Riding 30 years ago
 

This is sort of a takeoff on my sounds of the seventies thread in the off topic board. I'm interested in hearing from the ol' timers what it was like to ride H-D's "back in the day". That would be long before the harley craze took off and bikers stood out more. What were the main bikes on the road, were there more MC's, etc...Let the history lesson begin

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

I wasn't riding HD back then-didn't get my first HD until '92. However, not much has changed except traffic is worse and people have even less consideration for others than ever. I ride pretty much as I did in the seventies, alone or with a couple of close friends. The whole 'HOG' thing came about later to create the 'biker club' image without really being a HA or Bandito. That alone is probably the biggest change to motorcycling, bringing it out of the dark corners of a hole in the wall bar turning itinto asocially acceptable activity. Of course, Idon't miss cleaning andresetting points on the side of the road....

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

Alot of guy's did'nt have the money the yuppie types do today-They rode older bikes-bikes they built, worked on and wrenched themselves....nothing always fancy-just good solid bikes to ride. Guy's knew how to tune a carb., make shit work by figuring it out. Black was the color-no real fancy paint jobs. A good half helmet and a leather jacket and boots-chain wallets.
Ride your bike everyday-for alot that was their transportation. Alot of Sportsters-You could do alot to em. More sissy bars not backrests. Hell, there were less bikes on the road so it seems as today you have so many week-end warriors-it's the only time they ride and they ride for pleasure-short rides plus they don't know how to really "ride". Back in the day guy's rode more, harder, longer, betterand it was more a lifestyle-another topic within itself.

Get the book Choopers by Mike Seate published 2003 by Motorbooks-good read on this. Great stories and excellent pic's etc. Worth tracking down at the bookstore or online-buy it.

[IMG]local://upfiles/61418/83076CAB18724C36A10A500F1D662CA3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/61418/28E4500E6DFD4A18980D529D86022FE7.jpg[/IMG]

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

Circa 1978 wasnt that post shovelhead period, pre EVO? I'd love a link to old B&W biker pics if anyone has one. Yes I've googled all of this.

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

I'd say cagers are actually more bike-aware than 25 years ago. At least that's been my experience over 26 years at it. They'll still run yo azz over, though.

There was a tighter brotherhood back in the day among HD riders, but the average rider is more 'open' today to new faces and often more friendly. A tighter brotherhood is a different situation than lots of friendly HD riders like we have today. That can be a good, or bad thing. :D

You didn't really miss anything except more bar fights and more patches riding and more hassle with police and rednecks. [:'(]

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

I bought my first Harley 80" Flathead in 1962 for $35.00,rode it for a yr.Traded for a 74" Knuckle,rode that for a yr,etc.Since then have had many Harleys,the differences today happened slowly.The price of bikes has gone crazy,traffic has gotten a lot busier.It is hard to find a road that has little traffic,unless you reallyknow an area.That I do! We have fabulous ridesup in this neck of the woods.

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

Back in the day, many of the HD riders in my area were patch holders or on the fringes.In my areathe HA and Outlaws that were vying for territory and club voilence was not uncommon. Eventually, the Outlaws went away leaving HA. Me-I just rode my Honda that I built in my apartment dining room from a box of parts. It wasn't pretty, but I rode it daily for over 2 years before I bought my first car. I was a constant fixture at the local shops always looking for NOS parts to keep my scoot going. Back then, if you rode a bike, you fixed it as well. It only went to the shop for the 'major' stuff.

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

We had a "no patch" loosely knit club. Centered around a salvage yard that held a wealth of old hog parts. Our "pres" had a shop on the outskirts of town and most of us lived in a 1st floor dorm that had burned and we had made a deal to clean up the mess for rent. On runs we mingled freely and respectfully with several patch clubs in the region. Hassles were mostly internal, couple of bar fights, a knifing or two and a shooting incident(leg wound) over a stolen bike. A run would bring out everything from Aeromacchi to Zundapp, about half were hogs. Lots or parties, drugs, alcohol and young eager women.
That lifestyle would probably kill me quick now, but I do enjoy the long weekend "adult" rallies. They bring back the craziness of the old days for atleast a couple of days.
I can't say riding is more or less dangerous these days.

PS. Any Carbondale, Ill.,"Sons of David" club members here? Just a shot!
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...arksbike-1.jpg

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

Went googling and found these old pics, went back farther than 30 years though. Shocking to see those guys riding old panheads like motocross bikes

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...threadid=29723

RE: Riding 30 years ago
 

My parents were adventurers. There were scooters, motorcycles, dune buggies, racing cars,etc always around. Father was a back yard mechanic. He had 4 girls and 1 boy. I turned out to be the tom boy and wanted all the boy toys. I rode scooters till the early 70's. I lived in San Berdo in the early 70's. HA was heavy there and one tried to get me to be his OL. Not on your Fin life. Was not into that. Very independent woman. I rode alone. I was shunned by the male riding population, so I rode with family and friends. Dirt bikes, street bikes, Harley choppers. I was always the butt of jokes, and always the talk of the ride. Who cared, when you grew up around it, you learned to ignore it.

I can remember in the mid 70's riding around Detroit with some boys and got kidded pretty heavy at a few bars. The boys finally had enough and there was a big ol bar fight! WOW! Just because I was riding a motorcycle!! WTF??

I didn't fit into the Women on Wheels organization either. I was and still am probably right in the middle. I have no desire to be bad azz, and a lot of the organized motorcycle groups were too political and boring for me.

I do remember being a lot stupider on bikes in the 70's. Never a helmet, never thinking about safety. Blasting down the road thinking I (we) owned it and were cooler than any cager. And I remember having so much fun going everywhere on bikes (or in the psychedelic van!).

In the 80's I saw things change in the Harley world with the inception of H.O.G. The H-D family was bent on making Harley a family oriented sport. While the pre-H.O.G. people held to their meaning of what it was, a new image did come about, and that's what's here today. I think it's great. I love progress, I love to see things evolve.

It's been hard for women, and now a lot of women are in this sport and I have been waiting for that all my life!! I'm loving riding with other women, other people that are just starting, or been riding all their lives. The 70's were fantastic...no doubt. And I love these days just as much.