Visited a H-D Dealership

[ConPilot1]

Of course if I saw a bike in immediate danger of falling over, like creeping on the sidestand or sinking in hot asphalt, of course I'd intervene.

But to take it upon yourself to see that my bike is in gear? To take your foot and step on my gearshift lever while I'm not there, because it's something that
you "think" should be done?? No way. Don't touch my bike.

BTW my Connie's been spit upon at local bike events where the majority of the crowd is doo-raggers. So yeah I wouldn't put it past and HD rider to do what the Ducati rider thought.

My animosity towards HD and the general crowd has been generated by them. Sick of being screamed at out of truck windows, wiping lugies off my seat,
or just listening to their comments about my riding suits or my "jap crap"  when I'm making my way through a crowd to go get a drink.

[Sport-Touring]

[Kootenanny]

Of course if I saw a bike in immediate danger of falling over, like creeping on the sidestand or sinking in hot asphalt, of course I'd intervene.

But to take it upon yourself to see that my bike is in gear? To take your foot and step on my gearshift lever while I'm not there, because it's something that
you "think" should be done?? No way. Don't touch my bike.

OK, we agree here. I was only suggesting, if I saw something actually imminent.

BTW my Connie's been spit upon at local bike events where the majority of the crowd is doo-raggers. So yeah I wouldn't put it past and HD rider to do what the Ducati rider thought.

My animosity towards HD and the general crowd has been generated by them. Sick of being screamed at out of truck windows, wiping lugies off my seat,
or just listening to their comments about my riding suits or my "jap crap"  when I'm making my way through a crowd to go get a drink.

Hmmm...maybe it's because of where I live (likely, actually), but I've never had anyone spit on my bike or scream at me out of a truck window.  I've had one or two Harley guys give me some mild ribbing about my "Jap bike" , but I've also had some nice compliments from these guys.  And...well, I've also had a few of these guys convinced my bike has a turbine in it  BTW, the worst vitriol I've heard against my bike has been from a Ducati rider!

[Royal Tiger]

Of course if I saw a bike in immediate danger of falling over, like creeping on the sidestand or sinking in hot asphalt, of course I'd intervene.

But to take it upon yourself to see that my bike is in gear? To take your foot and step on my gearshift lever while I'm not there, because it's something that
you "think" should be done?? No way. Don't touch my bike.

BTW my Connie's been spit upon at local bike events where the majority of the crowd is doo-raggers. So yeah I wouldn't put it past and HD rider to do what the Ducati rider thought.

My animosity towards HD and the general crowd has been generated by them. Sick of being screamed at out of truck windows, wiping lugies off my seat,
or just listening to their comments about my riding suits or my "jap crap"  when I'm making my way through a crowd to go get a drink.

We probably don't live all that far apart.

I'll admit I have seen some strong hardley loyalty down near York, but around here I even get waves from 90% of them.  The north central part of the state seems to be trying hard to become the next West Virginia, so maybe you ran into some short bus graduates.

[misanthropist]

I am severely allergic to group identity and have had some run-ins with Harley owners in my time.

That said I would definitely consider buying one.  Right now, I think their build quality is fairly good.  I took an '08 XL1200R out last week and really enjoyed it.  Was it a similar bike to my GSXR?  Obviously not.

I know this girl who goes to see all kinds of movies, then bitches about how they are too lowbrow.  She complained about one movie a couple of years ago, comparing it repeatedly to "Babette's Feast", which as far as I can tell, is her idea of the peak of cinema.  The movie?  "Transformers 2."

If you go to a movie that says, in the opening credits, "Based on the toys by Hasbro" and you expect something other than a bunch of rockem sockem robots smashing each other to bits while various things explode, you are a fucking moron.  Do not complain that "Die Hard" had insufficient character development, and that the eurotrash supervillains should have been experiencing an existential crisis.  Shut the hell up.  It's Die Hard.

