| Author | Message | ||
     Gonen60 |
If you had to chose, would you rather ride and be lumped into the sportbike scene or the HD scene? I have owned several HDs over the years and several sport bikes. For Me, I would rather ride with the Sport bikes, and pretty much would like nothing to do with the HD scene. I saw a guy on a Buell the other day riding with a bunch of softails and the Buell rider had on fringed chaps. I almost fell off my Bike. Not that I give two shits but most HD riders thumb there noses at Me when We pass or stop beside one another. thoughts ???  | ||
| Hootowl |
If I had to make a choice, I guess I'd go sportbike. More squids, less posers. It's a trade off. Fortunately..I don't have to make that choice. | ||
| Timbo |
I have both. Maybe I have a dual personality.  I have joked in the past (on this site in fact) about the "HD" crowd, but truth be told I have spent more time with HD people than I have Buell people, but that's changing now. We are all aware of how most HD riders look down on Buell riders, but I do believe attitudes are slowly beginning to thaw. I have seen positive signs of this, at least in my own small slice of the world, and I do my best to educate those who are interested to the advantages the Buell platform provides and the satisfaction of ownership I have. Obviously not all are interested, that's fine, but more and more are, and as the current riders age and the new crop comes of age I believe we will find the hostility and biases less and the mutual respect more. Just remember, we are shaping that future now. Timbo | ||
| Hippo888 |
I live in the mid-west. Around here they don't even consider the V-Rod a real Harley-Davidson. Paul in MI | ||
| X1guy00 |
i also have both, there was about a 15 year gap between my last sportbike and my X1. i rode a FXST for 10+ years until it got stolen. right before it got taken i had bought a XLH1200 cause i had the itch to go a little quicker in the canyons. i rode the piss out of that thing until my gf at the time wanted a bike too. i let her ride my sporty but she was more of the sportbike kind so we checked them all out, and then stopped at Glendale and once they let her go around the block she was sold. in the next two days i broke it in for her,putting 500 miles. two weeks later i had one of my own. i didnt realize how much i had missed that feeling. ive always waved at all riders, even those on mountain bikes. i ride to ride and i dont much care what anyone thinks about what im on at the time. the dual ownership group is growing and can only be a good thing. | ||
| Grufflie |
Although Harley Davison admittedly make some fine bikes, the HD riders that I've come across here in England I've thought to be a bit vain, self serious and mildly ridiculous. | ||
| Gonen60 |
99% of the guys that buy a HD and strip it down and build a Bobber or a chopper, or the guys that buy a rigid frame and built a ground up, I find my self liking, and hanging out with. But the nit-Wits that go to the HD botique and buy little chrome do-dads, wear fringed chaps,use harley toliet paper, have HD cell phone cases, I hate 99% of them. Don't get Me wrong, I love HD motorcycles, and have owned some nice ones. I was lucky enough to have one of my bikes on a magazine cover, with my wife. It's not the bikes it's the people I have a hard time with. Here in Virginia Beach, we have a local bike gathering night spot. Just a little hole in the wall, but a place where all the tourist pass. On any given night there may be 50 or 60 chrome do-dadded softails up there. And the HD fully costumed doctors and business owners with 12 hour beard growth,cut off fringed gloves and do-rag skull caps on. Local paper runs a story how the tourist are afraid to pass the bar. These guys think they are the H angels, it gets sadder everyday.  | ||
| Spiderman |
I hang out with the motorcyclest crowd, away from the posers and squids. It is hard to find very few an far between but when you do it is a great time. | ||
| Stubby |
Yup. The "squids" are waaaay younger than I, everyone hates the HD guys... if they would only admit that they hate themselves, it would be unanimous! I ride alone most of the time, but then that is why I bought the M/C in the first place,it is something one can do without the bother of others. Can't play tennis alone..., nor most anything. But can ride to where I want at whatever pace I choose (unless the crates get in the way). I may have already posted this but this summer I stopped in Deckers Colorado, a popular midpoint resting area on a wonderful twisty road through the mountains. There is a general store there, so you can grab a soda and chill for a few minutes. I pull into the gravel parking lot there. There are at least 50+ HD guys there. All sneers etc at the Buell, and two sport bike types. So I'm talking with the sportbike types and this one HD guy, fat, with the "sneer" for some reason takes an interest in me, giving me the fisheye. So the sheep on their harleys all fire up and are leaving the lot. Mr. Sneer is eyeballing me, and blipping the throttle, making boo-coo noise. Not content to just leave, no, our hero decides he wants to make a tour of this gravel parking lot, staring at me and blipping the throttle... aside from laughing and