How I fell in Love with Harley Davidsons
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 19,978
Likes: 6,074
From: Florida
"Well; hang in there!"
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,764
Likes: 50
From: Gilbert, AZ
My mother had a "ne'er do well" younger brother who always had an Electra Glide when I was a kid. We'd go visit my grandma and my uncle would take me all around Great Falls Montana on the bike. He'd show slides of the trips he took on the bike. That's when I decided one day I would have my own.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 21,014
Likes: 19,122
From: The Wasteland
I got the bug as a very young boy. My grandpa rode an old Indian, 48 or 49, I don't recall the model year. Then when I was about 7 or 8 my dad rode home on a Sportster. He rode me around town a few times and I was hooked. I had to have one. I started begging anyone who would listen for a mini bike and eventually got one. It was a tiny little dirt bike with training wheels on it. Many dirt bikes and a few metric street bikes later and finally in 1989 I bought a 79 Ironhead. Rode that for a few years and ended up selling it for the same price I bought it for. I've had several other metrics and Harleys since but I still have a spot in my heart for that old Sporty.
Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 202
Likes: 15
From: The Northeast
In the late 1980s when I was a little kid, I used to pass by an auto body or auto repair shop, can't recall which it was. But if it was in the mid to late afternoon on sunny days, there was a Dyna Glide that used to be sitting out there. The paint scheme on the tank was a two-tone green, dark green in the center and the outside was a light green if I remember correctly. I used to always look to see if it was there since it was the damn near sickest looking bike my little brain could imagine. I've never been able to find a picture of a Dyna with that paint scheme. Does anyone know what the paint combination might have been?
I would wear Harley Davidson t-shirts to school for dress down days (private school) in the third grade...I think the teachers thought I was trouble already LOL. It only took 25 years, but I finally bought a Dyna Glide brand new last fall.
I would wear Harley Davidson t-shirts to school for dress down days (private school) in the third grade...I think the teachers thought I was trouble already LOL. It only took 25 years, but I finally bought a Dyna Glide brand new last fall.
Tourer
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 310
Likes: 75
From: Near Denver
As a 13yr old kid in 1969 "Then Came Bronson" tripped my trigger more than anything else for HD (I had been tearing up the Arizona desert on various minibikes before that haha). A couple of years later as a flat track racer on a dealer sponsored Yammy XS 650 the XR 750 solidified it. When I turned 18 I started riding on the street. My first bike was a beat to crap '67 Bonneville. Less than a year later I had a beat to crap '68 XLCH LOL.
HD is my favorite, only brand I have now.
HD is my favorite, only brand I have now.
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 89
Likes: 20
From: Alabama
My father kept his brother's pre-war Harley in the hall way on the first floor of the apartment building we lived in. He and his brother were both in the Navy in WWII, may father came back his brother didn't. I used to love to ride on the back of that old bike. Starting in High School I went through a string of British bikes, Nortons and Triumphs, all well used when I got them and all infected with the Lucas Electrics Prince of Darkness disease. After college and the Army I finally could afford a Harley. Brought an old Sportster in '72 and it has been Harley ever since.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,555
Likes: 119
From: Brockport, NY
Never cared for or was in love with Harleys until my divorce. New Life after divorce is when I started developing interest in Harleys at Daytona Bike Week watching everybody having a grand time plus all those roaring noises coming off the HD engines that got me all excited and thrilled.
Only could afford brand new '02 Sporty XL 1200C back then. Worked my way up to '06 RKC and now, '09 Ultra. Hopefully, One more new bike in 2021 or 2022 then I'm good to go.
Thorey
Only could afford brand new '02 Sporty XL 1200C back then. Worked my way up to '06 RKC and now, '09 Ultra. Hopefully, One more new bike in 2021 or 2022 then I'm good to go.
Thorey
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,165
Likes: 33
From: Acworth
allen6747 -
Thanks for posting the photo, I worked at a Honda, Triumph, Husky, Penton dealership in 1981. My friend ( whom I still ride with) and I would go to the local Harley shops often and look (drool) at the Harleys on the showroom floor. I remember that bike and my favorite was the 1981 FXWG with the flames.
Thanks for posting the photo, I worked at a Honda, Triumph, Husky, Penton dealership in 1981. My friend ( whom I still ride with) and I would go to the local Harley shops often and look (drool) at the Harleys on the showroom floor. I remember that bike and my favorite was the 1981 FXWG with the flames.
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