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To buy 2016 or 2017

18K views 85 replies 47 participants last post by  smitty901 
#1 ·
I came close to buying a 2016 RGS a few weeks ago and decided to hold out and see what the 2017's are all about. I like what I've read and now I'm torn between the two. I don't know if I want to be a guinea pig for the first year model. If I bought a 2016 would I regret not buying the new model...

What are you guys thoughts? 2016 or 2017?
 
#2 ·
I felt the same feeling, and went with the 16. The guinea pig thing was my reasoning, and I really like the new motor, but I'm happy to watch it progress over the next few years and look forward to what comes next.

I don't regret getting a 16 one bit. I love this bike.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
#3 ·
With what I heard yesterday about the 17 models only being able to have SE parts installed by the dealers, the 16s are looking that much better - Can't go wrong with either to be honest - All comes down to the deal itself
 
#4 ·
Were I in the market for a new bike, there's no question I'd get the '17 and beat the hell out of the dealer for a bargain on a 5-year ESP. I'm sure there will be some smokin' deals on '16s over the next few weeks/months, but with a new engine family out, the days of easy parts availability and techs who know the Twinkie are numbered.

Not to mention that there'll be a glut of used bikes hitting the market in the coming weeks/months. The '16s are going to nose-dive in value. The typical Harley customer doesn't give a damn about non-S/E parts; they want the latest and the greatest.
 
#5 ·
The typical Harley customer doesn't give a damn about non-S/E parts; they want the latest and the greatest.
Until they buy one, go to the Parts Counter and try and order V&H or Reinharts with a RSD Air Cleaner and some sort of tuner.......only to be told by the Svc Tech when they get the parts list that they cannot perform the work on their bike.........and the Average harley owner does not do their own work so the 16s will look that much more attractive IMHO
 
#28 ·
If only it were true, ain't nutin' free. Buying anything especially a vehicle is so much smoke and mirrors. Give ya high dollar for your trade but knock nothing off MSRP or vice versa and on and on. If you can go in there and get their bottom dollar blow everyone else's deal out of the water deal and THEN throw in the 110 upgrade then I'd believe it.....maybe :surprise:
 
#14 ·
My 2016 RGU is working out just fine for me. Been way to busy this year so only 14,000 on it. I will retire for the last time August 15 2017. I has been my plan to have a new bike to start off the next adventure. Lucky for me dealer will not have any RGU's until September so I have some time to think about it. Sometime between September and next August I will make the trade.
 
#17 ·
the 17s are EPA specific, if not approved harely wont do it and if you do it on your own your warranty is void.. The 110 kit free upgrades are included if you are going to pay retail (fineprint almost got me) for the 16..

Forget about haggling a deal whether it be ESP or something things with the 17s people are buying them like crack, wait 2 months or better Jan and then dealers will be ready to deal..
 
#20 ·
Can someone point me to a reliable source that shows that aftermarket performance mods will void the warranty?

The issue that I see is the third party companies are going to need some time to design and build the parts.

My plan for the new 2017 RGS is to run stock until the aftermarket catches up and do something with the air intake and maybe slip-ons, and to tune it with a V&H FP3. I traded a '16 SGS with a big sucker and FP# tuner, and the dealer had no issue with it, and there is a ton of warranty left on that bike. Think they plan on reselling it with a void warranty?
 
#18 ·
My son didn't have the fancy clip-on key chain properly secured to his belt buckle (bad idea by Dad to put the keys on them I guess, I've never had an issue though) and dropped the key to my 96 Softail while we were cruising on vacation. Anyway, I ordered a new set because I don't like to only have 1 key to something, and to finally get to the point of my story I was at the dealership Saturday to pick up the new keys. They had a bunch, like 6 trikes with the M*, 1 Street Glide and 1 Road Glide. As I was walking in the door they were rolling the SG out for a test ride. The new motor sounds pretty decent stock BTW, well better than the 103 stock anyway. I spent about 5 minutes shooting the shit with the sales guy I know because he had a $10 gift card for me since it was my Bday a couple of weeks ago. He said they had already sold 2 SG's. He was getting tons of calls about when the Ultras and other bikes would be delivered. I finally made my way to the parts counter, BSed with my favorite parts guy for about 5 minutes until we were tired of giving each other shit and he finally went to the back and got my key. As I was walking towards the clearance rack I heard another salesman talking to a guy about the RG, saying the SG had already sold. After looking at the clearance rack and taking the long way around the store to make sure I saw all of the college girls who works the clothes area I heard a couple walk in and asked my salesman about the SG saying they wanted to buy it. Short story long, I think the demand for the new motor is big. The buzz seems even stronger than when the rushmore package came out.
 
#19 ·
Go for the 16 if you think you will want to do some pretty serious performance upgrades and you would want one of the aftermarket exhaust setups. Go for the 17 if you like the new technology and you don't plan to change a lot in performance and you just want to ride it. You still have the 114" kit as an upgrade and it seems to be very respectable. I personally would go for the 17 if I were in the market as I like what I see in the new motor and think it could be even more reliable than the Twin Cam. I also wouldn't worry about being a guinea pig. MOCO has done extensive testing and there is a warranty. There is always something on a new motorcycle that may go wrong even if it hasn't been changed in a while. Best of luck!
 
#21 ·
I just bought a 16 RGS as well last week. I love the look of the new motors but the thought of riding stock for a long period of time made the decision easy for me. Love my 16 and plan to have it long enough that the resale value will not be a concern of mine.
 
