The Harley’s probably going to be twice as much, but you get what you pay for. If you want the cheapest bike, you can find go with the Japanese bike if you have the money and you want something you’ll really fall in love with that has a fit and finish second to none buy the Hurley.
roll up next to a deluxe with fishtail on your yamaha. see which bike gets the looks. all the negatives in the world won't bring down a harley's allure. the most attractive, best sounding cruisers around. I wouldn't even consider a Japanese knock off. ride them both and see for yourself. there's a reason harley's are triple the cost.
You can find a nice used soft tail deluxe like that here in Canada for around the 10,000 Mark maybe a bit more which isn’t really a lot of money for a bike like that. After all, having a motorcycle is a luxury for most people.
I like this short review and I like this bike. What confused me was at the end you supplied dimensions metric measurements. I was left wondering what the dimensions are in "inches" and "pounds". I am an American and I do not use the metric system. I could not determine the weight, length,or seat height and that is information that is important to me. I refuse to learn German or French and I am not into learning the European system of metric measurements. This is an American manufactured motorcycle. But the talking parts were informative (being in American English I was able to follow everything the two of you commented on.
Frustrating i know, most reviews are American and im Aussie so im usually feeling the same as you with that shit, it might be a pain but i just Google the figures conversion and get the answers i want.
Talked about everything about what counts, the power plant. All TWIN CAM engines are a FATALLY FLAWED DESIGN. The flywheels are pressed together and WILL come out of true and cause the pinion and sprocket shaft to wobble, out of spec, 0.001" max run out, cause there is nothing holding the flywheel assembly together, just pressed at the factory with a 400 ton press. Only solution, is to tear the engine apart and send out the flywheel to a performance specialty shop to have it dynamically trued, balanced, plugged and welded, to hold the halves together with no more than 0.001" or less of run out on the shaft ends, as damage begins to occur in as little as 0.003' of run out and crater the engine, eventually, sooner rather than later. First sign of trouble is a lot more vibration, initially disguised by the rubber mounts on the engine.. It has two silent chain drives, both with a PLASTIC cam chain tensioner, which is the Achilles heel of this bike. Imagine the wear on the Plastic as it rubs against the METAL CHAIN, and they were meant to be periodically inspected and changed out as they wear, Failure to do so at 3/32' of wear will cause them to break apart and cause Metal to Metal contact and the shavings will be inducted into the oil pump and into the crankcase and cylinders and cause IMMEDIATE CATASTROPHIN ENGINE FAILRUE. No solution to this problem.Many more problem to list.CAVEAT EMPTOR, -LET THE BUYER BEWARE, If you want a Harley, but the reliable XL1200 SPORTSTER, DESIGNED AROUND THE RELAIABLE, EVOLUTION OR BLOCKHEAD ENGINE FOUND ON ALL BIG TWIN HARLEYS, WITH A SINGEL CAME AND NO PLASTIC TENSIONSERS AND A FLYWHEEL WITH A CRANK PIN NUT AND BOLT TO HOLD THEM IN TRUE. BUY A BIG TWIN BUILT BETWEEN 1984 AND 1998. STAY AWAY FROM THE TWIN CAM ENGINES.
Exactly so! Too bad Harley didn't simply make a larger Evo engine for these larger bikes. Even the cost to replace the drive belt is enormous compared to the Sportster.
Yes, you have to take the whole primary drive apart and the soft tail swing arm, down to a do a belt change, ridiculous, compared to the Sportster, the only true Harley with the EVO designed engine to boot, no plastic cam chain tensioners, and quick drive belt change out. Touring big twins have the Death Wobble to deal with too on the rear tire cornering, too.
Yep, the Sportsters are infinitely better bikes. Too bad, as that need not be the case. What I find shocking is H-D's apparent unwillingness to acknowledge the problems or to do something about them.
Harley had a chance to make things right with the new Milwaukee 8 motor, all the flaws that are on the twin cam transferred over, although Harley has made the new motor more durable according to the specs and what they said.
True, however it is considerably easier to inspect the cam chain on the M8 engines. Still both it and the TwinCam are giants steps backward from the Evo.
First of all comparing that beautiful bike to Yamaha‘s cruiser is a bit of a stretch. The fit and finish on the Harley is second to none. I had a Yamaha and it has lots of cheap plastic and fake chrome. It’s really not fair to compare the two bikes to each other. One is a cheap Entry level machine. The other one is a high-end cruiser. Also with EFI you still need to warm the bike up to operating temperature if you want to take care of it. You are running 20 W 50 oil in that engine and according to the service manual you are supposed to bring it up to operating temperature before you go riding if you care about the bike. The fit and finish on the Harley’s is second to none if you don’t believe me go to a dealer and take a good hard look at the bikes and compare them.
