My comment was not a slight to any other bikes. Certainly Harley was a player in the early motorcycle days. By the time I took to traveling nationally in the mid 70's you really did not see as many on the open road as other brands. Around cities there were plenty. I did notice a lot more Electraglides on the open road around 1998-2000.
The R100RS was a beautiful machine, but even in 1977, they were rare. BMWMOA.org says about 2900 units made it to the USA.
The Honda 750, probably the most I saw on the open road at that time, sold 38,000 just in 1977 including the SuperSport model. The 1977 Goldwing US sales was 13,000.
Craig Vetter became a wealthy man making the fairings and bags for the Honda 750, the GL1000 and many other Japanese road bikes of the era. Pacifico, KG, Slipstreamer and a dozen other brands I have forgotten were filling the touring parts industry like never before.
When we saw the motorcycle companies start to offer fully equipped touring bikes, you could see the writing on the wall. No universal fit product could compete with a full on factory design team. In sheer numbers, the market and aftermarket was amazing in that period of time.
I am glad we got to experience that time of history, especially in a country where we could afford to participate if we want to.
