Shadows Quote :
Harley riders world wide seem to pick up "attitude" when they buy their bikes.
Most of them here are fairweather riders, and older guys with too much money and very few real riding skills (it's hard to learn to corner when your bike won't lean more than 10 degrees without something scraping on the tar)
But I don't hate them, just pity their ineptitude and waste of money.
Why would anyone want to buy a big bike and ride slowly - In formation ?
Makes no sense.
Ah well, each to their own.
I'll stick with my old reliable 1000F. (at a quarter of the price)

Harleys are definitely a case of "form over function" IMO

I can't say I'm insulted buy some of these comments here as I ride a Harley as well as my 1000F ,,BUT,, That doesn't mean I'm some old A**hole with too much money wasting it on buying a H/D with some attitude . I just like the comfortable ride and wanted to ride an American made bike .
My Harley isnt a road racing / drag strip , street burner ,,but thats not what I bought it for . I bought it for cruising . I don't belong to any gang nor any biker club . I bought my 1000F because it is fast , smooth and comfortable . I didnt start out on cruiser bikes , I started out on sportbikes and many people around here don't act in the H/D biker attitude ,, Hell I've had more problem with people on gixxer's then Harley riders . I've been riding for 30+ yrs , and I think my riding skills are far better than most seeing as I've been racing bikes before some young people were in training for diapers .
I'm sure other people on this forum own other bikes besides honda's like myself , and would take offense . I would never say or do insults for respect of some of us that do own H/D's . I understand this is a Honda forum ,,but I do own and love my CBR1000F ,,and my other bikes ,,including my H/D ,,That doesn't mean I'm as you describe for owning one.
What these "bikers" did to Dane-ger was in a word ,,dumb. But most H/D riders do this in just saying hi in their own way , or just playing around .
Last week I had 3 Gixxers doing the same thing to me ,,no big deal.

 

It is good fun watching HD riders getting picked on instead of them picking on others for a change, It is just a common thought that they are usually a-holes. I must admit I have met one guy who rides one that isn't a a-hole but he sure looks like he is!LOL

 

Has anyone ever noticed that guys that ride Buells are generally good buggers? Clearly it is not the engine that is the issue here!
Must be the brand.

 

I used to get the same thing here in Australia with the V8 drivers when I was in my rotary. Made them look silly though as I pulled away from them. Same deal with the sports bike V's ***** Harley. Tosser's think that all that noise is power. Idiots. The old T shirt I once saw that said "Loud pipes saves lives" with a HD V twin on it makes me laugh. I'd rather have a shorter braking distance or in other situations, be able to twist the throttle and it actually reacts to get out of harms way if needed. ****** Hardley Davidson posers.

 

I've been riding for 30+ years now. It's actually gotten a lot better. In the bad, old days, there were 2 kinds of riders. Harley riders and "Jap" bikers. If you met a group and weren't cool, you could get your butt whooped, literally. Solo riders, not so bad.

Even back "in the day", there was always the universal rule, "if you saw another biker in trouble, you stopped and offered a hand". I've stopped and helped hog-riders with colors, and vice-versa. Knowing that the next-time you saw them, you still might get the 'cold-shoulder'.

I think it it is equal parts... group mentality and/or people that are drawn to the "exclusivity" of the Harley mystique. That whole "nose in the air", sneery thing. Some of it is the old "Ride to live, Live to ride" guys, feeling that their culture (and yes, there is one) is threatened by all the lawyers and dentists buying hogs now-a-days.

Personally, I give em a thumbs-up and cheery wave. Forget the pee-contest. You never have to regret being polite. Sometimes it'll even make a difference. ;-)

Ern

 

if you spent all that money on a bike that spews oil and drops parts, you'd be grouchy too.



ahh, stereotypes...

 

I'm sure other people on this forum own other bikes besides honda's like myself , and would take offense

Offence to what ?
The truth as I know it to be ?
I also said MOST
As in every culture, there are exceptions.
I too often ride with cruisers and have been known to stop and help a Harley rider with a problem. The last one didn't even know what was wrong with his bike when the chain was seizing due to lack of lubrication. His girlfriend knew more about her bike than he did about his
My younger son worked for Harley here for 31/2 years and I've rebuilt two Harleys, a 5/7 and a 10/12 which has a foot clutch, gears on the tank (3) and bars like a Texas longhorn. And I deliberately parked my 1000F right outside the front door every time I went into the dealership. It was owned by a friend, a Mr Brian Wegerle who sadly died in a bike accident 3 years ago. A scholar and a gentleman if ever I've met one.
As you pointed out, this is a Honda forum, and if you read through the history of posts in "off topic" and other areas, you will see that bashing Harley owners is a pastime most of us enjoy.And in MOST cases they deserve it, sad to say. Rest assured if you read comments from the Harley boys they would be saying things about Hondas along the lines of "overpowered rice-burners with no history" hehe.
And as I also said
Each to their own..............
And I've been riding 47 years.......................and ridden just about every make out there.........
and enjoyed most.

