Harley Rhetoric

[spaz1096]

Ha! At the end of last riding season I went on a ride with my HD buddy. He has a “Road King” or something like that. We rode all day and stopped at several restaurants, gas stations and yes bars. On three separate occasions I was approached and asked about my bike. All beginning with something like: “is that a V Max?” Not once was my friend asked about his Harley. My Max is in stock form, not tricked out or blingy, just the factory looking V Max. At the end of the ride, he swallowed his pride and said “man, I can’t believe how many people asked about your bike! No one asked about mine, and it’s a Harley!” I do respect my friend for breaking ranks of his Harley club to ride with me as they refuse to do so. I guess I can see why, they don’t want all the attention going to a “Jap bike”.

 

[[email protected]]

I have never ran into any problems with harley riders. I ride with a few, they are just like me they ride because they like to. I ride with all make and models. I think I have heard a comment or two on why didn't you buy a harley. I just tell them if I had wanted one I would have bought one. Which is true.

+1. Me too. I have friends with Harleys and I've spent time riding some Harleys as well. Dare I say this? Yes, I'll say it, I don't care. I HAD FUN RIDING ON A HARLEY. It's a differnet animal than the vmax, but still fun. But so is my sister in laws dirt bike, and my kids panterra 50cc chinese deathtrap, and basically anything on 2 wheels. I like to ride whatever I can thow a leg over. Never been on a bike that was not enjoyable to ride. It might have some bad attributes but its still fun.

 

[WESLICH]

Ha! At the end of last riding season I went on a ride with my HD buddy. He has a ?Road King? or something like that. We rode all day and stopped at several restaurants, gas stations and yes bars. On three separate occasions I was approached and asked about my bike. All beginning with something like: ?is that a V Max?? Not once was my friend asked about his Harley. My Max is in stock form, not tricked out or blingy, just the factory looking V Max. At the end of the ride, he swallowed his pride and said ?man, I can?t believe how many people asked about your bike! No one asked about mine, and it?s a Harley!? I do respect my friend for breaking ranks of his Harley club to ride with me as they refuse to do so. I guess I can see why, they don?t want all the attention going to a ?Jap bike?.

Yeah, same here. Plenty of comments about my Vmax whenever I ride. The Harleys are so common now it's no big deal unless they're customized. My stock Max gets all the attention. It really upset my Road King riding buddy when his friend walked past his Harley without hardly a glance to check out my Max. "Wow, is that a Vmax?" He didn't say anything but I sensed the irritation.
On the other hand, I like the Harleys for flat out cruising long distances. They're so much more comfy. Unless you've got a custom seat, your rump's gonna be hurting after a long ride on a Vmax. Doesn't matter how tough you are.

 

[Vendetta]

At the end of the ride, he swallowed his pride and said ?man, I can?t believe how many people asked about your bike! No one asked about mine, and it?s a Harley!?

No one asked about it BECAUSE its a Harley. There's 500 billion of them all over the place and they all look the same, they all are the same. What would an onlooker ask? " Dude, did you do all the same shit to yours that everyone else did? That's cool! Try going to Sturgis one year, its a sea of uniformity. The only relief I get at Sturgis is the ocassional Max or rocket.

 

[lilsnel]

I live outside of York,PA where most of the larger Harley's are assembled.The plant employs a large portion of the population in the area, either thru them or outside vendors (machine shops,chromers,etc..).There is probably more H-D Dealers in this one little area than there is anywhere else(seems that way).There is plenty of dealer open houses and bike nites around this area that anybody can go to.You have the occassional die hard Harley guys who make there comments about metric or jap bikes but for the most part nobody around here cares.You always have the macho bullshit but I don't care what your riding or doing you'll have that. There can be a bunch of Harley guys or jap bike guys standing around talking going for a ride and you could walk up say can I tag along and they would say the more the merrier. I went to a Harley open house this past saturday and had a bunch of Harley riders standing around my 85 max telling me it is an American classic, the dealership photographer was takin pics of it for there website.
My point to this is where all out for the same thing and that is the open road. So the hell with what anybody has to say and go ride.

 

[jasondon]

I live outside of York,PA where most of the larger Harley's are assembled.The plant employs a large portion of the population in the area, either thru them or outside vendors (machine shops,chromers,etc..).There is probably more H-D Dealers in this one little area than there is anywhere else(seems that way).There is plenty of dealer open houses and bike nites around this area that anybody can go to.You have the occassional die hard Harley guys who make there comments about metric or jap bikes but for the most part nobody around here cares.You always have the macho bullshit but I don't care what your riding or doing you'll have that. There can be a bunch of Harley guys or jap bike guys standing around talking going for a ride and you could walk up say can I tag along and they would say the more the merrier. I went to a Harley open house this past saturday and had a bunch of Harley riders standing around my 85 max telling me it is an American classic, the dealership photographer was takin pics of it for there website.
My point to this is where all out for the same thing and that is the open road. So the hell with what anybody has to say and go ride.

Well said

 

[naughtyG]

so the hell with what anybody has to say and go ride.

amen!!!

 

[Laxfan]

I feel the same way about riding as I do about Golf. I always tell people,
"I will Golf with anyone, any where at any time."

I will also ride with anyone, any where at any time.

I know that anyone who rides loves it for the same basic reasons that I do and I do not give a damn how they go about getting it done. (as long as they don't put me in any more danger than I am already in)

 

[gamorg02]

http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1869757&postcount=352

 

[RaWarrior]

That's funny Garrett.... there was a link on the Black Echo page(the Harley hate HQ of the web) that was from HD dealer sales propaganda, and it broke the demographics down into politely worded groups like attention whore, bad-ass wannabe, RUB, and such. Can't find it now though. Harley, while discreetly, loves the image of the outlaw biker gang, and the "lifestyle" that goes along with buying one.

