Previous Harley Owners

[Kirby]

I see ads all the time where there are a lot of Harleys for sale. My curiosity wants to know why. This will apply to PREVIOUS HARLEY OWNERS ONLY!! I don't want second hand info either. I don't want to know about the guy down the street or someone's brother-in-law who may have owned one. I think it would be interesting as to why people give up their Harleys. Is it because of money problems, the bike itself, service, maybe it was because of a death in the family, or whatever else? So, if you have previously owned a Harley and given it up for something else, tell us why. Personally, I've never owned one so this does not apply to me. We all have opinions, but to hear from the actual previous owners is the purpose of this survey. Above all else, THIS IS NOT ANOTHER HARLEY BASHING SESSION!!!!!!! If it turns to that , I'll ask Freebird to take it down!!!

[Yammer Dan]

My 56 Pan was stolen or I might never have left them. But my first Yammy convinced me I WASN'T GOING BACK!!

I got a 650 Yammy that was all I could afford at the time and was soon busting Hardleys from light to light with no trouble and didn't have to work on it ALL the time!! I still stop at the stealers once in a while and look. I still think they are the best looking thing on the road. Except for my 1st Gen!!!

[Guest tx2sturgis]

So I guess current Harley owners like me are forbidden any input here? Well ok...but let me just say one thing. With the numerically high production of Harleys, of all 20 something models over the past say, 20 years, there are BOUND to be lots of them for sale, as owners trade up.

 

 

 

[Guest scarylarry]

This is no way a bash of HD, I know of 3 right now for sale for the pay off only job, hrs. and money cut in all cases, one of them has a payment of 650.00 a month didn't ask how long or anything..

I would bet it more the economy than bike it self..

HD does cost more meaning higher payment, so naturally first toy to leave..

[KarlS]

I have owned 1 Harley years ago, bought it new. In 8 months the dealer had it more then I did so I sold it and bought a Honda. BUT to be fair that was in the Harley AMF years.

[SilvrT]

I'm sorry, I've never owned a Harley but it's simple mathematics why there are so many used ones for sale.... they sell more... or rather, they put more on the street. They do that by innovative financing.... and they got that method from Ford. Ever wonder why there are more used Ford trucks around? ... coz they sell...errrr, put more people into them.

 

Then what happens is many of those ppl come to the realization that they can't afford them and they try and flip 'em just to get outta debt.

[footsie]

The only one I every bought was a total peice of junk, never made it home.

but it was an amf model too.

and over the past few years there have been a lot of impluse harley buyers, get caught in the biker fad, but a bike and then realize they didn't really want it. Of course this applies to all brands.

 

Gregg

 

Hey Kirby getting time to ride, long ride.

[Rickster]

I had a Road King before my 08 RSV for me it was the ride, anyone who rode on the back complained of how rough it was. The ride on these RSV is awesome to say the least when compared. But that is only my opinon.

[midnightventure]

We had a serious family issue come up and were afraid we were going to need cash fast. I could sell the Harley for what I paid for it. I would have lost several thousand dollars on the Venture.

[Freebird]

I've owned a lot of bikes over the years but I'll just limit this to the time after I got back into riding after a few years without a bike. In 1996, I decided that I had been too long without a bike. I found a very nice '95 Honda Shadow Ace and bought it. I loved the bike and Eileen loved riding about as much as I did. It wasn't long before I decided that I needed a bigger touring style bike for the trips that we wanted to take. I didn't want to sell the Shadow though so I found a very nice '88 Venture Royale complete with trailer and added it to the stable. The Venture was a great bike but just didn't fit my body that well. I just couldn't find a way to get comfortable on it. I still liked riding the Shadow more than the Venture. I then ran across a one owner '86 Harley FXRD with 17,000 miles on it. I flew from Dallas to Tulsa, OK and bought it and rode it home. It had a bit more of the cruiser styling of the Shadow but had the fairing, trunk, bags and etc. of the Venture and I was pretty happy with it. We rode it for about a year and I have to say that I never had a single issue with it. It was never in the shop for any reason, was comfortable and overall just a great bike. Then in 1999 Yamaha came out with the RSV. I loved the way it looked and after I saw and sat on one at a dealer in May of '99, I knew it was the bike for me. I bought the '99 RSV in the middle of May of '99 and have been very happy with it. I sold the Harley on the same day that I picked up the RSV. I admit that I sometimes miss the FXRD and often wish that I had kept it also but it just didn't make sense to do so.

