My wife’s first bike when she was 18 was a brand new ‘79 HD Sportster 1000.  I like to tease her that she had an AMC motorcycle.  She loved it, but will admit it had issues.  Her biggest beef was the tiny gas tank (she thinks it was like 2 gallons).  Of course, like every good Harley owner, you have to fix and customize things on the greatest motorcycle known to mankind (according to HD enthusiasts).  So she found a bigger gas tank that worked, and she toured through Texas and rode off into the sunset on many adventures.

I don’t know if I dislike Harley or if I’m jealous of the people that own them.  I won’t ever pay what a new one costs (even the cheapest model).

You see dudes with a new $40,000 bike, but they still have to “fix it”…. “Customize” ya know…

Mufflers
Handlebar
Seat
Turn signals
Train horns
Engine guard
Different control (maybe forward to back)

Yeah, I wish I had that kind of money to throw at a bike (guess you’d say I’m jealous).

The “M8” gang amuses me!  HD engineering finally catches up after decades and decides to use 4 valves per cylinder in their v-twins, and the M8 enthusiasts think they have something really special.  Of course, they have to swap in hot cams to try to keep up with the Japanese cruisers.

HD rant over….

Not my thing.  If I were to cough up the money for a Harley, the thing better be really close to being a perfect match for me!

Call me weird, but I like bikes that come out of the factory set up like something I would ride as is.  I’m not a customizer or fabricator.  For my S40, I just want the low hanging performance fruit - better tuned carb, breathing, and muffler.  Oh, and I installed the SuperBrace I stole off your dead bike (lol)!  I notice the biggest difference during harder braking.

I liked your Kawasaki Eliminator 450!  That’s a fun little ride and setup nicely!  Nice zip and manageable weight even when off-roading on your hilly driveway!

zipidachimp wrote on 09/25/24 at 23:30:46:



It all depends on how your butt is assembled.

I've seen one guy on a Sportster Riding that thing. Every HD I see gets down the road the way Low Riders do. Just nice and easy,, and that's not how I get across town. I'm not a Hair on Fire kinda guy, but I do try to work through traffic and get on with it.
Probably the most appealing "reasons" I can think of for having one, though I've never ridden one, is to experience the torque and the sound,, I gotta admit to liking that, and
At least around here, I know they are virtually crash proof. CrashProof!!?? DaFuq you talking about, JoG? How do you figure That? Well, the Only way I could ever get on a bike wearing flip-flops, cut offs, Zero eyeball protection, no gloves and a wife-beater would be if I Knew I couldn't get run over. TBF, the crotch rocket guys around here have their own dress code, too. The white ones are usually fully dressed, the black guys are often not so well dressed, but they have a good helmet and gloves.
Full disclosure, I don't wear a Riding jacket. It's a welders shirt. And it's apparently a good bit more able to slide without burning through as quickly as untreated cotton. But I was asleep when I went from sixtyish feet from the ditch I woke up in and the pickup that put me there,, so IDK how much of that journey I was on the road and how much I was on top of the bike.
Maybe E could run a test..