[suprz's ghost]

I saw on the news recently that cambridge Massachusetts motorcycle cops will now be riding BMW's instead of harleys. They stated the reason was the cheaper price of the BMW's and the added amenities that the BMW's have.

I hope this will be a wake up call to Harley Davidson that just because it has the name, it isnt worth 6-8 thousand dollars more!!!

Would i like to own a Harley? sure, would i like to pay extra for the name? HELL NO!!

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Ugh. I live in Harley Central. It's awful. BRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAA!!!!!!!!! (imagine at 200 decibels)

I always yell back at them like "BRRRAHHHHH!!!' when they drive by. Assholes. I don't get it either. I can spend LESS money on a honda or yamaha, it'll have MORE power than the harley, be more reliable, get better mpg, look better, have a better fit and finish, and it costs less. I don't get it.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

I don't get it.

With your attitude, you probably never will.

[AB^2=BCxAC]

Well, American traffic cops on German bikes designed for cruising the autobahn... that's sort of cool, but the disrespectful epithets will get worse: instead of "pigs on hogs," "fascist pigs" might be more common soon. People in Boston are so respectful of authority.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...tected/?page=2

At about 9:50 p.m., she was spotted by police, and emergency personnel flocked to the scene and cleared the area beneath her. They then used a bullhorn to tell her they would try to get her down, Malone said. Firefighters summoned a ladder truck from a nearby station, but the ladder wasn't long enough to reach O'Leary, Malone said. Another ladder truck was called, but O'Leary moved through the rafters toward the edge of the roof over the grandstands and away from emergency workers. She fell as she approached the edge of the roof and landed in the seats.
Officer Michael McCarthy, a spokesman for the Boston Police Department, said it was not known whether O'Leary had been under the influence of alcohol or drugs. ''She was very belligerent, uncooperative, and verbally abusive toward medical staff," he said. ''If she had hit someone [when she fell], she would have killed them. People need to be responsible for their own actions, as well."

[suprz's ghost]

. I can spend LESS money on a honda or yamaha, it'll have MORE power than the harley, be more reliable, get better mpg, look better, have a better fit and finish, and it costs less. I don't get it.[/QUOTE]

It's all about "THE NAME" I will be getting a used kawasaki vulcan 800 and using the extra cash i would have had to spend on a Harley and use it to get soft saddlebags, nicer comfy seat etc.....

[residentEvil]

Road along side a new Honda Goldwing this morning; man they sure have it better than my dad did from the early 80s; he had a 1100 Goldwing. At the time though, it was great. But now, man. These new ones are nice looking touring bikes.

This is what my dad had:
http://powersports.honda.com/images/...rsary/1981.jpg

image too large, edited just to the link

[broxy5]

Cops like Bemmers because they handle and have power. Cops ride Harleys (in North America) because traditionally, they always have.

I hate harleys because they turn grown men into children, falsely believing loud pipes are cool. I hate Harleys because they ruined my vacation. There were well over 1000 loud harley riding in packs throughout Yellowstone when we were there. Sturgis had just ended and everone was on there way home.

I love Harleys because they are unique. (hey!! you gots a piece of chrome that I don't have!)

[Railroader]

A lot of police forces use Harleys because they are American made. Some people (me) in the communities don't like to see their tax dollars go towards the purchase of foreign goods.

[suprz's ghost]

Originally Posted by Railroader

A lot of police forces use Harleys because they are American made. Some people (me) in the communities don't like to see their tax dollars go towards the purchase of foreign goods.

I can understand how you feel about foreign goods etc.... but do you want your taxes to go up because the "american made" harley costs thousands more? i mean really does it actually cost that much to produce a Harley? Is that why they cost so much more? hhhmmm?? I would love to know what the "mark up" is for the name. I actually called harley davidson corp headquarters and i was quoted a msrp price of 15,600.00 for a new 2005 dyna wide glide. at all the dealers i called they had at least a 4000.00$ mark up. Besides that, does the Harley actually have 15,600.00 worth of iron, technology, etc.... like a car?
It just doesnt make any sense

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by suprz's ghost

cambridge Massachusetts motorcycle cops will now be riding BMW's instead of harleys.

Nice upgrades for these lucky ^&%*%#

-t

[ReggieX]

BMW bikes are great!
Harleys are stupidly loud for no reason. n:

[ReggieX]

Originally Posted by Railroader

A lot of police forces use Harleys because they are American made. Some people (me) in the communities don't like to see their tax dollars go towards the purchase of foreign goods.

