[fieldmarshaldj]

For that much, it better come with a supermodel on the seat.

[Richard Kimball]

I can only guess that you haven't priced motorcycles a whole lot. This isn't a cheap bike, but it's by no means a top cost bike. I haven't read enough about it to evaluate cost/value ratio, but the Gold Wing starts out at 21K retail, and they won't let you polish the chrome on a Harley soft tail for less than 15K. You can grab a Sportster for 8-9K, but that's with an engine approximately half the size of this one. Get to the 1200 cc range and the Honda is priced very competitively.

I notice they've marketed it to a younger demographic than the Harley. While they retain the outlaw image, they've thrown in an undercurrent of Manga, which positions it slightly away from the Harley, "American Iron," and into the "cutting edge, Japanese ninja outlaw" genre. It's not aimed at the guys who have bought into the Harley mystique, but at younger riders who like the cruiser concept, but view Harleys as an "old guy's bike."