Harley Today......

[Zadok]

Rode over to the local dealer this weekend to
pick up some winter maintenance supplies.
(brake pads, plugs, oil and filter, etc..etc...)
Well when I showed up there were a bunch
of bikes filling the parking lot....some out in
the street....I hear the noise of a live band
makin all kinds of racket....I see the local posers
makin the scene in their brand new leathers
from head to toe.(and NO Im not against
leather...I wear it myself from time to time
when needed due to outside temp) But you
know who Im talkin about....the "riders" who
have a bike that is a couple years old and
a whole 2500 miles. Well I make my way through
the crowd....around those who were eatin....drinkin....
and listnin to some music....No biggy.
Get inside and the place is plum full of people.
I move through the crowd, tryin to stay to
myself (yeah right), go around the table sellin
who knows what, by a lady with a microphone
callin folks names who won somethin or
another. I get to the parts counter and wait
in line behind several people jabberin on
about this "new" chrome piece....that "new"
chrome piece.....how do ya do this.....how
do ya do that. You get the idea. Im not all that
old but was raised around harley riders. For
a brief moment I just thought to myself....
"man, look what Harley has become"....
"look what being a rider is now"....(at least
to the majority). Tons of people....the intercom
screamin out names....prizes...."dont miss
this sale and that".....the thumpin of the band
outside and the motor cloths counter so
backed up you would have swore they were
given away money.

All I thought of was one of the store owners
lookin down from the upstairs office with this
**** eatin grin of his face.....thinkin...
"man....now this is makin money....Thanks
Harley for teachin us how to stick it to the
locals and give em a little bash once or twice
a year to show em how much we care.....hahahahaha"

Just caught me all wrong I guess.....I know there
are alot of good bikers still around.....Just kinda
odd how things change in 15 or 20 years.

Later.

[tomv]

how about looking down at the crowd and saying..."man now this is making money. when we finally learned to stop only playing to the narrow focus groups we used to play to we learned a lot about what makes a business survive. oh...and that guy picking up the winter supplies should worry less about who else is riding and how much they ride and realize that 'real bikers' are everyone who rides a bike, regardless of how much or how little. then he'll start to understand what this is all about too."
throwing a bash and free stuff at people isnt sticking it to them. its giving them what they want. making them feel like they are a part of something. because they are.
yeah...we do know who you are talking about. we are them. there are "real bikers" that think you and i dont belong here either. interesting. its like the food chain. theres always a more deserving animal.

[RedBeard]

Chrome is good. More chrome is better.

Now who took my croissant and my Perrier?

[Dav]

Amen brother. last weekend the local HD shop had an exesspo bar on wheels outside and fashion show inside. the crowd had $100 haircuts and spendin cash on stuff that i have to save a month for. I know it's about making the $ but damn it's a shame when i have to shave, and wear a shirt with a colar just to go buy spark plugs and oil. the crowd looked at me like i was an excapee. However they did part a path to the parts counter.

[shovel13]

about 5 years ago i had to get some kind of part that only the dealer would carry for my bike, no big deal i ride up and park no one really notices till i come out and pull out the kick pedal and give it 2 easy kicks through to clear out the cylinders, about this time i get this strange feeling and turn around to see that every body that's outside was gawking like i ****en alien (no offense thealien) to actually have a kicker that wasn't fake. that was the day i realized just how bad it had gotten, although i think it has taken a turn for the better in the last couple of years with ole skool making a come back. the truth is you just got to let it go and realize we all have the same passion and respect that for what it is worth. now do i still laugh at people with pleated or creased and pressed leather, hell yea i do.

keith

[rovert]

too many people worry too much about what other people look like or what they may or maynot be doing......

Just ride.

[sQuashed]

I failed (again )to see any worthwhile content in this "type" of thread.

[shovel13]

maybe so but it's still pretty damn funny sometimes.

keith

[FLHRIvrat]

Who cares what everyone else thinks. Were you one of those people in school who had to have the top of the line everything?? Did you care then?? Why care now?? Do what makes you happy, and to hell with the rest. Go put some wind in your face!

[shovel13]

nope, never been into the fashion thing and never will be and thats probably what makes it stand out to me so much. don't get me wrong, i'm glad these people found their way to motorcycle riding its a hell of way to enjoy life for all it's worth. so now your going to tell me that you have NEVER made a comment to yourself your entire life about some body else in the way they run, jump, look, eat, ride, drive, or anything else. i am not condeming them for what they do or the way they look i just said it can be humorous sometimes.

keith

[Cryptoboy]

Originally posted by shovel13
to actually have a kicker that wasn't fake.
keith

They make bikes with fake kick starts?!? That's pretty funny!

I don't think I've seen a real kickstart bike (other than dirtbikes) outside of a TV show, but that would be awesome to see one! I would've come over to comment (if you didn't look too scary! lol)

I took your croissant and Perrier when you were at the parts counter, drooling at the chrome Redbeard! lol

[shovel13]

crypto, yeah there was some company that was making a add on fake kicker lever that would actually ratchet down. out of the 7 bikes that i have had only one of them had an electric start, and no i am not scary looking at all or at least i don't think so ;-)

[KBOlsen]

Originally posted by shovel13
crypto, yeah there was some company that was making a add on fake kicker lever that would actually ratchet down.

Was available for quite some time in the CCI catalog.

[FXDeanX]

Don't you ever get tired of saying I'm a real biker and you're not? Cause a lot of us get tired of hearing it. If it wasn't for the [stick your favorite label here]s, you'd be riding Japanese

[Whistle]

Zadok I for one can see how you felt put out. I'm not gonna give others a hard time-they can do what they want.

I'm talking about the fake, overhyped, commercialized feeling the kind of environment you were in gave you.

I get that feeling too a lot around the holidays. People forget what it's all about and the marketing companies take over and tell us all it's about spending money. THAT is NOT where happiness lies.

To that end I can definitely see your point.

If people wanna buy a bike and only ride it 1,000 miles a year, cool that's fine. But ain't that kind of expensive???? It would be cheaper to rent the damn thing!!!

chill ya'll!

later,
Nick