I am THE Poser! I have two Harleys, one Kawasaki, one Yamaha and one Stella.
To the guy who posted the question:
It really depends on the type of riding you plan to do and what your budget is. Since both bikes are similar in riding purpose, I'll rule out long distance touring and assume your plan to putt around in your area and take trips of 100 miles or less.
The Fat Boy is a good bike, is reliable, has no plated plastic and is truly beautiful bike. It will retain about 80% of its value over a 10 year period. There are thousands of after-market parts and performance modification available.
The V-Star is reliable, has plated plastic, won't retain it's value and doesn't look half bad. It costs quite a bit less than the HD. It will lose about half of its value in the first three years. There are a couple of hundred customization options and not much in the way of performance mods.
The stock performance is similar on both bikes. My recommendation: If price isn't that important, get the Harley. The whole. "If I had to explain it, you wouldn't understand" thing is true, even if it sounds stupid. It's not an anti-other brands thing. It's just and appreciation of other Harleys.
There are some annoying, "get a real bike" people out there. They are mostly newbies who have never owned a bike before buying a Harley but the vast majority of HD riders have owned many brands and styles of bikes and do not care what you ride. Many of us have multiple bike garages. Here's one of mine:
