Harley haters....

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Mar 27, 2010 | 11:10 AM

#61

sgod1100

Road Captain

Joined: Dec 2009

Posts: 646

Likes: 1

From: Rockford, IL

with the procharger i probably have invested around 27k in my bike. I absolutely love it, but i always hear the SAME thing from guys that ride sport bikes-"You spent that much money on that bike??? I could have bought a sport bike that is much faster for around 7k".They are always in the mind-set of speed vs. money. They don't think about anything else when it comes to buying a bike. I just tell them that I wanted the harley sound, but I also wanted the speed too! Now everywhere I go there are people constantly looking at my bike! I'm not going to lie...I like the attention!

Mar 27, 2010 | 11:34 AM

#62

mcrider1

Road Warrior

Joined: Jan 2009

Posts: 1,658

Likes: 33

Quote:

Originally Posted by ftanner

i notice you didn't mention what it was that you were riding.

st1300

Mar 27, 2010 | 11:37 AM

#63

spacelord

Tourer

Joined: Dec 2007

Posts: 377

Likes: 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by big cahuna

I worked with a guy that would rag on my bike constantly. So just for fun every now and then I would sneak out to the parking lot and spill a little oil under his bike. Would drive him nuts. He'd be laying on his back with a flash light looking for the source, and I'd be laughing and busting his chops the whole time.,

Now that (no matter what kind of bike you ride) is some funny Shat!!!

Mar 27, 2010 | 11:40 AM

#64

tgshoe

Road Captain

Joined: May 2009

Posts: 642

Likes: 0

From: Haslet, Texas

I don't care what anyone thinks. Don't care what any of you think, but I do occasionally get bored and check out this forum for entertainment. Let me ask a thought provoking question. How many of you when you bought what ever it is you ride asked yourself what will others think? It never occured to me to care what others think. I don't hate sport bike riders I just don't like there bikes. There is a difference. However it does confound me as to why those who hate Harley's spend so much time on a Harley forum. As far as the line of people who don't like me, I ceased being able to see the end of that a long time ago.

Last edited by tgshoe; Mar 27, 2010 at 11:42 AM.

Mar 27, 2010 | 11:40 AM

#65

jasony0423

Cruiser

Joined: Mar 2010

Posts: 219

Likes: 1

From: North Ridgeville, OH

I've not heard anything bad about mine, but I have gotten compliments and ride requests. More than I did when I had my gixxer. I had the gixxer for three years. I've had the Harley for less than a week, and it's "just" a Sporty... Maybe I've just gotten better looking in the past several years. Come to think of it, I'm sure that's it. Carry on.

Mar 27, 2010 | 11:41 AM

#66

Desertdog7

Cruiser

Joined: Apr 2008

Posts: 192

Likes: 0

From: North East Texas

Quote:

Originally Posted by MidnitEvil

I never hated Harleys, but I couldn't understand why anyone would want one. Back in the 70's and 80's, they were garbage that leaked oil, broke down repeatedly - if they started at all, and had all the performance of a 3 toed tree sloth. Some hate grew when Harley, given the option to build a better bike, or have the government impose a tariff on all import bikes 750cc's & up, Harley opted for the tariff. In their mind, Harley customers would only ever buy a slow, heavy, oil leaking bike that started only on occasion and broke down when it did run.

As you can tell, the MoCo still has a hard time letting go of that image of the Harley market. They've made some changes, but it's like pulling teeth.

Dude, your avatar scares the sh** out of me

Mar 27, 2010 | 11:52 AM

#67

trslim

Road Captain

Joined: Apr 2009

Posts: 673

Likes: 6

From: NW Chicago

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanD

I think it's kind of a Freudian thing...the peopel who profess the most hate for a harley,are mostly trying to convince themselves,deep inside they really really want a harley,but think they can't afford one,etc.

A friend of mine who road metrics always said he just didn't like them and preferred the speed thing. He bought a used bagger late last year and I quote, "Now I get it."

Mar 27, 2010 | 11:56 AM

#68

MidnitEvil

Ultimate HDF Member

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 6,235

Likes: 65

From: Joliet, Illinois

Quote:

Originally Posted by txfxstrider

Then contributing to that are posters like MidnitEvil that apparently read somewhere that Harleys of the 70s and 80s were "garbage that leaked oil, broke down repeatedly - if they started at all ...".

If I would have read that anywhere, it would have been in my journal. But, I don't keep a journal. It was just experience. Rode with a lot of people back then. As the base MSF instructor, I got to meet pretty much all the bikers on the base. We'd ride together. The Harley riders had bikes that leaked oil, they would often not show up for a ride because their bike wouldn't start. We would often end up on the side of the road trying to get one of the Harleys fixed, or calling someone with a pickup or trailer to come get them. There were new Harleys & older Harleys. The Harley guys were *always* working on their bikes whereas the rest of us would do weird stuff like - put gas in our bikes and ride the hell out of them.

I don't know. Maybe Harley was making awesome bikes back in the 70's and 80's and everyone I knew had somehow managed to buy a fake Harley, manufactured poorly by someone else trying to damage Harleys rep.

Harley had a well deserved, terrible reputation back in the 70's & 80's. Had they been building better, higher quality, more reliable bikes, they'd not have nearly gone out of business back then.

Fast forward a couple of decades. I always thought the Wide Glide was one of the coolest looking bikes ever made, but wouldn't buy one because of my *experience* with Harleys, and their known and well deserved past reputation. A friend of mine keeps showing up on his Harley. Over time, he convinces me Harley is not the bike they were in the 70's and 80's. He does this by comparing his current bike to the "piece of **** Harleys he had back in the 70's & 80''s" (His words - a lifelong Harley fan). So... I buy the Wide Glide.

I'm all about reality man. No matter how much I may love my WG, I don't worship at the alter of Harley. They make some great bikes now. They didn't then. Their reputation didn't appear out of thin air for no reason.

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