Should I get the 06 Ridgeback or a 08 Rocker by HD.

[Irish Chad]

i couldnt agree with these guys more as far as the look and attitude of the dog. not to rain on everyones parade but, if you are a fairly new rider as you say, do you know how to "tool" on your bike? if not, harley may be an option you want to consider. is there BD service dealers in your local area? but if you are a little mechanical, dude............... get the dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:up:

 

[Oscar Maldonado]

Leave the Hog in the pen and take the dog for a walk.:2thumbs:


Sorry, Welcome!

 

[Raywood]

Yeah....look in the gallery....scroll down to member videos....Ray has a few vid's in there from his rides.....:up:

As Chopper Dave says there are some cool vids (all 3 min) of Big Dogs on various trips over the last few years. Message - Big Dog Biker Photo Gallery

I bought my first Harley when I was just 21! So good on you for being able to start young.
Personally I think the rocker is UGLY but YOU still need to get the bike YOU like or you will never be satisfied and will always think about "what if".
There are 1000's of bikes on eBay to compare values.
What you need to do is sit down and state what you want out of your bike. Do you want to just ride on the weekends and go show off to your friends? Not to be harsh but lots of people do this.
Or do you want a bike you can ride cross country? Or something in between?
The HD will give you a good ride and be pretty liable with an amazing service center availability (thousands of dealers along the highways). Where as with my state it only has one dealer!
But, as many on here will tell you when you go to a pub or rally your HD bike just disappears cause everyone has one. HD made 350,000 bikes just this year! BD made 2000!
As for the ride I have had a Mastiff and now have a Chopper and put a lot of miles on both. I've ridden the Ridgebacks several times at my dealer and like there ride also. You need to ride all your interested in and decide for yourself.
There is a lot of history on this forum of issues with Big Dogs that you should read just to know what you are getting into cause a Harley and a Big Dog are like "Apples and Oranges".
You've received a lot of good recommendations from the members here also.
Good luck with your decision and I hope you get the BD.

Later,
Ray

 

[Gas Man]

Seroiusly... is this a real question?

To be like everybody else get a HD

If you want to expierence

Points to consider:

1) 117 cubic inch engine stock versus 96 cubic inch engine. How much are you willing to spend on upgrades?

2) Stock braided control cables on the Dog. How much will the replacement cables on the Harley cost?

3) The Harley does have fuel injection

4) There should be more after market parts available for the Harley.

5) You will get more atention on the Dog. When the Harley owner with the tempoary tags on his bike that he picked up the day before spends 15 minutes talking to you about your Big Dog and never mentions his brand new Harley, you know you made the right choice.

Then you know what you have to do...

 

[WB Cycles]

Never going to knock on an HD, but have to restate the whole "wow" factor with the Big Dog. My 04 Chopper is "just red" ... no graphics but has several chrome add ons. When its parked (or when riding) I get a ton of interest. Have seen guys walk past a row baggers with custom paint to check out my dog.

 

[BIG HOUSE]

Did he really come to the Dog pound and ask about buyin a cat hell get the Dog and you have more cat than you know what to do with!!!!

 

[chucktx]

well to chime in here....i love my harleys....but i hate the looks of the rocker's////uckin fugly!!!!!!!!!

 

[jwoolf]

Nothin wrong with HD; however, you have to ask yourself what you're going to do with it. IMHO

Like others have said, you're going to get so much attention on the dog it isn't funny. I have/had a level 6 paint job on my pitbull and, you see people hanging out of their car windows with cell phones taking pictures, girls screaming out of cars, people walking over at gas stations. One of the funniest ones was this good looking soccer mom at a red light. I was just sitting there and I noticed how pretty she was. Well, I was thinking to myself that she looked like a big prude and wasn't going to lower herself into looking over at the dog when I see this camera phone raise itself barely over the door panel and snap a picture. ( she was trying not to let me see her do it )

I fucking started laughing my ass off.

Stuff like that happens all the time.

I can't knock HD either. I love them too. It's just not the same bike. It's like apples and oranges. If all I was going to do would be road trips, I'd get the HD ( but, not the one you're considering ) Personally, I like the street glide but, that's just me.

 

[lee]

as I own both I thought I should put my 2 cents in (christ I'm sounding more American everyday!)
I have a customised (bored, lowered, big rads, custom paint, chrome, wheels, etc etc etc) HD Heritage and love it - it gets a lot of attention when its out but probably not as much as the Dog - personally I'm don't give a shit about that - the bikes are for me not every other fucker out there - when I first rode my Dog I hated it - after a minute or so i loved it! - I wouldn't say one is better than the other just very different - go with your gut and you won't be wrong - I have to say this though - since I have had my dog I have barely ridden the Harley. The Harley is a lovely nice easy ride that almost rides itself, the Dog is very much a raw ride and you really have to ride it.

 

[Mario77746]

You said earlier that this would be a Fri and Sat bike. Take everyones advise and test drive both then pick the one you want. My opinion, for a weekend bike, the ridgeback is the way to go.

 

[V]

1. My Pitbull rides better than the 04 Deuce that I had and I'm glad I made the switch. Also consider that when most people buy a Harley they start adding big bucks in accessories to keep up and/or get ahead of the other guy. The Big Dog looks loaded right off the floor and you've got a lot more engine to start with.

