Best motorcycle forum?

[Trials]

I thought they moved production some 3rd world Asian country.

Are you talking about Honda? A good portion of Honda motorcycles manufactured in Japan are intended for Japanese domestic sales. Honda is a huge multinational conglomerate with manufacturing operations around the globe. Honda in Thailand as well as Honda facilities in other countries produce a vast number of motorcycles both for export to North America as well as making motorcycles that aren't even available in North America. Honda owns Montesa of Spain and Montesa is sold around the world, but if you want that same bike and you live in Japan, it will come off a Japan domestic production line and have Honda stickers on it. It will also be more expensive! If you think Honda or any other huge motorcycle or car manufacturer makes it's parts all in one place, you're kidding yourself. Most companies likely design and develop their products within their own domestic R&D facilities, but production goes to wherever it is financially viable to support the sales of that particular product line.

Harley-Davidson has partnered up with one of India's largest motorcycle manufacturers to produce the "Street" 500cc & 750cc models, you can bet that any production of that line intended for India and countries on that side of the globe come directly from India, and units sold in North America will have parts made in India with some assembly and parts like tires happening in the USA. :/ kinda like your Goldwing that was once conceptually "made in USA" That is how they get around import tariffs and taxes that were put in place to protect their own domestic production, and it serves to give people the impression they are buying domestically produced products. It's far from a new concept and it isn't one that is exclusive to any of the multi-national corporations.

 

[3930dave]

Good site, but not to read about Harleys. They are very emotional about cruisers in general.

MCs being the multi-substance addiction that it is, there are a few folks on there who also ride heavy-cruisers, including HD. Most of us would go all Jay Leno on bikes, if we could . Agreed though, ADV is not an efficient way to get HD info.

Mostly it's a Wrong Tool for the Job issue, as opposed to just brand bias...... ADV does have a bit of the Just Get Out There and Ride flavour to it (I've been reading a long thread on a PA state forest, and they did a good job of welcoming a 73yo guy on a 650 Burgman), but as a lot of the focus on ADV is about getting way off-road, a heavy-cruiser is the last thing you'd want doing that.

I tend to tune-out fanaticism in general, but always appreciate balanced perspective...... Had a good chuckle reading about a Canadian journalist, along for a mega-dollar factory ride in the middle of Africa with BMW. As they had one of the family who controls BMW along for the ride, amongst all the extravagant resources they had on the trip, a German orthopedic surgeon traveled with them.

The skilled Canuck rider was describing standing around with the other riders, congratulating each other for being He-Men for just completing a tough hill-country section. Then he hears a putt-putt sound from the other side of the hill..... one of the locals drives through on not much more than a moped, wearing shorts, flip-flops, no helmet, and smoking a cigarette. I still chuckle when I think of that story.

HDs have a huge following, and after-market support, there have to be some good sites out there for DIY wrenching. My experience with HDs is limited, having only helped my neighbour with really basic things on his Heritage (changing tires, and a turn-signal switch), so haven't needed to dig up a reference site.

Enjoy the ride, we only get to do this once......

Rgds, D.

 

[Zerk]

MCs being the multi-substance addiction that it is, there are a few folks on there who also ride heavy-cruisers, including HD..

I spent lot of time on the site. I like it. But I didn't know there was such hatered of cruisers before. I have never seen so much brand bashing as I have on that site.

Also close minded. They hate Harley for noise, I mean hate. Somehow they think they all have straight pipes, but have never heard a dirt bike or a guy putting after market on DS. If you are going the speed limit, that must mean you have a slow bike and don't know how to ride, according them.

I was talking to some DS riders, on my Road King, with my girlfriend. Mentioned I also own a Conncours, they asked why I wasn't riding that. They thought I was lying when I said my bagger is just a comfortable ride. I bet 3/4 of DS don't even see gravel, but they get some kind of attitude.

I've rode Harley Ultra to Arctic Circle, so I have been on dirt before.

Are you talking about Honda? .

When they quit making GLs in the US, I thought they started making them in Thailand or Cambodia, not Japan.

 

[DK35vince]

Also close minded. They hate Harley for noise, I mean hate. Somehow they think they all have straight pipes, but have never heard a dirt bike or a guy putting after market on DS. If you are going the speed limit, that must mean you have a slow bike and don't know how to ride, according them.

That's my complaint about Harley, the noise.
It is extreamly rare to see a Harley in this area without straight pipes.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I have completely stock exhaust on my Harley, and that's EXACTLY the way I like it!!

SR

 

[Zerk]

That's my complaint about Harley, the noise.
It is extreamly rare to see a Harley in this area without straight pipes.

Very few Harleys have straight pipes. You don't know what a straight pipe is.

 

[DK35vince]

Very few Harleys have straight pipes. You don't know what a straight pipe is.

Oh Please. Spare me.
The few Harley's I've seen with stock pipes are nice and quite like other bikes with stock pipe.
95%+ of the Harleys I see around here will rattle the windows in the house and I can still here them a half mile or more away.

 

[Zerk]

Most aftermarket pipes are not straight pipes. Again, you don't know what straight pipes are.

Rattle the windows? Ya right. You must poop yourself at the neighbors lawn mower.

 

[DK35vince]

Most aftermarket pipes are not straight pipes. Again, you don't know what straight pipes are.

Rattle the windows? Ya right. You must poop yourself at the neighbors lawn mower.

Straight pipes, aftermarket pipes, no pipes, I really don't give a dam what you want to call them, most Harleys in my area are LOUD.
End of story.

