2 new Harleys on the block

The guys at Triumph must surely owe a debt of gratitude to Harley Davidson, because they couldn't have easily broken through the wall of mainstream bike journalists who measure all bikes against the latest track biased road bikes.
What i'm saying is that if Harleys weren't so heavy, the Rocket could easily have been dismissed by the press for being too heavy to be classed as a worthy contender against all competition.
You can say what you will about Harleys, but one thing I can't not think about when I think HD and that is: they are in relative terms....HEAVY.

I've ridden a few different Harleys but i've only owned one and I absolutely loved it.

A 2009 XR1200 (the flat tracker styled bike).

She was a heavy beast too. She wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination but somehow by some kind of strange brew formula, she was one of the best road bikes i've ever owned. I had my XR for seven very enjoyable and entertaining years.
If a bike can't tackle twisty hill roads, city traffic and motorways alike, in an enjoyable or entertaining way then i'm unlikely to be a huge fan, but the XR did a **** good job.
She really did handle and go well. Reliable, durable, great looking, pretty economical to own & when I sold her (due to health reasons, not because of the bike) , I didn't lose much money, so overall my HD experience was a good one.

Mind due, I did have to make a whole lot of changes to it in order to get it fully fit for purpose.... I think that's one of the things I like most about Harleys... They make a good solid base for you to build a bike that you can tailor to your individual needs. As a completely stock bike, they are a bit image over function, but there is so much stuff out there and readily available to turn what ever you have into a great life long steed. The way they are built and the materials/processes used make them durable and modifiable. They are easy to maintain.
From all of the above, I think they still make a lot of sense.....however.... I do think it's a shame that they had to go so techie on the software/electronics side of things. That causes problems and makes mods more expensive for owners.
The funny thing is that despite having the latest electronic tech on the XR, it still felt like an old tech bike......suppose that's what they intended them to be.

By the time my rocket was 2 years old, the paint and chrome looked worse than the 16 year old Harley I had at the time, got to give them that.

This topic kind of went in a couple directions. My main reason for starting it was not to bash any brand, I like some models in all bikes.
From what I have experianced, is that alot of people buy based on customer support, and support of the brand by after market. It may vary in other locals, but here its non exsistant. I had much better treatment 500 miles away at another dealership, but there is not many that will travel that far for service. I only did because I was visiting family in So Cal.
But after almost 12 weeks I did get my exhaust donut in here locally.
Yes, I think my comments steered them away from Triumph, but I only honestly answered what they asked.
And I do love my Rocket 3.

Be prepared- posts here rarely stay on topic- it's one of the things that makes it interesting and also frustrating at times.

@Whylee I think what you describe can be expressed by most folk about almost all brands of bikes, and geography does matter in that respect.
One thing that stuck me when I have travelled in the U.S. is the shear scale of the country seen through the eyes of a born and bred Brit.
The distances between dealerships are really significant.

I used to think it was a challenge to own and run my Moto Guzzi when I lived in Scotland, where the nearest dealership at the time was 3 hours ride away. I wanted the bike so much that I just put up with the hassle and cost, but something else happened, and that was joining the owners club which in the case of Moto Guzzi was a very good set up and there was a very active branch in Scotland (in fact more than one branch in Scotland, that came about due to geographical practicalities).
Suddenly it didn't matter that I had a problem that I didn't know how to fix and the dealer was a frustratingly long way away. Someone in the club knew how to resolve the problem and they were happy to help. The tech support wasn't monetised. It was all good will and intent and therefore great friendships were formed over a relatively short period of ownership.
If it wasn't for the owners club (and more importantly, the positive people in it) I wouldn't have kept the bike for more than a year.
I would have traded it in and probably never bought another Guzzi.
Instead what happened was the complete opposite.
Mind due, the dealership network probably didn't benefit all the well because of it.

That would be great, I dont know of any clubs like that here, but the forums do help alot. I do my own work when I can. Most mecanical work I can do on my own, now with all the computer stuff I get lost and confused easily.
I want the penner map for my R3, but have yet to figure it all out, even though many here have posted the steps, im still lost on it all.
Sooner or later I will get it.

Whylee said:

That would be great, I dont know of any clubs like that here, but the forums do help alot. I do my own work when I can. Most mecanical work I can do on my own, now with all the computer stuff I get lost and confused easily.
I want the penner map for my R3, but have yet to figure it all out, even though many here have posted the steps, im still lost on it all.
Sooner or later I will get it.

Click to expand...

Hey, i'm very much the same as you on that score. I'd love to be confident enough to be able to implement the de-restrict process myself, but I don't want to screw things up in the process.......but.......hopefully one day it will be explained on here or perhaps some place else, in a simple/clear enough way that i'll do it.
In the meantime i'll stick around and solve my pet hate, which is controlling the crap flying up from the rear tyre without spoiling the sexyness of the tail end of the bike...lol.
Small things first, for simple minds ....

Whylee said:

That would be great, I dont know of any clubs like that here, but the forums do help alot. I do my own work when I can. Most mecanical work I can do on my own, now with all the computer stuff I get lost and confused easily.
I want the penner map for my R3, but have yet to figure it all out, even though many here have posted the steps, im still lost on it all.
Sooner or later I will get it.

Click to expand...

Funny, I'm the opposite, I have no problem using TuneECU and stuff, but don't wrench much. Kind of surprising, because I'm a high school dropout, carpenter, who worked with my hands all my life. But nails and screws, no problem, but nuts and bolts and wrenches, we have a mutual dislike and it shows.

I can wrench, weld, and rebuild. But im lost on computers. When someone starts talking computers, downloads, creating files, im 100 percent lost.

Well I was going to post a picture of a truly pretty high quality painted bike but I should not enable those that would steer this off topic.

Harley has better support, paint and comfort but the Rockets have the power and handling. A real bike connoisseur would have both.