harley hassling

Riding home yesterday along a pleasant country road I came across a Harley, the rider in the full "live to ride" gear. Anyway he sees my little scoot behind so he opens the throttle with a very macho "BRAAAAAA".  Games on thinks I. So on it goes... macho " BRAAAA", scooterish "meeeeeeeee". Could he pull away? Only through the villages where I stick to the limits, back in the twisties he had "meeeeee" in hot pursuit. Top fun. Apologies if you were that Harley guy, but it made me giggle..... Is it time I grew up yet? :-)

Nope!

Those pesky HOG members are everywhere lol:P

For legal purposes I claim this is a hypothetical post.

A friend of mine on his SW and myself on my 650GT were cruising along the freeway at the speed limit of 65mph with no traffic around us when a HD rider in full regalia including beard and belly passed us. He sneered at our friendly wave and gunned his engine to pull away. Being linked with my fellow rider on Bluetooth I asked, "do we have to stand for that?" We opened up and went after this cad. At about 105mph on my GPS we passed him. He tried to catch up but couldn't. I just know it must be painful for HD riders to get 'scootered'. Sorry dude but you brought it on yourself.

I also ride a Harley:oops:.I'm not a HOG member and wear nowt with Harley written on it (except me summer gloves and helmet)Bought it 'cause I like 'em but not the lifestyle that some buy into.Ride with likeminded mates and I've been on my 250 Helix engined Piaggio with them and they were holding me up lol.

Some folks can't stay off of them, some can't stand them. Myself, I think they are over priced motorcycles and those folks who alter their exhausts just annoy me to no end.

For 42 years I have ridden motorcycles. I have never had the need to alter the stock exhaust..... buy some after market intake crap and then change the handle bars so that my arm pits are exposed.

If the motorcycle doesn't do it in a stock manner, I will pass on it and find one that does.

I don't judge a man by his brand of motorcycle, but it doesn't take long to sort them out based on the sound of their bike and the uniform they wear. I just stay away.

I will admit that I do like the looks of a naked Harley. Not those supposed touring models with the fork mounted fairings. The basic HD looks like a motorcycle should. The part I don't like is the 'bad boy' image HD has fostered. Kinda silly if you're a lawyer or doctor to put on your pirate kit on the weekends to ride you Harley. Well maybe not silly if you're a lawyer they're basically thieves anyway.

The basic HD looks good. However most of its technology comes from the '50s. Air cooled engines don't make a lot of sense in larger displacements. Water cooling more than doubles engine life, increases mileage and is far more reliable even with the complication of the cooling system. I much prefer shaft drive to belt drive or worse chain. I've ridden for over sixty years now and have definitely had my fill of those. I don't much care for the riding position on the 'cruiser' bikes, too hard on your tailbone on rough roads.

My first and last on the road problem was handled by a HD rider NOT on a bike, fine fellow that saved our butts as nasty weather moved in. He " hats off " actually removed a gas tank from one of his mowers on his trailer and poured it into our gas tank and refused payment of any kind, pass it on he said and I did. It's people not machinery.

True, I have friends who ride Harleys. Hopefully they'll have an intervention and switch to Hondas but who knows? Meanwhile they're good folks anyway.

The odd thing is I lump maxi scoots and cruisers in the same kind of place, left field to all other bikes due to the feet forward riding position. But I chose a scoot over a cruiser for the commute because I've always had a curiosity with cvt that just had to be scratched.

I couldn't care less, I've got 20 years in on maxi scooters and my biking years are now just memories. I wandered round a major BMW bike dealership a week ago, and my local Suzuki dealership just a few days ago and I've no interest in them at all.

It's also why I no longer waste time or fuel riding to hang out at any bikers haunts, and I stopped playing nodding dogs and waving at bikers a long time ago. As for Harley riders I've seen off a few on maxi scooters, and been the sole maxi scooter on a ferry car deck surrounded by German, and Dutch registered H-D's going over to the UK for the Isle of Man TT.

