CB1100 or Harley?

[Frulk_imp]

I've already responded to this thread previously but will add to the comments after mine.

jitayler said "In my neighborhood there are scads of HD's, and all of them are really nice. There are a few trikes too. But they only ride them on the weekends for breakfast. Never to the store or pharmacy or anywhere else."

Growing up bikes were basic transportation. I can't ever remember people having two, let alone more. I see a lot of low miles pristine Harleys for sale locally at our dealer and on websites. Which got me thinking.

For most folks with Harleys they're not really day-to-day basic transportation. I can go to the MoCo dealer parking lot on Saturday AM and see maybe 20+ bikes sitting there as they get ready for a local ride. You can pick out the daily riders VERY easy. Maybe 2-3 of them. The rest are spotless.

But, there may be a reason that I've overlooked all these years:

Guy directly to the left across the street from me has a full dresser and a sportster. He also has a late model Corvette, boat, a RZR and a regular ATV and for a while had a 3 Series BMW.

A good friend has a Road King that has to share time with 2 brand new Triumphs and an XRX1200.

The guy that lives across from my mother-in-law is a lawyer. Has a late model full dresser, boat, tricked out jeep, tricked out Turbo diesel Dodge 4x4 he uses to haul his boat, motorhome and a 28 foot snow mobile trailer.


My bud is 62, the other two appear to be in the 50's.

I'll leave it at those three examples but I could toss out a bunch more. Mind you, these aren't folks in $1m+ homes. I've come to the conclusion that for the most part Harley riders (not all but most) buy them as toys and not as a PRIMARY conveyance because they're at that point in their lives were they're making more money than they ever have. Have disposable income, and want to finally get some things that they couldn't afford when they were early into career's raising families, paying off houses and so forth. The predominant age demographic of Harley riders underscores that I may be on to something. I see a lot more hard ridden bikes at the Honda dealer and for the most part from casual observance they appear to have much younger riders. Us CB faithful not withstanding.

I'll stop typing now and finish my Shiner...carry on.

 

[dogjaw_imp]

Charlie Bravo says go CB!

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[the Ferret]

Charlie Bravo is one smart pooch.

 

[dogjaw_imp]

Charlie Bravo is one smart pooch.

That's my Grrrl!

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[GoldOxide_imp]

First, I'm digging the fact that GoldOxide is reviving old threads. As a relative newcomer, I tend to have only seen what's happened in the last 9 months (I'm not as industrious as he is with the search feature...).

Anyway, around the mid-Atlantic at least, if you see a bike around here, it's 60% likely it's a Harley, 15% likely it's a BMW, and the rest is uniformly distributed from whomever. But the Harley riders are great. I've never had a Harley (tried several over the years....never got along with the handling.....though admittedly haven't ridden one in the last 20 years), but have been welcome in any setting where it's almost exclusively Harley. And you see them wearing full face helmets and other protective gear for the most part (well, maybe not high-viz, but...) Pretty much the only negative that I can say about Harley riders around here (and this is just a generalization based on my personal experience) is that they seem much more likely to drink rather heavily and hop on and ride away than...say....BMW riders. I'm no teetotaler, but the idea of pounding down the beers and hoping on a bike scares the bejeebees out of me. That may be more of an age thing than a Harley thing though. Harley riders tend to be a bit older.

Thanks tommymck. The Forum has hit some mighty interesting topics in the past that are still relevant. I was also asleep at the wheel for some of those Forum years too :dodgy: .

dogjaw:

Great pics, calm pooch. Would dogs get hearing damage at sustained higher speeds like humans?

 

[jimgl3_imp]

BMW has it's fanatics
Harley has it's fanatics
Moto Guzzi has it's fanatics
Triumph has it's fanatics

I am a motorcycle fanatic. Any brand!

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I've already responded to this thread previously but will add to the comments after mine.

jitayler said "In my neighborhood there are scads of HD's, and all of them are really nice. There are a few trikes too. But they only ride them on the weekends for breakfast. Never to the store or pharmacy or anywhere else."

Growing up bikes were basic transportation. I can't ever remember people having two, let alone more. I see a lot of low miles pristine Harleys for sale locally at our dealer and on websites. Which got me thinking.

For most folks with Harleys they're not really day-to-day basic transportation. I can go to the MoCo dealer parking lot on Saturday AM and see maybe 20+ bikes sitting there as they get ready for a local ride. You can pick out the daily riders VERY easy. Maybe 2-3 of them. The rest are spotless.

