"Bushy" wrote in message
...
In motorcycle circles, aren't Harleys known more for their nostalga
and styling and less for their power to weight ratio?


No, they are known for having to have a ute (and a trailer cause there
will
be more than one!) follow the ride to bring home the broken ones. Unless
you
count the fancy new motordesigned in Germany they have a typical TBO of
400
hours.

Every Harley I know, is in pieces more often than it is riden.

Hope this helps,
Peter

The old panheads were not designed for durability. Neither were the
shovelheads. The blockheads, or evos, last longer, run cooler, have more
power to weight because they are much lighter -- with aluminum heads and
cylinders. I put 30k trouble-free miles on an 89 Evo before selling it to
a German for more than I paid for it new. So it's a good investment too.

I stopped once to help an old-timer from Loozeeanner replace his clutch
cable on a '69 shovelhead. He said the engine had over 80k miles on it and
all he had repaired on the engine was the clutch. The clutch cable we
replaced had been working for him since new. He also said he had gotten 20k
miles on an o-ring chain. He had bought his Harley new.

Who makes motorcycles in your country, and do you have a quality assurance
report to make on them?

Proud owner of a shovelhead and a panhead, both of which do fine and are
well-maintained.