2. Chicks will dig the Dog

3. Chicks Moms will dig the Dog

4. Or buy the Harley


V.

 

[titus722]

i have 06 ridgeback,i would also suggest ,ride them both,i had a harley before i bought my ridgeback,and guess what, i sold the harley,besides who wants to ride something almost everbody else does,

 

[haze324]

Things to consider as a new rider:

My first bike was an 80 HD Shovelhead Low Rider and I had NO clue about anything dealing with the mechanics of a motorcycle. I remember my coil fried and I didn't know where to start looking. That shit leaked oil, had issues all the time, but it was fun. Later on I had a newer softail and that thing rode it self. Oil change and thats all I ever needed to worry about. Odds are that your HD is going to be a very low maintenance bike, similiar to the maintenance on a Honda Civic and your BDM is Corvette.

I now have an 03 Pitbull and its awesome. I feel like a king on my bike and it rides better than any other bike i've had. I've had it for about 6 months and haven't had a single issue. Having the Dog has also motivated me to learn more about my bike and i've done alot of my own maintenance and tooling. And its been with the help of the guys on this site. I wish I had this available to me when I had my first bike!!!

If you have a good warranty then I think you're good with any big headaches you might encounter. To me its a no brainer. The Dog over the Rocker any day of the week. The only time i would suggest the HD is if you were on tight budget and were just looking for something to ride around town with your friends. When you start dissecting the two bikes, bigger motor,6spd tranny, fwd controls, braided lines, paint, chorme hand controls, wheels, etc. The dog is in another league.

 

[ChuckRB05]

I have a 05 Ridgeback, I take big trips and long rides all the time and I have only "bar-hoped" a few times when I first got the bike...most I've done is almost 600 miles in one day w/no sore back or problems. You're young & so am I, so a hardtail is right up our alley. Do you have any herniated discs, weak pelvis, inflamed prostate? no? get the ridgeback.

 

[Show]

I love my Ridgeback and I got mine on eBay. It is a 2005 and had 2K miles on it. Someone had traded it in on a cage at a Dodge dealership. They didn't know anything about bikes and had one of their salesmen post it on eBay. I got it for $17,500. Deal of a lifetime. I was lucky because I had just returned from Iraq about three days before that. Had to fly back to Atlanta to pick it up and ride it home. (About a 6 hour ride on a Ridgeback) I was sore when I got home but not because it is a rigid; because the stock seat is not very comfortable after awhile. I plan on having seatmaker fix it up for me. Put some gel or something in there and soften it up some. I will tell you though that I get tons of stares, thumbs ups and the accasional FLASH. The dog gets attention for sure.

 

[BBChopper]

well to chime in here....i love my harleys....but i hate the looks of the rocker's////uckin fugly!!!!!!!!!

2nd Dat!:down:

 

[cavracer21]

dude, i would go with the bigdog, i personally love my k-9. even with the problems its still 10 times more bike then the HD's. and i'm only 21, i bought mine when i turned 20 and never looked back.

 

[jwoolf]

Personally, the fact that you're here tells me your mind is already made up.

Just remember, if you get the bike that somebody else wants you to get, you'll never like it. You need to get the bike you want and if you're wanting a weekend bar hopper, you already know which one you need. :roll: :roll: :roll:

These bikes can be everyday riders too, just ask Ray but, almost all HDs are everyday riders.... some are cross country riders. Personally, I won't take my pitbull across country but, that's just because it's a rigid and it's not set up to carry my stuff ( yet ) but, it's hard to beat the advice that says, "go ride both and you decide".

The cool thing about the big dog is that while you will change out some of the parts for aftermarket, there won't be a hell of a lot of upgrades you'll need for it.

If it's got aftermarket pipes already then, think air breather and, at that point most people are done.

If you buy the HD, you're just buying a bike kit and you've only JUST started.

Anyway, those are my two cents. Either way, enjoy what YOU decide to get.

 

[Gas Man]

as I own both I thought I should put my 2 cents in (christ I'm sounding more American everyday!)
I have a customised (bored, lowered, big rads, custom paint, chrome, wheels, etc etc etc) HD Heritage and love it - it gets a lot of attention when its out but probably not as much as the Dog - personally I'm don't give a shit about that - the bikes are for me not every other fucker out there - when I first rode my Dog I hated it - after a minute or so i loved it! - I wouldn't say one is better than the other just very different - go with your gut and you won't be wrong - I have to say this though - since I have had my dog I have barely ridden the Harley. The Harley is a lovely nice easy ride that almost rides itself, the Dog is very much a raw ride and you really have to ride it.

I think you're more American than many Americans! Brit dude with 2 american bikes... way cool by my book!!!

 

[Reaper]

qtnfd2, I am going to make it real simple for you. If you want to be like just about everyone else, and dissapear into a sea of Harley's, and if you don't like allot of attention everywhere you go, then get a Harley.

Now if you want to stand out, and be different and not have a cookie cutter bike, that everyone else has, then get the Ridgeback.

I was like you, I was going to get a Harely, hell I didn't even know what a Bigdog was until a friend of mine took me to a Bigdog dealership, and I walked in and saw the Ridgeback, and was like, Harley who?

We all have awesome looking Bigdogs, but here is my Ridgeback. Let me ask you, have you ever seen a Harley that looks like this?