Monday when riding home from Orange Beach I make it to Fayette. I stopped to get a water and to send LuAnn a txt and let her know where I made it to. I'm sitting there and a truck pulls up & I hear a loud voice hollering " hey you, is that your bike" ? Now mind you I'm SITTING on the bike, the only BIKE in the parking lot. And before I could catch myself I hollered NO i'm just sitting on it till the owner comes back. The guy walks over has a HD shirt on, he looks at my bike and says " is that a Harley"? Those who know me know I ride a Yamaha Royal Star Venture ..I guess the good lord knew I needed a chuckle...
No, but once on a trip to Asheville, NC, I was stopped at a rather sketchy gas station in Murphy, when this woman wobbles up to me and asks, "Is that a Harley??"
I was on my Suzuki V-Strom.
Meth is bad stuff, ya'll.
Oh, don't get me started on this one...I have too many of these stories. I suppose folks don't expect women to ride???
My favorite happened while stopped at a red light. Some guy rolls down his window and asks, "Does that thing have gears?" To which I replied, "NO. It's powered by Chipmunks."
And there was the guy who watched me park and dismount my VStrom to which he had to tell me "That bike is too big for you!" I glanced at the odometer and said, "26,000 miles is a little late to be telling me that, don't ya think?"
I guess to some people all bikes are Harley, just like to some all sodas are coke..... ?????? :o :o ::)
Once upon a time I was riding with three friends in LA (Lower Alabama). Three of us where on Japanese sportbikes and one guy on a sportster. While stopped in a small town a gal asked us if one of the bikes was a Harley. So I pointed at the sportster and told her that one was. She then proceeded to tell us how it was the best one.
Can you spot the Harley?
(http://i645.photobucket.com/albums/uu171/wknudsen/OLD%20PICS%20AND%20SCANS/LA86_zpsf0773a3b.jpg)
I guess even before my days with Bamarides I was riding in mixed groups of bikes.
My wife pet peeve is we will stop and some patron at the store will say, " I wouldn't be caught dead riding one of those, I had a ___________ (Fill in the blank) get killed on one. That just burns LuAnn up. I heard her tell a guy 1 day, well do you know anyone killed in a auto accident? Do you still drive? I almost lost it...I was like you go girl...
I'm happy that the groups I ride with are accepting of all kinds of bikes and I seldom have to deal with bike/brand prejudice.
Quote from: klaviator on April 13, 2017, 01:59:55 PM
I'm happy that the groups I ride with are accepting of all kinds of bikes and I seldom have to deal with bike/brand prejudice.
Me to, now some locals where I live think if it's NOT a HD then it's not a real bike, needless to say I don't ride with those folks...
The Norton is the Harley Rider litmus test.
The newbie HD riders will look at it and ask when i am gonna trade for a real bike, the old HD riders that have ridden for years will tell stories of having one or knowing someone who had one and will say "Cool bike"
My other favorite is the guy in the pick up wearing a HD tshirt looking at my ancient BMW and saying" that's one of them high dollar bikes"
Around here pretty much everybody waves back at me regardless of what brand of bike they are riding even if I'm on my little scooter.
In the early '70's I was riding my Kawasaki 500 triple from Birmingham to Pensacola. I left B'ham at around 11pm and was somewhere south of Montgomery probably about 2am at a service station and the guy running the place asked me if that was a "Harley and Davis".
I predominantly get kids inquiring;
"Is that a dirtbike?" and I love to say YEP!
