My first bike-Honda vtx 1300 or Harley Dyna Custom C??

I had a similar dilemma when I bought my bike in June 2008.  I ended up with the Honda VTX1300R and I think it is a great value.  My local dealer sells both Honda AND Harley so he has been trying to sway me to a HD.  He sent me out for demos on a FatBoy, Heritage Soft Tail, V-Rod, and a Street Glide.  To be fair I will admit the V-Rod is impressive from a performance perspective but not overly comfy.  The Fatboy is nice.  The Heritage was as close to my Honda of all of them for style but honestly I prefer my Honda.  The Street Glide was nice because of the onboard music but I think it would be VERY hot to ride in the summer due to the Air Cooling and the batwing faring keeping the wind off of you...again I like my Honda.

All things considered, I am very happy with my Honda and I stand by my decision.  Also, FYI the resale thing about HD is a myth!  The market is flooded with used Harleys and with the price reductions over the last 2 years they have stabbed HD owners in the back.  As an example, I have a friend who paid $25,000 for a Fatboy new in 2003, a new 2009 Fatboy is $18,000...WHERE IN GOD's NAME IS THE RESALE!

You can't go wrong with the Honda if you are comfortable on it.  

Do yourself a favor and take a look at Victory.  I've had honda's yamaha's suzuki's kawi's and yes harley's.  The 04 Kingpin I now ride is by far the best bike Ive ever had.  Best in looks, comfert, handeling and most fun to ride.  35k and completely dependable.  

I know the victory wasnt on your list but look at a kingpin 8 ball or a vegas 8 ball, they will run rings around both the honda and harley. If I was to choose what you have picked it would be the honda, for the price the harley is small and underpowered and cant match the hondas reliabilty ( the victory can ).
 A previous poster said the harley gives you a life style which is just a flat out dumb, a week end of posing is not a life style.
Buy the one you feel better on and if its the harley that you really wanted and you buy the honda(imho the better bike) you will regret not spending the few extra grand and buying it.  
2007 Kingpin Tour

u will not be sorry about your vtx, put a set of vance and hines bigshots with a aftermarket air system and hello.  u will be amazed by how good that 65 hp machine will pull u down the road.  Just one tip, order progressive suspension springs for the front and put them in, the vtx's are way to soft and it interfers with the handling in turns and stuff.  But as regards to over bike, well honda considers it its best value crusier to date.  

nadbg54,i think the inspector summed up the honda/harley dilema best.owning a harley is DIFFERENT than owning any other bike.it gives you the legitimate reason to sneer at other riders because you are now DIFFERENT.you are a legitimate bad-ass and it only cost you $5000.  

I'm very biased when it comes to Harleys (Hate em), but even if it were compared to any other similar bike I'd say get the VTX.  You won't regret it - it's a perfect balance.  

I have an uncle who thinks it isn't a bike unless it is an HD. He buys into the line about there is just something different about a Harley. He has had 5 Harleys, 1 Indian, 2 Yamahas, and a couple of Hondas. Every couple of years he sells what ever the current flavor is and goes and buys another. He stays in dept all the time.

I have had 2 Hondas, 2 Yamahas and currently ride a an 08 Nomad 1600 with about $4000 in extras on. I bought my son a vtx 1300c for his first bike.

OK here is my point....... Would I ride a Harley? You bet. Would I trade my Nomad in for one? No!!! When I buy, I buy to ride the bike out. What ever you get you need to buy with with the mind set I am going to ride this thing until it's dieing breath. Weigh out the whole investment, cost of the bike, price of insurance for that bike (usually insurance on an HD will be more up to double)cost of accessories, and maintanece.

Will owning a Harley unleash your inner "badass"? If you didn't already have it there isn't anything to release, you will just be part of the masses of HD "Posers" out there. You see them all the time at rallies. They are the 40 somethings that bought a Harley to be cool. It is like a statement that I finally arrived. It is almost embarressing to watch at times. I was at a rally in Hot Springs AR and during one of the concerts which sucked there was a whole group of them that rushed the stage like they were teenagers. They mostly looked like they had been in chess club and were now bankers. I felt embarresed for them. They still weren't cool but they were trying to make up for something they missed in there youth. You see alot of that thing though.

Don't buy an HD expecting to become something you already aren't. They don't have magical powers to make you cool or bad,  and at the end of the day when the garage door goes down you will only be who you already are. If you buy into the badass thing then get that HD and try it out, get in touch with that inner badass. Chances are that some real badass will bring you back to reality. The bike doens't make the "badass", but hey if you believe that then by all means by a Harley for that reason.


As far as beening part of some greater community, I will call "BS" on that. I ride with alot of people alot of them are in MC's and MA's. Most of the people I ride with own Harleys, and a there are a few of the "Badasses" in the mix. I haven't been  left out because I ride a Nomad.  The cominality isn't the bike, but the desire to be in the wind. Most of the negetive crap comes from the "Posers" who bought the badass bit and they aren't.

Harley set the standard that all bikes have tried to emulate. If you don't believe that then take a good look at the metric offerings. The big twins are in with all the trimmings. You can aftermarket a metric  out to almost sound and look like a Harley although the lope at idle is an HD exclusive. Metrics can come close to the lope, but it isn't the best thing for the engine. The fact is with all the trimmings the metric is still just that a metric it will never be a Harley.

