Outside lookin in – I know this is going to rattle some cages (and I don’t mean the 4 wheeled kind) but it has been on my mind ever since I bought my first HD. I have wanted a Harley all of my life but up until a couple years ago I couldn’t afford it or just wasn’t sure it was the right time. So that had left me on the outside lookin in… I always enjoyed the sound of somebody with loud pipes rolling by my house rattling the windows or even just a low rumble! When I rode my bike (the human powered kind) up the mountain roads and the whine of some body in a leather suite getting ready to drag a knee always made me smile and think “that looks really fun!”
About a year ago my wife whose father owns a couple Harleys said to me “maybe we should get you a motorcycle?” you could imagine my glee at that exact moment! I had to hold it back as not to let her pull back the reins. She realized her oversight after a few whirlwind months of me shopping for motorcycles and being completely consumed by motorcycles for the past year and half! I settled on a price conscious (and wife conscious) Honda Aero 750 (yes it is basically a HD wanna be) after commuting every day on it for a about 6 months and seeing how much gas we were saving (I put a Kuryakyn hyper charger and Cobra pipes on it which added about 15 miles to the gal better gas mileage) and how happy I was! The wife gave me the nod on the Harley, another month of being consumed by not just motorcycles but the holly grail of motorcycles… Harley Davidson! I finally bought a Dyna Street Bob and I constantly try and find reasons to ride it or ways to go to the store on it, I have even carried a couple golf clubs in my back pack as not to have to drive a car to the range!
Here comes the cage rattling part… I live in California and I like to be as environmentally conscious as I can be with out coming across as a tree thumper! And if you haven’t noticed California is in the forefront of emissions control by strong arming drivers into submission and unfortunately motorcyclist are getting the short end of the stick! With out stepping in a pile of global warming… I will skirt around it by saying I just want to release myself from the grips of gas prices and pollution spewing cars. That leaves me in kind of a pickle… If I upgrade to freer flowing exhaust and a/c, it might save more fuel but then I will become a gross polluter by spewing more crap into the air and counteracting part of the reason I wanted a motorcycle in the first place (the freedom, thrill and just plain fun makes up the majority of why I ride)
I wanted to just get some feed back from other HD owners, tell me if you have had the same thoughts. Is the fuel savings worth the noise and air pollution?
BTY you can check the mocha biker “I don’t care what anybody thinks” at the door…
I ride because I crave the power and freedom of a V-twin and so do you, that is why I am asking your opinion on these matters. Not to learn how much of a man you are because “you rebel against the powers that be” real men make a living the best way they can, have families and don’t give a crap about all B.S. that the media tries to tell us!

If it helps I am looking at the SE II slip ons and I will do an a/c and fuel management system later down the road.

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"If I upgrade to freer flowing exhaust and a/c, it might save more fuel"

If you do that and all that goes with it, you will likely use MORE fuel, not less...

 

If you are using less fuel how can that be bad????

 

You use less fuel than most cars, the relative small size of the bike vs car manufacturing does less damage to the enviroment by about half, even more compared to a hybrid car. Its manufactured in a western country so less polluting in the manufacturing processes too. You will pollute ... but it'll be less than the alternative transport choices unless you use public transport.

That said ... they are none of the reasons I ride ... I ride cos I like it ... the CO2/global warming debate is the biggest con we'll ever see in our lifetimes ... anyone with a basic understanding of physics can figure out its just not feasible ... sure we're warming at the moment ... but no more than the average temp of the last 1000 years ...

 

I can relate, I am an avid recycler, collect stuff at work, etc. etc. my .02 - do what is gonna make you sleep well at night.

 

WTF keep it stock then.Or wait a min go ask your wife wut you should do sounds like you have to go through her first anyway lol

 

Dude, if your riding an HD with stock pipes, you may as well save yourself some cash and buy the Honda back. That ain't being macho, that's being straight up honest with you. It just isn't the real experience of an HD. I'm not talking about rip your ear drums out, pizz off the neighbors kinda pipes,something with a good rumble is all you need. And as SOB said, there's a fat chance your going to get better gas mileage.

And if you want to be, "environmentally conscious" you better stay away from the old SEII's and get yourself a set of the new and EPA bullchitapproved Screaming Eagle pipes. Tim

 

It's interesting isn't it... the global warming debate? I mean I have always wondered what amazing things I will see in my life time. our parents saw some of the most impressive history I can think of... I.E. the internet, PCs, cell phones, the fall of great communist societies like the USSR. And what have we to impress our children with... B.S. political scams, Global warming, huge over blown rediculous wars! and over hyped media blitzes about some lame blonde bimbo that didn't do anything but pose in a playboy.
I agree with you to a point on the global warming issue, but I can't deny the amount of smog we create every day here in Lala land (L.A.) I think as long as we have some kind of reaction the the issue that is what is matters.

 

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I smell the big T!!!!!!