 

The ONLY thing that I didn't like about the FXRD was that it was a very limited production motorcycle. Harley made the FXR, FXRT and FXRP but the FXRD was only made for the one year, 1986. It was named the Grand Touring Edition. It had a different exhaust that the other models and a bit more HP. The problem was there due to it's limited production, there was really no aftermarket for it. Accessories were pretty much impossible to find.

 

This is a picture of the bike at the previous owners house in Tulsa. It also came with a riders backrest that he didn't use but I had it on before I left and never removed it.

[BigBoyinMS]

My first 2 H-D's were in the mid '70's. Both were AMF made and I really had no problems with them. And being a teenager I really enjoyed them but the first was stolen and the second I had to sell to save money.

As I got older I would sell them because I never rode them enough since they were so uncomfortable for me. I loved the look and the sound but they weren't made for me to ride. I was lucky enough to get my money back on almost every one of them.

I never thought I would buy anything but Harley but I bought a Road Star 2 years ago (for various reasons) and realized that I could actually ride comfortably. That's when I bought the RSV so the wife and I could ride together. I kept the Roadie for my solo ride.

[Godlover]

I had an 05 Ultra Classic that I bought used. It was a great bike and fit me well. After having a 2000 RSV MM I found the Ultra was a much greater bike for riding in town but the Venture beat it on the highway. The Ultra always felt a bit small for me - I'm 6' 3" and weigh over 280. So, when a guy offered to trade me an 06 Ford F150 4X4 XLT with 46,000 miles plus his nice 62 Impala SS clone for my Ultra - I jumped on it! The pick-up with worth more than my Harley! When I decided last fall to get back into a touring bike I found a 2000 RSV MM with 13,000 miles for 6 grand and bought it. It is far easier to justify $6000 than $15,000 and I love the bike. With that said - having been a member of this forum when I had my first RSV played a huge role in getting back to the Venture. IMO this forum is one of the best of the best and I missed being a part of it. The Harley was a great bike and I had no problems with it.

[Sylvester]

I have owned a few HD over the years, the first being a Sportster. Then I got a Duo Glide which really leaked all over and I could not get it to stop. But in the early 80s I bought an AMF Sturgis and I was in love. Best bike I ever owned til then. I rode it into the ground and finally sold it for parts. I tried a 2000 Ultra Classic and really loved the ride but could not keep stators in it. After being left broke down in five different cities and only 8800 miles I sold it and bought the RSMV. With 116,000 miles the RSMV will last the rest of my life and other than buying a street machine (read Indian Classic) that is all I need.

 

[SteveW]

I have had a lot of different bikes over thr years. I traded my 1997 Yamaha tour deluxe for a 1996 Ultra Classic 8 years ago. I kept the HD fo 4 years. It was on the small side for my at 6ft 7 and felt a little cramped. I liked the way it handled and rode but I also spent more on the bike to keep it running then any other bike I have owned.

with only 28K on it I had to rebuild the lower end , replace the clutch, replace the speedo cable and drive gear and a few other things.

They are just not in my option a high mileage bike with out repairs. I did like the looks and the ride of it.

[KiteSquid]

I sold my first Harley due to arson. It was a in 1993. the bike was a 1992 H-D Heritage Classic Soft Tail (FLSTC)

 

 

It was parked in a carport at a friends house off base near Yokosuka Japan while I was stationed on USS Mobile Bay (CG-53).