I'm sure all the people who care about such things buy Chinese-made crap at Wal-Mart too.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by ReggieX

Harleys are stupidly loud for no reason. n:

No, there's a reason they're that loud...
...it's so hippies don't buy them (and thus tarnish the product image).

[Link]

The difference between a harley and a honda is that the harley tends to blend in with freeway noise when revving up, a honda however makes this really loud VHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM noise that makes your head want to explode.

Then the cheap bike covered in tons of plastic gets turned into scrap.

[analogika]

I love the sound of Harleys, but the BMWs are just MUCH better everyday bikes in every important way.

Interestingly, Harley-Davidson lent the Hamburg police force 60 or so cop bikes for a few months last year, in an attempt to infiltrate the European police motorcycle market.

They're gorgeous bikes, and cops riding them certainly command a certain respect, but they went back after the trial period, and no deal was made.

Now the US cops are riding BMWs.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Doofy

No, there's a reason they're that loud...
...it's so hippies don't buy them (and thus tarnish the product image).

Watch Easy Rider sometime, when you get the chance.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by analogika

Watch Easy Rider sometime, when you get the chance.

You mean the film where the guys on Harleys start getting annoyed by the folks at the hippie commune, take advantage of them and leave?

[analogika]

I mean the movie where the folks in the pickup truck at the end shoot down those damn hippies riding their bikes.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by analogika

I mean the movie where the folks in the pickup truck at the end shoot down those damn hippies riding their bikes.

Arhhh... You mean the movie where the fictional folks in the fictional pickup truck at the end shoot down the fictional damn hippies riding their fictional bikes?

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Doofy

Arhhh... You mean the movie where the fictional folks in the fictional pickup truck at the end shoot down the fictional damn hippies riding their fictional bikes?

HA! HA! Fictionaliated !

-t

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Originally Posted by Link

The difference between a harley and a honda is that the harley tends to blend in with freeway noise when revving up, a honda however makes this really loud VHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM noise that makes your head want to explode.

Then the cheap bike covered in tons of plastic gets turned into scrap.

You're talking about rice rockets. But what about these:







All hondas that look better than harleys, sound better, are more powerful, more reliable, and they don't produce 150 decibels of exhaust noise.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

All hondas that look better than harleys

No.

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

sound better

No.

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

are more powerful

Can't see the relevance.
That's like saying you should dump your wife because there are taller chicks with larger tits out there.

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

they don't produce 150 decibels of exhaust noise.

Which, of course, neither do Harleys - 150 dB would literally blow your eardrums out every time one drove through your zip code.

However, the noise is part of the appeal. You don't get it because you're way too femme these days, what with your fancy metrosexual apartment buildings, etc..

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Dude if you don't think a honda valkarie is cooler than a freakin harley you are officially mentall retarded. Valkarie's have an INSANE engine.

[budster101]

Don't blame HD for the prices. It was the upwardly mobile that were demanding the product therefore driving the price and value even of older HDs whom are to blame. It's a free market society. I know bikers and they are not into HD, only the look. A true rider, doesn't care if it is a Honda, Yamaha, BMW, or HD, or even a custom HD-like motorcycle. It's about riding, not some label on a bike.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by ReggieX

BMW bikes are great!
Harleys are stupidly loud for no reason. n:

Agreed.

[budster101]

Do any of you know the Harley Davidson Story? Why they became popular? War veterans that used these bikes came home and were the original rebels without a cause. They made HD what it was, and unfortunately now it's just a yuppie paradise... pfft. I'd rather build my own hog and I love drag pipes on bikes... nice and loud.

The bike being loud is for a reason. It's so that 'cagers' like Rob don't run them off the road by accident.

[MacMan4000]

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

I saw one of these yesterday... beautiful. much better looking than a harley i think.

[Kevin]

Evil Knievel road a Harley.

Just sayin.

[sek929]

Harley's are to fu*kin loud and I hate them, blasting down my street at 2am making sure I'm not soundly sleeping.

[dampeoples]

They come with quiet pipes, you can put loud pipes on any bike

[budster101]

I like these better:
http://www.protechmotorcycles.com/im...D3/i-2_B_L.jpg

http://www.chrisruzin.net/index.php/...stom_choppers/

Custom Choppers.

[budster101]

There is a time and a place for that, and blasting down a street at 2am in anything is just rude.

[davesimondotcom]

I love Harleys.

