter the origin.

Also, did you know that not every offshore bike is a rocket? Who’da thunk? Rather than trying to mock the “toys” that perform better than HD in every category, perhaps you should try and prevent Harley from making “toys” like trikes and Harley branded pickups… Oh wait…