They know most Harley owners are low mileage riders, and weekend warriors and wannabes, anyway, who don't really ride their bikes a lot, as there own study shows that fro ever 10,000 mile H-D biker, there are 8 NEW owners, who only ride a ridiculous 600 miles a yea, can you believe that, and the average H-D, owner on rides a paltry 1, 150 miles a year, so, they don't ride enough to encounter any problems as the bikes sit in the garage and are washed and waxed and polished. That is why there are so many late model 6 year old bikes with very low mileage for sale at any given day on the Internet.
I've never had a Harley, but a Chinese bike similar looking, 250cc engine. Me and 3 of my friends toured for a week in China, Nanjing-Huangshan and back. It was often rainy, but still awesome. All day on the bike and now and then checking out some Chinese cultural places. In the evening checking in some really small hotels, with 3-4 rooms only and for 15 dollars a night, but with really deliscious food (sort of a Chinese Osteria). I'll certainly do it again and if possible on a real Harley.
TrangDB9: Thanks for your input. So, you are saying that the Chinese bike, was a 250cc V Twin? Must be a 125cc per cylinder bike, then.Did it have shocks or was it a soft tail, model? What was the name of that Chinese bike? I want to look it up on You Tube, to see a model of one.....And that's good you got to tour some of China, one of the larges land masses......
It was a Qjiang 150 (qj1503b) I was mistaken about the engine size. Details about the engine I don't know and since I bought it second hand for about 400 dollars, it didn't really bother me. Important was the fun. Too bad I had some problems on the tour, but none above 20 dollars and 2 miles away from a garage. Alternator was broke, tire tube empty, which then he took out completely, sparking plug and some more I don't remember. Later I sold it to a friend who fixed it completely and painted it really nice. I put in a link of the same type I found on internet. picssr.com/tags/qj1503b
I've a question, since you mentioned that twin cam egines are a no go, and if I understood correctly the 1200 custom has a single cam, it is the better solution, right? Now, can I mount for the 1200 custom also a luggage rack and passanger seat with backrest? I checked on the webpage of Harley Davidson, but I don't come clear with the set up of the site.
Another thing that I question is that the anterior exhaust pipe ends quite in the middle of the bike of many Harleys, isn't the exhaust gas bothering the passanger when the bike stands still? Sorry to annoy you with so many questions in a not flawless enlgish, it's not my mother language and I'm a newbe with bikes.
This is the exact bike we bought from my uncle 2 weeks ago. LOVE IT!!
I'll get my 2008 Deluxe in two weeks..... can't await it!
Most beautiful harley
Yeah and the cost difference between the HD and Yamaha is?
The Harley’s probably going to be twice as much, but you get what you pay for. If you want the cheapest bike, you can find go with the Japanese bike if you have the money and you want something you’ll really fall in love with that has a fit and finish second to none buy the Hurley.
I had a 1996 i remember after an hour my fingers were num, but the new ones don't do that any more, I'm buying one
roll up next to a deluxe with fishtail on your yamaha. see which bike gets the looks. all the negatives in the world won't bring down a harley's allure. the most attractive, best sounding cruisers around. I wouldn't even consider a Japanese knock off. ride them both and see for yourself. there's a reason harley's are triple the cost.
You can find a nice used soft tail deluxe like that here in Canada for around the 10,000 Mark maybe a bit more which isn’t really a lot of money for a bike like that. After all, having a motorcycle is a luxury for most people.
I like this short review and I like this bike. What confused me was at the end you supplied dimensions metric measurements. I was left wondering what the dimensions are in "inches" and "pounds". I am an American and I do not use the metric system. I could not determine the weight, length,or seat height and that is information that is important to me. I refuse to learn German or French and I am not into learning the European system of metric measurements. This is an American manufactured motorcycle. But the talking parts were informative (being in American English I was able to follow everything the two of you commented on.
Frustrating i know, most reviews are American and im Aussie so im usually feeling the same as you with that shit, it might be a pain but i just Google the figures conversion and get the answers i want.
Talked about everything about what counts, the power plant. All TWIN CAM engines are a FATALLY FLAWED DESIGN. The flywheels are pressed together and WILL come out of true and cause the pinion and sprocket shaft to wobble, out of spec, 0.001" max run out, cause there is nothing holding the flywheel assembly together, just pressed at the factory with a 400 ton press. Only solution, is to tear the engine apart and send out the flywheel to a performance specialty shop to have it dynamically trued, balanced, plugged and welded, to hold the halves together with no more than 0.001" or less of run out on the shaft ends, as damage begins to occur in as little as 0.003' of run out and crater the engine, eventually, sooner rather than later. First sign of trouble is a lot more vibration, initially disguised by the rubber mounts on the engine.. It has two silent chain drives, both with a PLASTIC cam chain tensioner, which is the Achilles heel of this bike. Imagine the wear on the Plastic as it rubs against the METAL CHAIN, and they were meant to be periodically inspected and changed out as they wear, Failure to do so at 3/32' of wear will cause them to break apart and cause Metal to Metal contact and the shavings will be inducted into the oil pump and into the crankcase and cylinders and cause IMMEDIATE CATASTROPHIN ENGINE FAILRUE. No solution to this problem.Many more problem to list.CAVEAT EMPTOR, -LET THE BUYER BEWARE, If you want a Harley, but the reliable XL1200 SPORTSTER, DESIGNED AROUND THE RELAIABLE, EVOLUTION OR BLOCKHEAD ENGINE FOUND ON ALL BIG TWIN HARLEYS, WITH A SINGEL CAME AND NO PLASTIC TENSIONSERS AND A FLYWHEEL WITH A CRANK PIN NUT AND BOLT TO HOLD THEM IN TRUE. BUY A BIG TWIN BUILT BETWEEN 1984 AND 1998. STAY AWAY FROM THE TWIN CAM ENGINES.
