Harley Riders...???

[Thoraby]

That group of Harley riders seem like a big bunch of idiots. It'd be understandable if you caved into peer pressure and changed your bike(we're all just human after all), but not the peer pressure from a bunch of narrow minded hicks.

Oh, and:

"HARLEY DAVIDSON, making mechanics out of riders since 1903!"

[jgcable]

That group of Harley riders seem like a big bunch of idiots. It'd be understandable if you caved into peer pressure and changed your bike(we're all just human after all), but not the peer pressure from a bunch of narrow minded hicks.

Oh, and:

"HARLEY DAVIDSON, making mechanics out of riders since 1903!"

I couldn't say if these guys were idiots. For all I know.. they are probably a great bunch of guys. The thing I learned is that if you are going on a HD sponsored poker run with 200 HD riders that all have tricked out hogs.. you really should be riding a Harley. Also.. if you want to be welcomed into the HD "fold" you need to be riding a Harley. I can understand that totally.
My dream bike has always been a Ducati M900. I will always be partial to naked sport bikes. Thats most likely what I will be riding. If I want to fit in with my friends I can always get a Firebolt or a Ulyseses. I really like the XB9R but I would need to get it lowered or maybe a lower seat because I couldn't reach the ground at all. Then.. I could have my cake and ride it too.

[Thrust]

I was just telling my wife yesterday how glad I was to no longer be associated with the "harley crowd." You see, I NEVER rode with the cruiser folk (because of the reasons you listed AND most cannot ride) but I had a cruiser:

I actually didn't fit in with ANYONE, however, the sportbike guys always welcomed me with open arms. If you're in a decent sized area you'll eventually find a group of motorcyclists that you'll fit in with--it took me two years (I wasn't really searching, however).

Get the bike you want . . . what appeals to you . . . and give it some time. You're only a couple weeks in and you're worrying about not be accepted. Fugg'em. Keep riding by yourself (I know it's boring sometimes) and honing your skills. You'll be a better rider and when you do find a responsible group of sportbikers you'll be able to keep pace and not worry.

The group I ride with consists of an MSF instructor, state trooper, and a few other guys that frequently ride "track days." One guy puts over 30k miles a year on a bike (remember I'm in PA so we have ~6 months of good riding weather). They do ride "fast" however, they ride responsible and the group rides are REALLY enjoyable and relatively safe. **and everyone wears full gear--half have 1-piece suits**

[Cleveland Metal]

If I were gonna do the bike thing, I'd want a sportbike for fun and a custom (S&S machine powered) hardtail for chilling with the female and bar crawling.

If you're trying to "hang" with people, they WILL make immediate generalizations... And I hang around a lot of both groups you have described, Harleyfags, and sportbike maniacs.

Guys can argue all you want, but there is just a an esteem that follows a Harley. Chicks dig em, and many other guys respect them/envy you for having one.. You could have a bike "JUST" like a Harely (like the Jackpot) but if it don't say Harley or have a Harley motor on it, in a lot of peoples eyes, it ain't the ticket and you'll be shunned somewhat. Even tho it's likely better engineered, haha.

All just just depends on what you want and who ya wanna please.

If you want to pull chicks at the clubs during barcrawls, then a NICE Harley or Harley based customn is a ticket. That's about the only reason I'd run one, haha. Otherwise, Who wants to ride with the silly suburban "biker wannabee" Harley fags dressed up in their "brand new" chaps anyways.

In a comparative situation, I have a seriously cool,seriously fast Mustang that eats Vettes, but chicks walk right past me to the Vettes or Porsches... I get lots of attention from dumb kids (akin to sportbike manaics) that love my stang tho. Gee, how umm friggin awesome

Sounds to me, like you're married (not weanting to pull chicks), and just want fun.
If you wanna have fun, make your own fun. Do what makes YOU happy. Maybe a high end Sportbike like you said. Busa etc. You will be of a higher class than the regulars, and a much better engineered piece than the Harley guys. They should at least respect that when you wanna run with them. Even the maniacs will respect you as it smokes their stuff too.

[Thrust]

Guys can argue all you want, but there is just a an esteem that follows a Harley. Chicks dig em,

If you want to pull chicks at the clubs during barcrawls, then a NICE Harley or Harley based customn is a ticket.

I wonder if this changes based on age? When I had my Warrior (see above) it seemed like girls ignored me, however, on my old Busa and (now) on my CBR I always get glances/questions. I'm married so it really doesn't matter anyway, but I have noticed a pattern.

P.S. I would concede the stripper type do LOVE the harley.

[Cleveland Metal]

Well, there is assuredly the species that loves the danger of a serious sportbike. Just not as predominant here. Yeah, age is a lot usually a very younger type of babe as well. "Usually" haha...

[YetAnotherOne]

Hate to say I told ya so but ....

Ride what you like, have fun, screw everyone else.

[jgcable]

My friend came over after the ride and apologized for what happened. He had no idea there would be so many hard core HD riders. He still thinks I should give HD a shot when I graduate to a bigger bike. I will check it out for sure. In the mean time.. I will be cutting my teeth on my Ninja 250r and having a ball learning. I put another 50 miles on it today. Thats almost 500 miles this week alone. Today was very fun and actually pretty relaxing riding alone.

[StukaJU87]

John, I am sorry to hear about what happened at the poker run. I have been on my share of runs over the years and they are supposed to be fun for ALL.

It really burns my ass that there are guys who treat people differently because of what brand they ride. Afterall, isn't the fact that you are riding on 2 wheels the important thing?

I have been riding HD for years. In between I owned a Vmax. That bike seems to be liked by the HD crowd, but still, some guys I rode with treated me differently. But these were not my friends, just aquaintences.

