Who Hates Harley Davidson?

The 883 Ironheads were hot bikes at the time if they were kept running otherwise they were plagued with all kinds of problems. I bought a brand new 66 and got shed of that POS in three months..

All this fast shit is overworked IMO. Especially now or in reality when a whole bunch of two-stroke streetbikes that didn't leak. hit the streets

AMF was just another iron in the fire.

 

Good writing Billy. Those 2-smokers didn't leak but they had a host of their own problems including piss poor handling, prone to run ons and seizures. They smoked and with the Clean Air Act in the mix, the end was not far away. The advent of the Jap inline four stroke changed everything. Interesting times if one had the inclination to be open to new things on two wheels!


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Back then when I got my first RD 350 I said they should come with a 6 pack of pistons. lol
Then when I got my first in line 4 stroke, a KZ 1000, it changed everything. Every time I hear a Kerker header on one it brings me back in time.

 

Yea but those ringa ding ding bikes didn't show up until early mid 70's. Any ringa ding ding before that were 250/350cc geek bikes belching smoke all over. They were fast for a 250/350 but wasn't like 750 Bonnevilles, BSA Gold Stars, 750 Commandos or the Harley Sporster the manley man bikes of the day. The ringa dings were for the geeks who were the only ones who appreciated them.

Once the CB750 showed up it was all over. Then came Z900s, Water Buffalo's, GoldWings, Tridents and the rest,,, as they say is history. The real killer is all of the other motorcycle manufacturers spent $$$ on technology for their bikes to be better and have better safer experiences. Except for Harley, they just bought new machines to build old parts and laid off how many thousand because of those new machines. They don't need R&D, they just need social management to sell their products.

So who's the smart one here??? Wait til the Harley posers find out they can get a well made, modern technology, Merican made motorcycles from Victory and Indian that are superior to Harley and look the same or better and don't get their teeth rattled out from vibration.

 

It won't do any good. It's more like a religion. People gather and have common purpose in the HD brand. I have never been a joiner. Part of me envies the people that can get into supporting a brand lifestyle. It denotes belonging. I guess the closest I can get is the VFR patch on my riding jacket.

 

They are just followers Big Jim. Lemmings almost drone like in the litany of crisp they spout. Big 'mercan hosspower and then I had to lay 'er down etc. not all but most of the HD true I have talked to over the years.


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Maybe it was just my mood but I was sitting in a bar/gift shop/burger joint in Leakey TX and looking at all the Harley memorabilia. Most of it was pithy sayings, sexual innuendo, movie posters and HD artifacts. The people gathered were all wearing the same clothing, sporting the same HD gear and they even looked similar. It struck me that the HD culture is fabricated from various myths fostered by post WWII prejudice, right wing politics, patriotism and popular culture. I tend to like truth more than fabricated culture. Sometimes it leaves me on the outside looking in which is kind of sad. I like people and I want to meet them and talk without prejudice. I think that this is the essence of this thread. Too many people get cranked up over what you ride rather than that you ride at all.

 

I think that this is the essence of this thread. Too many people get cranked up over what you ride rather than that you ride at all.

Amen to that brother! :triumphant:

 

While the thread title says"who hates HD?" I think its leaning more towards the koolaid drinking herd of followers. The crowd of vest wearing black t shirt types. Can't fault an inanimate object for its shortcomings but the folks who insist it the only machine suitable for American roads, well that's something else.
I have dogged HD mcs out as I compare them to other machines. They are what they are and as long as buyers pony up and speak with their wallets well the HD company is going to build what they want.
I can't really say I hate them. Some are pieces of art and a huge chunk of American motorcycle history. They are ingrained in our vehicular culture. Personally I want in a motorcycle is lacking in HD's. 1. Performance. 2.functionabity and 3. Looks that highlight 1 & 2. Does HD make a dual sport with balls to roll the interstate when desired? Do they build a hi rpm quarter mile monster that has great street manners? Do they make a sport tourer that doesn't scrape at multiple points when the road goes twisty.? Can we get anything other than a V twin ? None of the brands I like have or need a 12 lb catologue of aftermarket crap and accessories not to mention lifestyle accoutrements to go with their base product/s . Of course HD doesn't make generators, lawnmowers, watercraft or 4wheelers either. HD s just aren't on my list of desired mcs.