PS The Senior Admin here, Chainstretcher rides a V-Rod (but that doesn't count - designed by Porsche, so it doesn't leak oil or drop parts along the way)
hehe.

 

I didn't say all Harley dude are like that... just like 90%... ill stick to a RELIABLE, CHEAP, USED, FUN, and FAST HONDA I see where you guys are coming from oh well i guess!! Ride on and leave the UNRELIABLE, EXPENSIVE, SLOW dudes in the dust good day fellas!!!

 

Harley bashing threads are almost as much fun as 'which oil is best' threads. I particularly like the oft repeated, "Harley Davidson: turning gasoline into noise without the penalty of power."

My brother's friend insists his Harley is the best despite the fact that my brother has loaded that bike into his pickup for a trip to the dealer so often that he is now on a first name basis with the service manager.

That friend is also the guy that swears he knows better than to use the front brake. Doesn't want to be tossed over the handle bars. (To be fair about that, I followed a thread on a sportbike site where a stunter - his words - tboned a pickup because he knew better than to use the front brake.)

The Sears salesman who, when talking bikes, was overawed at the just released Harley that had - he said breathlessly - ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE horsepower. Had I ever heard of a bike with that kind of power? It seemed best to leave him in ignorance.

Then there is the large cadre of Harley owners in my town whose first action on buying their bike is to put straight pipes on and revel in the noise.

Dang. I am forced to admit that late one night the wife and lay in bed listening to the sound of a CB750F with open pipes being chased all over town and then down the highway east of town. We could hear him for several miles down the road. Kind of silly - everyone in town knew who owned that bike. The police nailed him later when he rode back in.

But this is a Harley bashing thread, so we'll ignore loud sport bikes.

Then, an interesting event. Driving down the highway in a Honda Civic (I have excuses for that) when two Harley riders approached. One was fairly close to the center line, and as he got closer he moved across the line into my lane. Just a foot or so. And gave me the evil eye as we met. I wonder. Would he have done that had I been driving the 3/4 ton 4wd Dodge? Or, had I been on the CBR would he have moved even further over the line. We'll never know.

Ah yes, many Harley riders are, um, socially unaware? Sub-normally intelligent? Or just uninformed?

My apologies to Roy (Sportster) and Wayne (V-Rod, generic Harley and Honda Fury), Don (one of the nicest Harley customs around) and the one other guy in town who has stock, quiet pipes on his Harley. All good people and certainly not among the stereotyped group.

 

Shadow , Its all good bro . I was making a point, not wanting to have a pi**ing contest . I was speaking of the culture here in the U.S.A. in my town and in the surrounding areas . It was a Harley rider that saved my life when I got into an auto accident back when I was 18 ,,car hit another car,,that car hit me,,HARD ,,and it was a Harley rider that dropped his bike and pulled me away from mine that was on fire and I have the steel nylon kneecap that reminds me sometimes. I'm NOT defending the actions of people that do things like what happened to Dane-ger . And I can take a joke or poking fun at my noise maker,,the Two brothers system I have on the 1000F is about just as loud LOL!! And I do ride my Honda more than the harley ,,its better on gas , less on maintenance and handles the chores of day to day traffic in the city . Btw my H/D doesn't leak oil . The CBR has 40,000 on it ,, the H/D has 19,000 and its had a topend rebuild already ,,that is the #1 gripe I have with these bikes ,,(H/D's),,is the constant upkeep . I'm just saying that the guy's I personally know here are not like that ,,they are business owners , walmart workers , and all around good family people . Like I said before , riding my CBR I have more problems from guys on gixxer's then any other bike riders . The H/D bashing doesn't bother me in the least ,, most of what has been said here about the bike is true,,and I agree and laugh along with the puns and poking fun at them . So I am not bothered by it at all . It's the stereotyping that does .
I ride because I love it ,,not for what I ride and being put down for owning any type of bike , for me , isn't constructive in promoting all "bikers" / "riders" as being equal . Experiences with these 3rd grade educated cavemen , that Dane-ger encountered, riding ANY bike is already a fixture in the "ride hard" culture and it's regretful that it gives good people riding H/D's a bad name . I'm gonna have cards made up that say " If its a race your looking for,,meet me at"""""""""""""track saturday at 6pm ,,bring money . And let them decide if the bike that they're on is up to the task . I ride a H/D ,,and this I KNOW ,,that bike isn't beating my CBR1000 . Put up or shut up ,, and the bad biker on that H/D will have to prove his H/D can beat a rice burner,,not very likely ,,and this will happen if front of his friends,,something to think about huh Dane-ger LOL!! My Harley is fast,,but nothing like a CBR or most race inspired bikes today,,,the "Ride to live, Live to ride" thing is dead. I think this was a really good thread Dane-ger.
For me it's more efficient transportation with gas passing $4.15 a gallon .
But ,,you won't catch me riding a CHINESE built P.O.S. Those I will bash!!
I like what MadHattr059 wrote ,, pretty much the same as I was trying say.