Accessories for your Harley Davidson

America has a few non-negotiable icons. One of them is the legendary Harley Davidson Motorcycle, the dream machine of every biker in the world. The motorcycle is one of the most popular, desired and revered two wheeled steed in the US. During my short stay in the Texas, US I have come across several ardent bikers who own a harley and spend thousands dollars not only to buy one but to add accessories.

While browsing the internet I found this website that is solely selling harley-davidson accessories at discounted prices. They site is an ideal place to purchase everything that can be added onto your Harley Davidson motorcycle to make it look and feel better and more utilitarian. Things like touring bags can be added to carry stuff on long rides.

The site is user friendly and one can browse by model to find the exact part to fit into the motorcycle. Each model has numerous accessories that fit in as if it were stock equipment. The net result, your motorcycle will look even better and the next time you hit the road on your favorite set of wheels you can be sure to attract several envious and admiring stares.

For a short time they are also offering free shipping on all orders.

Harley Davidson - My Dream Motorcycle

Every biker's dream would be to own a Harley Davidson motorcycle. The deep throaty thumping beat of the motorcycle generates flutters in everyone's heart. I have been attracted to this big V-twin motorcycle ever since my teen years. At that time I was in India and it was impossible to even see a Harley, let alone ride or own one. But being a great fan of this legendary motorcycle, I bought several Harley Davidson Accessories such as a jacket, key chain, cigarette lighter, etc.

I moved to the US 18 months ago and now I live in Texas, the big state where one can ride motorcycles almost round the year. Here is where I got an opportunity to ride a Harley and also visit a showroom. I now understand that the cost of owning a Harley is quite high. Buying a new Harley is quite expensive and in this country, insuring one is even more expensive. Then there is the cost of maintenance. HD Parts can be expensive if bought at the wrong place.

One thing I must say here is that Texas is definitely an out and out Harley Davidson state. On clear days one can see hundreds of Harley riders enjoying their ride on the highways. These guys attired in leathers, astride on gleaming motorcycles, ride on without a care in the world enjoying the sun and winds blowing against their faces. Sometimes I do stop by and have a chat with the owners of these beautiful motorcycles.

Somehow or the other the topic moves to maintenance and I have gathered that most people don't patronize a mechanic or repair shop. They work on their motorcycles and fix problems, if any were to occur. One owner was very candid and said he would simply go online and order Discount Harley Parts because it is a lot faster than fixing a repair appointment and taking the motorcycle to a shop. I guess the high labor costs at official Harley Davidson shops could be quite a deterrent. But looking at the other side, I'd say it gives the owners immense pride to say that the motorcycle is self maintained.

Smaller motorcycles from Harley Davidson???

Globalisation is changing things across the world and the impact is being felt in the US also. The most favored cult brand in the US or rather I would say the world, Harley Davidson is facing the brunt of the economic downturn in the US. During the 1990s when the US economy was booming the bike manufacturer was the most favoured company of bike dealerships and stock brokers in wall street. But a decade down the line, US is spending billions of $s in fighting two wars half-way across the world and domestically people are grappling with steep increase in gas prices, home mortgage crises, rising unemployment (6.5 percent) and sky-rocketing grocery and food prices. Historically the motorcycle has been a symbol of prestige; a vehicle of pleasure and entertainment in the US and now people are so strapped for money that they are just not riding lesser and lesser as the days pass. The first to be hit in this flagging economy has been the motorcycle behemoth, Harley Davidson. The company has been experiencing sales at snails pace and is planning to cutting back production and laying off workers. Harley-Davidson stock split four times during the 1990s, but the last split was eight years ago, and shares in end-August were priced at $38.78, down considerably from a 52-week high of $55.41 reached in September of last year.

Since the US markets are pretty much saturated Harley Davidson is looking at international markets for sustainance. They are opening dealerships in South American and Asian nations in the hope of drumming up flagging sales. But in Asian countries where roads are narrower than the sidewalks in the US it is difficult to ride the elephantine Harleys. And perhaps for the first time in the history of the company, Harley Davidson is contemplating manufacturing smaller motorcycles. It would be sad to see the big-daddy of motorcycles falling from grace like this.

