Who Hates Harley Davidson?

Harley bikes are fine for what they are built for - well made too. Unfortunately, the riders are mostly posers who seem to want to hammer every other rider into submission. I somehow doubt that riders of local bikes in other countries treat Harley riders there like the "potato, potato" riders treat others here.

 

Parked and polished?

 

"Harley bikes are fine for what they are built for - well made too."

I can see that you've never really worked on one. I've done some work on my stepson's '08 Street Glide, and "well made" is not one of the phrases that come to mind. "Kludge", "do-fer", "thrown together", "John Deere engineering" all do come to mind however.

 

I took my Superhawk VTR 1000 out this morning for a ride. I love early Sunday morning rides when the drunks are sleeping it off, the church people are just putting the coffee on and the businesses are all closed. I pretty much have the road to myself. I was sitting on my bike, outside the Kwik Check eating a breakfast biscuit and watching the world roll by when a guy and he gal rolled up on a big Harley of some kind. It was loaded with chrome and both riders were sans any type of riding gear. It got me thinking and I believe that the Harley "experience" is stuck in a time warp that reached it's peak just after WWII or maybe into the 1950s.

In that time, America was a manufacturing power house. We sold everything from machine tools and locomotives to tractors and airplanes to a bombed out war ravaged world. American management thought they could do no wrong and American unions demanded (and got) unrealistic benefits from the corporations. The effect of a starving world, buying American made products, made us think that we built the best stuff in the world. We did at the time but times change, hence the time warp.

The 1930s produced some of the most beautiful and stylish bikes. It was out of necessity that manufactures, strapped for cash and with little to offer in technical upgrade turned to paint and chrome to sell bikes. Since the war halted most civilian development the style of the 30s carried over well into the 1950s. The Harley's of today hearken back to that period paying homage to the style and the perceived simplicity of the times. This is the second time warp.

The third time warp is in gear. During the late 40s and into the mid 60s protective gear was pretty primitive. Roads were poor, speeds slow, and helmet technology, for civilians, was pretty pathetic. If you look at the Harley rider's choice of gear it reflects a costume of the time rather than actual rider protection.

Nothing you can say will change this perception. The imagery and the iconography is too strong.

 

That actually made me lol.

 

Very well written Big Jim


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Odd, the 2001 Road King i owned held together pretty well for 3000 miles - other than the air cleaner fallinq off lol. It didn't suit me though, especially after my 94 VFR. I will tell you what though; that RK would likely had been reduced to a bucket of bolts if I had tried to take it around the Great Lakes as I had with the Honda. Come to think of it, I would have been a wreck as well. I hated that Harley. :livid:

 

I think I'm throwing gas in the fire ...... LOL
I think i might buy another one, of course I would keep my vfr.
Check out these:

 

Wow, that white one gives new meaning to the term POS. S'pose it has hydraulics so you can bounce it?

 

I guess the white one would appeal to everyone that owned a Big-Wheel back in their childhood days.

 

I often see this shirt on hard core Harley dudes .

 

The difference here is that John Deere has actually learned something since the turn of the... previous century.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

You hit the nail on the head!

 

Big Jim that is how hilarious. that's funny


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Harley is moving right on in to the sixties. This sounds like a clusterf--k of an engine. Who is going to put one on their VFR first?

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016...v-twin-is-brand-first-new-engine-in-15-years/

 

moving from 2 valves to 4 and they get only a 10% increase in power. amazing. that must be the worst engineering gig on the planet: "here, take all this tech from the 1910s and make it compete with modern japanese and german offerings. oh, and it has to look old too."

 

Drifting, you have put this in the wrong section.

It should have been posted in the humour section.

 

They are making more torque which is what they need and can only do. (under sq characteristic) "The new engine retains the iconic 45-degree V-twin design" They will never make any kind of real power with only a 45* spread. It's got to be at least 60* or better. At least they have water cooled heads. That's where most of the heat is and Harleys get hot. Geez look at the size of their engines and then at the hp output. Pretty pathetic. Kind of fast up to 70/80mph then it's all over. How boring is that.

 

No, no, no. It's about being a cool bad ass. Sit on a hog and you're automatically someone that______. You fill in the blank.

 

Yeah, using John Deere in that context barely works. I get that they're calling Harleys tractors, but new Deere tractors are some of the most impressive pieces of equipment I've ever used/seen.