Why Harley or Why Honda

[bike-ezy]

I am currently without a motorcycle but have owned a Goldwing Trike in the past. I am seriously in the market for another trike hopefully soon. Now I can make a choice of direction, Harley or Honda. ?..? Would value any input from you Harley owners. I am beginning to admire the "leaner" look of Harley, but obviously quality and reliability are paramount factors in any decision. Thanks, appreciate any responses.

 

[FRR]

There are at least a dozen threads on this subject on this site. If you do a search you will probably find them. Commenting on this, especially on the Harley page just gets some folks angry if anything positive is said about the Wing. Take a look at the comments over the past year on this subject. It should be helpful to you.

 

[screwball]

Well, if you are asking my opinion.....

Never mind, I've been on Harleys over 40 years, you would get a biased opinion.

 

[bike-ezy]

Well, if you are asking my opinion.....

Never mind, I've been on Harleys over 40 years, you would get a biased opinion.

LOL, would be great to do a ride w/ you. ?...

 

[arnie]

Well i've been on both since 72.I have two h-d's in the garage.An 04 road king & a 11 triglide.I like my h-d's.But to be honest,I think the Honda would be more dependable in the long run.Just my opinion,from my experience.

 

[Brentwood Bob]

UHHH Harley or Honda. (both hands in the air imitating a scale) The heavy lean is toward Harley.

 

[Tuccandler]

Good question. Both bikes will serve you well. I have a 2013 TG and love it now that I have made some minor improvements to the suspension. I like the fact that HD is the only OEM making a trike. The others are always kits and that allows some finger pointing if all does not go well with the Mod.
My trike corners as well as a two wheeler and has ample engine performance with a stage 1 kit. (High Air flow and aftermarket exhaust) I base this on my 09 Softail with a 107 Engine, stage 3 heads, 625 cams so I do understand performance and the trike will not need this kind of mods to feel good. I bought the trike in June of this year and have 4300 miles on her without any issues. I do my own maintenance and Harley will not void the warranty as long as you have records.
My suggestion is to RENT a HD Trike for the day. Put 300-400 miles on her and see if you like it.

 

[Wayne Harmsen]

If ya like working on them, get a Harley
If ya like ridding them get a Honda

 

[Bikerbozo]

My '10 TG has 65k miles. Never needed to be towed. Full warranty on a factory trike is a big consideration. Still almost 4 years left and already got money back. Engine and tranny solid.
That said, the wife likes the looks of that passenger seat on Gold Wing. Too cushy for me. Don't want to fall asleep on long trips because of too much comfort.

 

[lboos]

Harley has been around for over 110 years, The 1st Honda arrived in 1949 and had 3 horsepower 98cc engine.

Harley sounds like a motorcycle, it looks like a motorcycle, it is an American icon, and is the most sought after motorcycle in the world, why are you having a problem between the two :Shrug:....do the smart thing, and go with the Harley, ThumbUp.

 

[RcSuD]

Of course asking this question in the Harley forum everyone is going to say "Harley is the only choice". Ask it in the Honda forum and you'll get the opposite. For me, its simple. When someone asks me why I chose Harleys' I say because I like the looks of them, and I like the sound of them. Any other brand that looks like a Harley is a copy cat.
Remember, Honda is a motorcycle, Harley is a way of life. In the end, it's what YOU prefer, or like, not us.

 

[Hernandovan]

Try finding a Honda dealer day before Labor Day to get service on your bike or even parts. Had both harley parts same day Honda 2weeks. Nuffield said

 

[rap47]

I have a car that is smooth, quiet, and on long trips rather boring. That is why I ride a Harley, to get away from that. I want to feel the vibes, here the sound of a v-twin, and when I stop to get gas or take a break I can stand back and look at what I consider the best looking motorcycle/trike on the planet.

 

[msocko3]

Kind of a touchy subject, I like both brands for diffrent reasons. Up until last year I always owned a Harley. Grew to not trust my 2010 Triglide to not strand me, found out what that was like the previous year when my dads 09 Triglide stranded us 1,400 miles from home for 3 days while we waited for the Harley dealer to open.

In the 22,000 miles I road my Triglide I had the start button go bad which made the starter stay engaged, had the rear brakes fail due to the brake switch which had a recall, had the stator start leaking, the compensator was banging and there was an electrical gremlin which would make most of the electrical system loose power.

Last year I traded the Triglide in on a new 2012 GL1800 and road it 2 wheels up until a couple weeks ago. It's now a Hannigan trike, I feel I will have a much better chance of going from point A to point B without parts falling off or being stranded.

Now my dad is a diehard Harley person through thick and thin. The laundry list of stuff he's had happen would have had me throw in the towel a long time ago.