Website of a disgruntled Harley owner

The legendary Harley Davidson is definitely my all time favourite when it comes to motorcycles. But then I am fully aware of the ups and downs of owning a thumper motorcycle. It is expensive, time consuming and one has to spend a lot of time off the bike working on it to keep it in great form that we love it in. Anyway coming to the point I recently found this interesting website promoted by a disgruntled Harley owner.

Ths website reads like the diary chronicle of a Harley owner who has had lot of trouble with his bike. This man who calls himself as the "IT guy" who maintains the web-page. He has written his pains and pleasure experiences with the Harley Davidson motorcycle and has provided a platform for people to discuss the good and bad things about the motorcycle. The disclaimer on the site clearly states that "everyone who writes on the site takes ownership of what he/ she says. "Therefore, as a matter of policy, all posters on this page will be added to my e-mail list and will receive e-mails whenever there are additions to this page. If an e-mail address bounces repeatedly, the corresponding post will be removed from this web-page," reads the text on the homepage.

According to the owner of the website he has had several bad experiences with the motorcycle as well as the dealer who sold it to him. A summary of the problems reads something like this:

Summary of the problems I have personally experienced with a brand new Sportster in less then 5 years and 20,000 miles:
1. two major oil leaks: one and two
2. one major electrical failure (stranded, followed by a trip to a dealer)
3. gear shifter sticks for 5000+ miles (dangerous!! no longer happening)
4. fuel cock died, bike would not start, had to tow to shop
5. broken mirror
6. bubbling of chrome on top of air cleaner
7. periodic extended power losses (becoming less frequent?)
8. "dieseling" since the day I bought it, tune-ups have no effect

I recall the years I owned the Enfield Bullet, often referred to as the Indian Harley. And believe me I could have started a website like this. I owned the Enfield for five years and had a host of minor and major problems with it. The bike would give up at the most unexpected situations and create embarassing moments for me.

Cold and wet and not a ray of sunlight

Since yesterday the weather has suddenly changed... it is no longer sunny and warm with heavy winds chilling bones... it is completely overcast with clouds, no sunshine at all... in fact not even a trace of sunlight... and occassionally drizzling... not to mention the biting cold which encompasses our body when we go outdoors.... definitely not a good time to trek or hike in the woods of flat-as-pancake-Dallas region...

I was under the impression that the entire Texas was a flatland, replete with cattle ranches and horse borne cowboys with guns in their hip and chest holsters... but no... Texas has all kinds of landscapes... flat plains, high mountains with deep valleys and the ocean too... It is amazing.... but life is a tad too slow for people who come from India... or any other big city of US. Vehicles move fast on roads but life seems to stand still... there are big roads and vast open spaces but without the undulations created by the mother earth it seems boring to walk straight. The scenery is the same.... houses, grasslands, and sometimes big lakes...

Oh yes Dallas has this unique distinction, like Bangalore once used to have few hundred lakes around the city, this city has 163 large and medium sized lakes/ waterbodies within a distance of 100 miles from the city. Each lake is amazingly well maintained and most of them have boat piers where one can rent jet skis, sail boats, paddle boats, power boats etc... Wish India had such facilities and people lived good lives. That is not so, even if one invests and creates such facilities it would be ineconomical to run them because there wouldn't be enough customers... who are willing to pay to avail such services.

Yesterday I visited the American Eagle Harley Davidson showroom... oh! wow... it was heaven... I hate working in the sales department of any compay but if I were to get a sales job here I would happily do that... anyway I will be happier in the service working on the engine and transmission of these iron horses... I hadn't carried my camera, else I would have been able to get some really good pictures of bikes and the way they get serviced. I have made friends with some of the staff including the service manager who assured me that I can come anytime and take pictures of the works.

Wait for them.. and believe me you wont be disappointed... these machines are simply beautiful and riding them over the open highways, through undulating mountainous roads, hurtling down the slopes and just enjoying listeing to the deep throaty drone of the V-twin engines is nirvana... I simply love being around these massive motorcycles.

But for now I better get up and start my day...... there is loads of work to do.... and I haven't even started...