Would you buy a bike you think is ugly?

HD=ugly baggers in particular, KTM even worse , but I would ride a turd if it was fast enough.
Of course speed is not the forte of an HD bike. They sure don't break like they used to although there is an expensive overhaul program they undergo.
 
Day I bought my Aprilia RSV4 ~ far from ugly & rides really well *

Aprilia 2015 purchase.jpg
 
The best
Of course speed is not the forte of an HD bike. They sure don't break like they used to although there is an expensive overhaul program they undergo.[/. The best way to fix them is jack up the title and drive a Busa under it . IMO.
 
The Connie is a sweet bike. There was a blue 2017 I looked at long and hard at my local dealer. I suppose I chose the BMW because I wanted the technology, basically a bike built to car engineering standards. What I didn't realize is that the BMW is very demanding of you to adjust to it. With the Connie, you hop on and ride. It feels like home from mile 1. When I bought the BMW I was pretty much 100% it was the right bike for me. Then in the getting used to it process on more than one occasion I was headed to the dealer to turn it in! But with some expensive adjustments to the basic package, I am starting to feel the love of this bike and to appreciate it's genius.
I thought I was like you in the technology aspect and I went and bought one of those new ford explorer limited edition with all the gadgets. I soon found myself really disappointed, because even though, the thing was loaded, it just wasn’t me. I ended up giving up the nav, keyless/remote start, heated/cooled seats, sunroof, voice command, text message reading, etc and traded it in for a mustang after only a year. The mustang is a dinosaur in the creature comfort area compared to the explorer, but it is by far, my favorite vehicle. I ended up applying what I already knew about myself and taste in vehicles when I was looking for a more touring oriented bike than the busa. I think the BMW motorcycles are amazing, but I love the concours A LOT more than I thought I would and I’m extremely glad Chose the concours. the busa now sits for weeks. To be honest, I have even considered selling the busa and I thought that the thought of getting rid of it would ever cross my mind.
 
Of course speed is not the forte of an HD bike. They sure don't break like they used to although there is an expensive overhaul program they undergo.
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My coworkers ride Harley’s and always give me a hard time about my Japanese bikes. I’m clueless when it comes to HD models, but One of them bought a $37k dollar HD and put 30k miles on it and started having issues. The thing now sits in the shed, because he refuses to pay HD shop thousands to fix it (supposedly is an ignition/electrical issue).
 
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My coworkers ride Harley’s and always give me a hard time about my Japanese bikes. I’m clueless when it comes to HD models, but One of them bought a $37k dollar HD and put 30k miles on it and started having issues. The thing now sits in the shed, because he refuses to pay HD shop thousands to fix it (supposedly is an ignition/electrical issue).

That makes no sense why it’ll cost thousands to repair an ignition/electrical problem?? You spend that much $$$ on a bike why didn’t he get the extended warranty? The problem with HD guys are they like to tinker with everything and then when something goes bad they take it to a shop and expect them to undo 4 other wrenches shoddy work. I like to mod with the best of them but when I bought my Road Glide I was careful to put stuff on that could come back off or didn’t interfere with my extended warranty.

Honestly 1 of the major factors why I went with HD is the Dealership network. I’ve made several touring trips since buying it and there’s literally a handful of H-D shops in every major city. Most of them are open 6 or 7 days a week. If something was to happen and I break down or need a part there’s probably a shop less than an hour away to help. So thats on you to do your research and see what the shop labor rates are and which dealership seems to care about its customers or $$$. There’s no set hour rate on labor costs for H-D shops so I’ve seen $40-$60 difference between shops 30 miles apart!!! So if you want to pay that much more cause they’re right down the road or where you bought it from that’s nobody’s fault but your own......
 
Wow! I post a provocative post like this and it takes until post 29 to spark some fireworks? I even called the Busa ugly several times. You people are getting old and lazy. Where's your fighting spirit? Lol!
 
You know what gets me is the whole 6 speed C14 vs FJR1300 5 speed . The FJR is the only sport tour with a true overdrive 5th . All others were 1 to 1 in top gear .
I use to really dislike the bird back when 1st came out as I was die hard ZX11D , and ZX12 but time won me over for reliability , and ease of service compared to so many other models .
 
If it looks how it does because it was designed to do what it does, that's beauty by any designer/engineer's definition. 'Form follows function' and anything more is superfluous decoration to be kept to a minimum. I think the KTM looks great.
 
