I ride my Harley 'cause I like the bike. I don’t go to rallies, I don’t spit on other bikes, and some of my best friends ride Euro and Asian bikes.
And I can hardley be considered “bad ass…” (fat-ass, maybe)
Besides, I’m a dyed in the wool, 100% All-American Faggot! Don’t you know THAT makes me popular at the aforementioned bike rallies that I don’t attend 
See, I’m a conformist in a rebel world.
Oh yeah - and something else I don’t have in common with most Harley rider (or most motorcycle riders, to be honest, at least nowadays) - I know how to work on my own bike.
Like I said, some - not all by a long shot. I believe most people buy Harleys because they like them. But I also know first hand that some people on Harleys will go out of their way to denigrate other bikes. I know because it has happened to me.
On the subject of the financial success of the company, I have heard that they are selling from the dealerships at full price and you have to get on a waiting list to get one. Then you can buy all of your leather and silk riding gear at a huge markup and away you go.
Yeah but then you have to 
No-one repairs Japs, built in obsolesence rules.
I like the street-legal XRL models from Honda. Off-road riding is real motorcycle riding.
Public transit.
Seriously.
REAL rebels ride Two-strokes!
Long live the RZ350!
“If I owned a Harley, I’d leave it for a thief. With the insurance money, I’d buy a pair of RZ’s and a swiming pool!”
I dunno, that new V-rod is really cool
My dad took one for a test ride (in general he’s a Harley-hater). He said the worst thing about it was the radiator (radiator! A liquid cooled Harley! :eek:) tended to scrape a little through corners - apart from that he loved it. Thought it was comfortable to ride, easy to handle, had sufficient power, didn’t steer like a pregnant whale, and didn’t reshape one’s arse into an unnatural form on a long ride.
And, good goddess, but they look good, IMHO - whether or not it looks good is, of course, a matter of individual preferences, but I like it.
I come from a family where there’s two bike riders: my grandfather (who owns a 2002 Kawasaki Vulcan) and my uncle (who owns a beautiful royal blue mid-90s Harley Fat Boy). My grandfather bought his bike as a sort of “third childhood” splurge. My uncle bought his hog as a result of peer pressure from his buddies. He’s made a huge point of distancing himself from the whole rebellious Harley image. In fact, he cringes and gets pissed whenever anyone calls him a biker. According to him, he’s a guy “who happens to ride a bike” and not a biker. His biking buddies don’t exactly go that far as far as semantics are concerned, but they’re not exactly Hell’s Angels with “FTW” tattooed on the inside of their lower lips. Besides, they all know it would be pretty ridiculous if they got involved in some phony “rebel” posturing. You see, included in the group my uncle rides with are the Chief Financial Officer of our state university’s research hospital, the VP of a subsidiary of Toyota manufacturing, and a bank president who also happens to be our local state senator. As you might imagine, these guys are hardly one percenters.
BTW, I can’t resist telling my favorite motorcycle joke (my uncle especially loves this one): What’s the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a Harley? The location of the dirt bag.
Harleys are some of the most beautiful bikes to look at. The crafting of the components, the paint, the square feet of chrome, all make for a beautiful bike…
until it kicks over and accelerates at a green light. Then its straight exhaust resonates your entire head (even from within a building), pierces your brain, and makes you scream for the torture to stop. Which only happens after the bike is several miles away. When they’re in motion, they’re right up there with the ghetto blaster bassmobiles in terms of sheer annoyance. What’s wrong with a bike sounding good without being loud enough to strip the paint off your house?
Gimme a Bimmer or a Buell or Ducati any day.
BEST THREAD EVER, THANKS** LIZARD**! I AGREE COMPLETELY!
I was gonna start a thread like this myself; but I forgot.
btw 700 honda shadow V-twin-ace-87 model. and it still runs like the day I bought it!
Times I’ve had to take it to the shop: 0
other than regular upkeep of course like tune-ups and brakes.
Very efficient: ignorance and prejudice in one trite sentence.
Whoa. Pretty heavy. Is referring to Japanese <i>motorcycles</i> as <b>Japs</b> an example of prejudice? Or did I miss your point?
Choppers folks, it’s all about choppers.
Want a no hassel ride to the Planed Parent hood clinic? Ride in on the back of your local bad ass’s chopper with his buddies along.
Wanna wear your real fur coat, ride with the bikers, no spray paint will come your way.
Wanna go past a strike line?
LOL Wanna smell skunk, flowers, bus fumes, fresh cut hay, dead racoon, and pine needles, burnt brakes the beread plant? Ride a bike folks. Pedal or motorized, makes no difference.
It’s not what you ride, it’s … can you ride?
Is there a part of the world where “Japs” is not a racial epithet? And, I suspect that if you ask anyone who knows anything about motorcyles, whether they’re a fan of Japanese motorcyles or not, they will admit that Japanese bikes are at least as reliable as any others. A quick read of the rest of the posts in this thread will highlight contrary opinions, for instance. Putting the two observations together generated my comment.
Actually, the term “Jap Bikes” is used a lot in motorbike circles. I’ve never understood it to mean anything other than “motorcycles manufactured in Japan”, to be honest. Yes, I know the word “Jap” has different connotations as well, but this variation I’d just let go.
So what the hell is with the loud pipes?
Do you think making a big racket makes you some kind of badass? What it makes you is an inconsiderate-ass.
Harleys are pretty - but out of my league as far as price. I just learned how to ride a couple of months ago - my husband and I bought some used Hondas. I have a 1982 CB450T Hawk and he had a 1983 V45 Magna. He gave that one to our son, and is getting a 1983 V65 Magna with only 7000 miles on it! Totally rebuilt. It should be delivered this week. He’s very excited. Learning to work on them has been an experience. The manuals are very good, and I’m learning.
There is nothing like having all the sights and smells right there with you - in the wind!
(We are baby-boomers too, I’m 43 and he’s 57.)
I think a ride from West Coast Choppers is about right.