Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

rooster wrote:As an ACCOUNTANT WHO HAS NEVER HAD RIDDEN OR DESIRED A MASSEY FERGUSON/HD I RESENT THE STEREO TYPE .

In all fairness, McFly did say that if you ride a HD, then you are probably an accountant etc.. He didn't say that all accountants ride HD's.

As an accountant who doesn't ride a HD, you don't really fit the stereo type he was referring to.

I think you guys shouldnt be so quick to judge.... I bet all of those here who are picking on HD have probably never ridden one...

Stereo wrote:I think you guys shouldnt be so quick to judge.... I bet all of those here who are picking on HD have probably never ridden one...

About the only bikes I haven't ridden are a Velocette Venom and a Triumph Trident, although I would love the opportunity...
I've even had a go on a 1920 HD Peashooter with the pressed steel, tractor type seat, arguably the best model they have ever produced. The motor hasn't evolved much since then that's for sure...

So it sounds you enjoyed it.....

I always wanted to ride one of those CHIPS bikes....

Stereo wrote:So it sounds you enjoyed it.....

I always wanted to ride one of those CHIPS bikes....

No I wouldn't exactly call it enjoyable, being the best Harley Davidson is like claiming to be, (at the risk of seriously offending some people), the smartest kid with Downs Syndrome...

quote] being the best Harley Davidson is like claiming to be, (at the risk of seriously offending some people), the smartest kid with Downs Syndrome...[/quote]

Neka79 wrote:wow Nick...

so uve put in for a HD contract for the dealership huh??

oh.. and ive seen HD's wheelied and stoppied for what its worth...

A harley doing a stoppie now that would be impressive, are there any pics or vids out there of this???

Nothing wrong with Harley's...

in a flaming pile at the bottom of a cliff

Nice Dave, nice! Although I got a ruler across my arse for writing too small when I was at school......

Flywheels MC wrote:Nice Dave, nice! Although I got a ruler across my arse for writing too small when I was at school......

Yeah, but you would have been a willing participant you sick bastard...

ozten wrote:

Neka79 wrote:wow Nick...

so uve put in for a HD contract for the dealership huh??

oh.. and ive seen HD's wheelied and stoppied for what its worth...

A harley doing a stoppie now that would be impressive, are there any pics or vids out there of this???

Here is a harley fatboy doing some Mono's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek98anrjoo0" target="_blank" target="_blank

Here is a sporster doing some stunts (including a stoppie)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7Z-iI1t-Q&NR=1" target="_blank

red_dave wrote:

Flywheels MC wrote:Nice Dave, nice! Although I got a ruler across my arse for writing too small when I was at school......

Yeah, but you would have been a willing participant you sick bastard...

Shhhh.... not on the forum please, that's meant to be pillow talk...

Flywheels MC wrote:

red_dave wrote:

Flywheels MC wrote:Nice Dave, nice! Although I got a ruler across my arse for writing too small when I was at school......

Yeah, but you would have been a willing participant you sick bastard...

Shhhh.... not on the forum please, that's meant to be pillow talk...

Pillow talk? can you talk while biting a pillow?

