Greetings All,
I bought a Harley because thats what guys my age do.  Part of me says if I show up in Sturgis on a metric, they may take off my tatoos.  But, metrics are sometimes twice the power at half the price.

I am ready to upgrade to some power.  It's a shootout, metric vs. harley? With all our stuff going overseas, I have this feeling to stay "American", but my wallet says metric.

I wish they would make a Road King for $13,000.

What say you guys?  

Harley is more overseas than it likes to advrtise. Have you looked into ordering your new Harley with a higher *** motor? I know they do have that option. That is if your really into the harley thing. I myself like the High cc metric bikes. They have come a long way. There not your dads type bike anymore.  

It is true...you get twice the bike for half the money if you go metric. Not to mention better quality. Take a look the the Yamaha Star line-up. Sounds like a Stratoliner would be a good fit for you.  

I have to agree. I faced the same delemma last year.
I purchased the Statoliner Midnight. It now has a Power Commander module, Patrick Racing intake, and a Roadhouse slip-on.  129 Ft/lb of torque and runs like crazy. Even my die-hard Harley buddies are impressed.  

last bike I bought was a 'wing. It's built in America (for another couple of months), and is made of about 60% American parts. Harley is also built in America, but, according to reports, it is less than 50% American parts.
I won't comment on the absurdities.  

12K, I highly recommend you check out Victory, they are American made by a rock solid American company- Polaris . a few years ago I sold my Fatboy & got a Victory Vegas, so far 10K trouble free miles, just change the oil & put in gas. They really handle well & have a base 100 CI. engine putting out about 84 HP !  They blew away all the bike companies in the JD power & Assoc. rating last year in all catagories.  

12K it depends on what you want to do with your bike. Boulevard cruising or Touring. Any of the v twin metrics are good and for touring I would go with a goldwing from my experiance. But remember size seems to be helpful in either situation for needed power.  

If I had deep pockets,I would buy the harley.
In this day and age of low wages and high prices,the Honda's give you an outstanding value.

My 97 Valkyrie has given me zero problems,in over 35,000 miles,and still runs like new.
I intend on buying a spare,as it's the last bike I'll ever own.  

Victory makes some stunning bikes, including the Vision. Even the Italians should be impressed with the styling. And, they have very strong motors plus 6 speed trannies.  On the humorous note, they're headquarters is Medina Minnesota. Talk about "funky cold Medina".

I just hate laying down that kind of money. They are in the 14k+ club, just like HD. Metrics are generally less than that new, and a lot cheaper even 1 or 2 years old.

My 2000 800 Drifter cost 6k new (I should have bought used), I added about 2k in bags, seat, luggage rack seat, windshield, and I got  2800 for it last year (after the stock market crash in '07). I dropped it in '03, so it had a couple of gouges, and it had 37k on it. So, it cost me  about $1000 a year.

If I'd bought it a year or 2 old, I probably would have spent half of that.