I've realized I must be a rare breed in the biker world for 2 reasons.
1) I love ALL bikes, in my mind if you ride 2-wheels you're cool and worthy of respect. I wave to everyone, even scooters haha! I've stopped to help bikers riding all brands on the side of the road!
2) I've never experienced any real first hand brand-bashing to my face, aside from good-natured ribbing from friends. And I know how to dish that out as well as I can take it - it was never one-sided
I hear stories about how a grizzly ol' Harley rider asked a Honda owner when they were getting a "real" bike - but I've never seen that first hand.
I have heard all the good jokes though: I'd rather push a Harley than ride a Honda. I'd rather have my sister in a brothel than my brother on a Honda, etc, etc....I LOVE those!
My personal observation: I've owned Honda, Kawi, Yamaha, Harley Davidson and now a Suzuki. Everyone thinks their personal favorite brand is best, and a lot get their ego & self worth tied up in the brand they ride - very bizarre to me.
I'm in a bike group here in CLT with 1500 members, the amount of interbrand smack talk between the Big 4 is as bad (if not worse) as the Japanese vs American stuff you always hear about!
almost forgot - I may own a Suzuki but I bleed HONDA Red for sure. Honda always has a special place in my heart, I will always be a Honda guy at my core.