[ftwflh]

Went on a dealer sponsered poker run today and I felt really out of place.I ride an old FLH shovelhead and it was the oldest bike there everyone else had Evo s or TC s.Everyone was wearing and buying the Harley leather and clothing while me and my wife were looking around all I could notice was the over priced leather.Here i was with my 15 yr old leathers that are Brooks but well worn.I may be wrong here but why should I pay to advertise for a company that I pay dearly to to keep my bike running.Also most of these people there were the ones that dont know the differance from a primary chain and a pushrod. I guess what I am saying is.....is there anyone else that feels this way besides me. ps I have been riding for over 25 yrs. It all seems to be changing

 

[slamin sammy]

been there done that

Hey ftwfth i know how you feal my wife and i were in the same boat a few years ago. any way you ride a great bike a good friend of mine has a 79 flh and he damn near sleeps with it. so keep on riding with those people and they will come around to you for your experiance on the road. and advice on a lot of things. so ride streight and welcome to the forum.

 

[Ralph]

Timesssss they are a changinggggggg! I buy what is comfortable for me on long trips. Yeah , some of it says harley,but some don't. It seems hd just seems to put out some ( notice I said SOME) good riding gear. My jacket isn't a hd one,but my cold weather and rain gear is. My boots aint either. But what the heck. Some are new riders,but some think it is a fashion show,and want to out spend their buddies. I have no respect for these ones. All that matters is to give the respect a person deserves no matter what they ride or wear.

 

[HDgirl]

Your not the only one, my husband feels the exact same way. We turn heads everywhere we go, him on the pan and me with the shovel. He always gathers a crowd when he starts kicking it!

 

[pasadenajim]

One of the great things about the H/D Forum is that you can ride whatevery you like and no one minds! We're just happy that you ride.

Welcome aboard. And share some of your experiences.

 

[JimmyK]

I know how you feel. My personal preference keeps me away from HOG events. I have stated before on thhis forum that I am convinced that HOG is what drives the cost of everthing and anything Harley.

Did not have any "Barbie Harley Dolls 25 years ago."

 

[HIPPO]

The dealer sponsored poker runs and the local HOG chapters are a extremely clever marketing ploy.

From the dealers point of view it gets the vast majority of new riders into one place at one time, and it is natural for them to start eyeballing each others bikes. For most it is natural to want to upstage another bike with big tyt$, and it sells a lot of accessories and clothing.
Maybe that's why they move so slow.

There is no rule that you have to play the game. A few times a year I may choose to go on one of the longer runs and while they may view me as eccentric it sort of cracks me up rather then upset me. For the most part it just bores me, but you can always find a few people you'll like most anywhere.

If it were just you, the bike and the road, there would be a lot of stock or functionally instead of cosmetically modified bikes around. Some have been there forever, some will eventually get there and some never will.

No big deal.

 

[ftwflh]

Hey Highrider I totally agree with you about how things are.I plan on riding solo as much as I can but the wife likes the social scene.And I too have stock in Harley and it amazes me how it keeps going up up up.Love the new guys for that.

 

[skydoc]

Well I couldn't agree more. I am also a dinosaur and sometimes feel out of place at the Dealer sponsored events, so I quit going for the most part. The local dealer had a poker run this past weekend with a band, food etc afterwards. I boycotted and didn't go. Although I do ride a new 02' scooter, I have also owned much older ones. I'm a baby boomer too, but don't own any HD stock . Maybe I should look into it . Anyway I went to one local HOG chapter meeting and never went back. I got that one year free membership to the national HOG when I bought the new scooter so I figured I would check it out. Not impressed at all. So I continue to ride with the rest of the non-HOG scooter trash. We always have a good time and we know what we're talking about at least.

 

[Straydog]

The times may be changing . . . but we sure don't have to like it!

I'm no different than you ftwflh. The "crowd" just doesn't appeal to me either. And the cost of accessories, parts, add-ons, etc. has just gotten rediculous. I had a 76 shovel and I could afford to do all sorts of mods to it every year! Now you've got to pay $500 - $1,000 just for one fu__ wheel!

HDgirl mentioned "kicking it". I'm assuming you were refering to the kick starter. What memories! You knew you had it dialed in good whenever it would start at least by the second kick.

I may not enjoy the "crowd" scene much, but I would sure enjoy attending a HD-Forum party! Hopefully, that will happen someday! (I propose we hold it in Atlanta! )

 

[JimmyK]

HEY!

"I may not enjoy the "crowd" scene much, but I would sure enjoy attending a HD-Forum party!"

