Would you buy another Big Dog??

[lee]

what Sul said - I seriously doubt I would buy another one

my next bike will most likely be built for me to my spec - either by me but more likely by someone who actually knows what they're doing!

There will be nothing fancy on it that can go wrong - keep it simple. Stock S&S / R&R / Ultima motor bought from and built by the manufacturer - stock baker / Jims tranny bought from and built by the manufacturer, simple direct wiring etc etc etc.

[JerryC]

Love my 02 Mastiff but am starting to feel the urge for a K-9. I have more fun on the bike than (almost) anything else.

[Alicat]

Yep, love it!!!

[gooddoggie]

For sure it's most fun you can have with your clothes on

[sun_bill1974]

I voted yes, but I like to further add to what Sparks said about, "R&D." I much rather spend an extra $5K, and know the bike is near perfection....I've been on the receiving end as a test speciment in the most inopportune time during my ride. Because of the nature of the beast, it also doesn't boat well for novices who aren't familiar with wrenching......but I'm getting better and learning more each day with this site .
On the flip-end, I do understand by allocating more money to R&D it would not result in a profitable business model for BD....and they compensate this by exceptional customer service and a 2 year warrantee....they even paid a portion of my towing bill.

Originally Posted by Sparks

Yes but nothing past 2003, I'm with Sul on the issue of proprietary parts and lack of R&D before putting some of their newer stuff out to public. Take away the EHC and you would have all the stuff I would have used to build one any way without the cussing, throwing of wrenchs and down time waiting for parts/paint/wireing, etc, etc.......

[dingo]

Yes, absolutely.

[Nomad2day]

No way for me....
One year the 2007 Bulldog was advertised as the flagship BDM bike with EFI and the next year it was gone for good it seems. Do I have a one off bike that parts will be hard to come by now?

To many proprietary parts on the bike and especially if you go EFI, the mapping is proprietary as well. The bike is a single band O2 system not a wide band for the cost of the bike. BDM advertises the system as S&S made it VFI "self learning" but has manipulated the system so it cannot function as S&S produced it. You cannot remap the bike and you do not have access to the fault codes. You will have to change out the module if you modify the motor, but it is suppose to be a self learning alpha closed loop system "Not". Perhaps they have placed parameters on how far it can learn and then fault the system. BDM uses a locked secure map. Only corporate can modify the map seeing how the source code has been manipulated, not even a certified S&S VFI tuner van modify the due to the above. Please correct me if this info is incorrect BDM. You should call it a BDM kinda will learn EFI system, not a S&S VFI.

Can't believe I own something you cannot wash without it screwing up or taking a bunch of precautions just to get a dirty bike clean. The EHC, 5 volt to ground does not have enough potential between 5v to ground to be stable which causes a lot of the electrical problems or gremlins. It is nothing more than a 5 volt TTL system (relay logic) used in manufacturing machinery.

A lot of other personal dislikes about the machine but No is my answer.

[XTREEME]

Originally Posted by Vegas

I voted yes. Here is the deal. If you plan to leave it fairly stock on a newer bike then it makes sense. Once you decide to pump out more horsepower, mod many things custom then it makes no sense. I built my 69 Camaro from scratch. It is exactly what i want. It costs big money to do that way. I am happy with the stock package plus a camshaft. Anything beyond a camshaft and dress up may no make sense. Especially in Sul's case.

Totally agree with your statement.

Although I can't really vote on this yet since I haven't officially picked my first one up, I have been doing a LOT of investigation into most all of the various flavors of choppers out there (low end to high end).

I have actually test ridden 5 different makes of bikes over the past month (BD, BBC, PCW, Viper, Ridley).

The Viper was sweet with its home grown VTwin throwing out gobs of torque, but at near $40k, thats a bit too much ching for my budget.

Of everything I have tried, the Ridgeback fits me like a glove, and has enough giddy-up to keep me content for a couple seasons anyway (with a Pro Pipe addition of course). But that would be really the only mod I would make.

Your statement about buying a BD to ride it as is, is right on the money. If you know at the start that you are going to want more power and bling, then just jump up to that category to begin with. You'll save money in the long run.

[Chopper Dave]

a big HELL YEAH!!!

[P8RIOT]

Absolutely - nothing better on the market that is in any way similar.

[V]

I say yep. (Just did in January). 08 Ridge, and sold my 05 Pit. If anything was different would like to have the rewire with out the EHC.

[Gas Man]

I'm with Sul on the prioritary parts. I can deal with doing it to things like the controls, handlebars, pegs, ect... but to do it to the heart of the bike like the motor, primary, tranny... FUCK NO. I'm pretty sure S&S and Baker don't need BDM to tell them how to re-design their parts.

And that alone says, my next bike will either be a simple HD or a custom built up off some frame. BDM, BBC, Redneck... who knows... a hand picked piece by piece build.

[KnotSo]

Can't believe I own something you cannot wash without it screwing up or taking a bunch of precautions just to get a dirty bike clean.

To me this is really an odd observation. My wiring is stock and I ride in the rain a lot, and will this sunday, I have even washed the bike, all with no issues. I do not however, use high pressure hose to wash the pup.

[rip]

But I would not hesitate to purchase another, if you look around there's not much to compare to what Big Dog offers. Great bike, great look, great product.

[sun_bill1974]

I too was under the impression, our dogs couldn't get bathes due to the sensitive wirings ...I could swear there's a couple of threads in this forum about this.

Originally Posted by KnotSo

To me this is really an odd observation. My wiring is stock and I ride in the rain a lot, and will this sunday, I have even washed the bike, all with no issues. I do not however, use high pressure hose to wash the pup.