Harley Davidson builds Harley Davidsons.  If you go in thinking, "hey, let me sling this through a few hundred miles of tight turns and see if it compares to my ST1300", the problem is not with Harley Davidson.

They are what they are.  The few I have ridden (which have all been fairly recent) have been good bikes of that sort.  I have half a mind to buy the sportiest Dyna I can find.  I think the bikes are okay...you just have to understand that they are not built to do the same thing a Blackbird is.

If you want to drill holes and you buy a palm sander, don't whine about the engineers at Black and Decker.  Furthermore, if the idiot fanboys of the palm sander manage to sink to ever lower depths of idiocy, don't confuse that with the ability of the tool to actually sand something.

I have been threatened by HD guys in two different states simply for parking a Yamaha outside a gas station (Arizona) and a restaurant (Virginia).  I had a whole bar full of HD riders watch some crackhead try to steal my bike and do nothing other than mock me when I got back for not riding a "hog".  I have had plenty of negative experiences with that crowd.  But as I have aged I've developed the ability to hate the "if I rode, I'd only ride a Harley" culture AND the "that bike sucks, I've only ever rode Harleys" culture without specifically hating the bikes HD manufacture.  They do what they're supposed to do pretty well these days as far as I can tell.

[caddydaddy]

Hmmm...maybe it's because of where I live (likely, actually), but I've never had anyone spit on my bike or scream at me out of a truck window.

The day after I bought my Triumph, I took it for a ride up to a lake in Maine.  I stopped for a rest and some dude in a truck drove by and shouted "Get a Harley!".  I was thinking "I want something that runs!"  

Before I bought my bike, I was looking at Buells.  The ever so helpful Harley dealer guy said to me "Why do you want one of those?"    No wonder Harley dropped Buell!  

[dan88z]

I think HD's touring bikes are nice. The metrics, aside from the Goldwing, have been trying to catch up to the full bagger for a long time. My friend has a Road Glide and I'd ride one of those. The other bikes do nothing for me. My Vulcan 1600 was a lot more bike than a dyna or soft tail and was half the price.

The stories of loogies on your seat or bikes being knocked down, that's the stuff that makes me fume. The best is "get a real bike" from some jackhole in a car with the HD stickers all over it. Hey, at least I'm riding! These are the same people who say "it's not what you ride, it's that you ride" and other cute quotes. As long as you ride a HD I guess. This is the main reason I avoid any bike events/ bike weeks. A few friends and I went down to the Timonium bike show recently. You'd think that 90% of the people rode their bikes because they were all dressed up like they had ridden to the event in the snow. It was a leather pirate convention.

[black hills]

H-D is in business to sell bikes and almost as importantly branded merchandise, both of wich they appear to do fairly well. best not to think about it too much

[Royal Tiger]

It was a leather pirate convention.

 

Classic!  

[Kootenanny]

Before I bought my bike, I was looking at Buells.  The ever so helpful Harley dealer guy said to me "Why do you want one of those?"    No wonder Harley dropped Buell!  

I got a bit of that--as I said in an earlier post, my dealer did try to sell me a Sportster.  I told him no, I wanted the Buell, and I told him why--the salesman knew far less about the XB Buells than I did, to this day I feel I should have charged him a consultancy fee.  I also got a bit of razzing from some of the shop customers, old guys in Harley leathers who asked why I was interested in "that little plastic bike."  But it was good natured fun, I never felt they were demeaning, they just didn't understand my outlook.

BTW, I do love my Firebolt--it is a motorcycle in the entire sense of the word.  It has enough power to be exciting, but not so much that I can't twist it hard and thrash it a bit; it handles very well; the look is clean and spare, the chassis is composed and competent, and the engine vibrates at idle and thrums along at speed.  As for Harley shutting down Buell...at the time, Buell was growing faster than H-D, and selling pretty good...the closure had nothing to do with sales AFAIK.  (BTW, they didn't just "drop" Buell--indeed, there were several serious offers to purchase the brand, but Harley wouldn't sell.  They spent serious money to break their contracts and shut it down.  If you look at what EBR is producing now, you'll see what might have been possible under H-D's ownership if their new CEO hadn't been so close-minded.)

