When will I buy a Harley? When they can build something that doesn't cook the rear cylinder everytime you stop in traffic.

When will I buy a Harley? When they can build an engine with more than 58 hp at the rear wheel. Forget V-rod, Porsche designed the motor on that one.

When will I buy a Harley? When they build something that has the performance, durabiity and technical superiority of a Metric bike for equivalent money. I'm not a Rolex kinda guy and I'm not a Harley kinda guy, both are for status seekers. Why pay $100 for a Timex or Fossil when you can drop $24,000 on a Rolex Oyster President that keeps almost as good time? Does that make sense? Only if you're seeking status, same with Harley. I would consider buying a Heritage Classic Soft Tail if they could get the price down to about 11-12K. To me that's all their worth cause I can buy superior metric cruisers all day for that price.

When will I buy a Harley? After the current fad passes and they're no longer popular. If nobody rode 'em I might want one, as it is literally EVERYONE has one and I don't want to be like everyone else.

Have you ever noticed that Harley riders call them selfs the last of the individualists, real one percent macho loner types. What a farce! They are the most easily identifiable group of people in the world. They ride in massive packs, all ride the same bike, same leather vest, same wallet chain, same black shorty helmet or no helmet, same Harley T-shirt, Harley boots. OK, I'll stop now but man is this ever fun!

Kruz

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/26/2009 @ 8:16 AM *

but you cant join the snooty club without a Hardley....eloquent prose Sir

Shit, Ark, he changed their Poise pads is a Prozpad.

I think I was setting a bike up for the Nationals. I have a tendency to hug an apex close. If they didn't ban that stupid movie on me, I haven't changed my moves. That wall looked close aiming for that apex, but I had a lot of room.

I do not remember the guy or his company, but he was building some hot H-D be it in a chassis or engine. Anyway, he might have been a little older than me at the time. He is out there in practice with me, and I forget what bike I had at the time; I kept swapping bikes out by changing classes.

So, now I am using riders as an apex as I pass them like close! Like, here is a wheel so stay there fell ear. I mean, he is in the way of a line and I used him as an apex is now he comes running over to me after practice. I'm sitting in the chair relaxing; he starts yelling at me that it was just practice and why was I so close passing him.

I said, go and cry to the race head that runs the show is bla-bla whatever the rest was is just imagine that H-D attitude that he owns the road; why is he out there in the first place is use him as a back marker. I'm running my own pace. He is at his.

WOT gives wit these, Macho/Macho/Man? I wanna be, a HonChoDaNannyWannnnnnnnieBee. I do not know if he is alive or dead? But, I bet he cursed me to his grave. I sure will remember he was no racer that came crying. Crying for points and cheating is one thing... But not the rear of racing or the LAPitook to overtake that asshole Harley rider.

No, not some, not most, not all, just that one crybaby on a H-D taints all the rest. Look at Kruz just taint every last one of them with a bouncing chain off the plumber cleavage and a half/helmet that rings in your ears the wind eats at your drums you ass is holes chasing 14.

Hub:

I'm interested in what kind of race that was. Half mile or mile dirt track? I used to be involved with some guys that raced the half mile at Ascot Park in Gardena (CA). At the time, the Harley's were the hot bikes for that type of racing. Early 70's I guess. Sammy Tanner, etc. Those guys were crazy... -bg

BG. I probably saw you without knowing it. We would go to spectate. This was more in the mid 70's early 80's where I was cutting my teeth road racing. My era is with the Cook Neilson and his Ducati. Young Freddie in that old Kawi Youtube video. Some Laguan Race, interviewing some of the guys.

This shot is out of RoadRacingWorld and the Yoshimura team. This guy won. I came in second at Riverside. He never left my site. I just did not have the bike. This was more ride the wheels off of it till I hit oil or lift the rear end off of turn 9 was all this grinding on the points cover. The shifter ground down too.

I was sponsored with a good motor package. I had zip for suspension. That's why sag is take it or leave it. Does it have a cable? I'll ride it no prob.

The two BSA A-65's you should remember, I sold one to buy the 14. I still have the other one. PSI is 175 cold in each cylinder. It is all new as far as pistons, bore guides, valves, seat cut, all done by Jack Hately the old man. This was way back in the late 1980's when I took up restoring a bike. The A-65 just happened to be what I chased.

This shot could be the day of that Riverside race. I know it was the rider I was chasing. Ron Pierce was his name.

Well, that is just too cool... Not sure I was at Ascot same years you were. Was Sammy Tanner (#7) still racing when you were there to spectate? -bg

This was more the era of Freddie taking over King Kenny taking over the Sammy Tanners and Joe Leonards of their day. So say in 1979/80's, I more or less did my thing with my bikes. Caught rides on other strange handling bikes and threw those away trying to get up front and learn the bike at the same time. Superbike and BOTT were the Nationals I played in for about 7 years worth. The day I called it quits, I walked away in 2nd place in an AMA BOTT race. In the beginning of that race, I lead the class and the last row of the production class. I was about 20 degrees to the left of everyone else. They were all heading straight for a left hand turn at the drop of the flag.

I wasn't penalized for that off track move, but I shot out in the dirt, came back on the tarmac and past that last modified production row that way. First place may have been cheating and I wasn't about to protest. I was not about to protest either for 1st place. I was not in the hunt for points. I just played out two Nationals on the west coast and called it quits. I was being a naughty boy another way [cheating] and not a gear box cheat. Most everyone cheated. I wasn't going to take a chance, and I rather not win 1st place chasing 1/4 throttles, where some of these cheaters were taken out by the points leader. So I more or less cruised to 2nd [all legit] in class; being I was too long in the tooth to be racing at that age to begin with.