pointing, which I often do, the other sporty types are also laughing, one sort of squats down and twists his wrist like he's blipping an air throttle,which only aggravates Mr. Sneer. He blips it more, and more loudly... heating up his clutch on the gravel parking lot. (we all know what's about to happen) Sure enough the clutch grabs, the back wheel spins, he goes into a tank slapper sort of... trying to save it, but no! He goes down! Everyone in the lot is laughing out loud at this jamoke! Goes down on his right side, which must have damaged an exhaust pipe, judging from the wheezing sound his bike made. His shiny new fringed leather jacket and chaps are all dusty. His shiny new bike is all dusty and popping now. So NOBODY goes to help this idiot pick it up. He's struggling, trying to lift this behemoth machine from the wrong side. More laughter. Eventually he picks it up, and suitably humiliated, putts down the road in the direction of the other sheep. A little while later, us sporty guys leave, heading in the same direction. We pass him later on down the road, shake our heads,and give him the "fin". What a hoot! edited by stubby on August 30, 2003 | ||
| Darthane |
Well, there's quite the age gap between the average H-D owner and myself (I'm 23, I think the mean H-D owner age is in the mid-40s?). Likewise there are enough asses around here that belong in the 'fair-weather' category that I'm even less inclined to spend time with them. On the flip side, very rarely have I spoken to anyone in the sportbike crown that was close to my age that impressed me in the slightest. Most of them are likewise fair-weather weekend warriors, more concerned with doing wheelies at 80mph than actually being able to ride their bike. Thus I'm not inclined to spend time with them, either. Buellers, though on average quite a bit older than me as well (I think the mean Bueller age is upper 30s), I like spending time with. They're (usually) beyond the childishness of the squid sportbikers, but the very fact that they own a high-performance machine distances them from the H-D crowd - they want to be able to ride. I guess all I'm saying is I'm with Spidey. We've got our BRAG chapter guys to hang out with, and I've worked with people who ride both cruisers and crotch-rockets that don't fit the 'poser/squid' profile, but they are, unfortunately, difficult to find. Worth it when you do, though. Bryan | ||
| Chainsaw |
I've also got both. The BRAG group I ride with actually RIDE. No bar hopping. No one bats an eye about riding 150 miles (although some are leery about anything over 300 in a day). Out of the 20 or so BRAG people, no one drinks while on a bike, and no one even smokes. As far as exceeding the speed limit...that's another story. 90% of the guys I know with Harley's just have them as garage trophies. 4 year old bikes with 2000 miles on them, Put 'em on a trailer and head to Sturgis (only 400 miles from Denver). Here in Colorado, we get 300+ days of sunshine, and I manage to ride 12 months a year. In my opinion, you've got no excuse not to ride! It's rare to meet a guy on a Harley with any miles on his bike. I always find it amusing to see guys hanging out at the dealership Saturday mornings wearing chaps when it's 80 degrees. Just like 8 year olds playing dress up with their friends. Bottom line: I cruise across country alone on my Harley. I ride locally with a BRAG group. | ||
| Freyke |
I can get along with almost anyone.... It's just that on some occasions my exposure time may become somewhat limited before I feel I've had my share of posing and or idiotic squid stunts... That's why I like to ride alone on most occasions, I esp do not like to ride in big heards... No, I like to keep it to about 5 guys w/like skills...... I will admit I do like to make my hibitual pit stops though - Monks Place (Creeds), Pearls (Knots Island) and On-the-Rocks (Virginia Beach), shoot the poop and ride on.... | ||
| Blublak |
Hmmmm.. Now that's an interesting question raised by Goneen60... I'm one of those that have both.. I actually have (as I've mentioned elsewhere) another identity as a Road Captain for the Southern Cruisers and have several members in my chapter that like me, enjoy both types of riding. I even put together the chapters first ever 'Sport Ride'.. it ended up with just three of us as I was maintaining quite a pace and the cruiser types didn't feel comfortable and dropped out. Oh well.. Now, as for where I see myself? I'm a motorcyclist. I ride. Both my bikes. I love the handling and the power of the Buell, I wish there was a local BRAG chapter but the closest dealer to me said something about it costing him too much money for not enough return or some such. The only chapter nearby meets on a day that I'm always stuck at work on so I've yet to meet any of them. So I don't get to hang with Buell riders. The local HOG chapter and it's minions I find kind of depressing. Most of them ride, but consider a good ride to be something like 150 miles of slab, stop for gas, 150 miles of slab. They think they're 'intense' or maybe it's a 'macho' thing for them.. I don't know. So I ride with those I have less friction with. I'm a RIDER, not a poser, not a squid, not a stunter not an idiot (although some will argue the other side