I live in an area that is the main drag for the way to Sturgis (yes, near Yellowstone Park) and the bikers coming through do a great job on our local economies.

I don't ride. Probably never will. But from my perspective, HD is a great American success story. Right now they are pricey because there is more demand than supply. Why would they sell them for cheaper when people are lining up to buy them at the current prices?

[DigitalEl]

Our PD traded in Kawasakis for BMWs. The Bimmers are sweet. Our motor officers say the maintenance costs on the Harleys are such that they weren't even in the consideration when the time for new bikes came.

I haven't ridden since college. I had a Suzuki Katana 750 back then. I have The Itch again and am now weighing a Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Classic.

[Link]

Chopper <3

[]

'Nuff said.

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

Right now they are pricey because there is more demand than supply. Why would they sell them for cheaper when people are lining up to buy them at the current prices?

WRONG. A few years ago, yes. There was over a 1 year waiting period for almost any harley. They couldn't build them fast enough. But guess what? Now you can walk into any harley dealership around here and buy almost any bike, TODAY. Prices are dropping, the newspapers are filled with used ones, and the market is over-saturated.

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

That is hot.

[suprz's ghost]

another thing that i will never understand is that when i'm riding my so called "rice rocket" (1989 Ninja 600R) If another bike is coming my way, I always put out my hand as a gesture of hello, the guys on "rice rockets" always give the same gesture back, but the majority of guys on Harley's pretend i'm invisible. I dont care what kind of bike you ride, I always give a "wave" just out of respect as one biker to another. I've just never understood why bikers have to have attitudes. I went on a charity run last weekend for the special olympics, I was one of 3 "rice rockets" all the other bikes were cruisers. (I had the oldest bike there) but even at the run I got some attitude, but only from the harley riders. the guys on non-harley cruisers were just fine.
eh, people!

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Originally Posted by suprz's ghost

another thing that i will never understand is that when i'm riding my so called "rice rocket" (1989 Ninja 600R) If another bike is coming my way, I always put out my hand as a gesture of hello, the guys on "rice rockets" always give the same gesture back, but the majority of guys on Harley's pretend i'm invisible. I dont care what kind of bike you ride, I always give a "wave" just out of respect as one biker to another. I've just never understood why bikers have to have attitudes. I went on a charity run last weekend for the special olympics, I was one of 3 "rice rockets" all the other bikes were cruisers. (I had the oldest bike there) but even at the run I got some attitude, but only from the harley riders. the guys on non-harley cruisers were just fine.
eh, people!

It's because all the harley riders had a rough night. They were minding their own business, drinking cheap shitty beer, beating their wives, and then the cops showed up to quiet things down. Then they had to run from the cops, and ... well, all that makes the typical harley rider kinda grumpy.

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

WRONG. A few years ago, yes. There was over a 1 year waiting period for almost any harley. They couldn't build them fast enough. But guess what? Now you can walk into any harley dealership around here and buy almost any bike, TODAY. Prices are dropping, the newspapers are filled with used ones, and the market is over-saturated.

Weren't you the one who established the "they are pricey" principle in the first part of the thread, Ca$h? Now you say they are dropping in price and there are tons of them around. Hmmmm...

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

It's because all the harley riders had a rough night. They were minding their own business, drinking cheap shitty beer, beating their wives, and then the cops showed up to quiet things down. Then they had to run from the cops, and ... well, all that makes the typical harley rider kinda grumpy.

Good stereotyping. But in my experience, they guys and gals who ride HDs to Sturgis are typically doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. They are the ones who can afford to buy an HD, take a month off in summer and ride across the country.

I've always found it cool that bikers wave to each other. You don't see cars doing that. "Oh, hey, look, another Mazda 626 coming, wave, honey!"

[suprz's ghost]

I will agree with the over-saturated statement, but i dont see them dropping in price. like i said before, they are not worth the price they are going for. I dont care if they are new or used! heck, i see them in the paper too, and the used ones are usually more expensive then the new ones!
I agree with the other statement in this thread about the price being so high due to the YUPPIES buying them. alot of the people buying harleys nowadays are lawyers, doctors, etc.... that want to be "bad asses" on the weekends. I believe also that the reason for the rise in motorcycle accidents are these weekend warriors that just bought a bike that is too damn big for them to handle and they dont have the riding skills needed. (both rice rockets, and cruisers) I've been riding since i was 8 years old and i firmly believe that there should be size restrictions for new riders. I hate seeing these idiots on a bike that can do 200mph and at a stop light they have to lean the bike to one side to reach the ground. I started on a 5hp mini bike, and worked my way up through the years. A rider should be able to control the bike, not the other way around!

