Man, I should bring my mom in here to brag about her Vespa ET-4.
At the risk of being called a PC weenie, I’ve also always found it offensive. To see why, think about why that expression is used. It’s not because Japanese bikes run on rice.
Just to add to the hijack, Pakistan is also an acronym of the English words Punjab Afghania Kashmir Iran Sindh Tukharistan Afghanistan BaluchistaN
Buying a Harley is only the beginning of a process that is pretty much compulsory if you want a machine that actually works in a civilised reliable and competant manner.
Once you have made your purchase, you’ll want to replace the gas tank if you really are a ‘real biker’ because the range is poor, and the saddle is ugly and uncomfortable, so you’ll either need to toughen up and get chiropractor insurance, or replace it.
Next you will probably fit a cissy bar, and the handle bars will not be quite right, then you might want to change to fork settings, or replace the forks completely so that you can fit perhaps a twin brake disc to get something slightly better than ‘pull and pray’ speed retardation.
Actually, you would not need to upgrade the brakes if you leave the machine in its plain form as the engine does not generate a particularly large amount of power and given the original riding position you really would not wish to travel much above 60mph for extended periods since the breeze tries to splay your knees apart and it beomes vey tiring in pretty short order to hold it all in.
However, if you do want even slightly passable performance than at the lowest end of the Harley tuning market, you will need Screamin’ Eagle cams and need to adjust and rejet the carbs appropriately, which of course will demand more fuel, which is why you needed to replace that poxy little gas tank in the first place.
Now the shockers and forks are not up to the job, the damping is now nowhere good enough to hold the wheels on the ground and prevent sideways creeping on cornering, which is fortunate because cornering is something Harleys are very poor at doing.
So now if you want more power, more stop, and a little bit of swervery, you are now looking at trying to improve ground clearance, which will mean differant exhausts - something you already needed when you tweaked the engine anyway.
You will also need to look at the footboards, and this is just the cheap end of the market, realistically you would need to either make changes to the ride height, or perhaps a few frame mods including a change to the fork geometry.
When you have done all this, many of the changes will actually not be blindingly obvious, but they will be costly and you will still end up with half a ton of Milwaukee crap that corners like a pregnant sow on roller skates trying to balance a jello desert on it head whilst trying to take a new puppy for a walk on a lead.
After completing the initial alterations you now are in a position to think about all the cool custimisations that were the whole point of you buying in to the Harley lifestyle, you now have a baseline Harley.
I was thinking of this usage, not motorcycles.
Well, what if I modify a Kawasaki to run on sake?
Jeff, same argument though. The reference to rice because of Japanese eating habits. Sounds very WWII to me, like calling German auto’s “kraut cars” or someting.
Then you would have a Kawasake. Swish!
The car people I know regularly refer to BMWs and Mercedes as “Kraut-mobiles”, or “Kraut cars”, Volvos as “Swedish tanks”…
Oh well. I tried.
Argue away about Jap vs. Harley, but the fact remains, Harley’s are great bikes, and most of the riders I’m with are responsible adults. As with any culture, there are always those that bring it down, but to slam them all, and to defame a product because of a few, just seems wrong.
I just wish “some” people would stop treating Harley’s like they’re not worthy of roadspace.
But…but…the point the people who actually addressed motorcycles versus language are trying to make is that THEY AREN’T! 
(Actually, I’d kinda like one, since I’m big with stumpy legs and Harleys are about the only bikes I can sit on and put my feet on the ground while not looking like a Shriner in search of a parade like I would on the tricked out 50cc Italjet scooters my local Eurobike dealer sells. And I drive cars like an old lady so the fact that a Harley can be beat by any Japanese bike bigger than a moped isn’t such a problem for me.)
Hey, I’m just talking out my ass* here. For all I know, all these bike and car terms are completely cool with everyone. But I can see how they could have the potential to offend. If they don’t, great, but dropzone’s advice about polite conversation is good. A Japanese person not up on bike lingo, when they hear “jap scrap” or whatever may very well focus on the “jap” part
*No offence to those of you with flatulence.
Except where four-wheeled vehicles are concerned, the term is no longer limited to Japanese vehicles. Or even imports for that matter. Check out this Neon.
I just finished a (IMO) well thought out response to your post, unfortunately the SDMB hamsters were hungry and they ate it. The gist of what I said is that Harley makes some damn fine scooters. I rode with Black Witness, MC, and Born To Be Wild, MC. Not as a member because I didn’t own a Hog, just a measely (oh soo reliable, never needed repair) Honda Shadow.
I went on to explain that my problem with Harley Riders was based on the fact that the majority of them fall into two categories, wannabie yuppies who can afford the latest bike and dipshits who think installing glass packs to make their already loud bike louder is cool.
As far as people treating Harley’s as not worthy of roadspace, did you ever notice that they rarely do it in person?
I also admitted to wanting to someday be one of the yuppies who can afford the latest model, but promised to install the quietest muffler availible since I enjoy riding a well tuned scooter, but have no desire to impose the noise on others.
My original post was (IMO) more eloquent, but I think the above captures the sentiment.
Peace, 1%…
Oooooh, check out the performance enhancing yellow decal. I bet that’s a Type R.
Can’t you guys can that crap at least until after the election? Just put a bandaid on your hearts and a sling on your knee until we can temporarily convince enough voters that liberalism is not insane.
You anti-Harley fuckwad mouthpieces make me puke. Your rhetoric is predictable and filled with inaccuracies and silly characterizations.
I can have any motorcycle I want (true with a lot of people), and usually have 2-3 at any given time. I own and have owned dual-sports, sportbikes, touring bikes, and cruisers. Four Beemers, five Hondas, two Suzukis, and a Yamaha a long time ago. And 5 Harleys.
I’ve probably ridden 175,000 miles in the last 15 years or so. ALL the bikes are fun. I’ve put the most mileage on Harleys, doing trips all across the U.S. and Canada.
Harleys are now reliable as hell, have plenty of power and grunt (even in stock trim), and they look great. Their quality is excellent. Lots of aftermarket stuff can be had to alter the ride quality, performance, and look. Many owners keep their bikes within reasonable noise limits. Harleys hold their value better than most anything out there, although not quite as well as they did 5 years ago. The “Harley crowd” is really diverse, and yeah, there are a bunch of assholes, weenies, inexperienced riders, and posers in that crowd, and I’ll leave it at that. There are also a lotta great folks too.
BMWs are wonderful bikes, but their quality control can at times be spotty, and first-year models are known to usually have a few problems that make it smart to wait a year. BMWs do not hold their value very well from new, and aggressive BMW financing and pricing deals make it even worse. Usually they are a great community of riders to hang with - they’re into bikes and riding. When you have a dialed-in BMW, you’re usually in great shape for many miles.
The Japanese bikes are also great. Some of the models use a lot of plastic, which some people don’t like, but it ain’t no big thang. Reliability-wise, they are very good, but they still have their share of problems, especially in first-year models. They also drop in value pretty fast once out of the showroom. The Japanese bike crowd is widely diverse, has all kinds, and resists stereotyping.
GaWd, your characterizations about Harleys are outdated. Harley now has both EFI and electronic ignitions on many of their bikes. They work great. It’s pretty rare to see a recent-model Harley broken down on the side of the road these days unless it’s maybe an AMF-era bike. Poorly engineered? I see and talk to more people that have problems with cutting-edge BMWs than Harleys. Your knowledge and/or experience regarding Harleys is inaccurate.
And casdave - I think you just like to hear yourself talk. There’s nothing worse than to have to wade through a rehashing of the tired old whining about how Harleys aren’t performance bikes, and some of your other assertions are just so inaccurate or silly that they don’t warrant serious comment. Go talk to the hardcore Japanese performance bike crowd - they also have a big pile of stock parts sitting in their garages, and piles of money put into their bikes to make them the way they want. You added nothing useful or funny to the discussion.
Have to disagree with you on a couple items, casdave. I’ve ridden a few Harleys with pretty good front ends and (not unacceptable) brakes.
Said models were fitted with Showa forks and Nissin brakes.
Showa’s been making forks for HD for quite a while. The only place they stamp any identification of manufacture is on the inside flat where the fender mounts!
*First post as a “Chattering Member”!
Bwahaha! I’m reminded of a later Camaro (2000ish) we saw in North Carolina that had not one, but TWO spoilers, one right on top of the factory spoiler. I was laughing for days.
Huh? Don’t you mean “libertarianism?”
Ohhhh, I get it! You have come over to the Dark Side for only as long as it takes to change the regime and then you’re back in your old camp. No problem. Practical politics has always made for interesting bedfellows. 
Yeah. My brother, while attempting to organize a group for the Trail of Tears ride across northern Alabama last year, addressing a friend with a late-model Harley:
My bro: “You want to ride along with us on the Trail of Tears ride next month?”
Friend: “Will I have a chase car?”
:rolleyes: