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Shark Ratio

5K views 33 replies 30 participants last post by  Ln Vintage 
#1 ·
Brains HD - Langehorn PA had their 27th anniversary event this weekend. After listening to some tunes and grabbing a burger I toured the lot looking at bikes.

Looking around I noticed a lack of Shark noses so I took an unofficial count. The results are not scientific - but here is what I found.

About 105 bikes in the lot
saw 1 Kawy LTD and 1 Victory - so maybe a missed a couple others lets say there were 100 Harleys

Of those 100

27 were some sort of Batwing - Streetglide, Electraglide

5 Shark noses - 3 were Ultras

So we are still the minority but I think word is spreading - after all last year when I bought my Shark I walked into dealer looking for a Bat.
 
#2 ·
after all last year when I bought my Shark I walked into dealer looking for a Bat.
Same here. Glad I changed my mind. A friend was going to buy a batwing until I sent him some pics from the thread on this board where sharks are pictured next to batwings.
 
#3 ·
They are pretty rare. North jersey had its annual Gooches Garlic Run. The ride starts from Rockaway New Jersey and goes down to Newark, New Jersey The iron bound district. There was probably a couple thousand bikes there and i counted 3 sharks. That saying i saw the majority of the bikes there because my friend had a booth set up. I may have missed one or two of them but i am pretty sure i didn't. Road sharks are pretty easy to spot. It would of been 4 if I took mine up there :(
 
#4 ·
I was one of those bikes at the Gooches Garlic Run, and i counted roughly 6 of them there 2 of them were CVO's. But the rear were customs and 2 were ultras. I was like the 11th bike in the front. Leaving that late killed all of us in that heat.
 
#5 ·
Was at J&P's open house today, saw lots of RGs in the parking lot but was disappointed that very few of the manufacturers are showcasing their RG specific products.

Windvest was supposed to be there, never saw them.
J&P's did an "extended showroom" in their main parking lot that was a real cluster, barely able to squeeze your way through, and a bunch of vendors crammed in there. I'm sure I missed several simply because it was so damned crowded.
 
#8 ·

In the group I ride with, we have 7 sharks out of less than 20 bikes. The latest addition to our small tank was because I let one of The Boys borrow mine to run pick up parts for his Softail. He came back grinning ear to ear saying he had to get one of these! 2 weeks later he had one. :D

 
#7 ·
There is a reason for that Jayray. Once people see a real world shark, they are much more likely to convert to the new styling. Batwings are a thing of the past that simply have not recognized their status yet.
Until I experienced the riding difference, I would not have changed over. Today my EG Ultra is history and my FLTRU is in the driveway. The time between FLTRU test ride and bike swap was a whole week. That included the time required to get my wife to test ride with me in cold/crosswind weather. Part of that week was waiting until she could make it to the stealership when she was off work and they were open.
 
#9 ·
I did a fly and ride from Brian's HD in Langhorne for the 100th anniversary in York, Pa. I had the Road Glide because I came outside last. After 10 miles I was hooked and bought my CVO when I got home. That was in 03. I had the only Shark anywhere I went for a good five years. That has all changed now.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I counted way over 200 at Laconia last weekend before I quit.
Some may have been double counts or more. Not sure how many bikes total were at Laconia. Merideth, Weirs and over by the track, but I would guess it to be over 50,000. Almost every picture we took has a RoadGlide in it.

Saw one of almost every color, saw 4-5 Skunks, and some customs.

I have met 4 and 5 on my 25 mile ride home from work before. They must be all local as its not like a Metro area or anything.

Words getting out.....
 
#12 · (Edited)
For years I considered the Tour Glide/ Road Glide butt ugly. I'd ridden AMF Sportsters since I was 19 and needless to say both were unreliable as hell. In '02 I got my first new HD, a silver and black 2003 Deuce and I rode it from Austin to Milwaukee for the 100th celebration. After so many years on AMF Sporty's, I was nervous about taking such a long ride, so far from home (and buddies with pickups to come haul me off the side of the road). My trust in HD's reliability had been solidified after that ride.

After that trip I was hooked on touring. The Deuce did a great job for 8 years but it just wasn't set up for carrying all the gear I needed. I began saving for a touring bike in 2007.

In October '08 I did a fly and ride out of Manchester, NH (through Eagle Rider) and tested the RG for 4 days. I'd heard of the advantages of the frame mounted fairing and having a "different" look became a little more appealing. I still referred to it as a Catfish... But that bike knocked the cold wind off of my girl and me damn well and handled the New England mountains we rode through with ease. Started aggressively saving for a '13 model and was planning to go big bore 103, put on the lowers and a tour pak as soon as I made my order.

