I kinda like the Rune. My sole ride on it was fun, but truth to tell, I wouldn't own one. If someone gave me one, I'd sell it and buy a chopper with an air-cooled V-twin. It's not a brand thing. I hold the V-Rod in the same contempt.
I'm no fan of the Wing at all. Fairings and screens are just the antithesis of what I consider to be a good ride. Probably exactly what the average winger thinks of my ape hangers and leather bags.
I really have to STRONGLY disagree with you on comfort. Harley's strength is and always has been the high degree of customization. Want the pegs 3 more inches forward or back? No problem, huge aftermarket. I asked the guy at the Kawasaki dealership recently if the forward controls on the Meanstreak could be moved to a mid control position, and the answer was a flat, "No." That kind of thing just doesn't exist in the Harley world. You can do whatever you want.
Performance is lost on me. My bike is much faster than I am. Theoretical speed based on the SE ignition and gearing is about 145. I took it to 120 once and backed off. Anything over 90 is absolutely pointless to me. With 80lbs of torque at 2500rpm's I have more acceleration than I'll ever use, so why would I want more?
Btw, the Marysville, OH plant is closed now. All Hondas are now 100% imported.
I have a superglide and i have to agree...plenty of power.
I MIGHT be able to make use of a 15-20% bump in power(i have an 88”) but it wouldn’t be utilized very often, that’s for sure. I’ve had mine up to 115 and that’s just silly. anything over 100mph is pointless especially if you have no windshield or fairing, which I don’t and dont want. I did have to change my handlebars to go that fast tho. With the stock bars I got a weave at about 85. I switched to a narrower set of bars and the weave disappeared. I took the bars off a 2000(i think) sportster-sport...it was only made a few years. Pretty soon I’m going to bore it out to a 4-1/8” bore, but keep the stock 4” stroke...then probably get rid of my high performance cams and go with a cam profiled for torque, and switch to a larger front pulley to drop RPMs @ 75MPH freeway speed. A harley motor feels/sounds better at low RPMs
Thanks. Yes I know they shuttered the Ohio plant, but my bike was made there. I agree with you from the standpoint of peg position, but I have found several reliable aftermarket suppliers for Honda accessories. Kuryakin and Cobra are two that come to mind. What may also be an advantage for HD is that their models never seem to become discontinued the way the other makes move things around. Once Honda stopped manufacturing the Valkyrie in 2003, the aftermarket began to dry up. I don’t think that is the case with HD, but I could be wrong.
Godspeed...