Harleys have a place in the world

raydog

raydog

Enjoying 1 road at a time
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Maybe I'm the only one in the world that feels this way but today at a long stoplight (I'm in my truck) an all black new Harley Davidson pulls up. It was one of those $25k Screemin Eagle Road Kings, low front windshield, all chrome, polish and shiny. I was really admiring how handsome a bike it really is.....then I had a revelation....why do I have this minor mental "problem" with the Harley culture? I started looking at the owner and noticed he was wearing a tank top, leather vest and no gloves, no eye protection, long chain hanging from belt and the most incredibly stupid looking and inadequate skull cap helmet I've ever seen!
I realized I really don't have a problem with Harley Davidsons! I went for a ride in the mountains one time with Tim of Pashnit fame, he rode a test bike (same type black shiny Harley bagger) THE DIFFERENCE WAS it was Tim riding it....with full leathers and real helmet....he and the Harley looked great AND we were having a great time in the twisties!
So, where am I going with this? I know there are some really nice people out there that ride Harleys, I occasionally ride with some of them, I also know that there are some unfriendly bikers that are angry, unfriendly to other motorcyclists that occupy other parts of the sport, and think that to know Harleys-is to know the whole sport. They are light years away from my personal values. My problem is with a motorcycle culture that substitutes machismo for quality safety gear, and rides from bar to bar for the next beer.....there, I said it and I doubt I'll ever change. Raydog

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Same thing can be said about some members on sportbike's. People are people, what they ride has no bearing on negativity.
Hence the term "shut up and ride"
 
well said Raydog. I have a Busa and a HD. But I really don't fit in with the HD crowd. I ride for fun, to meet other nice people and enjoy life! :thumbsup:
 
But how cool can you look wearing a helmet and gear, its so hot and restrictive.

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"Friends have had their necks broken by the helmets that they were forced to wear.
Suffice it to say that I am not looking forward to spending what's left of my life in a wheelchair as a result of some Bureaucrat's desire to "save my life"."

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I Understand Safety on a Sport Bike but I gotta Admit having a M109 I am Tempted to do th 1/2 Hat thing. In the Extreme Temp I do ride without a Jacket :corner:
 
Raydog the Wise,...speaks what I feel, and I would add all the non-geared youth on sportbikes around town to the group. These riders say, "look at me, see, it's me, me, aren't I cool, aren't I a bad ass? Meanwhile a half ounce grasshopper narrowly gives up it guts as it wisks through the above mentioned hair. Watch out, next time its an eye.... I don't get it now....but I admit in my younger days I was right there with them, until my buddy got knocked off the back of his ride, by a duck.....at 80mph. He actually landed it pretty good on all fours and just happened to have fairly decent riding gloves on. Knees were toast gloves burned threw, the bike just keep going right down the highway for several hundred yards before giving up the ghost down in the ditch.

Thy Shall Wear Thyn Gear, ALWAYS.. I hear from the clouds....And I did...:bowdown:
 
That Guy Circled in RED Kinda Looks Like You DOYLE ???....................

Is there something you want to tell Us :laugh:

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As some of you know I came from riding cruisers, well 2 wheeled hot-rods actually (V-Max's) and although I have always used full face helmets my standard riding attire was jeans, t-shirt & tennis shoes. After acquiring my Busa I somehow stumbled upon this wonderful forum, met up with some of it's members and almost instantly adopted an entirely new attitude and perception towards riding habits and gear. I guess you could say that the Busa has changed the way I view motorcycling, I can't imagine goin for a ride now without full gear and I can't tell you how much it makes me cringe when I see these young guys on their sport bikes in beach attire. Maybe some of us evolve a bit later in life, I feel that I have maybe just a little.
 
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Gear or no gear??

Full face or skull cap??

Harley or Hayabusa??

Dino or synthetic??

Full system or slipons??

To tre or not to tre??



Some of us do not understand why they choose to ride the way they do or what they ride. Some of them do not understand why we choose to ride the way we do or what we ride. Does it really matter?? Is either side going to change?? Ride your ride and enjoy it. Let others do the same!

:beerchug:
 
BusaBret said:
Gear or no gear??

Full face or skull cap??

Harley or Hayabusa??

Dino or synthetic??

Full system or slipons??

To tre or not to tre??



Some of us do not understand why they choose to ride the way they do or what they ride. Some of them do not understand why we choose to ride the way we do or what we ride. Does it really matter?? Is either side going to change?? Ride your ride and enjoy it. Let others do the same!

:beerchug:
Click to expand...

Wow, sounds like wisdom except you ask, "does it really matter?" Yes it does matter, safety gear matters, scientific crash worthiness studies matter, horrific unprotected young bodies sliding along the tarmac matters. Perhaps the flesh I've scraped off the road with a clipboard as an LA cop makes me a little less dismissive than you. Enjoy your opinion but it's not close to mine. Raydog
 
My informal observations revel that there are far more out there with inadequate gear than those with what I would consider proper. It is not just a Harley thing, age specific either.

I like to razz the HD crowd too in a light hearted way and only because I know they do the same to me, but they as a group aren't anymore gear challenged than any other.

However, the bar thing? That's an undeniable fact right there. If there's a bike parked in front of a bar, it's gonna be an HD. :laugh:
 
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Am I the only one who sees this as kinda.........GAY. Especially with the shirt off.:rofl::rofl:



On a serious note, I started out riding a cruiser. Half helmet with goggles and vest was the way we rode. For some reason when I got my Busa, Jacket, fullface helmet, and gloves were a must. I guess it is the culture.

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raydog said:
Wow, sounds like wisdom except you ask, "does it really matter?" Yes it does matter, safety gear matters, scientific crash worthiness studies matter, horrific unprotected young bodies sliding along the tarmac matters. Perhaps the flesh I've scraped off the road with a clipboard as an LA cop makes me a little less dismissive than you. Enjoy your opinion but it's not close to mine. Raydog
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Sir,
Even though I do not always dress as though I am sitting on the pole of the next MotoGP race, I do believe in "Dress for the crash not the ride"!! I try to encourage at least a minimum of safety gear whenever I can with whomever I can.
With the exception of helmets I see a lot more sportbike guys with no gear than with. It is not just a problem with the "Harley" culture. It is problem with every single sub group of the riding world.

Go to one of their websites and you will find a thread there just like this one. Someone there is posting that "I do not have a problem with crotch rockets just the idiots that ride them. They think they are invincible because they are dressed in all their leather race suits and Darth Vader helmets. All they do is go out and race, pop wheelies and run 150 mph".

Are we gonna change them? NO

Are they gonna change us? NO

Why? Because we, all riders on all bikes, have to one point or another an elitist attitude to those that are different. We all need to get down off of our high horses and work TOGETHER to make this lifestyle as SAFE and enjoyable as possible. Sadly though as long as we are all human that is not going to happen.
 
I'm kind of a gear natzi. Even before I had full leathers, I always rode a full face helmet and over the ankle boots, even on the crusers. It actually bothers me more to see someone on a sport bike underdressed for the ride than it does when I see someone on a Harley.
 
Might do a Bagger after I collect an 09' in Silver, and the 05' gets a turbo.... :oldcool:
 
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