Any motorcycle enthusiasts here?

Sportsers aren't a bad bike but certainly not a good bike.
They are basically what non-bikers are spoon fed to think
are An all American motorcycle.No serious motorcyclist thinks
a Sportster is a great ride.Sure they exude motorcycle mashismo
due to it's appearance and loud thumping exhaust.
But do they start,brake,handle and accelerate with any degree
of excellence.They do not.But they look and sound like a man's
kind of motorcycle.Which is really silly once a guy learns about
motorcycles and riding.Unless they have one track minds or
are in some motorcycle gang.Where nothing matters except
being machismo.

 

Hmmm. I like the older sportsters because they are simple, easy to work on, and can function acceptably in more than one use case. Nope, they don’t excel at much, but I can feel at home on my H in a hay field, at a community function, or on the highway making a fast trip to town for parts. But then I don’t know much about riding...only been doing it since I bought my first at age 6.

 

You are being reasonable and kind.That is not how MOST Harley
owns talk.Because being a Harley owner is a clique.I have written about
this motorcycle phenonema quite a bit.Whenever I'm at a gas station
filling up I like to talk to others as to motorcycles.With few exception Harley
owners do not even acknowledge those who aren't on a Harley.
Meaning they are huge motorcycle snobs and quite rude.This attitude
really irks me.If a person is on a Metric cruiser they are looked down
upon by Harley bikers practically everywhere.Harley owners will not
talk to owners who ride metric bikes.Even an expensive Metric cruiser
with top flight aftermarket parts is not acknowledged.
I've literally seen this attitude all too often.
Occasionally I'll talk with seniors who are in a small group
on their Harleys.They act different.Probably because they had
other than Harley motorcycles in their life.

 

I have noticed the converse.. seems when a group with branded bikes ride together it becomes their attitude. I ride a Harley and consider ALL bike riders part of a Brotherhood. In fact, considering the size of the town I live in and the lack of new and different, I talk to everyone with a an interesting vehicle.. saw a couple of guys in a Honda powered sports car.. a..an .. aventi, originally engineered and built in Britain, now built in Tennessee? Anyway... it was an open wheeled two seater.. looked like a blast (we have the River Road.. very popular for sports driving)

 

Yes, cliques are odd things. Some never mature above high school levels I guess. Maybe it’s a regional thing too. Around here most group riding is charitable stuff and they’d welcome mopeds.

I’ve seen what you describe though. My buddy and I as kids used to watch stoned MC dudes crash their Harley’s off the bridge close to my house. Those guys were something else. Staggering around with their skull exposed asking if their bike was ok.

 

We had a motorcycle group here for a little while, we disbanded it because of the misconception the locals had about motorcycle "clubs" and the Fed officers among our ranks were catching flak form work. I joined to support the new guy in town that was trying to do something new. That said, I never understood riding in formation.. if we are going to travel like that, might as well rent a bus so at least I could imbibe adult beverages. My tho't is the motorcycle is a conveyance for independent people. I will go out on a group ride only so far as to agree to a meeting place where we can count heads.

 

I not only stand-bye my impressions of Harley owners but all but
have documented in the last 20 years.Again with some exceptions.
I think the thrill of riding a motorcycle is totally lost on Hog owners.
Meaning,to a Hog owner,If it ain't a Harley then it ain't worth sliding ones
butt on.Therefore I don't in any realm consider Harley only Owners
as Motorcycle " Enthuthiasts ". Plus in my view a Motorcycle is mostly
about the engine.That is The key ingredient to a motorcycle.
The Motor.Harley's are still old school pushrod design.
Which explains why the V-Rod was not at all well-received
among Harley owners until the last 10 years.
The first 7-8 years the V-rod was scorned by most Hog guys.

 

When I was a teenager and lived in Ukraine I was very interested in bikes and dreamed of owning one.
Then some day a bike rider was hit by a semi truck and his body parts that were literally torn off were broadcast on TV. That horrified me so much, I wasn’t interested since then.

Added: for some reasons I fear amputations more that death itself. I think if I faced a conscious choice of losing my limbs vs losing life I’d choose to die.

 

I understand. Once when I was about 10 me and my family were the first people on the scene of an accident in where 2 intoxicated girls in a car had struck a guy on a bike and his body was face down but his head was face up. Shook me for a while. I still think of him when I ride. Gotta be careful.

 

From what I can gather about Ukraine it is about the Poorest and
most Corrupt country in all Europe.However it does have very
accommodating Porn females.As does Prague { Sexiest gals on the
planet }. I am 75 % Czech. 25 % German.
I would buy a German motorcycle in a minute.Same with a
babe from Prague.Not too sure about their ability to build
vehicles let alone mototcycles.However they build real good chicks.
Best by far.

 

Todays Enfield is much improved over older models.In fact,every
year they get better.There's a European chick who travels all throughout
Europe { Russia,even thru Iran } that uses her Enfield.She is very pleasant
and quite sturdy.Has her Enfield packed to the gills with her travel necessities.
Like extra Gas container.And spare parts like tire and even fuel/oil filters
and I believe an alternator.Has taken her Enfield thru the most scenic yet
rustic main roads in remote parts of Russia.Where Sheep and goats may clog
the road for over a mile en route to their farms.This Young lady is always positive.
I've never seen anyone so tempered and with such sticktoitveness.
I'll try and remember her YouTube moniker and channel.
I remember about 15 years ago a story of a young Black rider who had a
goal of riding 100,ooo miles in a years time.She was doing it on her Valkyrie
Tourer.I had that bike for about 5 years.Terrific over the road bike.Great big
windshield and good top opening hardbags.That bike had a rather high seat
height which made for better overall handling and visibility.Even in a downpour the
rain barely got one's head wet.The heat from that big 1500 cc flat 6 engine
also was a positive in cold weather trips.