But, there may be a reason that I've overlooked all these years:

Guy directly to the left across the street from me has a full dresser and a sportster. He also has a late model Corvette, boat, a RZR and a regular ATV and for a while had a 3 Series BMW.

A good friend has a Road King that has to share time with 2 brand new Triumphs and an XRX1200.

The guy that lives across from my mother-in-law is a lawyer. Has a late model full dresser, boat, tricked out jeep, tricked out Turbo diesel Dodge 4x4 he uses to haul his boat, motorhome and a 28 foot snow mobile trailer.


My bud is 62, the other two appear to be in the 50's.

I'll leave it at those three examples but I could toss out a bunch more. Mind you, these aren't folks in $1m+ homes. I've come to the conclusion that for the most part Harley riders (not all but most) buy them as toys and not as a PRIMARY conveyance because they're at that point in their lives were they're making more money than they ever have. Have disposable income, and want to finally get some things that they couldn't afford when they were early into career's raising families, paying off houses and so forth. The predominant age demographic of Harley riders underscores that I may be on to something. I see a lot more hard ridden bikes at the Honda dealer and for the most part from casual observance they appear to have much younger riders. Us CB faithful not withstanding.

I'll stop typing now and finish my Shiner...carry on.

^ This +1

 

[clearviewx]

What would you do when a Harley rider said to you "This parking is for Harley motorcycles only"? Which was said to me when I went to the opening event of the New England Motorcycle Museum this past summer. This wasn't anyone from the New England Motorcycle Museum saying this to me but just another spectator coming in the same time as I.

 

[the Ferret]

So many easy responses lol, but I won't be the one to post them.

I would move my bike. Don't need any trouble. Not worth the hassle.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

If parking was tight, I'd ask to see where this was posted. If the HD dude then gave me more lip, I'd find someone at the museum to confirm. If parking wasn't tight, I'd probably move and park next to ferret.

 

[Jonnyallover_imp]

So many easy responses lol, but I won't be the one to post them.

I would move my bike. Don't need any trouble. Not worth the hassle.

Absolutely appropriate response if like many of us, you lack the skills to instantly laugh hysterically, stumble away in tears accompanied by loud snorts and farts.

 

[clearviewx]

Let me just add to this he didn't say it just once but at least four times. In the end I did not move my bike or engage the individual in conversation.

 

[Cormanus]

For those who remember the Bullworker, I was probably the inspiration for the “7-stone weakling” of the advertising. Before moving my CB to join LR and the Ferret I’d entertain myself with a brief fantasy about hanging the guy on a coat rack.

 

[Houtman_imp]

I am 220 lbs and 6ft tall and muscular build so I would tell him to "make love to yourself "

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Interesting PITA scenario. Being a visitor with a passport, starting a ruckus would likely be a disadvantage in the end game. Being a foreigner fighting while visiting the U.S. would probably blacklist you. Furthermore, you need to understand the local community. If the community strongly favours HD fanatics, you probably need to move. Otherwise, they would likely move your bike while you are perusing inside. Worse, they could key the wonderful CB gas tank :dodgy:. But you will likely not have that information, so I would probably start at, "I can share this spot with you".

 

[flynrider]

What would you do when a Harley rider said to you "This parking is for Harley motorcycles only"? Which was said to me when I went to the opening event of the New England Motorcycle Museum this past summer. This wasn't anyone from the New England Motorcycle Museum saying this to me but just another spectator coming in the same time as I.

I guess it would depend on how they said it. I had a big, bearded HD rider say something similar when I parked outside a tavern near Sun Valley ID a few years ago. I remarked that it probably made it easier to carry in the parts that had fallen off.

We ended up having a beer, comparing local rides and the next day I took him on a 400 mile loop through the mountains that he'd never ridden before.

Most of my friends ride Harleys (as I did a long time ago) and I've found that much of the brand rivalry is nothing more than good natured ribbing. I never take it seriously.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

That's been my experience too. I don't doubt the 1%'ers exist, but I don't recall ever engaging a Harley rider who wasn't as passionate about motorcycling as I am. For the most part, we're all good folks.

BMW riders, on the other hand, sheesh. Lots of tribalism going on there!

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Bike religion: I can do without it. The best BMW folks I even met was in Santa Clara, CA. No "euro-attitude" - if that is a thing. They were more like surfer-dudes who simply appreciated a good, natural and happy ride up/down the coast. Some of them owned HDs.