corporate knows HDs are inferior

[half_crazy]

Originally Posted by 4 inch pistons

The V Rod is an example of what they can do

It's a good example of what Porche can do....

[OkieHoss]

I saw a vrod at the dealer the other day with apes on it...It was like lookin at a train wreck..I had to keep looking but wanted to look away...it was wierd to say the least....

[bsbabcock]

My first bike was my second ebay purchase. 90 heritage. That little 80" evo was rock solid quiet and strong. The primary just couldn't hold its mud. Otherwise I'd probably still have it. But certainly the twin cam 04 fatboy I had was no comparison. A clunky noisy mess that handled terribly. It also had a bad seal right after purchase. Nice H-D quality. I've owned my last Harley unless I either built an open primary Evo or bought an S&S equipped custom. I doubt either. I was dead set on a Raider until I was pleasantly shocked by this high-ball. The plasticky raider fenders just are plain gross.

Just for giggles a pic of my old girl. She was so much a better bike than the 04:



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[40XC]

Originally Posted by PhilC64

If HD put the V-Rod engine in their cruisers, I'd be riding one now.

No guarantee I'd be riding one but I'd definitely be more willing to put it in with the choice offerings. When they were re-designing the frames of the touring models in '09 and went to the hydro-forming it would have been a good opportunity to add 2 or 3 inches and give them a bit more room also but they missed that mark at the time.

[40XC]

Originally Posted by half_crazy

Most of HD's loyal customer base will never embrace the V-Rod engine. The lure of the big twins has always been the torque. The V-Rod makes no torque and really doesn't do much until after 4500 rpm. The traditional HD owner will hate that motor. Great motor for a sport-tourer, crappy motor for a dresser.

The V-Rod is a cruiser, isn't it?

I little tweaking with the bore and stroke of that motor and some other minor changes and it could be made to be a very capable touring motor with torque.

[40XC]

Originally Posted by NGArider

Their #1 objective is to make their customers happy and they stand behind their product.

The CEO of Starbucks was once asked by an interviewer about something or another about "the coffee business". He shook his head and told the journalist "but we are not in the coffee business. We are in the people business".

The point was that for Starbucks selling coffee is only a means to get people into their stores - supposedly to connect with other people. (Not sure I buy that - but that was his point).

.

Following that logic it sounds like Corporate Vic could learn a thing or two from Starbucks also. You often see posts on these forums where Victory loses sight of that customer connection also with warranty issues.

[40XC]

Originally Posted by saddlebag

Even with a perfect engineer it could never happen. There is variability in everything. When engineers design something for the gov't, they often are required to do a reliability estimate based on reliability estimates of the parts its made from. These are statistical calculations, there in no absolute fail however.

Don't forget that what the engineers design, want and recommend isn't always what the bean counters authorize for profitablity at the production level. It's not always the engineers to blame for the end outcome.

[bsbabcock]

Let's hope Polaris keeps this in mind.. I'll pay for top notch gears and bearings at the trade off of a terminal plug hanging off my left controls.. Though I have to admit I was like "ok what the heck! Is this connector really necessary hanging right off the hand control?!?!" Hehe.. the things you notice after knowing every inch of a fairly clean Harley setup.

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[KingFrog]

I was led here via Harley. My V satr is getting boring so i was looking to get a commuter. or maybe a Dyna Wide then i read this. Much of what you guys are saying is reflected in this article.

http://www.jamesrussellpublishing.bi...buyharley.html

Really scared me off the BT twin cam. I am not a wrencher. I am used to trouble free bullet proof metrics. The guy is over the top but a Google search of his claims led me to various HD forums where they proved to be true. however he praised the XL1200...So I went to the local HD dealership and test rode a 1200 sporty. and a Dyna... to compare with my V Star 1300. The visceral feeling was there. the Sportster was raw compared to my bike. but ok. Then I saw a used 09 King Pin ($10K 9900 miles) and decided to try that.......W O W was all I could think of. The bike fit me like a glove. (5"8" 155" ) This must be what a 1900 Raider must feel like. raw power yet so much more "refined" and tighter feeling than the HD.

Which led me here to research the brand . Because now a Victory King Pin is in the mix......

[4 inch pistons]

Harleys never claimed to be maintainence free. The tentioner issues are well known in the community. I have owned 5 Harleys and they are not even close to the Vic in design, but then again keeping up with modern technology is not what they shoot for. I, too had a boring-- but fast Honda VTX. It had its issues with the grounding problems. Honda chooses to paint their frames and then bolts the ground wire to it. The tires would not pass inspection at 3800 miles. They come at one pressure from the factory and that is according to the max PSI for the wheels, but the suggested PSI for the tires are completely different, so the consumer is a loser either way. Cars require the timing belt be changed frequently or else their engine will explode.

If it has moving parts, it will give you a problem at some point. Most buy motorcycles for the fun and not the economy. Great mileage is a benefit, but not the reason most people ride. All fun comes at a price.