of that last one).. Where do I belong? With ME! .. And, if I happen to luck into like minded folks (like most here on the BadWeb) then I'm happy. As for the rest? If they want to bad mouth my little blue Buell, so be it, come riding with me... heheheheheh... Oh, sorry.. If they want to badmouth my Harley, fine, .. Come riding with me.. Or don't. I belong to that rare and apparently endangered group called Riders. I hang here, to be around like minded folks. I don't want to iron butt, I don't want to squirrel around proving that horsepower supercedes brains on every straight piece of road. I just wish there were more of us in my area. I bet we'd have fun just talking (in between periods of riding) and having a good time. What did all that mean? You decide. Don't worry about all those jerks out there and where they think you should be .. If it's not you, don't be there. Later, | ||
| Glitch |
I ride with others that ride. Most of the people I end up ridin' with ride bikes that aren't "Sport" bikes or "Cruisers". I used to ride a Bandit, a couple of guys I know have Kawi ZRXs, there's another that has a NightHawk, I hear them called UJMs, but none of them are stock machines. We ride a lot, and we love a good challenging stretch of road. With me it's not what you ride, it's how you ride. | ||
| Dk1201 |
What Did You Buy A Buell For?? Who Will You Ride That With?? I ride with everyone and anyone and fit. Guess it just depends on your attitude! Dude! ? H.D. people look more funny than down at my Buell and most times they appreciate it after I speak to them of its virtues. Sport riders are as much curious but usually are more interested in what the attraction is to a bike that cost so much and has such little hp. (relatively) They're amazed to hear I cruze at 2000 - 3k rpms and ride 3-400 mile days comfortably and only dream of having our tourque #s. They're all good people. Some are humble cause of what the bought, some ashamed of what they paid and have to defend their ego or justify their purchase. Hell some are just assholes and would be whatever you talk to them about. I see them as entertainment.. But after a little talking to most, they seem to walk away with a little better appreciation and understanding that us Buell riders are #1 having fun weather with a crowd or alone, not either or. #2 Going on a short spin or spending a day of it. and finally modifying, working on our bikes ourselves if we wish!! The most popular question I hear is "What did you buy a Buell for?" Most times they're enlightened. Sometimes I think they wish they did'nt ask!!!! | ||
| Cjmblast |
I like riding with both !! I love riding with guys I know in two different BRAG groups ! I also ride with several friends who all own Harley's, mostly Sportsters, although I have one girlfriend who rides a Heritage Softail and some of the guys ride the Big Harley's. Doesn't matter what bike someone rides on with me, and they don't seem to mind what I ride. And although both groups ride very differently, it meets two different needs for me. Doesn't matter what someone rides to me, just are we at the same level and pace, and do I enjoy their company off the bikes !! I've ridden with some that I didn't feel comfortable with and won't ride with them again ! Really neat thing this weekend, I went to see the HOG parade and it was so AWESOME, and there were Several Buells in the parade including Blasts and a Big Buell Flag on one ! In a group of about 20 Harley riders that I was with, they all spotted EVERY Buell in the parade !! And it was neat that with everyone they saw they said "Hey Chris, there's another Buell" !! And a year ago none of these people had heard of Buell or even had a clue what one was, and now even riding they'll always point them out to me !! That's I guess because they know I'm a Buell rider and I'm always excited about them and love to see them, and that's made them appreciate them, mostly of course because they like me !! LOL So to me that's the issue, ride with folks that ride like you and folks you like and you will appreciate their taste and style and they will appreciate yours !!!! None of my friends that ride Harleys will probably ever ride a Buell, but they know what they are, think it's neat, and would stop in a minute to talk to someone on a Buell saying they have a friend that rides a Buell !! And of course it's ALWAYS fun for me to ride with all Buells on the BRAG rides, and they are all great people too, and the riding style is different and meets a need that I can't get riding with a group of Harleys !! CJM | ||
| Gonen60 |
I have a couple of good friends that ride HDs and some that ride rigid ground up customs. I don't ride with them though. I never go for a ride on My bike to just putter around. I ride it hard, and fast everytime I go out. That is why I bought this sort of Bike. I like pushing it's limits every chance I get. I get no satisfaction what so ever riding it any other way. Yesterday I rode with a local XB9R local guy I met on "American thunder bike forum". We pushed our bikes hard and at one point on a long deserted new rode the speedo read 130 MPH. I was tucked in behind the double bubble and the Bike handled flawlessly. Loving my XB9S/R  | ||
| Timbo |
The double bubble ROCKS for triple digit thrusting. I love mine.  Timbo | ||
