More grumbling on Harley-Davidson

[hacksaw]

Couple of things here .
First , I bought a jacket from HD . I got one them emails from HD Black Friday things.
I did need a lighter weight jacket and they had one marked down Msybe 100$ off. It looked good black with orange race stripe anniversary deal.
So I went for it. Now with shipping and sales tax it turned out not to be that  great a deal but since I rarely buy myself  anything clothes related a went ahead and bought it.
Well it came quickly and was packed nice . Nice jacket actually . But I blew it in two ways . One , I assumed it was made in Pakistan as much of HD stuff used to be. Not that I am a fan of  Pakistan but it’s not on my avoid list. WRONG! Made in China! Oh well.
The second thing was I didn’t read the fine print . I have been a 2x in most tshirts and the like . And figuring  the jacket I may wear over heavier sweatshirts  I ordered 2xl.
But it’s a bit too big  not horrible but I would have enjoyed a size smaller . And the small print? The description for the jacket described it as one that can be kept in a saddle bag .
What I should have realized that pertains to bagger riders whom often are old true fat bastards .
🤬 oh well. I will wear it for a year and give it away when I lose more weight.

[hacksaw]

Next up . Lo rider ST.
Keep in mind here that Fat2 just bought one . Thst got me thinking I didn’t know the model . I don’t know what color he bought so pls know I am not making his bike the issue .

So I look at the adds corporate and local dealers .
The dealer web sites are all basically the same. They have been upgraded since I last looked and they suck to put it mildly .
3 available colors .
The all black is ugly.
The all white looks like a 1980’s police FXR
For 26k? ( yikes! ) I sure would want a bit more flash for the money !
The blue bike with graphics looks kinda nice .
Now I can accept the idea that baggers suck so going with this “sport” type set up is an appealing idea.
And perhaps the bike looks better in person than on tge web . If I was to buy one that would be the one.

So HD sends me Take A Test Ride.
Wtf ? It’s a high of 40f h here.
These people are fkd up!
I mean u are asked to enter your zip code . They don’t realize it’s winter in much of the United States?
This just shows how out of touch corporate HD is from
The populace !

[Fatfatboy]

A few years ago I traded a bike in that was worth more than the bike I was purchasing (can't remember what bikes it was) so I was just going to use the leftover cash for accessories (stage 1 and such) on the new bike, which I typically never have HD do because,,,, well truthfully because they charge too much, and I like wrenching.
After waiting on them longer than what it was supposed to take and then getting the wrong parts I just said "Screw it, just give me the bike and give me store credit for what you owe me."

I used the store credit to get a couple matching HD leather jackets for the bride and me that were four hundred something bucks each. They are of course made in China but they fit well, look nice and the quality is nice but it ain't as warm or as comfortable as my 30 year old made in Pakistan River Roads jacket that I bought for a hundred bucks at Fog Hollow.

The fancy HD jacket has become my Sunday mornin' meetin' and going out with the wife jacket in the winter. The River Roads is still my go to when I'm ridding. Unfortunately my River Roads is needing some new pockets sown in ,the lining is starting to wear through on the back and the pocket zippers need fixin' and I don't know of anyplace to take it to get it fixed. May just have to search eBay for another.

[Fatfatboy]

hacksaw wrote

The all black is ugly.

The blue bike with graphics looks kinda nice .
Now I can accept the idea that baggers suck so going with this “sport” type set up is an appealing idea.
And perhaps the bike looks better in person than on tge web . If I was to buy one that would be the one.

When the ST first came out in 22 they only had the battleship gray and black and I kinda thought the same way you did. Where's the flash? The gray was the only one my local dealer had and I hated the color. Still do.

I'm not typically a black bike bike guy. The only other black I've had is a Ultra Classic with silver panels and accents and a 2001 black 883 that was my first new HD. It was the cheapest new HD I could find.

Has for the ST the white is a now go unless it comes with some blue lights and a siren but after seeing the black in person I like it. The bronze wheels and the bronze HARLEY DAVIDSON on the tank look good together.

I saw the blue with graphics (Fast Jonnie scheme) on the web and thought HD nailed it but when I saw it in person it just didn't look right. Too busy and the blue was a lighter color than what it looked like on the WWW. Even my wife, you likes blue, didn't care for it.
The Fast Jonnie scheme is an extra $2k so not worth it IMO. I'd rather spend that money adding some pin-stripping or gold leafing to the black which I doubt I'll be doing unless I drop it or something stupid.

Maybe I'll paint it yellow and purple

[hacksaw]

I am sure there are several leather shops that can fix yiur coat. Do not give up on that since new leather can never match old leather .

Games by dealers never cease to amaze me . I can say over the years I generally had good cooperation from them . Especially parts .
Long gone we’re the days of “we don’t sell tools” .
But that was soon displaced with “we don’t work on shovelheads” and then there was “we replace , we don’t fix”
Lol. But anyway for the last 30 years I have only been slightly annoyed . But that’s not these new dealerships .
I don’t know how they are to deal with the sales staff . There Msybe a parts counter guy I know left somewhere .
But at the moment I have no need for any particular hd sourced parts .
One never knows , but obsolete is filling parts books faster than much else.
I don’t believe the dealers give a shit really . They are all politicians . To them a customer is 2 dimensional, like a cardboard cut out as flat as one’s credit card.
 

[Fatfatboy]

hacksaw wrote

I am sure there are several leather shops that can fix yiur coat. Do not give up on that since new leather can never match old leather .

There is a tack shop in the next town over but they won't mess with zippers and such. Just saddles and such.
I remembered today that a few months ago a guy told me about a shop in a town about an hour away that sells boots and leather goods. Today I looked them up on the web and it looked like they mostly do shoe repair, make belts, purses and crafty items. Then I read their About Us story. It's run by a gal by the name of Molly that rides a 89 Sporty and graduated from tech college with a degree Powersports Technology (fancy-talk for bike mechanic) whose is apprenticing under her dad who does the shoe and boot work and her mom who makes the belts and purses.

I called them up today and Molly said she thinks she can fix my jacket and to bring it by to have her check it out. It's supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow so that might be me excuse to knock 100 miles off the break in on the new bike.

Just for kicks I did check eBay and it looks like there is some used River Road jackets for sale for not bad prices but I'd much rather have mine repaired even if it cost me more than the used. It's been with me on a lot of trips and is formed to fit plus I know it has heavy leather and has the worn look that only comes from years of the open road.  

[hacksaw]

Sounds great. And you would be dealing with small bizz !!!!
Keep us informed on the River Road saga!