Id like to start off by saying by no way have I lost the soul and desire for streetbikes. I kept the Ninja 250R, which I plan to track with next year. Brooke does not enjoy riding on the 250R anymore because anxiety of when she crashed my fz6r flash back to her.
So onto the different bikes I was considering.....
Ducati Monster Evo
Ducati Streetfighter 848
MV agusta Brutale 800
Mv Agusta brutale 1090
Harley Softtail Slim
I did months of research, and ogled over each bike.
You guys know why the MV and Ducati's appealed....who wouldn't want a upper echelon sport bike right? Well it all started with contacting the MV Agusta Dealer here in MN. The sales guy didn't really seem to show any interest in selling me a motorcycle or getting me into to look at it. So I emailed the sales manager. I told him I had a 2 week timeline, and MV was at the top of my list. I brought my bike by and He told me he would give me $3400 for the kawasaki .....I told him I couldnt accept less than bluebook trade, and explained where I worked and showed him my educated numbers (auction reports, whole sale reports, KBB, ect) and he litterally told me "if you want more go sell it your self we dont need it here." Well they sell MV, Suzuki, Yamaha along with a good used selection, so I took offense to that and felt well if you dont want my bike here, you dont want me or my business here. I was shocked at the lack of concern or customer service. They unfortunately are the only dealer in MN that I could find. They didnt deserve my money, especially having to bring the bike back for services with them.
The next set of bikes....Ducati, Well Ducati of Minneapolis is the only Authorized dealer....I told the sales manager who was the one who took my call couldn't tell me anything positive about the ducati, rather she kept telling me bad things about MV agusta. Well I had a desire for both, tell my why your bike is superior and sell me your bike, dont discredit my judgement to consider an MV just the same as a Ducati. She also knew very little about the Streetfighter, and if it could be ordered with a security package. I was annoyed at the lack of knowledge and ability to sell.
This left me to the Harley dealer, Zylstra. I went in, and right away Mikk Came to the door to greet me with a smile. He asked me if I needed assistance finding anything whether that be parts, service, or looking for a bike. I told him(even though I did a lot of research) this was my first go-around with Harley's and was rather uneducated on them. He then asked me What I was riding currently, and I told him the Zx6r out front. Right away he said he wanted to see it because he owned an R1. We walked out and he thought it looked amazing. I tend to agree with him, it was pretty amazing haha. We walked back in and he said what harleys was I considering. I told him I was considering the Dyna and Softtail family, and I was instructed by some friends and family I would enjoy a soft tail. I expressed my concerns as to how Aggressive I ride and he told me "Based on what your currently riding, you want a dyna over a soft tail." He then told me why, Bigger rear tire on some models of the dyna, and the availability of the larger 103CU motor as well, and a better lean angle on the bike. He knew everything, he didn't need to ask anyone, and he was really laid back. We walked through the show floor and looked at different models, and he said lets pick a few out to test drive. So we picked a few dyna's, the standard model, The Street bob, and the Fat bob. The fatbob was the one for me. The others felt that with the narrow rear tire the back end was skipping through the curves. The fatbob was different, forward controls but not like highway pegs, drag bars with the risers, and the fat rear tire and solid mag wheels. It hugged the road and pushed right through the turns and ripped through the Apex's on the demo ride. I was smilling ear to ear.
Now why get rid of the zx6r after all that money put into it? It sucked as a stunt bike.
They ended up giving me 5k for the ninja and then discounting the Harley, I had a payoff on the zx6r $3400. The end of the deal I paid 15256 OTD versus the original $15899+setup fee's+TTL which totaled $18669 so they discounted the bike and they stepped up in trade on my bike above the 5k. I shook hands after 2 hours of negotiation and away I went with my new harley.
When I got home I asked myself what the hell I just did.....I wanted a duc or MV so bad. I hardly slept that night(tuesday night). The next morning I rode into work, and let me tell you, this bike commands respect from everyone I encountered on the rode. So many people looked over, smiled, nodded, waved, signalled for me to merge if I wanted the spot....every motorcyclist I encountered waved at me. When I was on my zx6r, no one gave the time of day, like I was some punk *** kid riding.
Well onto the bike itself.....The bike is heavy, it feels so planted to the road. But the weight is easily manageable. I can actually flatfoot this bike
Its hard getting used to the more forward controlls because I feel like my legs just hang out, but its way more comfortable than any bike I've ridden. Its got the 103 CU motor in it, so HUGE power. You know how when you twist the throttle on a stock bike and it goes fast, but if you twist it even farther it really started to pick up speed? Well this one, when you do that, it sinks you back in your seat so hard, it has GOBS of torque, and its an amazing rush.
Ive visited many harley forums and read a lot about them and the first thing I plan to do, is to put more of a performance front and rear tire on the bike, I already have been wearing the chicken strips pretty thin since tuesday, but If I want to go any lower I want the confidence of having a more sticky tire rather than the knobby touring tires.
Another side note, I also felt comfortable buying the harley with their resale value here in minnesota, based on my research I could ride it for a year or two and not take much of a hit at all, sell it, and buy a Duc or MV if I wasnt so in love with the harley anymore.
I can assure you, most of you, would have a lot of respect for how mean, brute, and powerful this bike is. With it being fuel injected you turn it on and go. You get the nostalgic rumble when stopped, and she mellows out and loses those vibs at speed. The 6 speed tranny has gotten me about 40mpg so far. I filled it up today from 1/4 tank with premium, and it cost me 9 bucks. It also has a fuel mileage countdown like a car, and a built in visual guage as well.
