Ok, here is my experience, from the standpoint of having owned numerous
brands of motorcycle.
They've all been reliable for me, depending primarily on how hard I beat on them, but the longest lasting motorcycle I've owned (so far) has been the
lowly Harley-Davidson XLH 1200 (1995 Sportster, if you don't know). I had it for twenty years before trading it Year before last for my current bike.
That Sporty had 27years, about 80,000 miles, two crashes by me (I'm sure it
was crashed once before I owned it), and three years of 1/8th mile drag
racing, and only suffered a blown head gasket and two exhaust system
failures. I changed the oil (yearly, regardless of miles) and plugs, but that's about it.
From what I've seen of other people's bikes, both Harley and Japanese (don't know anyone personally with Brit bikes or Dukes), those that kept them CLOSE
to stock never had many issues, but the more they modded their bikes, the
more they complained about reliability.
I'm right now tearing down a 1975 Sportster that has developed shifting problems after 48 short years...but I really don't know it's history before I aquired it, so I can't tell you how reliable it was before I got it 5 years
ago (it's always started for me, though).
Take it for what it's worth.
--Frozen
"Stanley DeFisher" <defisher6@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:3F1F49F2.A81FC145@earthlink.net...
I'm curious about Harley reliability and am unable to find much on this matter. I'm trying to find out, perhaps from riders and/or
mechanics (preferably unbiased opinions if they exist), if there are inherent weaknesses, besides vibration and associated bearing problems, that necessitate top end rebuilds of Harley Davidson motors more often
than their German or Japanese counterparts. For example, do pushrod actuated engines, in motorcycle applications, have more frequent maintenance needs, or necessitate rebuilding more often than dual
overhead cam motors? I have heard some ridiculously low numbers quoted
for top end rebuild times on custom Harleys, but have no experience with this matter and suspect that short times in between top end rebuilds may often be a function of motors which have been heavily breathed on and
are, by their very nature, mechanically less reliable than a lower horsepower motor. I'm not looking to get flamed and am well aware that
the type of people who usually buy Harleys could care less about maintenance, I'm just looking for info. Thanks.
My current Evo powered Harley has 80,000 miles with no engine failures. That's more than any other bike I've owned, which includes too many
Japanese
and British to list. I think pushrod engines require less maintenance than overhead cams. Part of that is probably due to the fact they turn way less rpm.
Noob
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