I have two viewpoints on the accessories, one is what I think should be standard equipment, and the second viewpoint is how Harley Davidson views the aftermarket.

My first point would be centered around what should be standard equipment out the door for a bike as practical as most Honda motorcycles are. I came off a Honda CTX 1300 seven months ago, so I noted these similarities. The first is the ridiculous factory windshields - low cut that looks good on the bike, but is the very first thing the owner replaces. My dealer was great, prior to delivery I asked him about windshield styles and options, he lead me to a replacement windshield that a lot of his customers raved about and offered to install one free. Therefore I never drove the bike five feet with the stock windshield. My CTX 1300 had a "shortie" windshield, and I played with that one and realized it just plain sucked no matter how I tried to justify riding with that windshield installed.

In my mind, I think the manufacturer should have a more practical windshield on the get go. Ok, so what if it was a standard Klockworks flip that came on the bike. For a majority of riders, this may be the best option and it looks good on the bike, so why not? Having the bike come from the factor with adjustable handlebars (BMW K1200GT's had this standard), etc. A few elements that could be included on the bike that wouldn't really cost the manufacturer very much at all, to have a bike leave the floor and the owner happy as a clam because they didn't have to go and buy a lot of things to make the motorcycle ready to ride right out of the box.

Ok...so lets talk Harley Davidson motorcycles. Here is what I know - the marketing department is all about how does the bike look on the showroom? The seat....looks great but is probably awful to ride on. The stereo...sound great on the showroom, but is terrible...terrible at speed. Harley could ship the bikes with a more comfortable seat, louder factory pipes, and a better sounding stereo on the road, but it doesn't. Harley realizes that the aftermarket AND a lot of products that they sell are good for the profit side of building motorcycles. MAKE IT LOOK GREAT ON THE SHOWROOM! I remember buying a passenger backrest...$599 with the removal hardware! I believe an internal audit shows an average of $1400 is spent on each Harley Davidson in accessories BEFORE it leaves the door!

Harley Davidson is a marketing machine! Read Clyde Fessler's book, he is the architect of building Harley Davidson from the bankruptcy days, into the MUST have motorcycle. You can YouTube him and he has a few videos talking about his approach to the business, and taking the bike from a biker want to an American status symbol.