 

It was two days before I was to return to port after a six month cruse and my bike was set on fire by some Japanese kids. The police did not find the perpetrators.

 

No other damage as his car was not there.

 

I did not have full coverage insurance as it was VERY expensive, so I took my chances and lost.

 

I did not want to rebuild the bike so I sold it to a shipmate, but that is another story.

 

 

 

I have a 1950 H-D FL that is currently for sale as I just don't ride it. My RSV is a LOT more comfortable than a sixty year old rigid framed chain drive bike....

[jlh3rd]

i had a 2003 electra glide standard...i really liked it......but,at 35,000 miles and to make a long story short...the motor went bad and it was gonna be $4500 for a new one, and just one year warranty.....so......here i am........

[YamaDuck]

In my younger days I had a 1973 model. I had nothing but trouble out of it. I think it was jinked. I'm not sure but it seems to me it was before AMC. It was my first bike and I bought it used with no experience with motorcycles so I'm sure I contributed to some or all of it's problems. The throttle cable broke and it took me several hours to push it home. Probably my fault since I had not checked to make sure the cable was oiled. The muffler fell off. I never did find that muffler even though I saw right where it bounced into the kudzu. Again my fault for not checking the bolts. The front brakes locked up. Back then motorcycles where more maintenance headaches than they are today. HD makes beautiful bike but I don't think they are as dependable and as big a value as some other bikes on the road today.

[dynodon]

I have three theories and I think both are part of the thing you are seeing with so many HD for sale.

 

First, as has been stated, their are a LOT of them around. Very popular brand. More sales = more for sale?

 

Second: For the last several years before the current economic situation, you could buy a HD and sell it for the same or more a year or two later. A LOT of people that aren't really HD people got into the biz of buying and selling. Plus a LOT of those got financed because you "couldn't loose money!" haha.

 

Third: A lot of HD people trade pretty often. If they are not in a money hurt situation, they buy a new one, and put the old one up for sale. This may happen with other makes, but I bet it happens more often with Harley.

 

Anyway, I am looking to buy my first Harley...may never happen, but I am looking. Won't give up my '86 VR though, not till it lets me down and costs too much to fix anyway.

 

Who knows, maybe the Harley will do those things first and I keep the VR anyway!

[Kirby]

Now this is the kind of response I wanted to hear. You all did good. I think a lot of first time buyers would love to have read someting like this before that first purchase. Might not have changed some minds, but then again it might have! It has helped me to get a better understanding of what I was seeing when I look at the want ads. Thanks to all of you!!

 

Are there any other previous owners out here who have a story to tell????

[Grisolm1]

After a 20 year hiatus my first bike was a used 2000 Road King. I liked many things about it. I can't imagine another 800 lb bike with better low speed handling, that's why the cops love em. Nothing against the bike technically except the harsh rear suspension over hard bumps, it never gave me a problem in the 20K I drove it and had 35K when I sold it. Don't know how long they would last, I figure a complete rebuild would be in order at 80K, maybe sooner.

 

BUT I like to drive something unique, and got tired of seeing every 2 out of 3 bikes Harleys and every 5th another Road King just like mine. Yah you can cu$tomize them to the hilt but that never end$. Finally decided to sell it and get another Guzzi like I used to ride, but newer technology. Nearly an even swap for brand new one with warranty. Love the **** out of it. Bought my first gen late last season primarily to get the wife more into riding and something for me when it's wet or cold other than the Guz. My research pointed me to the Yammy over the other Jap cruisers of the era I was considering and I haven't looked back.

[remmertb]

I've had 2 Harleys, the first was a custom build softail, I got rid of it because it just didn't fit me right, but was a very nice bike. Then I got a 1200 Sporty. I hopped it up, put a fat tire on it. It would ride the nicest wheelies, I loved it. My wife said it sucked for any ride over 10 miles so it had to go. I bought a Victory Vegas, it kicked ass, but my wife said it sucked for a ride over 50 miles, so I sold it and got an '01 RSV, now everybody's happy. Still can't get a good wheelie with it though :-) but that's what the Vmax is for. Why are so many HDs for sale? Just like everyone is saying, it's because so many have been sold. I still like 'em (HD), but the RSV is a far superior machine for way less money.