Sometimes people ask if my Super 8 is a moped ::)
Last Saturday at the end of hwy 36, at the store outside of Bankhead, I was talking with a large group of group of rocket riders. Two guys on Harleys pulled in. One was proud of his short pipes on the chromed out short trip bike. Stopped right behind my Nomad, said Jap shit huh, and raced the engine 6-7 times, Ringing the crap out of my ears. The guy dismounted after several more racing up loud "look at me" call signs. I looked him dead in the eyes and told him if he'd get him a Kawasaki it would idle with out all that wromping Bullsh_t. Muscle boy started walking toward me with that 'gone kick your azz' look then stopped and turned around to his bike. I went to move and realized I had 20 some-odd guys standing right behind me. Sometimes, just got to ................... learn to keep the damn mouth shut! He was a big sum buck!! :-X
Quote from: Chuck A. on April 14, 2017, 06:38:33 AM
Last Saturday at the end of hwy 36, at the store outside of Bankhead, I was talking with a large group of group of rocket riders. Two guys on Harleys pulled in. One was proud of his short pipes on the chromed out short trip bike. Stopped right behind my Nomad, said Jap shit huh, and raced the engine 6-7 times, Ringing the crap out of my ears. The guy dismounted after several more racing up loud "look at me" call signs. I looked him dead in the eyes and told him if he'd get him a Kawasaki it would idle with out all that wromping Bullsh_t. Muscle boy started walking toward me with that 'gone kick your azz' look then stopped and turned around to his bike. I went to move and realized I had 20 some-odd guys standing right behind me. Sometimes, just got to ................... learn to keep the damn mouth shut! He was a big sum buck!! :-X
Lol been there done that... My mouth has the same problem sometimes.
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of course. i've lost count of how many times someone has said "fo hunnit ? dats it ? awwww mannnnn you needa" _insert_here_
harley
real bike
g es ex arrrrrrrrrrre
booosa
biscuit
whatever
recently i like to raise the visor if it's a lady (there's a lot of women out there that aren't) and give em a wink as I go by. if i had mirrors i would see their head turn to check out the back end. but i don't. so i just feel the heat from their stare as i adjust my position.
but in real life... i just get a kid giving me the "wheeelieeee!" sign every now and again. which i suck at. and they are disappointed. welcome to life, kid.
on altadena there's a cool dude that runs a gas station. he listens to the grateful dead all the time. whenever i go in there he says "great day for a ride, ain't it ?" and continues to bob to the music. millionaire or not, i think he's got life figured out pretty good. oh ya, doesn't matter if it's sunny/raining/flurries/whatever, he's always the same. a constant positive in a sea of stupid. gotta like that.
Quote from: polarissalesman on April 13, 2017, 01:47:35 PM
I guess to some people all bikes are Harley, just like to some all sodas are coke..... ?????? :o :o ::)
/thread........that is it. ;)
Anyone wants a Harley tee can go into any Harley shop and buy one or two or a hundred of them......at retail price of course. No matter what they ride or even
IF they ride.
It is a big money maker for the dealer. (BTW, they do make good riding gear. It will have Harley Davidson somewhere on the gear but it is first rate. Don't believe me? Ask Kris C., she has a set of H.D. heated gloves.)
Polarissalesman has got it right. Just like coke is a slang for soda because of the advertisement, to some all cruiser type motorcycles are "Harley"..........and all sportbikes are "Ninjas".
Yea is is a pain in the butt to those who ride when some miss-name the motorcycle we are on. :( But is a start of a conversation............that THEY started. ;)
It is an opportunity to talk to someone about your bike, why you love to ride, what you get out of riding, and maybe......yea, just MAYBE give them that nudge to try out motorcycling or get back into motorcycling.
So do not get mad, just chuckle to yourself, pick up the conversation, and make an opportunity to promote our sport.
The sad thing is we are in the minority......and some of that
is our own fault.
If more folks knew how much fun it was to ride, more folks
WOULD ride, so spread the joy. ;)
I mean really, who doesn't like to have fun? ;D
Don't get me wrong. I'm sure it's cool to dress in a black leather vest and skid lid and ride to bike night at Hooters. And spending all day Saturday washing and polishing the hog is probably a great day. But I'm going riding. Maybe someday I'll own a "real" bike.
Quote from: TFancher on April 16, 2017, 02:21:52 PM
Don't get me wrong. I'm sure it's cool to dress in a black leather vest and skid lid and ride to bike night at Hooters. And spending all day Saturday washing and polishing the hog is probably a great day. But I'm going riding. Maybe someday I'll own a "real" bike.
Ditto. As long as you ride more than ya polish you are good to go in my book. (nothing wrong with a clean bike but ya got to ride to get it dirty enough to clean in the first place....)
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(https://photos.smugmug.com/Boats/Odds-ends/i-Wz3WpS9/0/O/bmwtoon.jpg)
Quote from: springer on April 14, 2017, 05:04:32 PM
Quote from: polarissalesman on April 13, 2017, 01:47:35 PM
I guess to some people all bikes are Harley, just like to some all sodas are coke..... ?????? :o :o ::)
/thread........that is it. ;)
Anyone wants a Harley tee can go into any Harley shop and buy one or two or a hundred of them......at retail price of course. No matter what they ride or even IF they ride.
