FJR1300 vs V-Rod

I overheard something today that was unbelievable. I had my FJR parked in front of a motorcycle dealership that sells both Harley-Davidson & Yamaha. My wife, buddy, & I after riding in 100 degree heat most of the day decided this would be a great place to sip some fluids & enjoy the air conditioning.

I noticed a sales guy had a customer at his desk & was trying to close a deal. They walked back & forth from the desk to a V-Rod several times so I assumed that he was buying the V-Rod. After a while they stood at the doorway near us & I overheard the salesman tell the customer that the papers should be ready to for him to signing the morning. It was near closing time.

As the customer looked outside he spied my '05 FJR & said. "That's the other bike I wanted, they are king of the road!" The salesman said, (I'm sure he didn't realize that I was the FJR rider), ya, they're good enough bikes but you have to pre-order them". "Besides that, the V-Rod will out run them & is much better on twisty roads", "plus those sport bikes just don't hold their value like a V-Rod will". I was in shock! I couldn't believe my ears. Where the hell did he get his numbers? This guy sold Yamaha's too! WTF!

It was one of those times in my life where I was dumbfounded. I wanted so badly to call the salesman on what he had said but something told me I'd be wasting my breath.

Anything for the sale! I hope the guy went home & checked out the numbers!

Saddletramp said:

I overheard something today that was unbelievable. I had my FJR parked in front of a motorcycle dealership that sells both Harley-Davidson & Yamaha. My wife, buddy, & I after riding in 100 degree heat most of the day decided this would be a great place to sip some fluids & enjoy the air conditioning.
I noticed a sales guy had a customer at his desk & was trying to close a deal. They walked back & forth from the desk to a V-Rod several times so I assumed that he was buying the V-Rod. After a while they stood at the doorway near us & I overheard the salesman tell the customer that the papers should be ready to for him to signing the morning. It was near closing time.

As the customer looked outside he spied my '05 FJR & said. "That's the other bike I wanted, they are king of the road!" The salesman said, (I'm sure he didn't realize that I was the FJR rider), ya, they're good enough bikes but you have to pre-order them". "Besides that, the V-Rod will out run them & is much better on twisty roads", "plus those sport bikes just don't hold their value like a V-Rod will". I was in shock! I couldn't believe my ears. Where the hell did he get his numbers? This guy sold Yamaha's too! WTF!

It was one of those times in my life where I was dumbfounded. I wanted so badly to call the salesman on what he had said but something told me I'd be wasting my breath.

Anything for the sale! I hope the guy went home & checked out the numbers!

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Don't beat up on yourself, all people who buy HDs have something in common, they are all mentally dilusional. You could sell em the London Bridge if it had HD on it...I rode a V-rod a friend of mine was trying to sell....he had over $30K in it was was asking $14,000....You couldn't given it to me....My ears still hurt and it was about as slow as my old honda 450 that I had back 30 yrs ago in high school....

Well, according to MCN the V-Rod is pretty close to the FJR in straight line "performance." All I remember at this point is the 1/4 mile time: 11.02 FJR // 11.38 for the V-Rod. I can't imagine the V-Rod, with equal rider, would be a match for the FJR in the twisties.

Sales guy must make more on HD sales. I'll tell you, I don't meet many salesmen/women these days who know WTF they're talking about anyway. Doesn't seem like they take the time to really know their product so they can speak intelligently about it to customers.

Smile and move on.

When I had my 03, I followed a Vrod for a while. He thought he was going fast, but I was right on his tail. After a few turns, he did a classic double take, as if he couldnt believe I was hanging on his tail. Of course, when the road opened up, I was gone!

First of all, if you read more of the tests, the FJR has been tested below 11 seconds in the quarter, and the trap speeds are much higher. I've ridden a V-rod, and it's not nearly as fast as a FJR.

And resale of Harleys is greatly exaggerated. What they don't tell you is that people buy Harleys for WAY over list because the dealer forces them to buy accessories in many cases (and I mean that literally). Then, the typical customer buys thousands of dollars worth of accessories on top of the original purhcase. Two years later the bike is worth about 2K less than new, but about 6K less than they have in it with accessories. Further, the V-Rod does not hold up like other Harleys. You can actually buy them new for less than list.