I have a HD again because I could not keep the Yamaha running right and neither could my dealer. I got fed up and switched back.

Let me also say this. Here in NJ and NYC I go to plenty of biker parties and stuff like that. There may be a bikini bike wash, wet t-shirt contests, but please, strippers? lap dances? That is not the norm. These guys sound like they are so full of themselves it is sad really.

John, ride what you like. Do not cave it.

[jgcable]

John, I am sorry to hear about what happened at the poker run. I have been on my share of runs over the years and they are supposed to be fun for ALL.

It really burns my ass that there are guys who treat people differently because of what brand they ride. Afterall, isn't the fact that you are riding on 2 wheels the important thing?

I have been riding HD for years. In between I owned a Vmax. That bike seems to be liked by the HD crowd, but still, some guys I rode with treated me differently. But these were not my friends, just aquaintences.

I have a HD again because I could not keep the Yamaha running right and neither could my dealer. I got fed up and switched back.

Let me also say this. Here in NJ and NYC I go to plenty of biker parties and stuff like that. There may be a bikini bike wash, wet t-shirt contests, but please, strippers? lap dances? That is not the norm. These guys sound like they are so full of themselves it is sad really.

John, ride what you like. Do not cave it.

Yea, these guys were hard core. For most of them.. its a lifestyle. At the beginning of the poker run when they all pulled out of the gas station (around 40 bikes) they all ran the first 3 red lights. They were also driving very fast. My friends (who are clean and sober) said the common statement made after the first stop was "lets have some cocktails". Thats certainly not my style at all. I like the "run what you brung" mentality alot better. I did when I was into cars too. I never understood the Mopar vs the Chevy vs the Ford and that they all hated the imports.

[StukaJU87]

Well, these guys want to "live the life" and that is their choice. You know who you are. No need to change for them.

Running red lights and stuff? Stupid.

I rode with a group of guys like that one night. Jose was a dude I met when I was servicing fork lifts. We had a common interest, HD's. He invited me out one night to ride with his "boys". The night ended with a 100 mph ride up the turnpike and these guys blowing the toll booth at 18W at about 65 mph. I stopped, paid my toll, and went home. Haven't seen them since then. Maybe 6 years ago.

I have no need for that nonsense.

There are plenty of guys out there that share the same interest as you. Your buddies who ride don't sound as "hard core" as the larger group from the gas station. Maybe you guys should stick together and just have fun. Organize small runs. Start out at a diner for breakfast and plan a scenic ride.

Have you gone to Marcus Dairy in Danbury on a Sunday? Great variety of bikes. I have not been there in a while so I am not sure if they still do it. When we went, we would leave early so we got decent parking. Lots of vendors selling stufff. Mostly HD related, but cool to browse.

How far are you from NYC? Maybe I'll shoot up one day and we can ride together.

[jim777]

The hard core HD poser types and the hard core lifer HD types will never accept a guy on a Japanese bike. The normal guys who buy Harleys because that's what they like will, but a lot of them eventually turn into the poser/lifers at some point eventually. There's no known cure
A lot of the guys I used to know with Harleys didn't even have licenses; they had their written test permits and rode to and from bars on Sundays with other Harley owners. that's not motorcycling to me.
If you want a Harley you might be happy with one of the V-Rod descendents, but you likely won't be happy with a big air-cooled HD. I won't say don't bother with HD though. As for the Squids (part squirrel/part kid) on Japanese bikes, they are idiots. If you ride a bike in shorts a tee shirt and flip flops you're no smarter than a guy in a vest and a brain bucket and a lot more likely to die. They are part of the reason insurance on sport bikes is so high.
Anyway, when I traded in my CBR900RR I got a BMW K1200 LTE. It's a land yacht I would definitely get another Honda CBR or Ninja (I had an '86 Ninja 600 new) or a Gixxer but I'll probably stick with BMW going forward. I really like the BMW's brakes and forks, and the 7 CD/8 speaker sound system is surprisingly loud and listenable at less than 90mph I'd LOVE to try one of the new BMW K1200S sportbikes, but since BMW dealers generally let you test ride anything in the store I've been afraid to visit one with my wallet on me. I think you sound like you know what you want and how you want to ride, so you likely have years and years of fun riding ahead of you. try a bunch of bikes if you can, and get one that makes you happy. I doubt you'll really be happy on a Harley styled cruiser, but you still have tons of choices. Test ride a K1200S, and let me know what you think of that!

jim

[dk1ben]

+1 to victory if you dont want a harley.

[Madness]

It's like that here too (Vt) JG.
All bikers wave to eachother around here...all except the Harley guys if they see you on a sportbike or anything other than a cruiser. Every once in a while a nice one will drive by and catch you off guard but those are few an far between. That's just the way it is I guess...It's one of the first things I noticed when I started riding. Reminded me of the whole American Vs. Imports thing when it comes to cars.

Oh Well, I'd ride with ya if you lived a bit closer.

[horns666]

I get mucho respect from HD bros,..constantly!!

..I can beat 'em easily too..

No shortage of pussy magnet here..Luckily I'm a good husband!

Here's my toy..but it has 4 wheels..Fuggums..



My Bro has a laid out custom HD fat boy and my dad's annihilates it with his custom CMC Streetburner..in looks and speed!!!

That's OK John..whenever I park next to Vettes at car shows..they instantly become invisible..all the fine bitches see is that yellow Mo Fo. I see the look on proud vette owners faces..that alone gives me wood..so that's payback for you and John G..Fuggums..make those uppity fucks feel like poop I say!!!!!

I have a bad ass Vette..Nooooooo comparison with getting attention..not even close.

I can't even stop for gas or at a light without conversation..But I like that!!!!