It is a big money maker for the dealer. (BTW, they do make good riding gear. It will have Harley Davidson somewhere on the gear but it is first rate. Don't believe me? Ask Kris C., she has a set of H.D. heated gloves.)
My leather jacket is HD too, and it's top quality. My thick winter gloves, ditto. They were expensive, and the heated liner they plug into was an expensive gift, but they have delivered on the dollar.
And I want to try riding a Harley some day, just so I know how it feels. We have a few Harley riders here that can ride circles around most riders on the road, and they are also some of the coolest and smartest people I know. So I'm not gonna toss around any bad words about a Harley. :-X
Most of the Harley riders I know are great folks. The ones on this forum are exceptional riders. But I really love the ones that have a 10 year old bike with 3500 miles on it that tell me I need to get a "real" bike. I just chuckle under my breath and ride away!
I'm not dissing anyone here, but I think we've all met "that guy"!
10 year old bikes with 3500 miles on them? I'm pretty sure you can find some of those in every brand.
Quote from: klaviator on April 18, 2017, 03:51:03 PM
10 year old bikes with 3500 miles on them? I'm pretty sure you can find some of those in every brand.
That would describe my '73 Norton when I bought it in 1986.
I don't mind people striking up a friendly conversation. What aggravates me is when they act like a know-it-all when I say something they don't like. For example...
"Is that one of them crotch rockets?"
"No, sir, this is a Versys."
"A what?"
"Versys 1000 ... made for long distance touring."
"What, like traveling? To where?"
"Rode it to Key West in April."
"How far is that?"
"920 miles."
"Bullshit ... how long did it take?"
"About 20 hours."
"No, how many days?"
"Same day. Left early in the morning, arrived after midnight."
"Hmmph." (I took it mean, "More bullshit.")
Nobody ever talks to me. :(
Quote from: jrobinson on April 18, 2017, 06:30:19 PM
Nobody ever talks to me. :(
Well you DO ride a dirty ol'Harley. :) Some folks have never seen a Harley with real road dirt you know. ;)
Several years ago I had a K1200LT, VFR800, and a Road King police bike in my garage at the same time.
When I rode the Harley, sportbike riders wouldn't wave at me because I was the man...but would when I was on the Honda.
When I rode the VFR, BMW riders wouldn't wave at me because I was a squid on a sportbike...but would when I rode the K bike.
When I rode the Honda/BMW, Harley riders wouldn't wave at me because I was on Jap/German crap...but would when I was on the FLHP.
I thought it was funny, because I was the same guy regardless of which one I was riding.
I have been caught off-guard before though, and been guilty of stereotyping. After buying my Versys, I rode up to N. GA and stopped at a hole in the wall gas station in BFE. While pumping gas, I see an older gentleman in overalls gassing up his 25 year old F150.
He starts ambling my direction, and I immediately start to dread the "Izzat a crotch rocket?!" discussion that's about to happen. He greets me and asks, "That's the new Versys 1000 that just came out, isn't it? I've read several articles on it...how you like it? I like that color...it also comes in black, doesn't it?"
You meet the weirdest people on a kawasaki...
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Quote from: jrobinson on April 18, 2017, 06:30:19 PM
Nobody ever talks to me. :(
They skeeeeered of you ....why I don't know.... :D
Quote from: jrobinson on April 18, 2017, 06:30:19 PM
Nobody ever talks to me. :(
That's cause you ain't right. Harley riders usually polish the paint off. You ride it off. Strange man I tell ya! :o
No one ever talks to me on the harley either, but almost every time I ride the CB750 someone stops me to tell all about how them or their dad/brother/grandfather had one when they were growing up. Pretty cool aspect of riding a vintage bike.
And don't knock a harley until you've ridden one (excluding sportsters and "customs")! My dyna is one of the most pleasant motorcycles I've ever ridden.
Quote from: KevinB on April 18, 2017, 07:53:33 PM
Several years ago I had a K1200LT, VFR800, and a Road King police bike in my garage at the same time.
When I rode the Harley, sportbike riders wouldn't wave at me because I was the man...but would when I was on the Honda.