I don't so much have a problem with Harley Davidsons as a bike. I appreciate what they are and aren't. What I don't understand is MOST people I know with them. They buy them with the blind regard that they are the best bike around and anything else (and particularly anyone who rides anything else) is inferior. Man are they misguided!
I find it really funny that they try and tell me how wrong I am about Harleys when they have never ridden one. Had a lady I took for a licence last weekend tell me how great Harleys are and that she is going to buy one. I hope it suits her. She looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. I'm sure I don't know everything to do with bikes (no-one does) but here is my experience with Harleys:
Ridden:
1997 1340cc Evo Dyna Glide Convertible-
paint shaker. NO BRAKES, no go, fuggin uncomfortable. Rode it 80km too far....yuk
Twin Cam Dyna Glide (current model)
Nice engine- sure went harder than earlier Evos, handled nice enough, NO BRAKES, fuggin uncomfortable- couldn't reach bars and pegs properly. $32k shitbox.
883 Sportster Low. '07 model
Actually quite a nice bike this one. Had pipes and not too bad overall. Pretty slow but who cares. One big glaring fault though- I couldn't get it to corner even approaching moderate speed- SCARY- wouldn't turn and scraped. I'm surprised it didn't scrape on the sidestand!
'07 Fatbob
This is the only Harley I have so far liked. Comfy, handled well (did Q-Ride slalom demonstration on it...hehehe) and generally a nice bike. Would need a brake upgrade too. I could own this one....maybe. $25k isn't too bad ask though.
Other Harley experiences-
A friend's bro has a 6 month old Night Train. A linkage in the softail let go last week, leaving him riding the bike with it's arse dragging. Lucky he didn't have a pillion at that time.
A few weeks ago a Harley went past as I was holding a Q-Ride course- the driving light fell off and rolled down the road. A souvenir in my garage now.
Went to Bathurst Easter 2000 to see the bike racing. Went with 3 Harleys (never again!!!!!!!!!) One FXR blew the bottom end of the engine, the Shovel had to stop constantly to adjust the points, and the FATBOY blew a forkseal. To be fair my ZZR1100 blew a forkseal on the same trip. We left Goondiwindi at 6am and arrived at Bathurst 10pm. Coulda done that trip THREE TIMES in that amount of time. Harleys stopped EVERY town to fuel up.
Mate with Dyna Glide had seat mounting bolt fall out on short ride from Toowoomba. Had a spare in my GT topbox. Would have lost rear seat on way home otherwise.
Last group ride to Tingoora pub year old Harley with buggered electrics and flat battery. Unwilling push start.
Mate with Buell (Harley 1200 engine) has had to make custom oil breather system to stop oil pissing out of the breather from crankcase blowby. My GT shares the same problem....
A mate went to a Harley bike show in Brisbane a few years ago with his STANDARD VN800. They had a dyno there and his bike was pronounced the second most powerful at the show, amongst all the hotted, larger capacity Harleys. He said he could have heard a pin drop when the result was read. Lots came up to him afterwards asking ' what have you done to that thing?' Nothing!

You've got to admit Harley Davidson (the Company, not the bikes) is an amazing story. Rags to riches to rags (once owned by AMF the bowling alley operator, nearly bankrupted and bought out by the employees) and back to riches through the sheer power of marketing. Only in America could a company base its entire marketing ethos and the company's success on image, and until the VRod, that was all they had. Where Italian bikes like MV Agusta, Ducati and even Moto Guzzi have a lot of marketing budget and an 'image' of a different kind their bikes generally go pretty well (at least in recent years). Personally (and my opinion is worth jack) I don't like them as the marketing doesn't work on me. They have the same effect on me as big ugly fat gas-guzzling american vehicles like the Hummer...virtually zero (I do have a soft spot for some of the old and new Yank muscle cars, they aren't the cars I'm talking about) . Why would you pay $30-odd thousand for a bike that weights 300kg, doesn't go, doesn't brake, doesn't corner, but looks 'pretty' in a bloated american chrome-plated pseudo-bad boy biker wannabe way? I remember a few years ago reading the approved LAMS bikes list for the ACT (which I believe was/is based on power/weight) and finding quite a few Harleys on there, along with heaps of Japanese 250s, 500s and the odd 650cc single. Enough said .

All the Japanese bike manufacturers have had to earn their stripes by doing it cheaper and faster .

My uncle rides one, it fell over in my parents' back yard and it took two of them (him and my dad) to get it upright with a LOT of swearing.

I was passed in the same lane by a very loud HD while I was riding the Hornet a while back. When it had passed me something reasonably large and chrome-plated fell off (it looked like a piece of exhaust) and bounced back down at the lane at me, causing me to take evasive action while giggling inanely .

I also passed a wannabee biker riding a fat-arsed HD while driving down the Western Highway. He was pootling along at about 100km/h looking down at the bike very concernedly, obviously looking for the source of an annoying noise and wasn't thankful when I pointed out he hadn't buckled down the flap of his tassled-fringed HD-supplied leather saddle bag .

Mick