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

Weren't you the one who established the "they are pricey" principle in the first part of the thread, Ca$h? Now you say they are dropping in price and there are tons of them around. Hmmmm...

A few years ago, you had to wait almost a year to get a Harley. They were hot. Today you can pick up almost anything you want used, or you can walk into a dealership and get one TODAY. Why? Because the market is saturated. People aren't willing to pay a premium anymore, so the over inflated prices are starting to drop. I expect them to drop even more over the next few years.

I think Harley's could be cool if htey did a few things:

1. More muffler. Right now they are TOO LOUD. I like loud exhausts. I like exhausts on muscle cars that burble. I like the way a big engine with a tuned exhaust sounds. I like the way a rice burner with a crazy engine and exhaust sounds. But a harley?! 1930s technology with no muffler= amplified farts. If they muffled it a bit more it'd have a deeper throatier smoother tone.

2. The engine sucks. Sorry. It'd been outdated for decades, it isn't reliable, it leaks, and it doesn't make much power. It's also heavy. A modern powerplant is needed. Heck, if I was harley I'd just outsource honda to build the engines for me to my specs.

3. They're too big. A lot of harleys only look right if some HUGE freakin 250 gorilla man is on them, but for most people they're just too gigantic. To me, this is the idea of a perfect bike with chrome:



Smaller, more nimble, and easier to control. Classic looks. About 3 grand. New. (well, restored).

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

Good stereotyping. But in my experience, they guys and gals who ride HDs to Sturgis are typically doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. They are the ones who can afford to buy an HD, take a month off in summer and ride across the country.

Those are the people who have the Harley Davidson t-shirt, jacket, hat, helmet, boxers, pants, chaps, gloves, glasses, and boots. You can buy the image straight from Harley's catalog. I find that hilarious and very very very poser-ish.

I've always found it cool that bikers wave to each other. You don't see cars doing that. "Oh, hey, look, another Mazda 626 coming, wave, honey!"

As someone else has already mentioned, it's quite common for Harley owners to look down on any non harley bike except for maybe a buell. As for waving.... car owners do that. I usually wave whenever I see a classic car or kinda rare sports car at least 10 years old. I try not to wave to people with new sports cars because I don't want to contribute to their over inflated egos and wallets. I like car people a lot more than rich people who simply buy into owning a fast car.

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Originally Posted by suprz's ghost

I believe also that the reason for the rise in motorcycle accidents are these weekend warriors that just bought a bike that is too damn big for them to handle and they dont have the riding skills needed. (both rice rockets, and cruisers) I've been riding since i was 8 years old and i firmly believe that there should be size restrictions for new riders.

Yep. Spot on. Harleys are VERY big bikes. And a lot of the yuppies riding around aren't really very big people, more about 'average'. That's why I like older hondas like this:



Still have chrome, still look classic, but they're a LOT smaller and lighter.

[LilWolfChokingOnCigs68]

Cool page with lots of great old honda bikes:

http://www.vjmw.com/honda/menu_honda.htm

[residentEvil]

where i got my link above has lots of old honda photos too.

as for the one above, make the goldish paint purple, and my brother had the same 350 (well, from what i can remember). my dad had it for 2 or 3 days and said too small sold it to my brother and got the 1100 GoldWing. my brother put a lot of miles on that 350. hit a dog once too on it. it also had a wire rack on the back above the light.

[budster101]

Most Harley Riders are quite big in fact.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

1. More muffler. Right now they are TOO LOUD. I like loud exhausts. I like exhausts on muscle cars that burble. I like the way a big engine with a tuned exhaust sounds. I like the way a rice burner with a crazy engine and exhaust sounds. But a harley?! 1930s technology with no muffler= amplified farts. If they muffled it a bit more it'd have a deeper throatier smoother tone.

No. The sound is part of the point of them. Just because you don't like the sound doesn't mean they should change it.

Originally Posted by LilWolfChokingOnCigs68

3. They're too big. A lot of harleys only look right if some HUGE freakin 250 gorilla man is on them, but for most people they're just too gigantic.

You mean they're too big for you.
And again, you're missing the point - Harley's aren't for slightly built people, they're for largely-built outlaw-biker types. You metrosexuals will never get it.