| Author | Message | ||
     Jewfzr |
I'm a die hard sportbike rider type. I went for a ride with a harley club my uncle belongs to.I was raised in a house that was way anti-HD. My father detested Hd's, I never really understood the exact reason why he felt that way, he had over thirty different bikes at one time but never an hd. Anyway it was really interesting meeting these good people and listening to them. They talked a lot about the mods they have done and are doing,"mostly chrome" and cosmetic things. I came to a couple of conclusions after this ride. 1. Everyone I met there was really friendly and open to me and my cbr."nice people" 2. They almost universally knew next to nothing about other brands.Talk about brand loyalty. 3. Most of my mods are made to lighten my bike and increase hp. They all seemed to adding weight without a care. 4. I don't think I'll ever fully understand What they love about these bikes. 5. I does'nt matter what I understand or don't. They love what they ride as much as I do. 6. This was the last time I'm ever going to ride with more than 20 bikes, We were holding up RVs..Lol.. 7. I had a really good time and met some really nice people who love to ride. Made me feel good to be around people who have the same passion I have for bikes,albiet different style and brand. | ||
| Jlnance |
Glad you had a good time. Isn't it nice that there are people who it's fun to ride with even if they aren't much like you. | ||
| Cataract2 |
I belong and ride with the local HOG club. Met some good people in that club and enjoy the rides. Some are slow and some get split into the fast and slow groups. I ride with the fast group. BTW, when I say fast I mean fast. The guy who leads it is nuts. | ||
| Jarhead |
Every organized ride I have been on in the last 5 years has been a HD biker event. Mostly poker runs for charity fund raising and toys for tots. %90 of the people don't care what you ride, as long as your riding  . I've found whether your the CBR riding with HDs or the hot rod sporty riding with CBRs, there is always that 10% . Like Cataract its usually split into groups around here. Riding with a bunch of bikers, all with 105" or bigger mills, half of them hardtails and can reach triple digits almost as fast as I can, it's just plain nuts, FUN, but nuts.  | ||
| Ray_maines |
"2. They almost universally knew next to nothing about other brands.Talk about brand loyalty." That's pretty much my view of things too. I read the magazines, talk to other riders, and can see myself on a cruiser and I think I know a little bit about lots of other bikes but the HD guys don't seem to know diddly squat about ANY other bikes. They appear to be in a totally closed information loop. They stick close to each other and listen to each other's stories about how fast, light weight, dependable, or comfortable their bikes are but don't have a clue about how fast, light, dependable or comfortable the competition is. They honestly don't believe that a GSX-R1000 can go faster in second gear than they can go in fifth and simply don't understand how a 600 cc bike could possibly be faster than their 1400 cc bikes. They really believe that Loud Pipes Save Lives and that wearing a full face helmet is somehow more dangerous than a wearing a plastic Bean Pot. But in my mind, the worst fault of most HD guys is that they can't seem to just enjoy their bikes and let the rest of the world rock and roll. It's always "Us" vs. "Them" and the other guys are always on Jap Crap or Crotch Rockets, or some other derogatory term. It's not that they are so totally into HD's or the HD life style, but that they are SOOoooo ignorant -- and so proud to be so! -- of the greater world around them that amazes (offends) me. | ||
| Koz5150 |
I was reading an artcle last night that stated the 2005 Yamaha R1 could do 108 in first gear. That's just sick. Most Harleys are an initiation fee into some group that makes people feel accepted. They ride from dealership to dealership wearing leather vests that seem to shrink (that's why vest expanders are so popular I guess). It's kinda like cruising the strip when we were younger. When I was in my rock band my bass player and guitarist both had Harleys. I bought a Honda and they would make fun of my bike. One guy had the Sportster Sport (dual plug heads) and raved about how fast it was till my 1984 700cc embaressed him. He later moved on to a Electra Glide. One day last summer he decided to try and race a 600cc bike. He managed to snap his belt and had to call me to use my trailer. I will admit though, one reason I bought my Buell was because of the sound and Harley connection. I just am glad that Buell built a bike that had the performance to go with the rest of the package! If Buell ever made a bike that could post numbers like an R1 or RC-51 they would own the US market! | ||
| Gusmyster |
Jason, Thanks for the post. It's good to see something other than the normal bashing of HD riders. I'd rather see the roads filled with Harley than with cagers! I feel an open-mind is what's needed most of the time. Not all the time.. there will always be exceptions, but I try to judge by the norm, not the exception. g u s | ||
| Outrider |