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#23 ·
Yeah I am on the fence now, I was thinking about getting a 17, but I can get a good deal on a 14 right now as well so I been on the fence.. So i am going to look at the 17s tomorrow but I doubt ill go that route, ill just get the 14 more than likely, it has apes on it and just make my own 107 it will be faster anyway :)
 
#22 ·
As long as you get EPA compliant parts you wont void the warranty.. It the settlement it states that harley will not violate EPA standards.. So if you have parts on your bike that do not meet those standards or are on that list Harley will not honor the warranty and will not work on your bike because they will be liable again.

Call your local dealers, I know the dealers here wont even deal with it unless it is approved modification..
 
#24 ·
Not sure what you are riding now, but if I had the itch, I would hold off one year for all the dust to settle on the warranty/epa rumors and give a year for the moco to shake the bugs out and go for a 2018 or a great deal on a used '15 or '16.

If the dealers are going to try and lock customers to their warranty, service and SE parts due to epa requirements, the aftermarket will be there with the goods and all it will take is a good indi or diy after the basic warranty is up. Same thing is happening in the diesel pickup market these days.

Let us know what you decide.
 
#25 ·
I would go with the 16 now as there is everything in the aftermarket and you can get a great deal. I have a 16 and it is a great bike. I am holding off for a 19 . They a make big changes to the bike every 5 years to display at the Home Coming in Milwaukee. They did for the 105th ( new frame ) and the 110th party ( Rushmore ). By then the bugs if any should be out of the engine and the aftermarket up to speed.
 
#26 ·
For me if I was in the market a no brainer - the 2017 all the way but some of the points made so far are all part of the process of analysing your decision. Too many new upgrades to leave on the table:
1.Rear suspension upgrades, no air, preload adjusters.
2. 107 = 82 hp 102 ft lb torque also like the looks of this engine
3. internal counterbalance and rubber mount
4. larger A/C and throttle body
5. Improved oil cooler
6. Moved CAT back to reduce heat on ridder
7. single cam with hydraulic tension cam drive
8. beefed up stator = 50% increase in charging system output
9. larger oil capacity
10. upgraded saddlebag fasteners
I'm sure that isn't all but it is what I remember from my visit to the dealer. In addition to the 2016 these are all great updates (on paper) if I was in the market!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#32 ·
1) If I am not mistaken the 16's have the same suspension so not an upgrade
2) This is an upgrade for 17
3) I hate counterbalanced motors (B Motors) But thats personal preference but not an upgrade IMO
4) Not sure what the benefit of this is as just about everyone changes the air filter anyway
5) Yes an improvement but not really an issue on the 16's, atleast in New England
6) Not an upgrade IMO as you should remove it anyway unless your from the Peoples republic of California
7) Definitely an upgrade
8) Not sure the advantage of this as my old charging system charged sooo??
9) Yes an upgrade
10) Sadly this is an upgrade

So IMO there are 3 or 4 upgrades with the power being the biggest.
 
#29 ·
If it were me I'd go with the '17. There's more improvements then just the engine. As far as Harley now saying upgrades will void the warranty strictly speaking the MOCO would have told you that for years. Some dealers, a very few dealers were telling you that all ready. They just got away with doing what they knew, and we all knew really, what they shouldn't be doing for years because they knew what we wanted and were chasing the dollar. The point of EPA guidelines and building EPA complaint vehicles is not to take everything off that makes it complaint as soon as it rolls off the truck whether you believe in the guidelines or not. As far as the dust settling in a year a two a $15 million dollar fine plus buying back all the old tuners and destroying them is a lot of dust to settle so I doubt you'll be seeing the MOCO going back to their old ways. The company I work for went round and round with the EPA with something they weren't even doing but what was being done on their property and the $34 million dollar fine and associated changes they had to make are permanent! If Harley or I should say their dealers go back to their old ways and get caught that $15 million dollar fine will look like chump change!

As far as being a guinea pig for the new models or waiting till the bugs are worked out, just when does that happen? In 2012 Harley got a bad batch of voltage regulators and thousands failed, many within' the first 1000 miles. The saddlebags were falling off of 15&16s but the fastener wasn't new, its been around for longer then I can remember (fixed on the '17). In the first 8000 miles on my '16 I've replaced the oil sending unit, the cam support plate and the compensator but there's nothing new about my engine. A friend of mine has a new '16 CVO that won't run after a month of owning it and no one can figure it out what going on with it so just what is the proper length of time to wait for the bugs to be worked out?

Despite my troubles with my '16 I love the bike and have many friends that haven't had a minutes problem with theirs. IMO you can get good and bad models of anything you buy. Saying that everything I've read and heard about the '17s from biking rags and early buyers has been positive. Even people that complained early on Harley didn't do enough were impressed not with just the engine but the overall package. So back to the OPs question, to me, going with the '17 is a no-brainer.
 
#31 ·
Good points, really cannot go wrong with either and like you said both have the same odds of having someting go wrong and as long as you get and keep the warranties they should be no long term problems.
 
#30 ·
If you just put a stage 1 and pipes on go ride the 17 as it will in its stock form outrun a 16 with just a breather and pipes. I will say this the 17 is amazing for what it is sounds great, heat is moved away from you and for 70% of the folks its fine the way it is. I was close to buying one till they offered me a deal on a 16 screaming eagle road glide so yes i traded my 16 road glide ultra that i only had 10k miles on for a 16 screaming eagle road glide. To help me choose we are adding 14" Carlini Menace Ape's, GMR 577 cam, DND Fatcat 2into1 and Legend Revo suspension. The CVO is a Awesome bike, now to get 1k miles on it to get the rest of the work done.
 
#34 ·
If your a guy who keep his engine stock for the most part, go with a 17. If you need to build and pull every bit of power out of a bike, get the 16. I don't monkey with my engines, and keep they
Keep mine stock, except for maybe a stage 1 (which I don't feel like I need on my HO103). If it were me, and $ didn't play a part, I would go 17 all the way.
 
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