That's why I'll never own a Harley. I'm not ready for that kind of a commitment. I just wanted a bike, not a whole damn "lifestyle".

I know several people who ride Harleys. Of all of them, only one takes the bike at face value and enjoys it. No comments about "real" bikes, isn't slathered in Officially Licensed and Endorsed apparel, just rides and is a great guy. All the others(to varying degrees) fall right into the HD asshole group with comments like "someday you'll own a REAL bike", and the general attitude that they're doing us a favor by gracing us with the presence of their genuine Harley Davidson. That holier-than-thou attitude is what really gets me about I'd guess at least 75% of HD owners. Is every HD rider a douche about it? No. Are there assholes that ride imports? Sure. But for every ass I encounter on a (import brand), I find probably 20 on Harleys.

 

[vmaxcruzer]

I like HD's. If it weren't for them, we'd have nothing to make fun of.:biglaugh:

 

[SpecOps13]

I ride a Harley too. The bikes have totally different purposes. Both are fun and I ride either with whomever I please. If they don't like it TS.:biglaugh:

Dave

 

[vmaxcruzer]

I ride with a few that share your attitude, I can seperate that but then there are those guys...You know who they are.

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

I ride with a group of Harleys too. I don't give a shit what their riding and they don't give a shit what I am riding. We just ride. Simple as that.

 

[RaWarrior]

If that was always the case(believe me I wish it was), then the whole Harley "lifestyle" wouldn't exist. It would be just another cruiser along with Shadows, Vulcans, and Vstars.

The whole marketing behind a HD is the "new you" with a new baditude, new cool friends who ride, and of course the HD branding. I've been in HD dealers and browsed their sales brochures, they hardly even mention the bike they're selling. One column on the last page lists specifications and (lack of) performance details. The other pages are all huge photos of the open road, some guy standing next to his blinged out Harley in front of a bar with everyone looking at it, and "inspirational" paragraphs about the freedom of the highways or something. They sell the image, not the bike. The bike is just the key to open the door to this new life you just bought.

Sure, some people choose a Harley because they just like the looks or features, and that's fine. They're bikers. They bought a bike of any brand to enjoy and ride it. Unfortunately HD's marketing department is genius and manages to vacuum in countless suckers who just want the image, and they become all the stereotypical Harley assholes who just blindly follow whatever the dealer tells them. Dealer says the Sportster is a fast bike? Then nothing on the road will touch it. That chrome protection package is worth $1000? You bet your ass it is.

I don't care what you ride. I also don't want to hear about how your HD is the best bike on the road, how fast it is, and how sweet those new straight pipes sound. And those things don't even bother me, I've heard them all so many times from so many Harley types I just write them off as ignorance of the sheeple. It's the cracks about "real" bikers ride Harleys, and how Harley is the only "real" motorcycle out there and all the rest are imitators or jap crap that piss me off all over the place, that someone drops $20k and suddenly feels they are instantly elevated above everyone else.

 

[SpecOps13]

I was around for the formation of the coalition / confederation of clubs. I've been trying to get all bikers with each other for a long time. I've had 36 bikes all total in my life. Most of them from Japan. I have no prejudice. I have a need for speed that my Harley can't satisfy. I respect everyone who rides. But I'm certainly not gonna ride my harley when I ride with those of you here. I want to get there at the same time you do.:biglaugh:

Dave

 

[Fizzer]

First off I like some of the newer H-Ds that are out there. Enough to follow one to ask what model it was (It was a Fat Bob BTW).
I then went that weekend to the local HD store to check it out in detail. My 18 year old son liked the street bob.
They were very nice bikes. Salesman was great. Store was great too. I liked the Street Bob that my son liked and IF… IF I decide to finance my next bike it will be one of these but with the passenger seat and pegs added for my GF.
However I want a V-max. That is the bike I always wanted. And now that they don't make em anymore I gotta have one before I get anything elese.
Now on the otherhand I wouldn’t be caught dead in the bandana, pirate costumes these guys are wearing. My GF would die laughing if I wanted her to look the "H-D old lady" stereo type.
I got friends that do ride H-Ds and I am used to them trowing rice under my FZR and telling me it has a leak. But then have to admit the spots on the drive ways are not Yamalube. :rofl_200: And it’s a 93!
They of course belong in clubs. And I get the feeling they were neglected or outcast growing up cuz man the really need to "belong to something".
One of the guys is having issues with a club cuz his GF was seen drinkin' and he can't be with some who ain't sober. Yea OK. :bang head: I mean they do ride but its for rides set up by the club in advance. otherwise they just hang out and I dunno whatever it is the do. Reminds me of when I was in the cub scouts for 3 years. Meetings every week, did some color guard flag thing duties on a few parades but we never did go outdoors. :confused2: They have Pecking orders, ranks... Yea thats freedom?
No thanks, I really like the "lone cowboy" style my Yammihaha gives me. I love the feeling when I'm at the top of the mountain looking down and its just me and my machine. Now that is true freedom to me.

 

[Bill Seward]

Well said!

 

[vmaxride06]

Love my max....But my brothers Harley can carry 2 bundles of firewood in the Back roads of PA in style...:biglaugh:..what a Riot..

 

[Jdk203]

My old man rides a Harley. Has a 113 CI stroker in that bad boy and before the max I honestly thought that thing was fast as hell. I knew it was no crotch rocket but it sure as hell left my virago in the dust. Now that I have the max when we ride together I feel like im following a moped half the time. He starts to get on it hard and before I hit Vboost I have to let up so I don't run him the hell over! He spent more money on the motor alone then I have into my entire bike.

That said I like harleys and would own one but I would never own one to claim it was the fastest bike on the road or to try and race. I would own one because I like them simple as that!