[alanmcorcoran]

Not sure if it's of any use to you, but to reiterate Dupo's point: I got my first motorcycle (the GZ) last June and went directly from that to a 1900cc (1854 technically) in January and I am loving it. I've taken some teasing because it's been down twice (and the GZ never went down) but both times were low speed miscalculations that resulted in me basically setting it down and collecting some minor scratches (to the bike.) I just got back from a night out and the ride home on the superslab with no traffic and at 75-80 was just as thrilling as the first day I got the GZ over 40. There's probably no such thing as a perfect bike, and I've mentioned a few flaws with the Strat, but I have never regretted the size or the power and it handles a lot better on the highway than the GZ. In addition to the afore mentioned set-downs, I've had two near misses - both times I reacted on instinct, locked, un locked and relocked up the front wheel, skidded a bit, but recovered and did not hit the cage in front of me. The Strat has dual gigantic disc brakes on the front and pretty awesome stopping power. Bottom line, even though it's heavy, it's well designed so that even a newb like me can avoid some accidents.

Re HD stuff: I think you have to actually check out all HD horror stories. Some are definitely true: I've talked to some guys that had the super hot air cooled engine problems for example, and I've personally witnessed some very rough idling HD's, but I've also seen lots and lots of very happy codgers tooling around on their pristine Electra Glides etc. When I was shopping, I got hosed pricewise on my first bike but got a great deal on my second - both were Japanese. So some of the fault on paying through the nose lies with me and my timing or negotiation skills.