 

[Zerk]

Don't get mad at me, you are the one said they have straight pipes.

I don't advocate straight pipes. But I don't have stock pipes either. Mine are moderate. I recommend throttle control and concious of time of day and where you are at.

But in general men like to hear engines, trucks, hotrod, bikes, ect. Harleys are not the only ones.

 

[3930dave]

I spent lot of time on the site. I like it. But I didn't know there was such hatered of cruisers before. I have never seen so much brand bashing as I have on that site.

Also close minded. They hate Harley for noise, I mean hate. Somehow they think they all have straight pipes, but have never heard a dirt bike or a guy putting after market on DS. If you are going the speed limit, that must mean you have a slow bike and don't know how to ride, according them.

I was talking to some DS riders, on my Road King, with my girlfriend. Mentioned I also own a Conncours, they asked why I wasn't riding that. They thought I was lying when I said my bagger is just a comfortable ride. I bet 3/4 of DS don't even see gravel, but they get some kind of attitude.

I've rode Harley Ultra to Arctic Circle, so I have been on dirt before.

When they quit making GLs in the US, I thought they started making them in Thailand or Cambodia, not Japan.

I think what pisses people (even some gearheads) off the most is that HD seems to get a free-pass on noise in a lot of jurisdictions....... running a car or truck that is just as loud is often way more of a ticket magnet than HDs.

Excess noise (whether it's out of a pipe, or somebody's mouth) gets old quick...... it's what gets motocross tracks restricted or shut-down, gets wilderness areas closed off, and serves to alienate non-enthusiasts. Some of the older ADV riders make a point of trying to counsel other riders to keep the noise down in these wilderness areas, to try and prevent future restrictions being implemented. They post suggestions on ADV like "when approaching a horse on a trail, shut off your bike and take your helmet off" - to prevent spooking a skittish horse. Getting thrown off on a rocky trail is something both bike and horse riders can relate to. Call it courtesy, or maybe it's just not starting a fight with the biggest guy in the bar...... in some areas, horse owners carry a huge lobby.

Any IC engine can be made obnoxious.... some of the loudest stuff around here is on ATVs that are run on the street.

Never running a dual sport off-road..... that makes about as much sense to me as up-spec'ing a 4x4 truck to the Off-Road package and only driving to Costco...... you'd almost get the impression that plenty of products are sold on image alone....

A lot of the time I find the less experience a rider has, the more preaching they do about what you should be riding..... :confused3: some people have issues and/or too much time on their hands.....

It's all 2 Wheels In The Wind to me...... just get out there, and safely enjoy the ride..... whether it's on a Ruckus, or something that can break every speed limit in first-gear......

Rgds, D.

 

[DK35vince]

My dual sport, street bike, snowmobile all have stock pipes.
I don't want loud.

 

[CobyRupert]

Topic is like asking "What's the best tire?". Motorcycles and their riders are so diverse I doubt their's a one size fit all answer.

 

[om21braz]

I don't ride Harleys, I prefer USA made GoldWing Honda's (prior to them moving production back to Japan). My neighbor had 2 and I rode one with him a few times just to keep them limbered up. They are not nearly as comfortable as my Goldwing. 100K on a Goldwing is barely broken in and lots of daily rider folks get 200K-300K on them easily with proper maintenance and never crack open the engine other than the required timing belt change at 50K intervals. I have 68K on my 2000 Goldwing SE.

I've had and prefer Honda's myself, no doubts about their quality. The Harley I mentioned is just the highest mileage bike I personally know the owner of. Needless to say, I don't know many folks with bikes anymore.

 

[JBourquin]

I've got 68k on my Heritage, 22k on my Shadow. I like V-Twinforum and HDforums. Used to frequent HondaShadow.net until every other thread turned into an HD bashing thread. Get sick of hearing the ignorance after a while.

 

[Zerk]

The Honda I had was cheap and flimsy, 98 Magna. Left me stranded at 15k miles only. Goldwings are good bikes, other then frames breaking and having to tear the motor apart for the generator failures. Also just read having to do belt every 50k. I would have considered one before they went overseas.

Not saying Harleys are problem free. But it seems Jap bikes get a pass.

Funny thing is, BMWs have the worse relibility now. I used to want one.

 

[Zerk]

I've got 68k on my Heritage, 22k on my Shadow. I like V-Twinforum and HDforums. Used to frequent HondaShadow.net until every other thread turned into an HD bashing thread. Get sick of hearing the ignorance after a while.

There are Harley riders that think everyone wants a Harley or can't stand the cosmetics of other brands. But most riders started on cheaper Jap bikes. I see more ignorant bashing from metric riders.

I have been on Vtwin and HD, but I have heard HD is more up tight. Though Vtwin ain't what it used to be.

 

[JBourquin]

I haven't been on either much lately. Been spending more time here, TheGarageJournal and RamForum. All depends on the time of year. I tend to spend more time on the bike forums as spring approaches. All depends on what I'm tinkering with at the moment.

 

[Trials]

....
Funny thing is, BMWs have the worse relibility now. I used to want one.

Based on successful warranty claims.


That's quite some metric to base unreliability on :laughing:

 

[Zerk]

Based on successful warranty claims.


That's quite some metric to base unreliability on :laughing:

Yes, seems the best way to do it. Warranty claims mean the bike had to go to the dealer to be fixed.

Not sure what you find funny. Did you buy one?