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That second point is very important. I know a dozen motorcycle riders (only 1 harley owner), but all the bikes are used. With fewer parts, fewer features, and n

That second point is very important. I know a dozen motorcycle riders (only 1 harley owner), but all the bikes are used. With fewer parts, fewer features, and no phone/stereo/ac/heated seats/navigation/adaptive cruse control, there's not a lot of innovation in the actual ride of a motorcycle to buy.

ip26 8y ago
Motorcycles have also not kept up with the times on engine technology. They only began switching away from carburetors around 2005. Drag your feet on technological advancement, and your year-to-year product consequently changes less. Suspension design has also remained really simple to my eyes compared to cars. Maybe it can't be improved, but the last major innovation/change in suspension was in the mid 70's with single shock design.
- beat 8y ago
  How many Harleys are still sold with hardtail rear ends? It's part of the aesthetic. It's not supposed to be comfortable. Or "safe".
  - eweise 8y ago
    they just look like hardtails but have hidden shocks.
    - beat 8y ago
      Lame.
- mcguire 8y ago
  "They" is somewhat misleading. My 1995 BMW R1100GS has fuel injection, terrifying ABS, and fancy suspension-wishbone front and paralever rear (to deal with the shaft drive behavior).
  - ip26 8y ago
    Fair point, BMW has been ahead of the curve. Thank you. You could, in a way, look at them and say to the others, "This is where you should be!"
- thrower123 8y ago
  You say that like moving away from carburetors to complicated, error-prone computerized injection systems is a positive thing...
  - hvidgaard 8y ago
    Modern fuel injection is miles ahead in reliability, but of course you can make shitty error prone versions of it - but so can you with a carburetors.
- abakker 8y ago
  When you compare the rear suspension of modern mountain bikes to Harleys, it gets even worse. You get the overall impression that it is all about what is mechanically easy, not comfortable or performant.
techdmn 8y ago
For sure. I ride a 2000 CBR929RR. 150 horsepower, only weights ~ 435 lbs, and it's fuel injected. Sure, a brand new CBR1000RR has ~40 more HP and is 2 lbs lighter, but 150 is still ridiculous for a street bike. I can't get to the top of first gear at a legal speed anywhere in the state (Road America aside), and wouldn't anyway because you can't keep the front wheel on the ground at WOT passed 8-9k RPM. The only thing I'm really missing out on are the fancy electronics like traction and wheelie control, but who wants those anyway?

ip26 8y ago

Motorcycles have also not kept up with the times on engine technology. They only began switching away from carburetors around 2005. Drag your feet on technological advancement, and your year-to-year product consequently changes less. Suspension design has also remained really simple to my eyes compared to cars. Maybe it can't be improved, but the last major innovation/change in suspension was in the mid 70's with single shock design.

beat 8y ago
How many Harleys are still sold with hardtail rear ends? It's part of the aesthetic. It's not supposed to be comfortable. Or "safe".
- eweise 8y ago
  they just look like hardtails but have hidden shocks.
  - beat 8y ago
    Lame.
mcguire 8y ago
"They" is somewhat misleading. My 1995 BMW R1100GS has fuel injection, terrifying ABS, and fancy suspension-wishbone front and paralever rear (to deal with the shaft drive behavior).
- ip26 8y ago
  Fair point, BMW has been ahead of the curve. Thank you. You could, in a way, look at them and say to the others, "This is where you should be!"
thrower123 8y ago
You say that like moving away from carburetors to complicated, error-prone computerized injection systems is a positive thing...
- hvidgaard 8y ago
  Modern fuel injection is miles ahead in reliability, but of course you can make shitty error prone versions of it - but so can you with a carburetors.
abakker 8y ago
When you compare the rear suspension of modern mountain bikes to Harleys, it gets even worse. You get the overall impression that it is all about what is mechanically easy, not comfortable or performant.

techdmn 8y ago

For sure. I ride a 2000 CBR929RR. 150 horsepower, only weights ~ 435 lbs, and it's fuel injected. Sure, a brand new CBR1000RR has ~40 more HP and is 2 lbs lighter, but 150 is still ridiculous for a street bike. I can't get to the top of first gear at a legal speed anywhere in the state (Road America aside), and wouldn't anyway because you can't keep the front wheel on the ground at WOT passed 8-9k RPM. The only thing I'm really missing out on are the fancy electronics like traction and wheelie control, but who wants those anyway?