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Senior Member
 
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Here is a comparison of a Harley-Davidson Ultra to Honda Goldwing. I would like to put it out there for people to get a perspective from someone other than MCNews. My biggest concern is why doesn't MCNews notice these things in their reviews?
http://www.ba-marc.org/writeups/hd-gw1800comp.htm
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Senior Member
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| "...why doesn't MCNews notice......" well, IMO, MCNews, like most other motorcycle publications just don't LIKE anything H-D produces. MCNews can't even come up with a category for a V-Rod....or changes the category so they don't have to compare it to any competitor Japanese cruiser. For ANY magazine to use another publications review (or part of it) might make the reader think the magazine in question is incapable of making their own evaluations. So.......... The link you provide is just one mans' opinion. If you like H-D...a GREAT review. If you like Wings....not so great. What you gotta do is what this guy did: BUY BOTH. Or, you can buy a V-Rod and a Suzuki M-100 and compare them......
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 8/17/2006 1:13:43 PM
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| Quite a biased article. I owned a 2000 HD Road King for 13 months year. I put 6000 miles on it. It had a Corbin Seat with backrest. It was beautiful to look at and I loved the sound of it starting. But on the road I paid a price, especially bumpy roads. The suspension was not good. I had my mechanic work on it ensure it was all set up correctly and had him do anything he thought would improve it. Everytime I hit a medium size or greater bump pain shot up thru my spine and neck. The bike did have small ape-hanger handlebars. Towards the end of owning it, I rode the bike for 2 days and then for the following 2 weeks I hobbled around. That was the final straw. I did talk to salesman about getting the Ultra and would that have better suspension. He told me no. I had the best. So, I sold it (which was quite easy, a real advantage for HD) and got a Yamaha Roadliner. It has all the cruiser feel and has a great suspension, just doesn't have the HD name, look and sound. Before buying I demo'ed the Roadliner and aimed for every bump and took it into a parking lot and did tight turns. It did so much better than the HD. I am no longer terrified of hitting a bump in the road. Only demo'ed a Gold Wing. It had better suspension than my Road King. But the GW is way too complicated. The article mentioned how compicated the GW was. I fully agree. I still may buy a HD again, but I will definitely plan not to take it on long rides, which is what I love to do.
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Junior Member
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| My impression is that the guy is used to his Ultra and how things work and where everything is at. Any other machine will pale in comparison because he is not accustomed to it like his Harley.
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Starting Member
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I concur. That 2000 Road King was my first Harley and it was quite challenging for me to ride even though I had owned 20 other bikes. It is a very different set up. I had to hang off the bike to get it around corners as fast as I did on my other bikes. I was not used to such a limited lean angle and generally was scrapping the bike on both sides. It was an 800lb bike while my next bike down was about 550lbs. The torque/hp ratio was something new for me. Once I got used to it I got to enjoy the slower pace. My wife noticed I got home from work later when I rode the Harley. I had fun on it when I wasn't hitting bumps. Oh, a the big advantage is I didn't have to wave at any one anymore  Just kidding 
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Senior Member
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That's very interesting that people who posted didn't like the Harley suspension. My cousin has a RoadKing and that stock suspension on that thing is great. You can not only adjust the height, but also the stiffness. Maybe those with suspension problems had slammed bikes? On top of that the Harley suspension should be made by Showa who is the same company that makes the Goldwing suspension.
Here is a place claiming that the Goldwing suspension isn't all that great either. It also touches upon the very famous 35-40 mph wobble problem.
http://www.traxxion.com/cruisers/cruiser_gold_wing.htm
I have to tell you I don't think the review I posted was anymore bias than a MCNews review. The person who wrote it is an engineer and they tend to be open minded and critical. On top of that IMO it was more professionally written than a MCNews review. It didn't use a bunch of adjectives and fluff such as "fantastic, magnificent, etc" but did concrete comparisions.
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Advanced Member
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| Look in the parking lot of an IBA event for what bikes are the long distance touring machines. My biggest concern is why doesn't MCNews notice these things in their reviews?
Well if that is your biggest concern and not global warming I can help you with that. MCN didn't notice those things because they are not a problem. The person who wrote the article was so obvious bias for the HD it was not even worth reading. This guy was an engineer and had a problem with how complicated the controls were? MCN never mentioned that because they are not complicated. I figured them out on the test ride. I'm an engineer too but I may have went to a better community college than he did.
Torqueman
Battle Creek, MI
V-Strom 06
Goldwing 03
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