Would I ride a Harley? You bet and probably will some day....it would probably be a RoadKing. I'm realistic though, I don't expect any extra badass factor, or community awareness. I will just have a Harley and things will continue as ussual.

If I was going to buy I would look at my finances, determine how much I was going to ride, do I want air or water cooled, shaft or belt drive, and how are you going to ride. A HD big V looks good going down the highway, but in slow to stop and go traffic they get really hot. The VTX will not over heat as bad. At the BBQ Fayetteville Rally I saw alot of bikes smoking very badly do to over heating. At one point it took us 45 minutes to go 10 blocks traffic was so slow. So if you get an HD and you are going to be in that kind of situation park and walk it beats killing your bike.

If you are going to get a bike though do it for the love of the ride not an image. Then park the car or truck take a deep breath, crack the throttle and let the hassles of life slip away for a while.

Just enjoy what ever you get  

The only "Lifestyle" you can buy is a condom.  If you buy into all that garbage about feeling "different" then you ARE the modern day banker-yuppie-wanna-be biker.  Biker lifestyle is something you chose to live by your interactions with people and motorcycles, not something you obtain by making a purchase.

You CAN buy a motorcycle.  I have had both Harley's and Honda's.  The Harley is a bad ass bike, and you can fully customize it with parts you simply buy.  It is a fun ride, and a pretty bike.  The price is a bit high, but it holds it's value well.
The Honda is also a good ride, and the VTX is powerful, fast and fun.  It costs much, much less to maintain than the Harley.  There are many options for off the shelf customization, also.  Many parts fit both Harley and VTX, so don't let the sales men fool ya.

As has been said before, go sit on a bunch of bikes.  Ride the ones you like, and pick the one you like best.  No one can tell you which bike that will be.  

I'd suggest another choice, the new STAR 1300.  I have a number of friend who have one and really like it.  Its fuel injected and belt driven.  

Malcom Forbes (late), and the owner of Paul Mitchell hair care products rode/ride Harleys. So much for the BA factor of the brand. Both had/have tons of money, and neither is the Marlon Brando "wild One" bad boy (which if I remember correctly was a Triumph Thunderbird 6T).

The only true BA points you get is when you ride what you like, because you like it, and you don't care what other people think.  

2009 250cc Streetbike Shootout
CFMoto V3 Sport vs. Hyosung GT250R vs. Johnny Pag FX/3 vs. Kawasaki Ninja 250R vs. Suzuki TU250X

Performance-driven sportbikes, cruisers of various displacements and their flashy custom cruiser brethren dominate the current American street motorcycle culture.
Standard-style, sport-tourers, full-on touring sleds and a sprinkling of vintage machines round out the rest of what most of us ride. Lost in the shuffle of 160-hp near race-spec rockets and $40K ego boosters are the little ‘uns.

Walk into any large, multi-line dealership and see how many mighty-mites you can find. Ask the sales team if they have a few 250s to look at, and they’ll likely show you two, 50cc mini-motos or maybe a pastel-colored scooter.


But if you’re an urban dweller with little need to travel the Super Slab, or play Ricky Racer on the weekend, and have an eye toward fuel economy and low MSRPs, then, like us, you’ll agree the little bikes deserve more time in the limelight.


Five options for the 250cc buyer. Some are outstanding examples of what’s available today, and some are, well, just examples.




We wanted to take a closer look at this market segment that’s often forgotten, so we collected five machines with various engine configurations all in the 250cc range, and created a 250cc Streetbike Shootout!

Please read and go to Supersportz.com we are having a supper sale BLACK FRIDAY
MSRP ON 2009 V-3 3499.99  ON SALE 2799.99  CALL TODAY IN STOCK NOW
LIC BONDED DEALER 67930 LOCATED IN CA, ORANGE CA, 1725 WEST KATELLA AVE 92867
CALL TODAY 714-744-2887  

2009 250cc Streetbike Shootout
CFMoto V3 Sport vs. Hyosung GT250R vs. Johnny Pag FX/3 vs. Kawasaki Ninja 250R vs. Suzuki TU250X

Performance-driven sportbikes, cruisers of various displacements and their flashy custom cruiser brethren dominate the current American street motorcycle culture.
Standard-style, sport-tourers, full-on touring sleds and a sprinkling of vintage machines round out the rest of what most of us ride. Lost in the shuffle of 160-hp near race-spec rockets and $40K ego boosters are the little ‘uns.

Walk into any large, multi-line dealership and see how many mighty-mites you can find. Ask the sales team if they have a few 250s to look at, and they’ll likely show you two, 50cc mini-motos or maybe a pastel-colored scooter.


But if you’re an urban dweller with little need to travel the Super Slab, or play Ricky Racer on the weekend, and have an eye toward fuel economy and low MSRPs, then, like us, you’ll agree the little bikes deserve more time in the limelight.


Five options for the 250cc buyer. Some are outstanding examples of what’s available today, and some are, well, just examples.




We wanted to take a closer look at this market segment that’s often forgotten, so we collected five machines with various engine configurations all in the 250cc range, and created a 250cc Streetbike Shootout!

Please read and go to Supersportz.com we are having a supper sale BLACK FRIDAY
MSRP ON 2009 V-3 3499.99  ON SALE 2799.99  CALL TODAY IN STOCK NOW
LIC BONDED DEALER 67930 LOCATED IN CA, ORANGE CA, 1725 WEST KATELLA AVE 92867
CALL TODAY 714-744-2887