 

Yamaha FJ1200.

 

germany lost the war, their engineering cannot be better than American.

eastern european women are bred more strapping, but quality is more important than quantity.

 

I own seven Harley Davidsons (four of them are show bikes). I also own two Honda Gold Wings. Other than the show bikes, I ride them all regularly.

No one I ride with, who rides a Harley, really gives a rat's ass what someone else is riding. We just don't care...

 

The problem with purchasing a new Motorcycle is that they
become jaded { out dated,even cliché } rather quick with newer and
better models each year.If one can learn to get over that development,
they can probably appreciate motorcycling more.But then maybe not.
The temptation to have a better { as in Newer } Bike is like a child
in a candy store.Or a Teenage Galsy looking at Bras in a fancy schmancy
department store.Therefore why God Created Priests,Nuns and Rabbis.
To Get Over that desire.Maybe when and if the latest new Motorcycle
can sprout wings.Like an Archangel.Of the eight order,what else.

 

I own an '88 Harley Electroglide.. It'll never go out of style.

 

Nonsense.

One of my Gold Wings is four years old, and there's not a Harley on the planet that'll keep up with it. Now, my other Gold Wing is only a year old and, get this: there's still not a Harley on the planet that'll keep up with the older Gold Wing.

But I still love my Harleys.

Damn near everything you buy today is going to be improved upon in the future. Hell, I can remember using 32 megabyte memory cards in my first digital camera. Now I'm using 64 gigabyte cards, and those are old. I own five DSLR's, the oldest being a Canon 40D. It's over ten years old and still produces fantastic images. It didn't stop doing that just because more advanced models have been released.

Improvements/advancements will always be made. But that doesn't mean the older ones are, suddenly, bad...

 

Absolute,total unmitaged Farce.In fact Harley guys are far and away
The Most driven and Preoccupied over one motorcycle { a Harley }
then ALL other preoccupied Bike owners.Surpassing even Ducati.

 

Then yer not keeping up.The New Goldwing { the latest Series } is
in a class all by itself,far exceeding all other Goldwings by a country mile.
Just read the Reviews.Even the paint job is among the best of all series
Goldwings.The Bike is Fast, with smooth manual or automatic transmission
and stops great.I Think it is also the best handling of all Goldwings.
Definitely more electronics like modes and mapping,and radio and
devices hookup.The only complaint among new Goldwing owners is one less
gallon fuel tank.Honda claims that the new Itineration { 45 years worth }
get noticeable better mileage and thus justifies a smaller tank.

 

Im interested in those 3-wheelers (2x wheels front,1x wheels back). Anyone have any experience with them? Is there and 'enduro' equivalent suitable for dirt road use?

 

Hang out with a lot of bikers, do you?

I do.

And I know you're wrong.

As far as I know, there is only one group of motorcyclists who hold that view of Harley Davidsons: Hell's Angels. You can't be a member if you don't own a Harley.

No one else really cares...

 

But, see, that's exactly the point. I don't feel the need to "keep up".

My Gold Wings didn't get any slower just because the newer ones may be faster. They'll still leave a Harley sitting at the light...

 

A buddy of mine has a Can-Am. It's a different ride, for sure. The best way to get an idea is to test drive one. Personally, I didn't care for it...

 

They keep them dead stock because they're collectible and hold a higher value when kept stock and they're relatively rare. I don't really see a day when your XSR 900 demands $500K, stock or not, do you?

This car, a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, was pulled out of a storage unit in Ponte Vedra, Florida late last year. Rumor has is that Mercedes-Benz purchased it, as it sits, for $2.5 million. A restoration, according to the Mercedes rep I spoke with at the Concours d'Elegance in Amelia Island (where I took this photograph), would run around $2 million. Now, when I took this photograph, the car did not run. All lines, hoses, belts, seals; everything needed to be replaced. But it has an aluminum body; one of only 29 produced. A completed restoration (it would be done by Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, Germany) would put the value at around the $7 million range.

But there's no guarantee the car will be restored, simply because it's the last known example of an all original 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gull Wing on the planet.




As for the Cobra, are you saying that no car has sold at auction for more than that?

 

Explains Hunter Thompson ? Who rode his Triumph while hangin'
with the Angels in the research for his book :
- Hell's Angels : A Strange and Terrible Saga - { 1966 }
I also rode by Triumph *Bonneville in the mid-70's to a dark bar
in Cleveland called - Val's -. It was a few miles from the ONLY
Hell's Angels bar in Cleveland's hippie section.
Occasionally an Angel would venture into - Val's -
A bought a few rounds a couple times for Angels.They were
not talky and kept to themselves.I remember a Hell's Angels
trainee with his arm all bandaged up.He was showing off his
straight pipes on his motorcycle,parked out front.It was blowing
flames.


* worst motorcycle I ever owned.Kick start and vibrated like crazy.
Great speedo and tank and sounded good.