Harley Bashing. What's it all about?

I love Sportsters too. I've owned twice as many Sportsters as I have Big Twins, and I'd have another in a heartbeat.

I think you are supposed to say "I had a thread once and it sucked" rather than make a personal attack on this particular thread.

oser



This thread just shows that people are weird, all of 'em,
and you can be a hater if you want, but it's denial
because you're just a weird as the other guy one way or the other.

If all the world's a stage, this thread is just a puppet show.

Yep. I sold my Shovel back in the day but could never part with the Sporty.

Now, if you like Sportsters , you will get a laugh out of this thread, 6,000 mile trip across Oz on the old 77 Ironhead. Nobody ever told me you can't tour on a Sportster, well not more than a thousand times at least:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=527966



.

Oh man, the entertainment value alone, I love this!
please don't explain, I don't want to understand this one.

Steve

My boss has a custom hardtail. He will not sit on it or ride it even one block without his custom leathers, earring, chopped helmet and jacket with hd logo. He has other riding gear & helmets but refuses to wear them on his Harley. He mocks all others who don't have a kick start. Also since it only has one seat his wife must sit on a pillow on the back fender if she want's to go anywhere.

Really!?!:huh

My neighbor rides his 50 cc Yamaha scooter to the local golf course every day with his golf bag strapped across his back. He has two giant chainsaw carvings of what appear ro be bears in his front yard. Celebrate diversity!

An interesting and thought provoking post. I don't agree, but I appreciate your comments. I work in the OEM automobile industry, and for me, originality, roots and heritage do not matter one bit - the only thing I am impressed with is the product. The fact that the Japanese can and do build a better version of an American product in so many different fields does not bother me because the Japanese honor intellectual property. They improve on other designs and concepts but they do not "steal" designs like the Chinese do, who have no respect for intellectual property.

In the late 1960's, when Datsun came out with their first 240Z, I was very impressed that they built a better Corvette than GM could (or a better E type than Jaguar could). Same with when Toyota brought out their first Celica - they built a better Mustang than Ford was building at the time. And the Honda Accord was simply a better American family car than the Americans could make. That is why the Japanese have been so successful - their product is often better than their competiton.

I grew up on Japanese motorcycles and prefer them to bikes made in other countries. My preference in a street bike is a Japanese UJM, and I think it is a damn shame that no one makes these anymore, because I'd buy one in a second. I have ridden Harleys and have many friends who own them. I admire HD for their gorgeous chrome and paint but dynamically, many of them are inadequate motorcycles. In 2003 - 2005, I owned a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and often rode with my Harley friends. They all had big twins: Dynas, Fat Boys and Deuces. Not a single one of them could come close to keeping up with me in the mountains. The only time in my 37 years of riding that I received verbal abuse from another rider was a Fat Boy owner who ridiculed my Vulcan 500 in the parking lot before a ride. Once I blew him away in the twisties, he apologized to me. IMHO, Harley is making a modern retro bike, as is Triumph (I love the new 70's style Bonneville) and Ural.

In 2007, I was looking for a cruiser for getting around the 'burbs. I test rode a couple of Sportsters but ended up buying the Shadow. I prefer the Shadow to the Sportster. It has a better engine and a nicer exhaust sound with the stock pipes, is more comfortable to ride, has plenty of character and it looks better. In the two years I have owned it, it has been 100% reliable, maintenance and repair costs have been zero, I get well over 60 mpg on 87 octane (last tank was 66 mpg), it handles a pillion very well and I have received more compliments on the Shadow than any bike I have owned in 37 years. It looks and rides better than a Sportster, is more comfortable, and cost much less.

So although my Shadow may have its roots "firmly entrenched in a boring water cooled 500 cc twin from 1985", that is perfectly fine with me. I also owned a Transalp and I know how good these Honda V-twin motors are. I'll take the Japanese V-twin over the Harley V-twin, thank you.

I have always felt it is the fact that you ride, not what you ride, that matters. I don't care if someone gets their kicks riding to the Harley store to buy a tshirt or does a SS1000 for entertainment purposes on the weekend. All that matters to me is that we have a mutual interest and passion for motorcycles and enjoy being on two wheels. I have never made fun of another rider and never will. The only time I have ever been "bashed" was by Harley riders. Both times this happened, they apologized after an hour of riding.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and keep the shiny side up. I'm going for a ride.

Nice post, Soboy.

Happy thanksgiving HD enthusiasts and haters. The pumpkin-banana pies I'm making for thanksgiving are almost Harley orange.

Jeebus, now you've got me wondering what the prior bikes you owned looked like :eek1

I've had a lot of really nice bikes in the last 37 years, actually. All of them in excellent condition, both appearance and mechanicals. Some of my favorites: 1972 Yamaha Mini-Enduro, 1973 Yamaha DT100, 1975 Yamaha DT100, 1975 Yamaha RD350, 1978 Yamaha DT250, 1989 Honda Transalp, 2003 GSX-R1000, 2004 Kawasaki Vulcan 500, 2004 Shadow Aero, 2005 VStrom, 2005 BMW RT1150, 2006 DR650, 2007 Tiger, plus a whole lot of dirt bikes.

What I have found in almost 4 decades of riding, however, is that the cruisers, especially the Shadow, have drawn the most compliments. I think it is because a lot of people think a cruiser looks the way a motorcycle "should look".

used to ride only hogs, (one 45 & all others were BTs) & had little interest in anything else.
then i saw the light. its actually ok to ride other bikes.
still want a girls bike someday or a tuber

Tuber?

Tom in Salem

tubed buell

Tube frame Buell (2002 and earlier)

Does a tuber have a potato-potato exhaust note?

quick spudspudspud note

I quit eating pumpkin pie after I found out how they made em.

That is just so GAY....... Rather walk

Sorry, but if you have to ride a cruiser, at least get the real deal...