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coincedence???

4K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  scrappy 
#1 ·
new for 07 the harley 883cc with frt and rear disc, EFI and belt drive. so what came first the kawi 900 or the new improved 883?? BTW both have a 24 month (well the LT anyway) unlimited mileage warranty

and its kinda tounge and cheek here as i realize the 883 been arouund a while but what im being told is the aforementioned items are new to the 07 model???????????
 
#2 ·
EFI is the only thing new to the HD...belt drive has been on the sporty since about 2000...maybe earlier, and the warranty has been good on HD, they have offered an extended one for quite some time. Though I think this is the second year for it to come with 24months. Sorry to burst the bubble, but other than the EFI and the water cooling.....all the metric cruisers are based on the attempts by the big 4 from Japan trying to capture the one segment they couldn't get...V Twin cruisers. They are doing a fine job of it, but they will never do it completely...I don't see anyone willing to tatoo Vulcan across their back or a pic of their favorite Vulcan motor on their arm. Or any other Japanese bike name. HD tats are fairly common. Kawasaki and the others haven't realized the formula for success...keep the motor the same in several bikes,make lots of stuff for the bikes and make it basic enough so the aftermarket doesn't have to redesign the parts every other month cause you changed the design. HD has a history of revamping the specific model every 15 years....many parts from one bike can be used on a different bike. It is rare parts from one Vulcan work well on another....there are exceptions but not many.What Yamaha is doing with the Star line is probably the closest to the way HD is doing it.They all got their good points and bad points....its not what ya ride, its That ya Ride!
 
#3 ·
CowboyBob said:
Sorry to burst the bubble, but other than the EFI and the water cooling.....all the metric cruisers are based on the attempts by the big 4 from Japan trying to capture the one segment they couldn't get...V Twin cruisers.

Well, it worked for me. Fuel injection and liquid cooling were two of the big things that got me looking at the Kawi instead of the HD. In the end, I think I got a lot more bike.

I'm not one of those "anything but a Harley" people. But ... Kawasaki (and Honda) had more to offer in what I was looking for.

Cheers!
Steve
 
#4 ·
To which I should add....

When I first started looking for a bike, I started with the assumption that I wanted a Harley Fat Boy. The more research I did, the more I realized that the HD was not was I was looking for (nothing wrong with it, just not what I wanted).

I decided to consider a lot of different bikes and looked at Harley, Triumph, Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki ... and after researching literally hundreds of motorcycles, I decided that the 900 was the only one that fit all of my needs.

I really considered all of those bikes without concern for cost. Some folks have told me that I got a great bike for the price. Hell, I got the best bike, regardless of price!

Cheers!
Steve
 
#5 ·
relli said:
new for 07 the harley 883cc with frt and rear disc, EFI and belt drive. so what came first the kawi 900 or the new improved 883?? BTW both have a 24 month (well the LT anyway) unlimited mileage warranty

and its kinda tounge and cheek here as i realize the 883 been arouund a while but what im being told is the aforementioned items are new to the 07 model???????????
What kind of price are they looking for???
 
#6 ·
LordGT said:
What kind of price are they looking for???
$6,600 - $7,800

Not bad, actually.

I guess that's why so many Harley riders hate 'em ... kinda ruins the status symbol aspect.

All kidding aside ... I have thought about getting a Sportster. they seem to be good (and fast) bikes and there's no doubt that they are a bit of motorcycle history.

Cheers!
Steve
 
#7 ·
I looked at those "bargain" priced 883's a couple of months ago when shopping prior to deciding on the 900. It is amazing what you don't get with that price - at least compared to the metrics - that's one of the primary reasons I now proudly have an LT.
 
#8 ·
LordGT said:
What kind of price are they looking for???
depending on the model between 8 to 10k OTD. thought that was kinda raesonable really-for a Harley.

yeah, i would feel better if it had liquid cool myself but as we've established-its not my choice-its hers.
 
#11 ·
relli said:
new for 07 the harley 883cc with frt and rear disc, EFI and belt drive. so what came first the kawi 900 or the new improved 883?? BTW both have a 24 month (well the LT anyway) unlimited mileage warranty

and its kinda tounge and cheek here as i realize the 883 been arouund a while but what im being told is the aforementioned items are new to the 07 model???????????
Harley's are junk!! Why would you buy anything American when you can buy the superior Jap quality with the same great looks but with a much better reliability record?
 
#12 ·
KyleB said:
Harley's are junk!! Why would you buy anything American when you can buy the superior Jap quality with the same great looks but with a much better reliability record?

WHY???????? becuase its what my wife wanted. she's very into the AMERICAN thing and myself too -to a certain extent. i agree that harleys back in the AMF(?) period were -shall we say less than reliable, but ive heard good things bout thier reliability over the years since and was impressed enough from the research i did on them and who knows i may turn to harley after a time. can never tell.

while ive often said that bike abc was not for me, or over priced or ect.... i hope ive never called another mans ride a piece of junk.
 
#14 ·
kyclassic said:
That's probably the silliest statement I've ever read on this forum.