That makes no sense why it’ll cost thousands to repair an ignition/electrical problem?? You spend that much $$$ on a bike why didn’t he get the extended warranty? The problem with HD guys are they like to tinker with everything and then when something goes bad they take it to a shop and expect them to undo 4 other wrenches shoddy work. I like to mod with the best of them but when I bought my Road Glide I was careful to put stuff on that could come back off or didn’t interfere with my extended warranty.

Honestly 1 of the major factors why I went with HD is the Dealership network. I’ve made several touring trips since buying it and there’s literally a handful of H-D shops in every major city. Most of them are open 6 or 7 days a week. If something was to happen and I break down or need a part there’s probably a shop less than an hour away to help. So thats on you to do your research and see what the shop labor rates are and which dealership seems to care about its customers or $$$. There’s no set hour rate on labor costs for H-D shops so I’ve seen $40-$60 difference between shops 30 miles apart!!! So if you want to pay that much more cause they’re right down the road or where you bought it from that’s nobody’s fault but your own......
I’m with you on the extended warranty Statement. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but the shop is making it sound like it will be a time consuming problem. He also had front wheel bearings go out on him at 20k odd miles. I know I would be furious if I had issues like that on such expensive machine. The thing sure has a nice GPS and stereo system and has a beautiful paint job.
 
I’m with you on the extended warranty Statement. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but the shop is making it sound like it will be a time consuming problem. He also had front wheel bearings go out on him at 20k odd miles. I know I would be furious if I had issues like that on such expensive machine. The thing sure has a nice GPS and stereo system and has a beautiful paint job.

I’d take it to another shop!!!!

Yeah the wheel H-D bearings are notorious for going bad. The thing about it that cracks me up is guys will spend thousands on a stereo thousands on a paint job thousands on motorwork....... But they won’t spend less than $100 on new wheel bearings when they get their tires changed!?!?:crazy:

It’s just 1 of those things where preventive maintenance is key. Spend a little now to prevent spending a whole lot more later :rolleyes:
 
Careful there! You are a quality parts guy and an HD is just not going to be your cup of tea. While I like HD's I am a technical geek and their simplicity would just not keep me entertained. I love the Busa because I can do so much to it. The BMW is a fascinating puzzle. Those are things that keep me on two wheels. You have to know what things hold your interest and go for that in the bikes you chose. Not always easy......
I am a quality components fella , so I would fit it out with this in mind Arch . I am drawn to a simple basic motorcycle to be in the stable , well I mean as well as my Busa , and whatever else also . I really like the bare bones look of some HD's , but I would do it my way . Light weight wheels , stout front end , billet clamps , trick shocks , but bare ass look as can be . Maybe a Vrod would have to be a bit different to that . I have been around all sorts of motorcycle from early age , but I always require a fast bike not only in straight line , but around corners as well . That is why I have really stayed off HD . I bought my Busa because I wanted the big 1340 grunt powerplant , and modded the chassis and running gear to suit my needs and desires , and to build it special , to really handle how I wanted . I would do a thorough going over if I one day added a HD to the stable .
 
I am a quality components fella , so I would fit it out with this in mind Arch . I am drawn to a simple basic motorcycle to be in the stable , well I mean as well as my Busa , and whatever else also . I really like the bare bones look of some HD's , but I would do it my way . Light weight wheels , stout front end , billet clamps , trick shocks , but bare ass look as can be . Maybe a Vrod would have to be a bit different to that . I have been around all sorts of motorcycle from early age , but I always require a fast bike not only in straight line , but around corners as well . That is why I have really stayed off HD . I bought my Busa because I wanted the big 1340 grunt powerplant , and modded the chassis and running gear to suit my needs and desires , and to build it special , to really handle how I wanted . I would do a thorough going over if I one day added a HD to the stable .

I would like to see what you could do with it. Looking at your Busa mods you have a very good eye for parts that are high performers and purposeful looking. I have always loved the HD flat tracker look. That would be a cool starting point but I think modding the HD properly might require some fabrication sophistication (don't know if you do that or not).
 
The new HD softail frame was redesigned in 18 and handles much better than the old ones. They went to a new frame and mono shock from the old design with twin shocks underneath. They now have more travel and adjustment.
 
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