Koz...good guess on the vest expanders, especially considering the propensity towards developing a beer'n'cheese gut in Wisconsin. However, the primary use is to allow your vest to fit over your leather jacket. In essence all the patches and pins go on your cheap vest and not your expensive jacket. Get the vest to wear over a shirt or jeans jacket in hot weather and use the vest extenders to secure it over your leather jacket. Apparently, folks love to display all that stuff and poking a zillion holes in your leather jacket is hazardous to your health if it gets cold or wet outside. I learned this from a few of Hal's KMC HOG'ers a few years back and it makes sense. Show your stuff regardless of the weather. Just glad I am not into collecting pins, patches, shirts and stuff. Hell, after all these years of riding I would have to rent a storage yard for all the crap I would have accumulated.  | ||
| Cataract2 |
I've got a vest.... Umm.... Am I still a Buell rider?  | ||
| Outrider |
Depends what kind of vest you are talking about and how you wear it. LOL Just kidding, but the mental pic of a sport bike rider wearing a leather vest and seems to be a bit of a conflict unless you are auditioning for a part in a Mad Max Redux.  | ||
| Blublak |
I ride both Harley and Buell.. So I guess I'm in a good position to know.. I've actually worn a leather vest while riding a Buell. Yes, it has expanders as well.. I've ridden in groups as large as 90 bikes in a single string/group. There is something exhilarating about looking around and seeing nothing but riders there. So there is a strange sort of 'family' feeling for a lot of group rides. It's a different dynamic then riding alone or with one or two friends. Not everyone is comfortable with groups. But it happens. I like bikes. I ride a Harley because I like it for my cruising. Do I deride other makes? Yep, sometimes. Mostly though, it's the riders I have a problem with. Nuff said there.. As far as knowledge of other motorcycles goes. Some folks don't WANT to know anything other then what they have in their garage. Some folks like to know all about what's out there. Nothing new there. As far as I can tell, a lot of the 'big twin' types (those that won't consider anything else) keep their focus as narrow as that. So, yeah, really big air-cooled twins, laid back riding positions that's where it's at for them. So be it. Some of us, like to change it up every now and then and that's why there are multiple brands to choose from, right? Once, while pulling into a local H-D only (•••• poor if you ask me) Dealer.. Some guy in a Pathfinder almost runs into my rear end trying to beat the light to turn into the same parking lot. I pull up to the front of the store, where all the bikes park, and as I'm taking off helmet and gloves, etc.. he walks by and makes a comment to his buddy about needing a law against parking Jap Crap in front of American bike shops. I've also had a guy on a Honda Gold Wing tell me I spent too much on my POS Buell since it wasn't fast enough, smooth enough or built well enough to compete with 'real' motorcycles that cost half as much. My point. There are idiots on both sides of the equation. Don't let 'em get to ya. Ride for yourself, because you like it.. because it's what you want to do.. As for what you ride? Hell, if your on a 250 Rebel or a 'Busa, your good to go in my book.. Just so long as you like it. Ok, enough of my ramblings.. | ||
| Blackbelt |
My point. There are idiots on both sides of the equation. Don't let 'em get to ya. Ride for yourself, because you like it.. because it's what you want to do.. As for what you ride? Hell, if your on a 250 Rebel or a 'Busa, your good to go in my book.. Just so long as you like it.  WELL SAID! I like to think of myself as very open minded.. and people that are intollerant just cause your tastes are different than theirs.. just makes you wonder why people like that still breed.... lol | ||
| Bomber |
actually, the us vs them mentality COULD be said to have started on the other (non-HD) side of the fence -- long ago, folks that rode something other than a Harely really looked down thier noses at em -- leaked oil, vibrated, rarely made it out of their area codes (no zip codes at the time) slow, evil handling, etc etc etc anyone on an HD product (including a 350 Sprint, fercryeye) was branded a thug (this was long before being a thug was cool in polite circles), and they were generally mocked, shunned and poorly treated persistance of memory in a tribe being what it is, it's not much of a surprise that many HD riders today have learned that part of the experience is trash-talking other brands and their owners -- they may not know why, but, like good community citizens everywhere, they conform the the community norm idiots, jerks, fools and mean people abound, and connot be indentified by their political affiliation, choice of place of worship, bike they ride (or hope to ride) or anything else except their actions actully, the biggest-time snub I get from other riders ain't based on brand, it's based on age -- many younger riders seem agast when a they are passed or get to play apex strafing with a couple of silver backs -- they wanna come check out the bike and rider, until the helmets come off ;-} go figure | ||
| Cowboy |
I have 2 Buells and a Harley, I enjoy bikes very much. However I must admit I spend most of my time on the Lighting(X1) It is a lot more fun to ride than the others. The V rod is nice for the wife and I to ride together. I have never seen a bike that I did not like.I seem to get along well with both grops. | ||