[caddydaddy]

 As for Harley shutting down Buell...at the time, Buell was growing faster than H-D, and selling pretty good...the closure had nothing to do with sales AFAIK.

Selling pretty good, but they probably would have sold great if the asshole Harley salesmen didn't despise Buell and turn customers away!

[Royal Tiger]

Selling pretty good, but they probably would have sold great if the asshole Harley salesmen didn't despise Buell and turn customers away!

There is a Buell fanatic on SBN who posted he took his 1125 in for service and they asked him when was he ready to trade that in for a real bike.  Yep, that's how you expand your sales base.

[Powder Addict]

There is a Buell fanatic on SBN who posted he took his 1125 in for service and they asked him when was he ready to trade that in for a real bike.  Yep, that's how you expand your sales base.

Back in 2002 I was thinking of getting into riding (just prior to when I got my license) and though I really liked the look of the Buells.  I did some research, and thought I'd go check one out in person, just doing some further research.

I went into the HD dealership, wandered over and started looking at a model.  No one came over to help, which I thought was a bit odd.  I finally went over to a salesman, and asked him the price on one of the models.  He wouldn't even look up at me, and quoted an outrageously high price.  I walked out, and haven't been back in a HD dealership since.


It's not just the bikes, it's the whole attitude the brand carries.  For a brand that sells "individuality", they sure don't give others the "individuality" they so loudly preach.  

[bomber]

If you are a “motorcyclist”, as you claim to be, then the insults in this thread really don’t apply to you and there’s no reason for you to get worked up over them unless you’re a Harley zealot. If you are what you say (this is the internet, I could claim to be a professional bodybuilding millionaire with a genius IQ if I wanted   ) then surely you see the “lifestyle” marketing Harley does and surely you despise it as much as the rest of us.

By relying so heavily on “Lifestyle” marketing and focusing entirely on one market segment (classic cruisers) Harley has turned their back on a good number of riders that would love to be able to support “the home team” but have no respect for that team or its rabid fans. That, I think, is where a lot of the angst comes from, not from jealousy or the need to "justify" another brand.

This makes me chuckle a lil bit -- first, you post about people being narrow minded and target fixated so they buy an HD, then you state that "surely," another rider must agree with you.

Blaming damn near anything to do with HD on what YOU perceive to be a generational divide is, er, inaccurate (I see many folks below 40 on them, and not a few in their 20s).

HD is not in business to further motorcycling, to hold closely to what YOU perceive a motorcycle to be, or for any other reason than to make money for their owners. If you were nearly as successful as HD in turning investments into profits, you'd likely be out riding somewhere exotic (hell, me too).

The halt pointing fingers and laughing at the blind -- I simply love irony.

[Mr.Black]

I just left our local HD shop. The G and I are out and about adventuring so we stopped in. Say what you will and rag all you want, there is a quality that the machines have that is very intriguing. They've come a long way since I had mine. The hype and attitude that accompanies them is nothing short of revolting but I wouldn't mind owning another one someday.

[ConPilot1]

Well I'd like to add that I am the very proud owner of a pair of Harley Davidson waterproof boot covers and I own several Harley Davidson brand bungee cords.

These are quality items right here and every HD owner should be proud  that their merchandise rocks.  

[atadaskew]

They sell this shit and people buy it?  Now, I'm all okay with retro as long as it has a retro-price.  Like for example the Royal Enfield Bullet or the Triumph Thruxton or Bonneville.

What's retro in pricing about the Enfield - $6700 for garbage, or the made in Thailand Triumph - $9000?
The cheapest made in the USA Harley Sportster is $8K, and comes with perfect fuel injection, perfect paint and chrome etc.  It is what people want when they buy a cruiser.  Which is why Harley makes them and sells them.  How is it so hard to understand that they are a business focussed on building and selling what the market wants?