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Two strokes dirty? No shit? I am so glad there is all this informative info out here for us noobs.. Yamaha fixed a lot of that and funny nobody mentioned two stroke dirtbikes.

BSA Gold Stars, Catalinas or the predecessors like the B33 were not that fast without a hell of a lot of massaging and those "manly" bikes of nostalgic yore didn't handle or stop all that well.

A wise man once said, "Those who do not know their history, make up shit hoping it will fly."

 

Seeing that's all there was on the roads they were considered fast if you were there. Cause there was nothing else that was common motorcycles. Of coarse it's all relative for the time. Plus you forget asphalt is for racing and manly bikes AND dirt is for potatoes!!

Nobody rode two stroke bikes on the street to speak of, only the geeks. By the time Yammi and the rest started to get them clean it was to late as you know, you do live in Kalifornia the land of clean air don't you? Guess were the two stroke down fall started? It was YOU and YOUR kind!!!!!! that killed them. Way to go.....................................now they are all 4 strokes.

 

Relativity is relative. In the 1950's until the 1970's the greatest concentration of motorcycles in the US, was in the SoCal area aka the Los Angeles Basin. Good roads, great weather. Ports, a burgeoning economy,ect. Yamaha came up with a reliable and workable fuel/oil device. There were twostrokes on the road a plenty even in the early 1950's A whole shitload with Villiers engines just two were DOT's and Fracnis Barnetts. Popularity was still extant with wins by Canadian fast dude Yvonne Duhamel and Kenny Roberts Sr. Yamaha was making inroads with two-stokes as early as 1955 at the Catalina Grand Prix.

The list of dirt bikes from many manufacturers is long. Many were twostrokes and some were four strokes. Case in point both Triumph, BSA and HD made bikes made for flatrack racing that came stock in rigid frames and spool wheels at both ends.






Yep, born and raised in SoCal. Uncle Sam decidedI should be elsewhere and now I Live in both Oregon (Ogeron) and Seattle.



I think we can say that the metering device by Yamaha made for a cleaner running two stroke by nature since it provided the proper fuel/oil mix instead of guesswork by dudes that always seem to go by the "more is better" theory of engineering.

Never had anything but a dirt bike until I was in my early 20's. Never raced on asphalt either. Never been down on that famous 91 mach one either that I bought brand new.

Yep everything is four-strokes now. Technology marches on. Great bikes.

True ya can't grow spuds on asphalt.Dirt is much better for not only spuds but carrots too for dudes that need to wax them whilst revising history.

So when you need four strokes instead of two it may be time to drag out the history book.

 

Yeah, that's why the most rabidly pro-Harleydoods are unionised members of the Democratic Party...

 

And here I thought the Prius was the vehicle if choice for unionized democrats! I guess I should go get myself a Harley Davidson.

Signed,
A proud union member and a life long democrat. No, I did not vote twice for Barack Obama. Or even once!!


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A non-union Republican harleydood told me recently that they were the only real Americans. Not wishing to contradict him or hurt his feelings, I gave him a dollar and told him to call someone who gives a shit.

 

If that's true then when you purchase a HD you are indirectly supporting democratic values and causes. Most unions, mine included, urge members to contribute to dem candidates and electeds/ causes. It is illegal to use dues for direct support. It has to be. Voluntary or voted on.
Anyway, most of the brothers I have talked to don't support the current regime or don't give a shit.


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So when a hddood starts bitchin' 'bout Hussein, tell him that he helped with getting him elected! And explain the union tie in. You'll have to hope there's enough brain power for them to understand or you might just get a blank look.
I get the blank look quite a bit when asking why I should "fuck Obama" from lesser educated or informed coworkers.


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Do you think so? I was thinking that the Harley faithful are made up of individuals with deep pockets from both political persuasions (mild mannered professional by day and Son of Anarchy by night) and real working class individuals that have to ride what they can build or finance. It's the lower middle class that gets screwed by Harley's high prices but who cares if their kids can't go to college? They are riding American iron. The best bikes in the WORLD!

 

I have already purchased a Harley. I didn't keep it long enough to form any sort of union with it. Kinky is kinky but that is beyond the pale.

 

That's funny!
Those who deny it are the first to try it!!
What was it billy? Exhaust pipe? Dangle yer boys in the gas cap hole ? Maybe some foot peg action?
Do tell.


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