Who Hates Harley Davidson?

I believe the v-rod could be called a porsche. But either way i hate them and everything about them. Ignorance

 

OK now your getting into that thorny gray area of what is and what isn't a "real" Harley in the Harley camp. You see the "real" Harley rider disdains the V-rod because it does not harken back to the 50s when real men rode pan heads and the hand clutch and foot shift were cutting edge technology. If you want to learn more go to the V-rod forum. It seems that Harley made a pretty good stab at creating a sporting ride in their solid cruiser market. The general Harley buying public did not love the concept.

 

The V-ROD is by far the best thing the HoMoCo has ever made. Of course, since it is not an aircooled, underpowered dog, H-D purists have largely rejected it.

The V-ROD motor is good, as is the build quality.

It's not as fast as H-D owners think (although it is blinding compared to the average Harley) and it doesn't go around corners.

 

The place not to ask about V-rods ain't a harleydood forum. According to a shitload of "the doods" it ain't a real Harley. Back a few there was a guy on a MSN BB about Harleys that was good with Photoshop and was doing some styling of the V's . The "doods" were dumping him with harleydood doo-doo.

The major criteria I think, is that real Harleys have to be in the shop at least once a month.

 

Apple = Harley in drag... it's that whole 'mindless' culture thing...

Kinda like the VRSC's... don't like the rest.
Hate the "We are the only 'true' motorcyclists" attitude

But more than that, they are just anachronistic... old tech, poorly designed, heavy...
Reckon "real" motor builders (like Polaris = Indian + Victory motorcycles) build much better cruiser bikes with better build quality and newer technology.

And, funnily enough, HD had to go to a "real" motor builder for the VRSC = Porche!

 

I'm a Motörhead. As a kid I loved the smell of gas and the stink of exhaust because it meant really cool stuff was afoot.

Could be dad was gonna be asking me to hold a flashlight and hand him wrenches or I was going to experience the only truly modem human sensation... Speed. (Paraphrasing Jeremy Clarkson). Or I was going to go some place different..

Some people ask why a dog sticks his head out the window of a moving car - but it always made total sense to me lol.

Now fast forward to adulthood:
Because Harley's aren't terribly efficient I have bad memories of doing charity rides while sucking oil and fuel laden exhaust from tired, ill tuned hogs.

I'm pretty tired of hearing revving motors... So childish. That SouthPark episode was right on!

To an extent I get it- you want to be noticed in traffic for safety reasons. But beyond stock dB levels it's mostly obnoxious.

Did you know most older Harley's pretty much had to be revved at idle to keep them from stalling out?

But! The sound of a Harley makes me want one. The fact that it harkens down deep to something from childhood- the machine is classical industrial era. The mechanicals make up the visual style. I can dig that.

As for the riders...
To each his own.

I rolled up on a newer Sportster 1200 earlier this week. The rider wasn't dressed to kill- just middle aged and getting his groove on. I nodded and he suddenly was telling me enthusiastically how nice my ride is. I told him I liked his too except I don't. If it was a Fatboy or something custom and cool then it'd have been genuine. But I'm cool with him out for a spin and it's still better than the cagers all around us- in large part because it wasn't raining.

I wish everyone rode- the biker wave to my mind is the shared enthusiasm for an experience comparatively few partake in, an awareness of the meta awareness that riding a bike encourages to be safe, as well as quiet acknowledgement of your shared brotherhood due in no small part to the feeling that at any moment- I might die. That kind of thing tends to put it all in perspective.

The visceral experience of wind, speed, vegetation, temperature, etc becomes that much more technicolor, that much more poignant in light of where we're all eventually headed. No one here gets out alive.

My VFR has no decals on it. I bought it that way and prefer it. Some dudes try to posture but not knowing the brand or name say in a shaky voice "hey nice ..bike".

Exactly


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lOOk kids, it's Kim Kardashian on a Motorcycle.

 

Please take note that those harleydoods are not paying any attention to the chica and are all heading for that Harley gay bar. Then again she may not have been putting on her best face. Take a close look at what she was sitting on. YIKES..Then again maybe she is into that sort of thing. Conclusion: Harleydudes and dudettes are a strange bunch.

 

Totally agree!!

 

I think I understand the Harley mystique. I don't agree with it but I can kind of understand it. It has everything to do with self image. In my part of Texas there are lots of guys that do the whole "cowboy thing." They dress cowboy, drive big trucks and most of all they adhere to a kind of John Wayne type of lifestyle ethic. Are they real cowboys? No. There are some real cowboys to be sure but just wearing boots and a hat does not make you a rancher. We have a saying here. He is "all hat and no cattle." I have had my share of cattle but I prefer tennis shoes (trainers for you UK people) and ball caps to the standard cowboy rig. I always felt like I was playing dress up in that gear.

The Harley rider has the same type of self image going. It's not just about riding. It is lifestyle and self image. As I said before it is wrapped up in a bigoted notion of "them and us", America first and a longing for the industrial might of a past era in US manufacturing. When you slam their bikes as old or antiquated you are slamming America. They get to play dress up too in Harley life style gear. I think this is what attracts most women to Harleys. Go to any rally and all the ladies are sporting cute Harley fashions. Of course Harley Davidson Inc. knows all the very well and plays that up in their marketing. Harleydudes and dudettes are a strange bunch because it is more like a religion than anything resembling motorcycling.

 

I totally agree with that statement as well!

 

Redundancy, Billy.

 

I can't believe how long this thread has gone on. Stop with the hating and go RIDE~

 

I'll tell ya guys...you would love my buddies street rod..has all suspension work and even carbon wheels and to watch him humiliate about 95% of sport riders that think there Val is priceless........

 

I can buy being envious or even jealous of some other dudes rod, but love it? I don't think so. Is this some kind of California thing?

 

Would ya go for Gay Harley bar? Or maybe bar Harley's... No fun in that..

 

Damn! and here I thought it was "Big hat, no cattle." Some of those harleydoods at rallys are wearing some cute stuff too. One can never say that HD is not an equal opportunity outfit.

 

Also redundant. - If Harleydoods are there, it's axiomatically a gay bar.

 

1) I wouldn't.

2) What is a "Val" and why it is priceless?