Quote: So John All your triumphs were more dependable than all your harleys?
No, my Triumph, and those of the hundreds of people I know here, are vastly more dependable than the dozens of Harleys belonging to people I know here in Helena. Are there dependable Harleys? Sure. My friend Jeff has a really reliable Harley. He's an independent Harley mechanic and can afford to keep his T-sport in tip-top shape. And it is fast. It's one of the few I can't keep up with on the straight OR the twisties. I can't even imagine what it would cost for a non-mechanic to reproduce the performance of that beast. He also set a speed record at Bonneville (heh) with another bike of his within the last few years. I think it's a dyna that he took to around 149mph (no bodywork, either). Those are some real fast Harleys.
Most of the things that have gone wrong with my bike were my fault (botched valve job) or aftermarket parts (weak belt drive kit). I've had exactly three things go wrong in 9 years, and only one of them was a show-stopper: rubber speedometer cable loop broke (replaced under warranty), rear brake switch stuck on (replaced under warranty) and my CDI malfunctions in the wet (after 8 years). Chances are I would've replaced that voluntarily anyway for the Procom's programmability. And I could probably "fix" my stock CDI with a $3.99 tube of silicone.
On the other hand, I've seen a Harley electrical system freak out because it was parked next to a sprinkler and got a little wet. I've seen a barely-more than a year-old Harley need a new alternator for hundreds of dollars because the one-year warranty was expired and it's incredibly labor intensive to replace. That just scratches the surface.
I don't have to own a Harley to know about the idiosyncrasies and problems and have an informed opinion.
