Why Does It Always Have To Be A Harley........

[Nadgett]

Originally Posted by Jnich77

I would much rather be stereotyped as stuck up nerd than white trash... thats just me though ;-)

On a side note, I ride a Honda... I don't have any of these problems...haha

Must be nice to be one of the "nicest people".

[Jnich77]

Originally Posted by Nadgett

Must be nice to be one of the "nicest people".

It keeps me smiling... well.. that and the gutted Two Brothers slip on...haha

[NHADV]

Didn't someone nuke my post? It has disappeared?

[Bigfeet428]

Originally Posted by Vincenthdfan

...how much he wished he still had his old Panhead Dresser....
.

Here's one of my pet peeves about the newer HD crowd they call them Baggers. I have always referred to them as Dressers. I hadn't paid attention to motorcycles while my son was young and when we started riding I noticed the term "Bagger". I was talking to my cousin who is a lifetime rider and was told that no I wasn't mistaken Dresser is the traditional term.
FWIW I don't have a Harley and probably never will but I like them allot. To me the old tractor technology makes them cool.

[High Country Herb]

Originally Posted by Bigfeet428

Here's one of my pet peeves about the newer HD crowd they call them Baggers. I have always referred to them as Dressers. I hadn't paid attention to motorcycles while my son was young and when we started riding I noticed the term "Bagger". I was talking to my cousin who is a lifetime rider and was told that no I wasn't mistaken Dresser is the traditional term.
FWIW I don't have a Harley and probably never will but I like them allot. To me the old tractor technology makes them cool.

I always thought "Dressers" were bikes with saddlebags and top box and full fairing. (As in fully dressed). I thought Baggers just had saddlebags, with front fairing optional.

I'll have to avoid the terminology until I make sure I at least know what I'm talking about, and just stick to model names.

As a fan of dirt and sport bikes, I still like like the Night Rod with Supertrapps. Is it OK to wear a half shell helmet with racing leathers?

[Bigfeet428]

Originally Posted by High Country Herb

I always thought "Dressers" were bikes with saddlebags and top box and full fairing. (As in fully dressed). I thought Baggers just had saddlebags, with front fairing optional.

I had always heard bikes with bags referred to as dressers but if it had bags it always seemed to have a fairing. There were varying degrees of "Dresser" with the bikes with all the bags, chrome, running boards etc being Full Dressers.
But hey I ride a cheap xs650 and have as much fun as everyone else. I'm lucky most Harley riders I know like all bikes.

[drhach]

I find I have the opposite experience. People ask me about my bikes, I tell them I have a "Harley", you see them get that look of mildly excited anticipation, and then they ask me what model it is and I say "1972 Sportster", they can't get away quickly enough. Nevermind that before I mention the Harley I mention the Airhead and the Triumph. They don't even acknowledge those. Naturally it doesn't always go this way, but it is the norm. It makes me like the Sportster that much more.

[wrecked'em]

learned on this site somewhere to tell a harley guy he had a nice honda. its pretty funny. they will say its a harley and i'll say my friend has a honda that looks just like it.

[drhach]

Originally Posted by wrecked'em

learned on this site somewhere to tell a harley guy he had a nice honda. its pretty funny. they will say its a harley and i'll say my friend has a honda that looks just like it.

"Is that one of those Honda Rebels?"

[Jnich77]

Originally Posted by wrecked'em

learned on this site somewhere to tell a harley guy he had a nice honda. its pretty funny. they will say its a harley and i'll say my friend has a honda that looks just like it.

I looove doing that.

My favorite is " I thought Harley had a copyright on that sound.... your Honda sounds just like it. "

[Jonesy72]

I say ride what you like! I ride a harley road king .Also a 81 yamaha xj550 .I do very much agree about falling into the "lifestyle" thing . But at the end of the day its still just a motorcycle. Some people are pretty stuck up about harleys ,Those are the types that that always say this cost this much and that much money . And never really ride.
or just ride around town ."look at me" ie. Theres this guy in my town that has a fat boy real nice bike. But the guy rides around and looks like he wants to kill somebody everytime i see him. If riding a bike dosent put a smile on your face ..Why even ride?
With that being said its not the bikes fualt what it is or isnt .. Ride what you like...