When I rode the VFR, BMW riders wouldn't wave at me because I was a squid on a sportbike...but would when I rode the K bike.
When I rode the Honda/BMW, Harley riders wouldn't wave at me because I was on Jap/German crap...but would when I was on the FLHP.
I thought it was funny, because I was the same guy regardless of which one I was riding.
I have been caught off-guard before though, and been guilty of stereotyping. After buying my Versys, I rode up to N. GA and stopped at a hole in the wall gas station in BFE. While pumping gas, I see an older gentleman in overalls gassing up his 25 year old F150.
He starts ambling my direction, and I immediately start to dread the "Izzat a crotch rocket?!" discussion that's about to happen. He greets me and asks, "That's the new Versys 1000 that just came out, isn't it? I've read several articles on it...how you like it? I like that color...it also comes in black, doesn't it?"
I get a kick of seeing who will wave to me when I'm on the Suzuki GS500 (a standard - no one else in the world rides a standard any more), wearing my HarleyDavidson jacket, my Triumph boots, in black chaps, with a hugemongous acid yellow Scorpion full face helmet. And besides who will wave, it's fun to see HOW they wave.
I wave like this: (http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx202/KrisCook/dancenana_zps2efrxcyf.gif) (http://s756.photobucket.com/user/KrisCook/media/dancenana_zps2efrxcyf.gif.html)
Quote from: KrisCook on April 20, 2017, 04:18:27 PM
Quote from: KevinB on April 18, 2017, 07:53:33 PM
Several years ago I had a K1200LT, VFR800, and a Road King police bike in my garage at the same time.
When I rode the Harley, sportbike riders wouldn't wave at me because I was the man...but would when I was on the Honda.
When I rode the VFR, BMW riders wouldn't wave at me because I was a squid on a sportbike...but would when I rode the K bike.
When I rode the Honda/BMW, Harley riders wouldn't wave at me because I was on Jap/German crap...but would when I was on the FLHP.
I thought it was funny, because I was the same guy regardless of which one I was riding.
I have been caught off-guard before though, and been guilty of stereotyping. After buying my Versys, I rode up to N. GA and stopped at a hole in the wall gas station in BFE. While pumping gas, I see an older gentleman in overalls gassing up his 25 year old F150.
He starts ambling my direction, and I immediately start to dread the "Izzat a crotch rocket?!" discussion that's about to happen. He greets me and asks, "That's the new Versys 1000 that just came out, isn't it? I've read several articles on it...how you like it? I like that color...it also comes in black, doesn't it?"
I get a kick of seeing who will wave to me when I'm on the Suzuki GS500 (a standard - no one else in the world rides a standard any more), wearing my HarleyDavidson jacket, my Triumph boots, in black chaps, with a hugemongous acid yellow Scorpion full face helmet. And besides who will wave, it's fun to see HOW they wave.
I wave like this: (http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx202/KrisCook/dancenana_zps2efrxcyf.gif) (http://s756.photobucket.com/user/KrisCook/media/dancenana_zps2efrxcyf.gif.html)
Hey now I think there are still a few of us that ride standards still. And unfortunately my wave generally only gets a few fingers off the clutch as I swear I only see other bikes when I'm getting on it, never when I'm out for a Sunday stroll.
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Quote from: jrobinson on April 18, 2017, 06:30:19 PM
Nobody ever talks to me. :(
That's because when they see you and Sandy roll in on that ol' Hog, they can see the miles you've covered, and they're speechless with respect.
I remember once, I went to a Harley rally in Colonial Heights, VA. I was walking around looking at all the bright, shiny new bikes (hadn't yet bought one myself), when a couple rolled in on a dirty old shovelhead with a little blue smoke puffing out of the pipes. I expected some one of the organizers to shout to the spectators to "make way!" for a couple that really looked like they and that bike had seen some miles.
Klaviator and Springer are spot-on...It doesn't matter what you, I or anyone else rides--the joy is in riding! I ride a Harley, too. I wanted one since I was an 8-year-old boy. And I wouldn't trade for it! But I'm with the rest of the crowd when I say that nothing turns me away from a conversation faster than a bunch of that brand-centric trash talk. I exit that scene as fast as I can, and look for the crowd that's talking riding and the simple (NO BRANDS!) pleasure of two wheels and a strip of asphalt!
See you (all!) on the road! 8)