I purposely don't go to the local HD dealership for test rides. I'm sure that they have several models that I could get used to. In fact if I could find a place on a fully decked out Ultra Classic Road King suitable for a mailbox, I'd seriously look at one. After all, the only way that I could justify $25-$30 K for a bike would be if I could live on it. One of the reasons that I have the America is the excellent $$$ to fun ratio. In '05 I bought my '02 America that was purchased new in '03, had 2400 miles, lots of extras, chrome, TLC and I only paid $4200. I sold a Honda Reflex scooter for $3200, added a K and rode my beautiful America home in the rain. I'm pretty sure that I can keep the America for a long time and still get most, if not all of the money back. Call me a tightwad, but I like to get the most bang for the buck. I have friends who ride HD and they say that the only difference in money is in the initial higher investment. Once you sink the extra $$$, owning/buying/selling/trading isn't much different from other brands due to the excellent resale value on the Harleys.
I don't bash Harleys or any other brand. In fact, if we really wanted to be honest, we should thank HD because they largely developed the cruiser market. Most manufacturers, including Triumph, have HD in their crosshairs and have developed their own line of cruisers in response to demand. Triumph developed the Americas and Speedmasters largely for the US market as a kneejerk reaction to capture a piece of the cruiser pie. Personally, I'm really glad they did!!