[caponerd]

There is an "across the board" best way to organize a written statement though, and if you want folks to read your thoughts, you should find out more about it.


Hint: google "paragraph".

Originally Posted by tripods

There is no "across the board" best motorcycle in the world. There is only one's own best motorcycle. I look at my own two-wheeled history. My first and best motorcycle was the one I made by cutting up our steel tubing hammock frame, bolting it together into a trike frame and taking an engine for it off our reel mower in 1971. Then the best motorcycle in the world was my no-name minibike, then the Honda 161, then the Triumph Trophy Trail, then......and this one carried me around the country for six years...... a 1947 Harley Knucklehead. I rode it in the New England winters, I rode it in AZ on road and off, Up to Maine, New York, Cape Cod, and it was my daily driver. The only time it left me stranded was when I got a flat, or sheared the rivets on the rear sprocket from too many long smoky hole-shots. I beat the tar out of that bike, and it always held together. Yes, I performed regular maintenance (valve adjusts, oil changes, timing, carb adjusts, clutches). While I was riding that one, I passed up on some really cool bikes that I should have grabbed......but it had me in that Harley mystique. As I think back, I think it just may have been the "best" motorcycle ever for me, but that is probably because it was my one and only bike, and it was everything I needed. My youth may well have been the best part of that bike. However, I always loved anything with two wheels. I never had a Harley sticker on my truck or car, I never wore Harley T-shirts as a "uniform" unless I just happened to pick one from the drawer instead of a Bob Marley or Judas Priest T-shirt. I never got a tattoo, just because I knew that I always had a problem with commitment (to bike choice, clothing, girlfriend etc). However, I have always been a non-denominational motorcycle rider. I like them all. I rode choppers, Nortons, Goldwings, BMW /2's, sidecar rigs, Lambrettas, Ducati, you name it. It always makes me a bit sad when any rider demeans riders of "That other brand" based on the actions of the obvious but minority part of "that" brand group. Late night motorcycle talk around the campfire is always great, until some other group starts getting bashed. I had, and have, a lot of Harley rider friends, and a lot of those guys were true adventure riders back in the day, riding those old-technology machines on a daily basis, in all weather, cross-country on highways, secondary roads, and dirt roads. Sure, there was a percentage of ass-hats in the group, but they would pull their fuel line to give you a couple of beer cans of gas to keep you going, they would stand shoulder to shoulder with you if you were hassled, and they would bring tools and parts to get you on the road if your bike was down before a ride. And yes, some of them would belittle the riders of Japanese bikes, or other foreign machines. But secretly, a lot of them appreciated the capabilities of "the other brands", even though they did not need those capabilities. And being an old Harley rider, I gotta tell you, most of those guys are ok if you get to know them. The European settlers conquered the Native Americans by getting them to try and kill "the other tribes". It is not good to attack the other tribes. All motorcycle riders should try to respect the rights of all of us to ride...and support legislation that ensures we can continue. Now that guy that blows by my house at 2:30 AM with wide open drag pipes, or the Haybusa with open Vance and Hines pipe.... they need to get some common sense. That guy with 25K worth of chrome and custom paint that never sees rain.... that's his bag, and let him enjoy it for what it is. Time to go add some lighter oil to my Ural.....snow's coming.

[Aah5]

Harleys, it doesn't matter how much you modify,chrome and polish them they will always be a 'Harley' and nothing more.

[Bigfeet428]

Originally Posted by drhach

they sak me what model it is and I say "1972 Sportster", they can't get away quickly enough.

There's another one I don't get. I've heard sporties called girls bikes or not a "real" harley because it isn't a big twin. What's not to like about a sportster? Erik Buell turned that powertrain into a rocket ship.

[wrecked'em]

Originally Posted by drhach

"Is that one of those Honda Rebels?"

yes they get pretty tweaked . i guess its the same with ktm riders getting asked if kawasaki makes them.