I just saw what I believed to be a beautiful red Sportster. However, when the accelerated from the stoplight, the exhaust note was not that of Harley. At the next light I noticed H-O-N-D-A on the back of the seat.
So, tell me, Harley owners…Do you get pissed at Harley look-a-likes? Do you laugh or just shake your heads at these clone riders? Or are you tempted to render great bodily harm?
Have to admit, the bike itself was beautiful.
I’m not sure why they would care. I admit I’m not a Harley owner, but do Mercedes owners get bent out of shape if they see a Kia lookalike?
If this is what you saw, I find it amusing that the Harley clone is a “Shadow”.
No, we just feel sorry for them.
But, in all reality, you are probably not as famaliar with motorcycles as you think you are. True, the Sportster, especially if it has a peanut tank, is the longest running HD model and is somewhat iconic. But, so are the Honda CB series, and, the same for other makes.
Motorcycles have been around for quite awhile now and unless you go custom it’s real hard to break out of the mold. There are some stylisitc differences that are in fact unique to each make. You just have to know where to look.
Also, each maker has different geometries and each model is also different in that regard. You should really buy a bike due to that over a particular make or model unless you are ready to spend several hundreds installing/swapping bits and pieces to make if fit you.
Shouldn’t this be in IMHO?
It’s turtles all the way down. There are Harley owners who hate the Japanese clones (even as they admit the bikes are better), but then tons of Harley guys will give someone a hard time for riding a Sportster in the first place. Or just one made after 1986. Or after they switched to fuel injection. Or for riding a softtail. Or a dresser. Or a…
(Don’t even start them on Buells.)
But such people are really in the minority. Not many people have that much of their identity wrapped up in what they ride, and the guys that do take so much ribbing they’re quiet about it these days. I hope so - I still plan on getting a Sportster myself, though mine will end up sounding like a Honda. I just got back from my morning run where someone rode past on a softtail and it just sounded obnoxious.
Since the OP is asking for personal opinions, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I tend to shake my head at the Harley owners. Paying so much more for a name? Crazy! I guess some just have low enough self-esteem that they NEED the Harley brand in order to prove somethign or feel better about their place in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I know plenty of Harley riders who know they just paid for a name or a particular look/sound and are cool with that. On the other hand, I have talked with some Harley owners who feel as if anything other than a Harley doesn’t qualify as a real bike. Well, I just don’t argue with stupid.
Now… The new NightRod, thats a Harley I wouldnt feel stupid about purchasing.
Psst…take a look at the article running coach provided. Sure, some of the other HD line-up might have some sort of premium but a lot of moto makers have a “premium” price including the Honda in the article.
Me, I don’t make fun of others on clones. I found the HD to be the best made and value when I bought mine. Mine is a Sportster so some HD people make fun of me. Of course, my 1200R is lighter, has better brakes and can out perform any of the big bikes. 45K miles and no problems so far. I also have a Buell (along with a few other Japanese made bikes). What can I say? I want them all! 
They might, but they usually couldn’t catch them!
Personally, I think Harleys are overpriced and you pay a lot for the name/cache.
But I don’t say that aloud very often; I do have a Martin guitar.
Exactly.
And that’s why it makes no sense to talk about clones … because there is no original that others have copied. Everyone has borrowed from everyone else since someone had the awesome idea of putting a motor between two wheels.
An old one, or a newer one made in China?
You know what the major difference is between a Harley and a Honda motorcycle?
The Honda does not come stock from the factory with a small puddle of oil underneath it.
It’s an old joke. 
I don’t think that’s fair. Harley dominates their market segment (260k bikes last year) so their competition targets them on pricing. The newest release competing with the Sportster is the Star (Yamaha) Bolt, and its $7999 list price was set to beat the cheapest Sportster’s $8399. No matter how low they go, the competition’s going to try to undercut them.
And imo, I’ve never seen an HD where I thought “that’s way too much for that bike!” To me, where they soak people is on options/upgrades and customizing.
People that like working on motorcycles buy Harleys, people that like riding motorcycles buy Hondas.
So many lame, false jokes in this thread. Yes, the AMF years were not kind to Harley but the UJM’s of the same era weren’t that much better. Modern HD’s are rock solid and require LESS maintenance than most other manufacturers. My modern Japanese bikes (yes, one is a Honda) have more to their maintenance schedules than my Buell or HD. When was the last time you had to adjust the valves in a Harley twin? So, in reality, that lame joke above is backwards. Keep laughing it up in ignorance folks :smack:
The engine never made it that far. flees, grinning wildly
Ba dum tiss!
Not old enough, it’s an 82. And the guy I spoke to in the Custom Shop about it had a Nazareth, PA phone number.