After a July 2010 trip to Yellowstone on the Deuce I came home to see that an Ultra version RG had been released for 2011. With lowers and a tour-pak. And a 103. And in silver...

The rest is history, I wasn't waiting for 2013. I got my best deal out of Manteno, Illinois (Schrefflers HD) and flew up on October 22nd, 3 days before my 49th birthday. Took the long way back to Austin, via Savannah Georgia. When I got home 6 days later I had 3200 miles on Danielle and had added 18 National Parks to my Ironbutt Assoc National Parks Tour quest.

I love that Catfish, er- I mean Shark!

And as for Batwings going out of style, I don't want that to happen. That's a classic HD look and they should always be. Isn't tradition a lot of what HD is all about? I don't think I'll ever own one, but I hope a lot of others continue to buy them.

Edited for spelling
 
#13 ·
The day before I went to look at the SG I had noticed the RG, eyed the RG all day at work and never looked back. I cant put into words how happy I am for buying a RG!!!!

I'm sure I would have been happy with the SG, but to think I was going to buy a BMW. I'm happy I didn't go that way. I would have never been able to appreciate the eye candy the Road Glide is...
 
#15 ·
When I was doing the Demo tours with Harley I noticed that when we were on shows in eastern half of the U.S., the sharks got far less rides per day than the other touring models (Harley tracks ride counts). But when at rallys in western states, we would often get complaints because there were not enough sharks on the Demo fleet to keep up with the demand (only had two RG). Harley added more RG's to the Demos for that reason, and I think the popularity is growing in the east. When I bought my shark in 2005, other HD riders would give you crap about what they referred to as the "Honda" fairing.
Tom

My 05 RG
 

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#16 ·
I took a survey today when we went to our central Indiana HOG bike rodeo event. 3 or 4 chapters were represented. I counted all HD fairing bikes. I counted 30 batwing bikes and 11 Road Glides. Of those 30 batwings, about half were SGs and half were Ultra Classics. So my calculations show that 26.8 percent of HD touring bikes with fairings are Road Glides, or about 1 out of 4. When compared just to SGs, it was almost 1.36 SGs to every RG.
 
#18 ·
Having traded in SG for the RGC I think the batwing is a classic look that I don't think anyone will ever grow tired of... Two things got my attention that made me jump in "the tank", 2012 CVO Road Glide (the skunk) and putting 100miles on my buddies RGC... The Skunk made my mouth drop when I saw it (SUPER SEXY) just didn't have that coin to spend and the dealer giving me a great deal on my trade in after my 100 mile test ride made it a done deal!
 
#19 ·
I know a couple guys that work at H-D dealerships. They all tell me that here in the PNW, RG's and the Custom in particular, have been increasing their sales share each year since 2010 when the RGC came out. The Street Glide has been the #1 seller of ALL H-D models around here for 5 years running but the RGC is cutting into SG sales.
 
#23 ·
I really dont mind the "me too" fairing(I dont even call em Batwings anymore). I want those people to look at my Shark and go..."ewwwww what an ugly bike" or "How the fuck can you ride that when the fairing doesn't turn" or any of the other things people say about the best damn ride you can get in a Davidson.


Let the haters hate, we know the truth and the truth can stay a secret:wink:.

When my local dealer had their open house last month there were about a half a dozen Sharks, maybe two dozen me toos and a shit ton of softtails.


I do see more Sharks but they are still few and far between.



Mike
 
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#28 · (Edited)
Road Glides are getting thick down here in Florida, I'm starting to see them everywhere. When I got my 2011,I didn't see near as many, and I was the only one in my group with one. Now, only one person in my group is still on a batwing.
like someone on another always posts, bwffbw (batwings forever, forever batwings)

here in la, they are getting as thick as the mosquitos. I too would rather be unique and not part of a herd, but such is life. at least mine is still that 'old' fairing and not the new 'bender' fairing so if someone says anything, I can say yeah, but I've been riding it for a long time....
 
#24 ·
Road Glides are getting thick down here in Florida, I'm starting to see them everywhere. When I got my 2011,I didn't see near as many, and I was the only one in my group with one. Now, only one person in my group is still on a batwing.
 
#25 ·
I'm in Florida also, and I have to agree. In 2009 when I bought my 10, I only knew a couple of people with a RG, so I got to join the odd bunch which was fine with me. Now just about everyone I know either has or wants a RG, if they do a CVO in 18 which I'm sure they will, I'm doing a couple of dealer referrals and making a little $$$$ because I know people already waiting.
 
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