I bought the bike with the black metalic pearl paint, its gorgeous. So far I couldn't be any happier with my experience.
Here are a few pictures. If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask.
So onto the different bikes I was considering.....
Ducati Monster Evo
Ducati Streetfighter 848
MV agusta Brutale 800
Mv Agusta brutale 1090
Harley Softtail Slim
I did months of research, and ogled over each bike.
You guys know why the MV and Ducati's appealed....who wouldn't want a upper echelon sport bike right? Well it all started with contacting the MV Agusta Dealer here in MN. The sales guy didn't really seem to show any interest in selling me a motorcycle or getting me into to look at it. So I emailed the sales manager. I told him I had a 2 week timeline, and MV was at the top of my list. I brought my bike by and He told me he would give me $3400 for the kawasaki .....I told him I couldnt accept less than bluebook trade, and explained where I worked and showed him my educated numbers (auction reports, whole sale reports, KBB, ect) and he litterally told me "if you want more go sell it your self we dont need it here." Well they sell MV, Suzuki, Yamaha along with a good used selection, so I took offense to that and felt well if you dont want my bike here, you dont want me or my business here. I was shocked at the lack of concern or customer service. They unfortunately are the only dealer in MN that I could find. They didnt deserve my money, especially having to bring the bike back for services with them.
The next set of bikes....Ducati, Well Ducati of Minneapolis is the only Authorized dealer....I told the sales manager who was the one who took my call couldn't tell me anything positive about the ducati, rather she kept telling me bad things about MV agusta. Well I had a desire for both, tell my why your bike is superior and sell me your bike, dont discredit my judgement to consider an MV just the same as a Ducati. She also knew very little about the Streetfighter, and if it could be ordered with a security package. I was annoyed at the lack of knowledge and ability to sell.
This left me to the Harley dealer, Zylstra. I went in, and right away Mikk Came to the door to greet me with a smile. He asked me if I needed assistance finding anything whether that be parts, service, or looking for a bike. I told him(even though I did a lot of research) this was my first go-around with Harley's and was rather uneducated on them. He then asked me What I was riding currently, and I told him the Zx6r out front. Right away he said he wanted to see it because he owned an R1. We walked out and he thought it looked amazing. I tend to agree with him, it was pretty amazing haha. We walked back in and he said what harleys was I considering. I told him I was considering the Dyna and Softtail family, and I was instructed by some friends and family I would enjoy a soft tail. I expressed my concerns as to how Aggressive I ride and he told me "Based on what your currently riding, you want a dyna over a soft tail." He then told me why, Bigger rear tire on some models of the dyna, and the availability of the larger 103CU motor as well, and a better lean angle on the bike. He knew everything, he didn't need to ask anyone, and he was really laid back. We walked through the show floor and looked at different models, and he said lets pick a few out to test drive. So we picked a few dyna's, the standard model, The Street bob, and the Fat bob. The fatbob was the one for me. The others felt that with the narrow rear tire the back end was skipping through the curves. The fatbob was different, forward controls but not like highway pegs, drag bars with the risers, and the fat rear tire and solid mag wheels. It hugged the road and pushed right through the turns and ripped through the Apex's on the demo ride. I was smilling ear to ear.
Now why get rid of the zx6r after all that money put into it? It sucked as a stunt bike.
They ended up giving me 5k for the ninja and then discounting the Harley, I had a payoff on the zx6r $3400. The end of the deal I paid 15256 OTD versus the original $15899+setup fee's+TTL which totaled $18669 so they discounted the bike and they stepped up in trade on my bike above the 5k. I shook hands after 2 hours of negotiation and away I went with my new harley.
When I got home I asked myself what the hell I just did.....I wanted a duc or MV so bad. I hardly slept that night(tuesday night). The next morning I rode into work, and let me tell you, this bike commands respect from everyone I encountered on the rode. So many people looked over, smiled, nodded, waved, signalled for me to merge if I wanted the spot....every motorcyclist I encountered waved at me. When I was on my zx6r, no one gave the time of day, like I was some punk *** kid riding.
Well onto the bike itself.....The bike is heavy, it feels so planted to the road. But the weight is easily manageable. I can actually flatfoot this bike
Its hard getting used to the more forward controlls because I feel like my legs just hang out, but its way more comfortable than any bike I've ridden. Its got the 103 CU motor in it, so HUGE power. You know how when you twist the throttle on a stock bike and it goes fast, but if you twist it even farther it really started to pick up speed? Well this one, when you do that, it sinks you back in your seat so hard, it has GOBS of torque, and its an amazing rush. Ive visited many harley forums and read a lot about them and the first thing I plan to do, is to put more of a performance front and rear tire on the bike, I already have been wearing the chicken strips pretty thin since tuesday, but If I want to go any lower I want the confidence of having a more sticky tire rather than the knobby touring tires.
Another side note, I also felt comfortable buying the harley with their resale value here in minnesota, based on my research I could ride it for a year or two and not take much of a hit at all, sell it, and buy a Duc or MV if I wasnt so in love with the harley anymore.
I can assure you, most of you, would have a lot of respect for how mean, brute, and powerful this bike is. With it being fuel injected you turn it on and go. You get the nostalgic rumble when stopped, and she mellows out and loses those vibs at speed. The 6 speed tranny has gotten me about 40mpg so far. I filled it up today from 1/4 tank with premium, and it cost me 9 bucks. It also has a fuel mileage countdown like a car, and a built in visual guage as well.
I bought the bike with the black metalic pearl paint, its gorgeous. So far I couldn't be any happier with my experience.
Here are a few pictures. If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask.