| Outrider |
I have never seen a bike that I did not like.I seem to get along well with both groups. Ahhh...so you are a Chameleon like I am. I like them all and rub elbows with most. LOL For me, I find that not joining and just getting along with whomever I bump into works. Plenty of great things to talk about without really getting into someone's politics or life style. | ||
| Midknyte |
If Buell ever made a bike that could post numbers like an R1 or RC-51 they would own the US market! That wouldn't be nearly as hard as convincing the squidish / metric loyal segment that they [Buell] actually had [posted the numbers]. | ||
| Road_thing |
Outie: Right on! (Or, as we say down here, Rat Own!) Bomber: Silverbacks..I love it..you have such a way with words! rt | ||
| Whistle |
Man, I remember when Harleys were the only thing I knew. I knew Buells existed, and knew they were roughly based off of Sportsters, but couldn't tell you much more than that. And at the time, I was fine with that. Tried to keep abreast of what was going on with other American V-twin cruisers-Victory, Indian, etc, but I personally like to buy American, so I didn't concern myself with anything else. It didn't bother me if someone rode something else, and I would get along fine with many riders on other brands. But then things started to change for me. Mostly it was when I took that first Buell test ride. My eyes opened the rest of the way. I was finally able to appreciate why sport riders loved their bikes so much. So now I own my Buell. Can't afford the Harley and the Buell. Crap I can barley afford the Buell now, and might have to sell it and wait a few years before I can get another...my wife's AND my biological clocks are starting to tick! hahaha At any rate, I recently took a trip to Roanoke, VA to ride with my best friend. He wanted a cruiser for his first bike, but like me, can't afford a Harley right now, so I did a bunch of research to help him find a good jap cruiser to start on. He bought a used 2002 Honda Shadow ACE 750 for $4100 with a bunch of great accessories on it. Can't beat that deal with a stick. So the two of us ride to the local Honda dealership to pick up chain lube and cleaning products and a manual and all the other biker related things he will need. The parts dude starts making cracks on Buells and Harley's saying they leak oil and are unreliable and horrible to ride. I was fuming mad. As an engineer I take great pride in American manufacturing, ingenuity, etc. And I will admit Harley had their fare share of reliability problems in the past, but those days are so long gone now they aren't even a blip on the horizon anymore. Rode my Harley across country up and down the east coast, all over the place, and it never leaked a single drop of anything and never so much as hiccupped. Same with the Buell. I offered to go up to the Blue ridge parkway with the parts salesman and see how his bike would stack up next to mine, but he was either too chickensh!t or KNEW that an unreliable, oil dripping, sputtering Buell would own his @ss in the mountains, so he backed down. I'm pretty sick of all the bashing from both sides of the fence... Anyway's sorry so long, but had to get this off my chest... later, Nick | ||
| Cataract2 |
Thanks Nick. On a local board I visit someone just posted that rant about how Harley's aren't American bikes. Another Buell rider tore into that and no one's posted about it since. I'm tired of the bashing from both sides. (Message edited by cataract2 on May 03, 2005) | ||
| Ftd |
Buell riders are so tolerant of others: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/21/112181.html?1115124884 | ||
| Mikej |
Every group has those types of people. That you ride is more important than what you ride. | ||
| Iamike |
Hello everyone, my name is Mike and...I ride a Buell- I have read posts about Harley riders that don't wave or stop but on the Arizona Springfast a couple of weeks ago we were proven wrong. Jeremy's XB had some issues (I don't know his whole history but it looked like that bike had been well ridden). By the time I had gotten turned around to go back and check on him a local Harley rider had stopped and offered help. That is the way ALL motorcyclists should be. Either we learn to stand together or we'll all stand alone. | ||
| Gearhead |
The group I ride with is very diverse. There are usually three of us on Buells, Craig’s City-X, Mike’s M2 and my Firebolt. Everyone else rides just about every brand, HD’s, big and small, R1, RC-51, TL 1000, SV650, V-Strom, Triumph Tiger, Triumph 650, Concourse, Triumph Sprint ST(new in silver, very cool), import cruisers and several others jump in and out. Anyway a group of us (16) got together for a ride a few Sundays ago and headed down to the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. This is a must stop destination if you’re in the area!! Cool and windy riding but the camaraderie was great!! All makes, a variety of ages and vocations makes for a fun day and an increased appreciation for all the different makes and the folks how ride them. Just get out and ride!! | ||
| Iamike |
Ralph- Who has a Concours? I am kicking around getting one for touring and would like to ride one for awhile to see how it feels. I've wanted to go down and see the museum but I never seem to be abale to get away for a little trip like that. |