I ran my pace or whatever it took to prove I could run with the best of them. I wasn't trainable then. You needed a vocabulary. Like I need one now for computer hacking backing probing is, "Cheat to WIN" or you are not competitive. I got bike to SmokeyOHMs some AMAshit is a thorn on the ass of the FRANKS A LOT but no thanks.

tELL me how to cheat.

No, No... You showed up and no one made the rules for you is now now....

Dare Dare now

You don't ride a H-D now do you?

My uncle is an automation engineer. He was the lead engineer in updating and automating the Harley plant in Pennsylvania. It was amazing to him how many of the Harley parts boxes had “Made in Japan” stamped on the side of them. So my question is – How do they have the right to turn their nose at sport bike riders when many of their parts including their chrome come form countries other than the good old USA. I think the big division comes from the fact we (the sport bike riders) choose our products for their performance and they (the Harley riders) buy a bike as a status symbol. Threaten a mans stature and status an he becomes like a caged dog. It is good to know that I am farther up the food chain. While they wear wolfs on their clothes I hold the personality of one. No way a dog can win against an alpha male on a ZX-14.

Well said, notfirstbutnext... -bg

* Last updated by: bgordon on 5/30/2009 @ 8:57 PM *

If I needed to count the waves in the sea of H-D riders on the road; it had to be 10 or more of them not all at once though. 3 at a time. 2 at at time. Maybe more for all I know. I really didn't count. Only one H-D rider alone [alone?] waved to me first.

I am already conditioned is see a H-D and not wave at all; then wonder if we swap bikes, they wouldn't walk bowl legged back to their bike and nearly load their Spiderman jockeys.

I have been asking myself this question for a while now. Then one day I was sitting on my friends porch watching a dog chase cars and then it came to me. They can't help themselves!

yep yep yep....chasin cars in their spiderman jockeys

Here's a little different version of the Harley VS the world story.

The local track that I run at has a couple of guys that race HD's (don't ask the model, it's a race only bike) and these guys are really top notch people. They have loaned me tools in the past, offered me food and drink, given me pointers, and take an honest intrest in how well or badly I do. These 2 guys are thier own race team that travel over 1/2 the country for various race events and they do well in the class they race in.

They run in the 9.60 range @142mph with a best from the lighter guy of a 9.20. It's funny when they bring the full dress baggers out and pull flat 11's out of them.

Many other HD people are content in thier ignorance of other 2 wheeled vehicles on the road.

There's an old saying in aviation, give me enough thrust and I can make a brick fly. True words and to paraphrase that a bit..... throw enough money at a Harley and you can get a decent run down the dragstrip but it's not going to hold together very long so what's the point? I can make a brick fly given enough thrust but once again, what's the point? The bikes you saw at the drag races are the Harley Destroyer, dedicated drag bikes based on the Porsche designed V-rod motor. They are not street legal, trail a 10 foot wheelie bar and cost over $40,000 dollars, in other words not real practical for a daily driver. A good light weight rider can pick up his new ZX-14 for about 1/4 that amount, drive to the race track with his girl on back, drop in a lowering link, strap the front end, run comparable times.....then take it out on a date later that evening. I think it's admirable though that Harley keeps trying in the farce of overwhelming odds like at Daytona, running the Buells that are twice the displacement of the 600 inline fours and still getting spanked. Maybe they should stick to what they do best, building vintage heavyweight iron with 58 hp for guys with a bad case of .......plumbers cleavage??? Hub you're killin me!! Is there really such a thing? I'm headin for the Harley store right now for my wallet chain!

Kruz

I ride with 2 groups of peeps...all cruisers except me and my nephew...the racism is rampant even in the family...they hate crotch rockets...and the same old cliche's "when are you gonna get a real bike?"....

but...

I've found going by them at a high rate of speed scares the crap outta them...

and brings great satisfaction

I try to break the sound barrier when I go by 'em, rattles their cage a bit!

Kruz

I try to break the sound barrier when I go by 'em, rattles their cage a bit!

I thought I was the only one that did that! My boys just don't understand for some reason... -bg

+ 10 on the last three comments.

Kruz,

The HD's are not what you think they are. I'll find out what class they are running, but no wheelie bar, air cooled, buell front end, not sure about the WB but they are long. I had been told that they dyno'd making 180 hp / 170 lb/tq. They run pump fuel (or canned) and have SS carbs, no injection. I know they cost big $$$ for sure but the point that was being made was that even though these two guys are HD people, at the drag strip, they are very decent guys to most all who approach them.

BG wrote:

I thought I was the only one that did that! My boys just don't understand for some reason... -bg

Slow learners!

Kruz

Beoondwacko wrote:

Kruz,

The HD's are not what you think they are. I'll find out what class they are running, but no wheelie bar, air cooled, buell front end, not sure about the WB but they are long. I had been told that they dyno'd making 180 hp / 170 lb/tq. They run pump fuel (or canned) and have SS carbs, no injection. I know they cost big $$$ for sure but the point that was being made was that even though these two guys are HD people, at the drag strip, they are very decent guys to most all who approach them.

Sorry about that , I got carried away a bit, glad to hear they're decent folk!

Kruz

I find that "The Dog Whisperer" (Ceasar Milan) has it right for Harley people "no look, no talk, no pet"! I've found that acting like that in a superior sort of way drives them crazy. Basically it boils down to "pretend they don't exist" wether on the road or parked at a gas station etc. In other words be a BMW type that knows his bike is superior so he doesn't need to waste words on you.

"be a BMW type that knows his bike is superior so he doesn't need to waste words on you."

that never bothered me..........strange

must be they dress better....LMAO

"must be they dress better..."
Thats pretty much my thought.

See if you can get Ceasar to a TV spot is here spot is train H-D riders to wave or sniff other brands rear ends. I did not know you could train these pee poles?