In the 40,000 miles he has ridden his 2009 Triglide he has had 3 start buttons fail, front wheel bearings fail, the rear O2 sensor fail, the oil cooler filter adapter warp needing replaced, rear brake switch recall, both front motor mount bolts where they go into the head break, had the same bolts come loose resulting in one bolt being lost and the other darn near lost. He has also had the compensator replaced, almost forgot, he got to put his luggage in trash bags for a year while Harley took their sweet time coming up with a good gasket design which wouldn't leak for the trunk. Funny thing about the gasket is it's the same gasket Lehman used on their trikes.

I still own my 06 Ultra Classic which IMO is one of the last of the better built ones.

 

[Geezzer Glide]

Well obviously if one rides a Harley they will say go with the Harley. If one owns a Honda they will say go with the Honda.
In my opinion both are good machines.
Myself I got the 2011 Harley Tri Glide because that is what I like and what I wanted and it is a factory built tike. Got 22,000 miles on mine and still very happy with it.
Dan

 

[njtrike]

I have had 2 goldwings in my riding years and they were both great. I had a 2000 HD Ultra that I kept for 10 years and it was great as well. I got a 2010 triglide and once I cooled it down it is great as well. I like having a factory built machine that is supported by a large dealer network. I ride with some guys that have Goldwing Trikes and they are very satisfied with their mounts as well. When they have issues it seems like it is more of a hassle to get service because they have to go out of area to get it resolved. In my case my great HD dealer service is 14 miles away. My experience is the HD products require more service to keep them running but are less complex. On the other hand HD sells more Triglides in a year then Honda does Goldwings. I think HD has figured to a greater extent what the customer wants. My 2010 triglide has been trouble free. I had to replace front wheel bearing at 20k and have gone through a set of brake pads on the rear. After putting on Rush true duals and muffers, a TTS2 tuner and big sucker air intake it is a runner and cooled down. I have no plans to acquire a 2014 because I am a happy camper.

 

[tbear]

My '10 TG has 65k miles. Never needed to be towed. Full warranty on a factory trike is a big consideration. Still almost 4 years left and already got money back. Engine and tranny solid.
That said, the wife likes the looks of that passenger seat on Gold Wing. Too cushy for me. Don't want to fall asleep on long trips because of too much comfort.

WITH THAT MANY MILES ON YOUR BIKE, WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO IT SEEMS TO BE THE TICKET TO HAVE. CAN I ASK YOU WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO YOUR TRIKE? I TOO HAVE A 2010 TRIGLIDE AND I AM READY TO STAGE 1 IT WITH MAYBE A CAM ALSO. HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TYPE,NAME,SIZE etc..?

 

[GARYD]

I had UJM bikes for 21 years. Finally switched to Harley in 1988 because I couldn't get parts for my 2) 5 year old Yamahas. Service was sketchy also.....when I needed it, which wasn't often. Come on now - AIRBAGS?? REALLY??? :Coffee:

I love Harleys for their looks, sound, lifestyle, image, simplicity (2014's ????),chick magnet, and most of all = FUN TO RIDE!! etc. etc.

Seems like 99.9% of motorcycles that are in movies are Harleys. ThumbUp Why is that?

Would I buy a Hon/Yam/Ski/Suz? Sure, if there were no more Harleys, but then again I would pick a Victory or an Indian first. UJM's are just too civilized for me.

UJM's are for the oxford shirt/tennis shoe/ bermuda shorts crowd who doesn't want to get dirt under their fingernails.....which isn't a bad thing, just not for me. Been there done that....now I'm older and wiser. :wave4:

A friend of mine who's been riding ST1100's for years just had an accident a month ago. He finally got his insurance check and told me "Now I'm going to buy a used Harley (Road King) I've ALWAYS WANTED BUT COULDN'T AFFORD". Not only did he do that, but he actually bought a brand new 2014 Ultra Limited. Talk about going "HOG" wild!?

Good luck with whatever you pick out.

 

[bluesman]

Good question. Both bikes will serve you well. I have a 2013 TG and love it now that I have made some minor improvements to the suspension. I like the fact that HD is the only OEM making a trike. The others are always kits and that allows some finger pointing if all does not go well with the Mod.
My trike corners as well as a two wheeler and has ample engine performance with a stage 1 kit. (High Air flow and aftermarket exhaust) I base this on my 09 Softail with a 107 Engine, stage 3 heads, 625 cams so I do understand performance and the trike will not need this kind of mods to feel good. I bought the trike in June of this year and have 4300 miles on her without any issues. I do my own maintenance and Harley will not void the warranty as long as you have records.
My suggestion is to RENT a HD Trike for the day. Put 300-400 miles on her and see if you like it.

How much will a Stage 1 kit set me back?

 

[iaff84]

If ya like working on them, get a Harley
If ya like ridding them get a Honda

I did not know there was another make of motorcycle than Harley :Shrug:
Guess I need to quit working on mine and get out more ThumbUp

Remember, you need to believe anything stated as a fact on the internet

Dennis, under trike, wrench in hand. :Angel: