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I ride a Harley Davidson FLHT touring bike. It's comfort is outstanding and it's reliability has been perfect. I bought it used in 2003 and it has never left me stranded anywhere. I have 102,000 miles on it so you know I ride a lot. I also belong to a Harley group of riders that have nearly all Harley's. We are middle aged men and women that ride every weekend in the summer. We dress in our Harley clothes and dammit we look good. You wear bowling clothes to bowl, basketball clothes to play basketball, Hunting camo to hunt in, why shouldn't Bikers wear Harley clothes to bike in? Or is Jo Jo just moaning and bitching like he normally does. I like the freedom I feel when out on the road. You would too if you tried it. I don't care what kind of bike a person owns. It's the shared experience of riding that bonds us, not the make of the motorcycle. But, I have owned Honda's and Yamaha,s and still do, but my road choice is Harley Davidson and that will never change.
I don't ordinarily like Harley's as they are low performance machines geared usually for old men and wannabe yuppies these days. The only steed in the HD line up you didn't mention that I'd throw a leg over is the V-Rod collection...and they are not really HD's, are they?! Still, HD is updating its antiquated technologies and the newer models show promise, although they are way over priced and underpowered compared to the Japanese metrics and the Euro super bikes. Name tags just don't do it for me guys; "all blow and no go" is pretty much all HD has offered in the past. Perhpas change will do them some good. I like the new direction Buell is taking!
Interesting thread.... out of several dozen posts, so far maybe only 3 or 4 folks have said they'd even want to own a HD, let alone which model.
Judging from most of the comments, maybe the thread should be re-named, "Why do so many bikers dislike Harleys...?".
One of my favorite "anti-Harley" digs is "Harley Davidson - Converting gasoline to noise without the pesky byproduct of horsepower".
But, I really dig the VROD, and I like the Softtails...I just like the way they look, like other bikes of mine that may not be the fastest thing around. Same reason I dig old Italian and old Brit bikes...just awfully cool..
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
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If HD made a plane,would you fly in it???
Quote:
Originally Posted by mateo45
Interesting thread.... out of several dozen posts, so far maybe only 3 or 4 folks have said they'd even want to own a HD, let alone which model.
Judging from most of the comments, maybe the thread should be re-named, "Why do so many bikers dislike Harleys...?".
I deviated from my norm(Goldwings for the big road and a Vmax for the real fun during that time period) and went with HD in the mid/late 80s up till the mid 90s..FXWGs,Ultra Classics,Heritage,a wood shed built hardtail or 3....Flatheads,1 Pan,countless Shovels and E blocks,Strokers and De-stroked(I never had a Knuckle or a Fathead 88) etc etc etc..
I bought these bikes to ride and turn around and resell after I painted or fixed whatever their malfunction was(and if it said HD on the side,it HAD a malfunction somewhere almost guaranteed)...I bought a '91 Ultra Classic new and a '93 Heritage new, so I'm not just some guy SAYING I don't like HD without the background to back it up.
I DON'T like HD now for many,many reasons.....The arrogance of the company/new riders(yuppies/rubs/dinks/posers or whatever they are called in your geographic region) in the early nineties went a long way towards turning me away from them.During the time they were failing,WE still bought their junky bikes with every problem from electrical on out,but the core rider was left behind for the Tshirt buying crowd and the parts dept started stocking less PARTS so you had to order them with no deals involved and instead started stocking more chrome babbles...Their lawsuit happy lawyers suing bike shops that had been open for decades that had the word Hawg,Hog etc in their business names REALLY pissed me off because they used to court these old gray beards to keep their parts moving out of the warehouses(best friend at the time had to change the name of his 20 yo shop during this time period due to constant threats of suits by HD)......HD used to be a bike company and now they are a boutique clothing company that just happens to build motorcycles.
I'm one of those guys that will wave to anyone on two wheels while riding and I come from the school of thought that you should ride what YOU want to ride...So if HD is what turns your crank,by all means that's YOUR company,but just remember...buying a HD doesn't add 50lbs of muscle to you and you aren't an oz better than that grandma or grandpa riding a Burgman scooter meeting you head on on that 2 lane with their left hand turned sideways in the wind waving a greeting at you and smiling.....don't be a pompous azzhole,wave back at them cause it's all about fun anyway. AND besides that,they may take offense and turn around and blow your doors off and show you their tail lights just for fun.
....HD used to be a bike company and now they are a boutique clothing company that just happens to build motorcycles.....
And let's not forget the AMF "glory days"! I remember riding with a mixed group of bike brands then (Brit, Japanese, etc.), and seemed like the one brand-new "American-made" Electra-Glide had more trouble than even the English bikes... now that's bad!
Yup, these days Harley's only a marketing company, and except for the V-Rod (designed by Porsche), now their bikes are just another hillbilly fashion accessory. And actually, if it weren't for the snotty attitudes ("I only wave at other Harleys", etc.), nobody would even care about that.
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
11,078 posts, read 15,107,501 times
Reputation: 3937
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ming_on_Mongo
And let's not forget the AMF "glory days"! I remember riding with a mixed group of bike brands then (Brit, Japanese, etc.), and seemed like the one brand-new "American-made" Electra-Glide had more trouble than even the English bikes... now that's bad!
Yup, these days Harley's only a marketing company, and except for the V-Rod (designed by Porsche), now their bikes are just another hillbilly fashion accessory. And actually, if it weren't for the snotty attitudes ("I only wave at other Harleys", etc.), nobody would even care about that.
rep2u.....those crappy orange and black paint jobs come to mind and electrical trouble deluxe.
Well, now that HD has been B-Slapped pretty effectively, what other rides do you people like with S&S or Revtech mills? I really like Bourget motorcycles, as they offer supreme styling and decent performance with BIG motors! Two cylinders will never cut it against four on a c.c. for c.c. basis; any given two piston motor will need to be much bigger than an equivalent three or four piston motor, all else being equal. Basically, the large v-twins are just fart-o-cycles producing lots of loud hot air and delivering meager hp. Inch for inch a V-max or a Busa will devour anything with two jugs...quite easily in fact. V-Rods are the only two piston V, engineered by Porsche, that is remotely competitive...esp. with a turbocharger!
Ok. If I had to have something from the Motor Company, probably the new XR1200, or a Fat Bob.
That being said, I'd go for a Victory or Confederate "big twin" before most things HD soley due to the poser value. Even if you really ride, you usually will get thrown in with the RUB crowd. Nothing makes me shake my head more than going to a ride, and seeing all the bikes that are trailered in. It's a RIDE, not a pose off. Just for the record, I have my own pair of Vtwins, they just happen to be made by Aprilia.
Harley Davidson - 19th Century technology with 21st Century pricing.
A recent survey found that 94% of all Harley Davidson's made are still on the road. The other 6% made it to their destination.
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If HD made a plane,would you fly in it???
....Flatheads,1 Pan,countless Shovels and E blocks,Strokers and De-stroked(I never had a Knuckle or a Fathead 88) etc etc etc..
rep2u.....those crappy orange and black paint jobs come to mind and electrical trouble deluxe.
