"The one with the most expensive toys wins" was a quote I remember when thinking about this topic!
Big Dogs are cool and pricey but....
Reliability comes from long service times, with that being said, the Big D Mastiff is a awesome spec. Look at the finished product thats where a good deal of the cost goes, plus this bike is all assembled by Big Dog. The cost of each vendor producing OEM products goes into that massive price tag.
S&S guys told me the motors run 9k, 1/3rd of the price of a Big Dog is the motor. Still the Mastiff
looks the best to me of all the production choppers IMO!!!
Honda has long service machines that sell thousands a year due to practical PROVEN SPECS. And the ability to turn out massive amounts of finished metal/Motorcycles! They get HUGE VENDOR breaks due to all the VOLUME they consume per year, these discounts are back loaded for the manufacturer. They base cost of unit on estimate of volume use not actual that comes a year or quarter.
Now the Honda Management/design people have gotten the call to bring style/looks to the party. New Chopper class, new bikes coming down the pipe is all due to the SKYROCKET success of the Fury. The Fury has shown the custom chopper world a new fighter in the ring and they will have to adjust to a major coming in and stealing market share!
Big Dogs still look AWESOME! But I love my FURY and would keep it hands down even if I had a BIG DOG!