[GeorgeS]

Bad Economey.

 

Job Loss's all over the country.

 

Politics.

 

6 persons standing in line for every job opening that might get posted.

 

LAY-OFF'S LAY OFF'S.

 

Bankruptcies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Jobs being Exported overseas.

 

You can Feed ONE of your children, for the cost of Payments on a Harley Loan !!

 

THEY COST TO MUCH

 

THEY COST TO MUCH

 

THEY COST TO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

There is a guy in Los Angeles, who has a warehouse, with about 300 Used Harley's, they are ALL, For Sale !!!!

 

If you want one, fly out to Los Angeles, good place to get one Cheap !!

[BigBoyinMS]

2 stories... My second H-D was a '76 Liberty Edition Sportster XLCH. I was 19 at the time and hanging around a local diner/pool hall where all the HS kids hung out. A buddy of mine drove a Civic and a group of girls needed a ride to the high school a couple of miles up the road. He only had so much room and there was one girl left over so I offered to drop her off before I went home. He left ahead of me so I pulled out to pass him and he punched it. Of course I just twisted the grip and went on around him. Just as we are getting close to the school my passenger starts screaming and squeezing the breath out of me. Now I'm about to panic thinking she sees a deer or something that is about to hit us. I don't see anything so I'm yelling, "WHAT?!! WHAT?!! WHAT?!!" She loosens her grip just enough to point at the speedo that's just passing 120 on it's way down. She was calm and having a good time until she saw the speedo and KNEW how fast we were going.

 

And speaking of H-D's not being made to fit me... About 10 years ago I flew to Mass. to visit a half brother. He rode a H-D and had talked our uncle into letting me ride his FXRT (or whatever the FX model is with the removable bags and fairing). We put about 100 miles on the bikes on the roundabout ride home. We stopped at a park and were talking when he mentioned how a lot of people were staring at us on the ride around the park and he was about ready to confront some people. I had to explain that they were probably looking at me. I had been riding about half of the time sitting up on the front of the passengers seat. I don't remember if he had modded it or not but I could almost not get my feet up on the pegs while sitting on the drivers seat. My legs would start going to sleep and I would have to push up onto the passengers seat to get the circulation going again. Easily the most uncomfortable bike that I have ever ridden.

[KiteSquid]

On the financing and payments:

 

I have paid cash for every bike I have ever owned.

 

I cannot finance what for me is a toy.

 

I have financed many cars, some homes, but never a toy, vacation or any entertainment.

[atlm]

Of all the motorcycles I've owned, the one I got rid of the quickest because of dissatisfaction was a Harley. When I bought it, it shook and leaked oil. It had about 4000 miles on it. I was working part time as a Honda motorcycle mechanic, and was able to get the gaskets and new bolts for cheap, and borrow the factory service manual from a Harley dealership close by (through a phone call and a favor.) While regasketing the engine and torquing everything to spec, I found an engine mount broken, which I had welded and fixed.

 

All my previous bikes were Japanese, so I was used to high quality. I figured (even though the mechanic at the Harley dealership told me otherwise) that the bike would be great after that. The bike still shook and vibrated, but was running well and leak free. Less than a week and a few hundred miles after the repairs and rebuild, it was leaking oil again. It was also extremely underpowered compared to the Honda SuperSports I had owned. So I sold it.

 

Total ownership time: about 3 weeks.

 

To keep this in perspective, though, that was in 1985, and the bike was from the AMF years. Harleys have come a loooooong way since then, starting with the Evo bikes in the late 80's. Every few years, there seem to be big improvements, and I have friends who own late model Classics and Ultra Classics (a 2008 and a 2009) that are very happy with them.

Edited March 17, 2010 by atlm