SuzukiSavage.com - HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins

gerald.hughes

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HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins
05/11/13 at 10:42:12

I read an awful lot on this board slamming Harleys, and making snide comments about Sportsters. Normally, I don't bother responding because most people are comfortable with their prejudices.

But, with nothing else particular to do this morning, I thought I would throw out some thoughts.

First, Sportsters are not little big twins. They are a completely different motor. For those of you who haven't taken a look, the Sports has the crank and tranny in the same case. The big twin has separate cases. In that sense, the Sportster is more like a metric bike, though it came first.

Second, the Sportster is not a cruiser, though I admit that a lot of people go through a lot of changes to try to turn them into imitations of the big twin cruisers. They are a standard bike with midset controls, an upright seating position, and bars that are appropriate for a standard bike. The Sportster actually grew out of the post WWII flat trackers. Even today, when Harley goes racing, it is with a Sportster, not a big twin. (If you look in the big Harleyt catalogues, almost all of the serious speed and performance modifications are for the Sportster, not the Big Twin.

Having said that, the Big twin has its place. It was originally designed for the roads in the midwest (Milwaukee). It was never meant to be a canyon carver, or a race bike. It was for comfortable riding on the byways. A dresser does that very well, as well as a GoldWing (which was designed to compete with the Dresser. Oh yes, I cannot remember anybody on this sight commenting on how Wings wallow through the corners on the Dragon.

If you sit down and design your ideal Savage, and then compare it feature by feature to the 883 Sportster, I think that you would be in for a surprise.

My two cents

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« Last Edit: 05/11/13 at 16:48:03 by gerald.hughes »

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arteacher

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Re: HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins
Reply #1 - 05/11/13 at 12:35:16

I have nothing against Sportsterts, except they are expensive to buy and expensive to insure, and top heavy.
I also object to the fact that, when they could not compete with the imports, Harley petitioned the US government to impose a 45% import tax on bikes over 700cc (which hit Honda's 750 cc bikes pretty hard) in 1983, which Reagan did, saving the company. They had tried the same thing in 1951, to compete with the British bikes, but were slapped down, and charged with restrictive practices.
They fought dirty in the marketplace and, thanks to Reagan, stayed alive.
BTW Fat Boy is a deliberate slam against the Japanese, referring to the two atomic bombs that ended WWII.

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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28666 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins Reply #2 - 05/11/13 at 12:56:17 ... but,.. pickin' on Harley's is so much fun... ... It's really a slam against those arrogant owners that think Harley is the only "real " motorcycle... It's just a bike,... got it's plus's, got it's minus's... like any bike... Quote: Q: What do you call a Harley that doesn't leak oil? A: Empty! Too much fun... ...
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apache snow-FSO

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Re: HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins
Reply #3 - 05/11/13 at 13:02:55

Japan did the same thing to Harley in the 30s..See the japanese Harley story.

Even though the Sankyo Company was producing Harley "clones" at the Shinagawa factory, Harley-Davidson did not immediately pull out of Japan. Instead they instructed Child to build an entirely new company, Nishiman Harley-Davidson Sales and located it in Tokyo. Throughout the meltdown between the Motor Company and Sankyo, Child had remained on good terms with the Japanese which helped him to continue operations in Japan. He was even able to sell several hundred Milwaukee built Harleys to Sankyo. Unfortunately, within a year of starting the new company, Japan enacted an import tariff on motorcycles. This made it impossible for Harley to compete with Rikuo as their price was increased by 30% due to the tariff. In April of 1937, Child had no choice by to sell his remaining stock to Sankyo and return to the US.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=875158&highlight=japanese+harley

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bill67

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Re: HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins
Reply #4 - 05/11/13 at 13:32:33

arteacher wrote on 05/11/13 at 12:35:16:

I have nothing against Sportsterts, except they are expensive to buy and expensive to insure, and top heavy.
I also object to the fact that, when they could not compete with the imports, Harley petitioned the US government to impose a 45% import tax on bikes over 700cc (which hit Honda's 750 cc bikes pretty hard) in 1983, which Reagan did, saving the company. They had tried the same thing in 1951, to compete with the British bikes, but were slapped down, and charged with restrictive practices.
They fought dirty in the marketplace and, thanks to Reagan, stayed alive.
BTW Fat Boy is a deliberate slam against the Japanese, referring to the two atomic bombs that ended WWII.

That also knock out Suzuki and Yamaha's big tour bikes,But didn't hurt Honda and Kawasaki big tour bikes because they were assembled in the states.

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old_rider

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Re: HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins
Reply #5 - 05/11/13 at 13:46:40

Yeah, my old 07' honda vtx1300r was assembled in the states, said so right on the frame sticker. Used to make the harley guys in my group do a double take, when they came out with "freakin' jap bike", i'd say, um,no jap company, but made in america. But I traded the 1300 in on my harley roadglide....which i'm now going to sell...sigh....

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Jiggyfly

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Re: HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins
Reply #6 - 05/11/13 at 23:26:37

Harley's are awesome! (Signed: Road Racer)

The absolute excel at what they do, which is eat up large expanses of road, comfortably. My father in law trades out Harley's like most people pay property taxes. I've gotten to ride a couple handfuls of big twins. A 103" Ultra all the way to Sturgis & back. While no canyon carver, or apex straffer, I thought it handled surprisingly well when pushed! (By "pushed", I mean dragging floorboards.) With a touch of understeer, but responded well to mid-corner adjustments. (Aka-"counter-steer"- let the debates begin! Lol)

With this said, there's a part of Harley that I don't like.
first- buying a Harley doesn't make you an instant badass!
Leave the t-shirts, belt buckles, hats, boots, vests, gloves, sunglasses, jeans, and attitude on the racks. I know too many guys that bought all of that nuts, & were "instant biker"!
I've owned Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda, Buell, Ducati, Suzuki, & a few others......I have zero tshirts from any of those mfg's. A shirt doesn't make you any thing! (Except stupid, @ $35 a pop!)
second-Harley is awfully proud of their "American made"!!!
My FIL had a $48k Harley last year. Sure, it was some special CVO this-or-that......but they basically have a $10k buy in. Their not exclusive, or exotic. As-a-matter of fact....it's quite the opposite, with motor technology that happened half a century ago! Yet they fly off the showroom floor, $25k at a time. nuts, I've never bought a $25k car!!!!!
thirdly- to the not a very nice person that nightly rolls into the traffic circle in front of my house at 11-11:30 pm, first off the gas....nice burble, with the occasional backfire.....& then hard on the gas through 4 gears....I might think it sounds nice.....it's hardly appreciated. & for Christ sakes, if you're going to attack said traffic circle like its your personal corner on a race track.....@ least start getting on the gas sooner.....you pretty much suck, & I would destroy you on my Ninja 250. Punk.

That's all.

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ToesNose Serious Thumper Offline Pardon me, do you have Hot Sauce? Posts: 1993 Mooresville, NC Gender:	Re: HDs-Sportsters vs Big Twins Reply #7 - 05/12/13 at 05:08:51 I like Sportys, but I really dig my lite, nimble, thumper that's chock full of torque and sounds cool as heck
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