Next, if I had been there, I would have called the guy on it. The customer is about to spend a lot of money - why let him be lied to? If a sales person is a liar, I have no trouble calling him out.

The Ford owner says, "Friends don't let friends drive Chevys."

There is no right or wrong in this topic, just opinions. Go to the BMW board and see how they feel about STs.

I feel a topic move coming on.......

Saddletramp,

Like you say, “Anything for the sale!” Sounds like puffing. Maybe even huffin & puffin.

Jim,

I see the same numbers you’re quoting in the back of a Jul 05, Motorcyclist magazine. However, I remembered coming across some ET’s that were notably quicker. Did a quick search and found MCN Performance Index, page 34 showing a FJR 1300 tested in Jul 02 turned the quarter in 10.68.

Wonder what’s the skinny on this? Is the FJR tiring with age, am I reading the index incorrectly, is there some sort of altitude adjustment required, or who knows what the heck?

jjsC6 said:

What they don't tell you is that people buy Harleys for WAY over list because the dealer forces them to buy accessories in many cases (and I mean that literally). Then, the typical customer buys thousands of dollars worth of accessories on top of the original purhcase.

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True Story,

Thought I might want to own a HD before the final curtain call....Explored their website and found the bike, the model listed for $17,998 MSRP....Went down to the HD dealership here in Dallas and asked them if they had one. Sure enough, had one out front.....I went out set on it, as I was enjoying the moment I ask the salesman how much? He replied $23,000...

I slowly got off the bike and got in the car and drove back to my office, where I got back on HD's website..Sure enough it was the same bike, so I called the salesman at the dealership and asked him what's up....as we had to be talking 2 different bikes here.....He then informed me that NO it's the same bike, they just sell em for $5,000 over MSRP....and it's an investment..

I informed him when I want to invest in something, I'd buy stock in Coca Cola, not pay $23K for bike worth $18K. That perked my curiosity up so I call another HD dealership out of town (HD of Waco) the salesman on the phone informed me they sell their bikes for Sticker and sticker was $22,000 for that model....When I informed the salesman that I was looking at the bike on the HD website and the MSRP is $17,990 he then informed me that the dealership has THEIR OWN STICKER PRICE and that's the price on the tag on the bike...so that's sticker. All I could think was "What a bunch of scumbags" as that's downright deceptive sales practices in my book...

On top of that a friend told me he'd special order on from HD of Dallas and after 3 months they called him to advise him the bike had arrived.....When he went down there, they told him there'd be a mistake and they got the serial #'s confused and it wasn't his bike.......only to find out later that some dude who was shopping for bike fell in love with his bike sitting on the showroom floor and offered the dealer $2,000 than he was gonna pay, so they sold it out from underneath him and made up that cock en bull story.....

I've never buy a HD....

P.S. The Cadillac dealer tried the same thing....I'll never have a Cadillac either...

FRY, Mercedes, BMW & Lexus, none of those Car Co’s will allow their dealers to sell a car for over MSRP…

Got one of each…and a Yamaha JFR in the garage to boot….and everyone sits around wondering why the sales of American made vehicles have gone to hell in a hand basket….?

BWHWHHAHHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAAAA

I guess you should be commended for not calling BS on the salesman right in front of his pidgeon. I doubt I could have kept my mouth shut. But then if I made my living on commission, I'd probably push the bigger sale too. PDP probably delays his paycheck especially if somebody backs out.

When it's all said and done people who rely on salespeople for information deserve what they get. Not everybody can be as smart and good looking as us! :lol:

This is exactly why I no longer ride the Bar & Shield brand. I bought my first HD used in 1978 and rode them (with some other brands mixed in) until 1994. During those years the HD dealers were damn glad to have my business. Then when things started getting better for them, they started acting like they don't even know you. I have no tolerance for high-tone dealer attitudes.

Adios....

Woody

Saddletramp said:

"Besides that, the V-Rod will out run them & is much better on twisty roads", "plus those sport bikes just don't hold their value like a V-Rod will". I was in shock! I couldn't believe my ears. Where the hell did he get his numbers? This guy sold Yamaha's too! WTF!

