There’s More to Motorbikes than Harley Davidson | 3 Awesome Options
For over a century, Harley-Davidson has grown a loyal following. Riders don’t fall in love with Harley-Davidson by coincidence. The manufacturer offers an array of iconic models with impressive form and functionality. Plus, the custom, aftermarket parts for Harley-Davidson bikes are near endless, giving riders the chance to continuously optimize the bikes. And Harley’s American brand status makes people feel good about buying the legendary bikes.
What Harley Enthusiasts Can Miss
Although Harley-Davidson is clearly amazing, if you only have eyes for Harley, you may overlook other excellent options that can open up the road for you. Here are three motorcycle options that are seriously worth your while.
1. The Best Bikes of the Far East
Like the car market, competition in the motorcycle business comes from vehicles made on both sides of the Pacific. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki are the most competitive Asian brands in the American motorcycle market. The contours of some of these brand models are obviously inspired by Harley aesthetics, but they also have a heavy, practical emphasis placed on mechanics that offer ultra-responsive and reliable operation.
In some highly populous Asian cities, such as Tokyo, motorcycles are a preferred mode of transportation for a simple reason: They make it easier to navigate through congested traffic and find parking spaces in bustling business zones not wide enough for conventional vehicles. In the U.S., a motorcycle is typically a vehicle of choice rather than convenience or necessity.
While Harley has an excellent reputation for reliability, riders who truly cherish dependability in a bike are often quite pleased with the work of Asian engineers. Honda motors, for example, puts the same impeccable engineering into motorcycle engines as it does into motors for other lines of Honda products. This means you get a bike that runs well and is stylish and versatile.
If you don’t like the style of Asian-made bikes, then that is reason enough not to buy one. However, if you feel that one of these bike’s style and value-added accessories create a double-edged selling point, consider giving your Harley a new partner in the garage: a bike that represents the best of the Far East and gives you a new appreciation for Asian engineering and manufacturing.
2. Indian: The Other American Classic
In America, when you say the word “motorcycle,” many bikers instinctively envision a Harley-Davidson, as if the Harley image were mentally embedded in our national conscience. But those who have revved plenty of engines in their time might think of another American bike brand instead: Indian, which started production in 1901.
Indian and Harley-Davidson motorcycle engineers share a sense of motorcycle design aesthetics, especially cruisers. If you look at the current lineups of Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles in silhouette, you’ll find shared elements of macro design–similar contouring and dimensional placement of peripherals, such as handlebars and wheels. However, once you remove the silhouette, it’s clear that the devil is in the details.
In subtle areas of design such as headlight placement and exhaust system streamlining, Harley is generally more classic looking than Indian. Indian cruisers aim for a hybrid aesthetic equal parts vintage and contemporary. Their engineers don’t get bogged down with maintaining rigid frame designs for the sake of classic looks. They incorporate classic flourishes with modern design. Harley does the same, but often not quite to the visual degree that Indian does.
Indian and Harley-Davidson offer excellent performance. Their respective technologies compete in the same market space by offering refined, signature differences that make their lines unique to each other, so that the buying decision is highly qualitative. But comparing these two brands is like comparing Corvettes to Mustangs; both create spectacular machines with their own distinctive and storied identities.
For those who are motorcycle lovers first and Harley lovers second, owning an Indian in addition to a Harley can be a variety lover’s dream. On the other hand, if you’re buying your first bike — and you have visions of Harleys dancing in your head — consider test driving the Indian model that most closely resembles the Harley model you like. You may find some unique features that win you over!
3. The Sportiest Sport Bike Experience
Harley-Davidson’s interpretations of “sport bike” are found in the Harley Sportster model line. While the bikes are sportier in looks and performance than classic road hogs, they lack the compact seating style and super sleek contours of high-octane sport bikes, such as the Kawasaki Ninja.
Such ultra-sporty motorcycles look and handle so differently than cruisers, power cruisers, and choppers that they lack a common ground of design with Harley-Davidson bikes, which makes it hard to compare them to Harleys. Yet, therein lies what Harley riders are missing in sportbikes: a style of mechanical design that pushes the throttle of the sporty performance envelope. Sports bikes aren’t for everyone, but they hold their own kind of thrill.
When we talk about the sport bike experience, whether its competitive motocross or jetting down the interstate for fun, we’re referencing a type of bike and biking experience, not a brand. However, the “Best Bikes of the Far East” do come to mind. If you choose to drive an Asian brand in addition to a Harley, you could diversify your motorcycle experience even more by making that motorcycle a high-performance sports bike.
Ride With an Open Mind
If you’re a Harley-Davidson devotee, we understand why. Harley is an amazing brand that didn’t achieve its revered status by coincidence.
But Harley isn’t the only bike on the road. Maybe you will discover that you like the Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad 1500 or a different bike. Plenty of options are just as rewarding as sitting astride a Harley. Next time you’re looking to buy a motorcycle, test drive some models you normally wouldn’t and see what’s out there.