You obviously don't like Harleys, which is cool, but to write a frothing at the mouth piece on it is kinda childish.  There's a reason all the Japanese mfgs copy their bikes.  But Harley is now doing really well in sales, while the Japanese are not.

Why don't you write a thread complaining about Japanese copy cat cruisers?  

[Kootenanny]

Selling pretty good, but they probably would have sold great if the asshole Harley salesmen didn't despise Buell and turn customers away!

Yes, this is true...AFAIK, Buell actually had their best sales in Europe, where they were not tied to H-D's dealer network (they'd be sold in shops that carried Triumph and Ducati, etc.), and where Harley is not such a divisive factor in the riding community.

My point was, Buell was selling well enough to be growing faster than H-D itself.  Here H-D was, with an in-house brand that was small enough and innovative enough to actually develop a new customer base.  I'm a perfect example--I'd never have gone into a Harley boutique if not to look at the Buells.  And yet, Buell was still a separate brand name--no reason for the H-D faithful to get upset.  Especially looking at what EBR is doing now, I believe Buell really could have been the "American sportbike" company so many seem to desire, had Wandell been a bit more visionary.  But no, he decided to go turtle and "focus on their core business" of producing large, retro cruisers.  (Not that there's anything wrong with cruisers, but not everyone wants to ride one...)

[axelwik]

NOBODY should touch anybody's motorcycle, PERIOD. FOR ANY REASON. Unless you're helping get somebody's bike upright again with them.
If you think there is a problem with a parked bike, attempt to find the owner and notify them.

^This... There was absolutely no danger of this bike falling over, rolling, etc. Since there are no ignition interlocks on the bike it can be started with only a turn of the key and push of the starter button. This is why I park it in neutral when it's not on a hill. If I wasn't straddling the bike it probably would have fallen over.

Should have gotten a clue when the jackass in the pirate costume in front of me nodded to his friends in my direction when I was about to start the bike.

[caddydaddy]

What's retro in pricing about the Enfield - $6700 for garbage, or the made in Thailand Triumph - $9000?
The cheapest made in the USA Harley Sportster is $8K,

Not all Triumph Bonnevilles are made in Thailand, FYI.  Quite a lot are still made in England.  And you can't really get hung up on the "Made in..." Since even Harleys have lots of foreign parts on them!

[gritsngravy]

What's retro in pricing about the Enfield - $6700 for garbage, or the made in Thailand Triumph - $9000?
The cheapest made in the USA Harley Sportster is $8K, and comes with perfect fuel injection, perfect paint and chrome etc.  It is what people want when they buy a cruiser.  Which is why Harley makes them and sells them.  How is it so hard to understand that they are a business focussed on building and selling what the market wants?

You obviously don't like Harleys, which is cool, but to write a frothing at the mouth piece on it is kinda childish.  There's a reason all the Japanese mfgs copy their bikes.  But Harley is now doing really well in sales, while the Japanese are not.

Why don't you write a thread complaining about Japanese copy cat cruisers?  

The whole biker bullshit redneck confederate flag flying inbred meth mouth thing is a turn off, regardless of make they chose to...I use the term loosely.....ride.   I gave the cruising thing a try, rode a Honda VTX 1300 for three years and yes it was a so called copy cat caused it SUCKED just as bad as every HD I tried.   Honda got that HD function down just right!

Cruisers, riding in formation or large groups definitely isn't for me and I'm willing to live & let live but sadly it's the typically HD mounted mouth breathers that keep on with their dim witted crap.   About the funniest thing I've witnessed happened here in Nor Cal was  when an ape hangered potato putz machine riding clown flying the stars & bars took his hand off the left grip to flip me off ( I was on my vfr at the time ) and nearly crashed when he hit some rough pavement.  

There are assholes everywhere but these guys go out of their way to diminish the inherent brilliance of the human species.