Exactly so! Too bad Harley didn't simply make a larger Evo engine for these larger bikes. Even the cost to replace the drive belt is enormous compared to the Sportster.
Yes, you have to take the whole primary drive apart and the soft tail swing arm, down to a do a belt change, ridiculous, compared to the Sportster, the only true Harley with the EVO designed engine to boot, no plastic cam chain tensioners, and quick drive belt change out. Touring big twins have the Death Wobble to deal with too on the rear tire cornering, too.
Yep, the Sportsters are infinitely better bikes. Too bad, as that need not be the case. What I find shocking is H-D's apparent unwillingness to acknowledge the problems or to do something about them.
Harley had a chance to make things right with the new Milwaukee 8 motor, all the flaws that are on the twin cam transferred over, although Harley has made the new motor more durable according to the specs and what they said.
True, however it is considerably easier to inspect the cam chain on the M8 engines. Still both it and the TwinCam are giants steps backward from the Evo.
My dream
! IT'S GRJAT! WINDOW PALE WHAT DO YOU THINK, GUYS0..
First of all comparing that beautiful bike to Yamaha‘s cruiser is a bit of a stretch. The fit and finish on the Harley is second to none. I had a Yamaha and it has lots of cheap plastic and fake chrome. It’s really not fair to compare the two bikes to each other. One is a cheap Entry level machine. The other one is a high-end cruiser. Also with EFI you still need to warm the bike up to operating temperature if you want to take care of it. You are running 20 W 50 oil in that engine and according to the service manual you are supposed to bring it up to operating temperature before you go riding if you care about the bike. The fit and finish on the Harley’s is second to none if you don’t believe me go to a dealer and take a good hard look at the bikes and compare them.
They know most Harley owners are low mileage riders, and weekend warriors and wannabes, anyway, who don't really ride their bikes a lot, as there own study shows that fro ever 10,000 mile H-D biker, there are 8 NEW owners, who only ride a ridiculous 600 miles a yea, can you believe that, and the average H-D, owner on rides a paltry 1, 150 miles a year, so, they don't ride enough to encounter any problems as the bikes sit in the garage and are washed and waxed and polished. That is why there are so many late model 6 year old bikes with very low mileage for sale at any given day on the Internet.
I've never had a Harley, but a Chinese bike similar looking, 250cc engine. Me and 3 of my friends toured for a week in China, Nanjing-Huangshan and back. It was often rainy, but still awesome. All day on the bike and now and then checking out some Chinese cultural places. In the evening checking in some really small hotels, with 3-4 rooms only and for 15 dollars a night, but with really deliscious food (sort of a Chinese Osteria). I'll certainly do it again and if possible on a real Harley.
TrangDB9: Thanks for your input. So, you are saying that the Chinese bike, was a 250cc V Twin? Must be a 125cc per cylinder bike, then.Did it have shocks or was it a soft tail, model? What was the name of that Chinese bike? I want to look it up on You Tube, to see a model of one.....And that's good you got to tour some of China, one of the larges land masses......
It was a Qjiang 150 (qj1503b) I was mistaken about the engine size. Details about the engine I don't know and since I bought it second hand for about 400 dollars, it didn't really bother me. Important was the fun. Too bad I had some problems on the tour, but none above 20 dollars and 2 miles away from a garage. Alternator was broke, tire tube empty, which then he took out completely, sparking plug and some more I don't remember. Later I sold it to a friend who fixed it completely and painted it really nice.
I put in a link of the same type I found on internet.
picssr.com/tags/qj1503b
I've a question, since you mentioned that twin cam egines are a no go, and if I understood correctly the 1200 custom has a single cam, it is the better solution, right? Now, can I mount for the 1200 custom also a luggage rack and passanger seat with backrest? I checked on the webpage of Harley Davidson, but I don't come clear with the set up of the site.
Another thing that I question is that the anterior exhaust pipe ends quite in the middle of the bike of many Harleys, isn't the exhaust gas bothering the passanger when the bike stands still? Sorry to annoy you with so many questions in a not flawless enlgish, it's not my mother language and I'm a newbe with bikes.