I'm always amused that they wear gear I'd be embarrassed to been seen in, like black leather pants laced up at the sides like corsets, and those fingerless gloves for nosepicking on the move.

Yes each to their own as they say,surprising how many sportsbike (power rangers) riders mistake me for one of their own when I'm on the SW and nod as they pass something they never do to a Harley type bike
Used to amuse me few years ago on a 20 mile ride ride to work I'd pass the same bikes everyday same time but I'd ride a Harley/Fireblade/old Brit bike depending on my mood and didn't always get acknowledged if on wrong bike.Meldrew those lace up things are chaps and some folk do wear them:roll:but I certainly don't.Must dash I'm off on a run with a group of Harley riders (not HOG!)bike festival  near Cambridge

Those up lace things aren't chaps, chaps are separate leather leg coverings that go over each leg that go over denim jeans and leave your denim clad backside showing. I'm certain our American friends will correct me if I'm wrong. I'm talking about leather jeans that are/were popular with Euro bikers with side laces that could be tightened or loosened. They came in black or a grubby brown colour and were sold in Hein Gericke German storesas far back as the mid Eighties, and also Polo, and Louis.

Never seen those lace up things,don't think they'd look good on me (nor would chaps)Back from me Harley rideout weather stayed dry no breakdowns very enjoyable

I don't care much for chaps but do have a pair each of 'Draggin Jeans' and 'Sliders'. These are regular looking jeans with Kevlar lining in critical areas such as knees, hips and backside. I had a pair of these suffer from 'closet shrink' and gave them to a friend. A few months later he suffered an unplanned dismount at 70mph from his Goldwing and slid quite a ways on the freeway with no damage to his hide. The denim part of his jeans showed a lot of wear through but the Kevlar held up. He ended up without any road rash.

My wife was teasing a Harley riding friend of mine that scooter riders ride and motorcycle riders accessorize.

I have a riding buddy who bought a Heritage Softail after selling his 650 Burger. He used to ride, but not much on the HD. Swapped spoked rims for cast ones, WW tires for blck ones, and assorted chrome nicknacks. Watches the weather like a hawk, lest a drop of rain hit his highly shined steed. Spends hours cleaning and waxing. It's come to the point now that we exclude him from the call list when we plan a ride. He often jokes that if I take my Helix on a ride with his HD I'd get all the attention !!!!
Jay.

I understand that over 90% of all Harleys made are still on the road.....


































The rest have made it to their destinations.

That made I laugh :-)

I had to read these posts with great laughter. I traded my 2004 XLC1200 ( Sportster 1200 Custom )
for my Silverwing yesterday. I was a HOG member. Bunch of junk. It is all about the "LOOK AT ME!!!" status. SMH. That was my first, and my LAST, Harley Davidson. I am a lifelong scooter rider and lover. Have had more than I care to mention.
Have FOUR in the garage at the moment. LOL
I just hope Honda brings back the silverwing someday, because at only 40 years old, I will be wanting / needing a new one in about 5 or so years.
I would always give anyone on any 2 wheeler the wave. The rest of the guys refused to acknowledge
ANY bike that was not a big cruiser of some sort coming down the road. Bunch of foolishness I tell ya. 65 MPH on 2 wheels is 65 MPH on 2 wheels. hahaha! Heck! I wave at the 50cc guys when I see them in town. Most of them wont wave back. HA!

A lot of folks riding the smaller scooters just don't know about two wheeler customs. Some are pretty new to riding and might be hesitant to take their hand off the bars long enough to wave.

Likewise I see a lot of scooter riders on bikes with no guardian bell. You don't want problems you gotta have a bell. To get a bell you it has to be given to you without asking for it. Otherwise it won't function. A fellow biker should buy the bell and give it to you. You can however point out the bells on other bikes to your significant other or offspring and mention the custom saying that your bike doesn't have one. But you can't hint and stronger than that of the bell won't function.

http://www.samhoustonpost95.org/Legend%20Of%20The%20Gremlin%20Bell.pdf