Motorcycle Rant

[GilpinGuy]

What I get a kick out of are the costumes that Harley guys like to wear. A guy at work shows up sometimes with his "leathers" on. He has patches like "Ask me if I give a shit!", "I'm with stoopid--->" and "Live to Ride, Ride to Live". This dude is about 50, middle class family guy. I mean, it looks dumb as shit to me and not badass at all. It's literally a costume. To each his own.

He also claims to carry a long chain with him so he can whack it across someones hood if they get too close to him. Yeah, sure.

I used to ride bikes when I was younger. If I got anything now it would be a dual sport for reasons stated in the OP.

[hollohas]

What I get a kick out of are the costumes that Harley guys like to wear.

Both types have people in stupid costumes...

Example A

[Graves]

Both types have people in stupid costumes...

Example A

And ^this^ dbag crowd seems to be growing like crazy lately.
I guess with older dudes on metric bikes comes a bit of snobbery.

[GilpinGuy]

Both types have people in stupid costumes...

Example A

Haha! Very true!

[Hound]

Ummmmm kinda confused here. If you have been riding for as long as you say, as many types of bikes as you say, hanging out with other bikers as you say......... How did you not know this YEARS ago? I own crotch rockets, always have, but that does not mean I never got to ride the other types of bike or talk to those types of riders. Of course they talk about their pipes... They drag them everywhere and the look is the point after just getting out, which is the primary point of cruising by definition. I will also say that not all 'Cruisers' are poor, ignoranrt riders. The guy I go riding with the most rides a Grey 1988 GoldWing. Most would consider that a step below a cruiser on the performance ladder. Well, I am here to tell ya, using that bike he qualified as a 'Faster' instructor. Faster is a highly regarded track riding school. He has also rode with a precision formation group. Think doing a chicane at 110 MPH is tough... try not hitting others or falling over at only 5-15 MPH. He is also a state instructor over the summers. If you have been riding for as long as you state you have.....then you have to have heard "It's the Rider" and that still holds true. Don't be hating on riders because they have a different riding style than what you like, find a different group. Don't be hating on the bike because it is setup for those that like that style of riding. Sell the bike or tuck the pipes up and learn to get more performance out of her. Did you never do a test ride or factory day tour? I give your rant a 0/10. This is like bitching about buying a pistol and standing out on the 1000yd range complaining about the poor performance or the time wasted coming up with a match 1000yd handload after being into guns for years. How did you not already know?

[crays]

street/cruiser/dual/tour ... ford/dodge/chevy ... 9/40/45 ... glock/xd/hk/Sig ... meh

people who bitch about what others choose to ride are as bad as people who brag about what they ride

ride what you like, and don't worry about anyone else

OP, sorry to hear that you are currently stuck with a motorcycle you don't care for. Hope you can find the right deal to get what you like.

Sent via Mobile Work Avoidance Device

[Great-Kazoo]

You should have purchased a used road glide. It was the best of both worlds for us, HD mc with BMW[ish] style fixed fairing. Little work to give it some oomph and nothing was impossible. Practical , well it's not a gixxer carving the canyon, laying down on one side, left knee dragging the pavement. Or a Leadwing where i put 10 cd's in the cassette, jump on it in montana, by the time i get to flagstaff remove my winter gear and out on my shorts & shirt that match my riding jacket, helmet and color of motorcycle.

What it was , was fast with both left & right floor boards worn down to semi sharp edges, It didn't sit out front of some bar 5 min from home. It had a hitch to pull the trailer out of state, was out front of someone who thought they had a fast mc, and didn't ride in a herd of Hondapottamus, or costumed wanna be's. In fact none of my mc's, be it HD or BMW collected dust, looked good in front of a bar or had ooodles of chrome. When we jumped in the saddle we rode. Be it a mid summer nights run to cheyo or a late dec / jan run to clear our heads.

You knowing better, should have purchased another dual sport. Fortunately you didn't, so i could read how another person was duped in to the cruiser mystic. Sorry you had to learn the $$ Hard way$$ . Take the hit in spring time and get a KLR. I would

[Ah Pook]

Dual Sports? Since they are nowhere near as "cool" as #1 or #2, riders tend to be a little more normal, less social. They have the bike, usually because they really like it or really like to ride. Higher chance of introversion in my experience. Almost always ride alone. There are not roving mobs of Dual Sports and they don't always keep up with #1 or #2. They are not fast, and you don't roll around in a hells angels jacket trying to rewrite themselves as a badass. The reason these people (imho) tend to be more normal, is they don't have the douchbag attractors (speed, chrome, noise, tricks, etc.). At least from the KLR riders I've seen, they probably have the best safety record for wearing gear. You don't buy a DS to "fit in" or to be a "badass" so the personality disorders are just about absent. There are no roving mobs of DS riders either. You can't even fit in with dirtbikers since your dry weight is 200% of theirs. Basically jack of all trades - master of none, fit in with none.

You pretty closely described how I live my life.

I'm going to go buy a KTM dual sport right now and I don't even ride.

[glocklp]

At least the guy has leather jacket and helmet on. Not just those Harley ass less chaps lmao!
and for all you making fun of "jap" bikes...... Where does your Harley come from?? Sure is not 100% American made......

[Great-Kazoo]

At least the guy has leather jacket and helmet on. Not just those Harley ass less chaps lmao!
and for all you making fun of "jap" bikes...... Where does your Harley come from?? Sure is not 100% American made......

This project?

The pieps were a mock up to see how we were going to fab a 2 - 1 system

Or this one?


Both were built in an upstairs 1 bedroom apt. Having the spouse work the brakes as we rolled them down was fun..