Barry
++1 !! Gotta tell ya, after a week of breaking in her new HD 1200 i might just feel the dark side pulling me into its vortex. as popular as the 900's are and with the mods ive made bet i could sell it for near enough to cover what i need for another HD.:eek:
 
#15 ·
relli said:
while ive often said that bike abc was not for me, or over priced or ect.... i hope ive never called another mans ride a piece of junk.
Well said. It's not WHAT you ride, it's THAT you ride. I can hear the "dark side" beckoning myself, and may one day step over the line myself and become a HD rider. For now I'm content learning to ride my 900LT, but who knows what tomorrow, or next year, might bring?

I was cruising the neighborhood the other day, and stopped to chat with the guy that lives behind me. He's a city cop, and a Fatboy rider. He kept eyeing my Vulcan, and at least twice said "man, she shore is a purty thang".
 
#16 ·
relli said:
++1 !! Gotta tell ya, after a week of breaking in her new HD 1200 i might just feel the dark side pulling me into its vortex. as popular as the 900's are and with the mods ive made bet i could sell it for near enough to cover what i need for another HD.:eek:
Oh and what model of American Muscle would you be interested in??..:lol:
 
#17 ·
price really jumps after the 1200's so dont know if id be going higher than that. pickin the HD up at lunch tomorrow maybe ill talk to em and feel em out on a couple of models. never hurts to ask
 
#18 ·
Harleys are great bikes if thats what you're looking for. You pay for it, but they don't hold value like they used to unless its a 1450cc or bigger sized bike. Sportys don't hold any more value than a good import bike these days. Personal comfort, type of riding and brand loyalty are the main points to what bike you get. A V-Rod is a cool bike, but my Meanie full of toys makes me perfectly happy.
 
#19 ·
I sat on a few bikes yesterday (Suzuki S83, Kawi Ninja KZ-14, Harley V-Rod, Meanie). The Meanie felt good, but the others felt very awkward. Maybe it's just my short legs, but is there really any point in putting the controls so far forward on the V-Rod that you're stretched completely out just to reach them? Maybe I'm just used to my 900 and the Meanstreak is similar. Oh and the saleman offered to knock $1000 off the price of the Meanie without me even asking. I guess it's the time of year, but that's some handy info to have when I actually do get my next bike.

Cheers!
Steve
 
#20 ·
a dealer promised me an '06 1200 sportster for almost 2 grand cheaper than what i got marvin for. but then you look at first service, $300. 5k mile service, $200. 10k mile service $200. 15k mile service, $200. and yada yada yada. you want an excessory for your hog? no problem, you wanna pay with an arm, leg, or first born child?
but in agreeance, i have yet to see a suzuki tattoo, lampshade, crockpot, belt, guitar, blanket and so forth!! lol
 
#21 ·
dagumol said:
a dealer promised me an '06 1200 sportster for almost 2 grand cheaper than what i got marvin for. but then you look at first service, $300. 5k mile service, $200. 10k mile service $200. 15k mile service, $200. and yada yada yada. you want an excessory for your hog? no problem, you wanna pay with an arm, leg, or first born child?
but in agreeance, i have yet to see a suzuki tattoo, lampshade, crockpot, belt, guitar, blanket and so forth!! lol
If ya want a endless list of accesories check out whats offered for HD, if ya want em at a reasonable price check out HD...it is true, you can get more accesories for HD and depending on where ya get em, the price is probably less for HD parts. If ya go to the dealer its the same as everywhere. I can get 4 0r 5 styles of HD custom grips for about $60 bucks and I can only find one set of Kuryakyn grips for my vulcan at that price at the dealer. Pipes, I had few choices and I got mine for 278 bucks.....I can find pipes from $200 (plain drag pipes or slip ons for less) to over $1200 bucks for a HD. Your metric is gonna be less out the door, has less available to do to it, more reliable in most cases due to liquid cooling and less vibration. But if ya want a bike that has infinite possibilities to customize easily HD is it. You will find most accesories are comparable in price....just look at same for same in any catalog or online. Yes you can go to the high end extreme and buy some overpriced logo item. but there is just as many reasonable priced logo items for HD. I wish I could find the stuff at my local KAwasaki dealer for vulcans in that quantity. My local dealer has a bigger section of MX clothes than it does for street accesories for all 3 brands they carry and street helmets. I gotta shop online. HD, I could go local and have a ton of stuff close by.
 
#22 ·
Uhh...hate to tell you guys..but...Sportsters suck big time. I've been stranded 3 times on my '03 1200 Custom, I basically had to loctite everything on it as parts were vibrating off.. the ignition coil melted...go anywhere above about 85 mph and hold on for dear life cause those handlebars shake like crazy..Their people skills suck and god forbid you hafta bring it in for some kind of service cause you'll be bikeless for weeks...they are always booked about 1 month ahead! I honestly think my 900 could spank my sporty's *** any day of the week! I'm not the only one with this hatred of sporty's...majority of the Sportster owners get rid of it within 4 years at the most. Here's mine:

 
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