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He was being a salesman. Trying to sell the higher priced motorcycle. Nothing more, nothing less.

If it were possible I think the majority of HD owners would like to ride next to a truck hauling mirrors Typical gang -posier mentality is what drives people to HD.

Cary

JimLor said:

Well, according to MCN the V-Rod is pretty close to the FJR in straight line "performance." All I remember at this point is the 1/4 mile time: 11.02 FJR // 11.38 for the V-Rod.

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Well, I think all that is performance crap about the V-Rod, is just that CRAP! The one I rode was so underpowered & loud , that I turned around after a couple of blocks and went back.....I remember giving it a FULL PUNCH and the power just wasn't there, compared to the 83 V65 I'd been riding for 20 years that is.........Plus, it was so freaking loud (sampson straight pipes) that my ears rang for a week.....

Now, when I got on my FJR for the first ride, that is a different story, as the first time I rode it, I FULL PUNCHED it going up an entrance ramp to the Hwy and the front tire came off the ground as I shifted from 1st to 2nd, I remember thinking YEEEHAAA, THIS IS THE BIKE FOR ME.....finally something as fast as the damn 20 yr old Honda I'd had forever..

Don't believe anything you read in a Motorcycle Rag, an owner's manual, or muchless anything a ------------------- says!

shokdimm - I've read the same. Have also read that times are often "adjusted" for weather conditions so that times taken at different places (altitude, temp, etc) can be "normalized" so you're comparing apples to apples. I've seen the 10.68 for the FJR and have also seen 11.02 with a note that it is a "corrected" time. Trouble is you can't always tell when a time is "corrected" or not.

Jim

The other thing to consider is that the salesman had a VROD to sell. If there was no FJR to sell, it may have been another 6 months or more before he could get another on the PDP. Add to that the fact that the profit margin was undoubtedly higher on the VROD and it's a no-brainer for the salesman. Don't expect integrity from those guys, they're sharks. They'll tell you whatever they need to in order to get a sale for themselves. The buyer must beware !

starcruiser said:

Don't beat up on yourself, all people who buy HDs have something in common, they are all mentally dilusional. You could sell em the London Bridge if it had HD on it...I rode a V-rod a friend of mine was trying to sell....he had over $30K in it was was asking $14,000....You couldn't given it to me....My ears still hurt and it was about as slow as my old honda 450 that I had back 30 yrs ago in high school....
Don't believe anything you read in a Motorcycle Rag, an owner's manual, or muchless anything a ------------------- says!

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But we're supposed to listen to your brain fart?

Here we go again - its been at least 3 or 4 days since the last Harley bashing thread - you guys crack me up. And as for the aged squid above - I take exception concerning your comment ALL people who buy HDs are mentally delusional - all 330,000 of us last year (and I don't believe I'm delusional, although I am responding to your thread, maybe I am ......nevermind).? Sure your buddy had 30K in his V-Rod - bullshit. Sure he couldn't get 14K for it (unless its an'02). Anytime you want to run it against your old 450 honda let me know, I'll get one and race ya --- I guess this is your attemp at humor, huh?

It is interesting how this thread didn't really start out as HD bashing. I thought it was about the shocking revelation that salesmen will say anything to make a sale. Not that I would ever say anything to stir the pot but the usual suspects piped up - The HD bashers who paint everything with a broad brush and those who act shocked and offended that HD's would get bashed on an FJR board. Play nice kiddies :lol: :lol: :lol:

If you guys really have found the need to own a harley I can point you to more than a few Harley dealers in PA that will sell for MSRP or a couple dollars below. The boom is waining on these beauties. It's only a matter of time when they will be selling for the farm machienery prices. Remeber folks a v-rod average price for a valve adjustment around here is 400$.

:dribble:

NowI have ridden the V-rod and would have a place for it in My Garage if I had the money. I enjoy the motor.

I have owned 20 bikes in 12 years including Ducati's ($18K) every bike has its own purpose. Some do more than others. Traditionally FJR/sport touring crowd rides a little faster than the Crusier crowd. If you were a cruise minded person you would own one and preach the virtues of the crusier. Its just different people.