| Grufflie |
Spactacular use of the language there Timbo! | ||
| Daves |
I have 3 HDs and a Buell so I guess I fall into the "both" group. I take my FLHT for the long distance rides when I have to carry a bunch of stuff. The bike I ride for FUN is the Buell. I don't go on HOG rides, I can't eat that much. On our BRAG rides we get all brands of bikes, even a few cruisers once in a while. Our rules are, 1.You like to ride and have fun! 2.No drinking and riding. 3.You are not an asshole. Pretty much takes care of everything. Ride to the edge! dave | ||
| Buckinfubba |
I can eat that much ...but I don't!!! even tho it looks like it. We have all different kinda bikes ride with us and I with them. If it has 2 wheels its good by me. Some of the crusier guys come out ocassionally and they scare me once we hit the mountains. But so far so good. I'll tell ya this tho...Bear on a sportser in the tight twisties will amaze ya. Most of the time I am sure he ain't right!!! can't wait til his s2 is up and running because he'll be in front of me and most likely out of my site. That boy just ain't right!!! love all bikes shapes and sizes...it ain't a life style..its a toy used for fun....smile it feels good | ||
| Bads1 |
Bubba when you were handing out those Tilley sticker's, I lost mine some how by chance can I email you my address and you send me another???? Thanks Dana Bads1 | ||
| Buckinfubba |
dana yeah man email me at buckinfubba@hotmail.com | ||
| Gonen60 |
TIMBO...that is a different type of mirror set-up you have there. I have the 03 mirrors, and have no trouble seeing out of them. What promted the change for you?  | ||
| Mookie |
im new to cycling, the things I have managed to notice is most people saying that the buell is just a harley engine that has been placed into the bike. I dont think so allthough i have only ridden mine. I hear what you are saying about people only having a few miles on their bikes. me, I bought my bike from spidey 2 weeks ago and have put about 2000 miles on it. I love it. when I took my riders edge course, the instructor bragged that they dont acknowledge v-rods because they dont consider them to be a "real" harley. he also tried to talk me out of a bike and into a police bike. I smiled politely and said that its not for me. I'm finding it funny to myself that when i took the course, i was saying "35 mph is good enough for me for now." then when i went on the freeway I was ducked under the windshield at 70. I went north this weekend and had the chance to try my bike out a bit more on deserted roads. I was able to put it into triple digits. its funny on the way home because going 70 now feels like their isnt much of a breeze. charles | ||
| Darthane |
Mookie, What road did you live on again? I went buzzing around on the other side of Telegraph the other day and just could not for the life of me remember... | ||
| Mookie |
darth, bennett. I live on bennett between notre dame and madison. I went up to traverse city for the weekend to do some salmon fishing. I dont know if you like fishing but the rivers are a great place to be this time of year and its a whole lot of fun. edited by mookie on September 01, 2003 | ||
| Timbo |
Gonen60, Those are Napoleon bar end mirrors on mine. They offer a much better rear view than the stock ones did for me. I have used the Napoleons on another bike I had and loved them, so I knew exactly what I wanted. I have also become used to having my upper field of vison unobstructed and prefer it that way. Timbo | ||
| Prs |
It seems I'm always caught in the middle. As a bicyclist, I'm caught between mountain bikers and road riders. Mtn. bikers look at roadies as elitist snobs afraid to get their hands dirty. Roadies look at mtn bikers as uneducated, neanderthal, X-gaming punks. The fact is they are both extremely fun and challenging so why limit yourself?? As a Buell rider I get the same old comments from HD guys: "Yea, someday that Buell will grow-up." "Get a real bike." I'm sure you've all heard the same. Sport guys are more complimentary but they can be richard-heads too. I can have fun on any bike and in the past I've owned cruiser bikes but had to give them up due to a lower back problem. I thought I'd never own a cycle again but by accident, came across my Buell and absolutely love it. I ride all my 2-wheelers year round and in Pennsylvania it does get cold. I have family members who own Harleys and they sit 6 or 7 months. I just want to ride, period. I'm gonna be 40 so I don't try to ride on one wheel at 100mph but I enjoy going fast and taking the turns. When I ride with the Harley crowd, the speeds are slower and I'm always between gears but the ride us usually nice. I do get a little tired of the comments such as: "if you want to ride with us full-time, lose the back pack." Well, no, I won't. You stop worrying about image and ride the darn bike.  These comments are usually made in jest but they still get old. I'll ride with anyone, anyone who is/are nice people and fun to be around. I in turn, will try to be the same. No pretenses. I can't get caught up too much with the image of it all. Paul | ||
| Usapitbullz |
Cccccccc...Can't Wwwwwwww...We All, All Jjjjjj...Just Gggggg...Get Along???? Rodney King 1992!  |
