Interesting Old Triumph Ad Circa 1972 or so

[Scoobynut_imp]

I don't have any negative feelings about Harley's bikes, but I do echo some of JustPassin's feelings about a lot of their clientele. I find the whole badazz, Ape-Hanger, Easy Rider, Sons of Anarchy wannabee thing just lame, tired and annoying. I'm not saying everyone who rides a Harley is narrow-minded about other bikes, but there are an awful lot of them who are. But to me the worst thing about the whole cruiser segment is that it is (still) such a large market segment in the U.S. that we miss out on a lot of more functional and interesting stuff that is offered elsewhere in the world, or, when something interesting is offered here it usually doesn't sell too well due to the dominance of the cruiser market. I think part of the problem is that most riders in the U.S. are just casual riders who don't even understand why you would want a seat height above 27 inches, or want enough ground clearance to lean your bike over more than 5 degrees. I think Harley has been so effective at marketing their bikes that most U.S. riders think that is just how a motorcycle looks, or ought to look -- like some anachronistic cruiser from the 1940s -- and don't think about how much modern componentry and design affect how fun a bike can be to RIDE. Again, for a lot of these people, riding is more a social event than an actual 'ride' event so to them the machine's dynamics are at best an afterthought. Thank goodness Honda saw fit to make their throwback CB1100 function like a modern motorcycle.

I know some of the guys on the forum also own Harleys and I'm not trying to offend you guys or your bikes at all. Heck, I even like some Harleys. I'm sure we could hang out and have a good time as you are obviously open-minded people who love all bikes no matter the brand. I feel the same way. It's just my analysis of the current market is all.