THAT IS A GREAT IDEA DOG!

"Hopefully, that will happen someday!"


ALLRIGHT YA GOT MY VOTE ON THAT ONE!

(I propose we hold it in Atlanta!)

BAD DOG BAD DOG!


LOL!

 

[Boismier]

Here i was with my 15 yr old leathers that are Brooks but well worn.

Wow, I thought I was the only one left with a Brooks jacket - got mine in 1978. Great stuff (made in Detroit, where the weak are killed and eaten ...), but I can't seem to find them anymore. Do you know if they went under?

I'm too fat now for the old Brooks (still got it in case by some odd chance I ever lose enough weight to wear it again...), so now I wear some Hein Gericke stuff. The guys in the full-on H-D costumes keep asking me where I got those great leathers ... "not at the dealer, man"...

 

[jcrow]

I thought I was the only oddball. It's rare to see an old shovel around here (Ft Smith, AR). We go to events and like you say , it seems like a fashion show and all the Evos seem to blend together/ lookalike. Strange vibes. I will buy an evo someday, but it'll be used. Aint payin that inflated stealership price for what I wan't. Less rich ole Uncle greenback dies. Keep on keepin on. Everyone does seem to end up ooglin over the old red shovel.

 

[James]

Just ignore me! I had this picture I just couldn't wait to attach and it seems to fit with this thread. Like I said.....IGNORE ME!

 

[rickpoco]

ftwflh, I went to my first state hog rally you had to pay $25 for a wrist band which gave you the privlige of going into the rally area ,which was nothing but a bunch of vendors, so I am going to pay $25 to go shopping I don't think so,I left . I also went to a birthday party at the local dealer this spring , they had a junior high girls dance team in there, no kidding. It is quite obvious Harley is trying to change its image. Here is the new HOG motto, live to eat-ride to shop.

 

[fwilliamsiii]

about three years i got so fed up with the way things were changing that i sold my electraglide & called it quits after about 36 yrs of riding harleys.
after a couple of months without a scooter (except for an old beemer that i took in trade) i couldn't stand it any more & bought a real clean 90 springer from a guy who didn't ride it much--must have been one of the kind this post is about!! i decided that i wasn't gonna let people like that spoil something that i've enjoyed most of my life !! since then i've quit going to places where that kind of shopper hangs & have rediscovered lots of real riders out there!! however i have always & still love riding alone the best !!

 

[crawdaddy]

Never been to a HOG rally...I suppose I'll check one out sooner or later. I can understand where some of the older, long time riders are coming from. Feel sort of the same way when I see 18 year old kids looking under the hood of a 60's musclecar and not really knowing what the hell they are looking at. They don't understand, and they can't because they haven't lived in that era. That part is mostly a generational thing... I'm not young nor old, but a "late bloomer"...43 years old and my first H-D will been in in a matter of weeks. And it is true that the ownership base has changed dramatically in the last 10-15 years, and I can see why long-time loyal owners feel betrayed and deserted by the MOCO when the old timers were the ones that kept the company alive in the first place back when. You'll never be able to change the generational thing, because time marches on. But I would like to see less animosity between the older riders and the MOCO. One of the most surprising things to me in getting this new bike was how betrayed a lot of you older riders feel. I see a LOT of it on this board, others too. But I look at it this way. New riders need the old guys for the insight and bike and riding knowledge they can give. H-D needs both old and new riders to sell bikes. I propose that the MOCO should give SERIOUS discounts on parts and bikes at MSRP to the old guys no questions asked. And not no 10% HOG discount bullshit. How you set the criteria, I have no idea, and it probably won't happen anyway. But the point of all this is, the new guys like me need you older guys around to learn from...and it seems like the MOCO is just pissing the old guys off left and right...nobody wins. Or maybe I'm just too idealistic in today's money grubbing world. My .03 cents...

Tom
XL1200S on the way...

 

[JFScheck]

everyone else had Evo s or TC s.Everyone was wearing and buying the Harley leather and clothing

So are you telling me, that if you see me wearing my Harley Jacket and my wife wearing one as well (her old jacket finally was donated to the garbage just last week) that you are going to assume I'm a poser or something?

Don't be so quick to stereo-type. I have an '03 that is here awaiting some custom add-on's that I'm having the Stealer do for the warranty stuff. If you saw me on that at a Poker run would you assume I didn't know my head from a hole in the ground (while wearing an Harley Jacket and Helmet) even though I too have been riding for over 25 years to include wrenching and riding my Grandfather's (now mine)1949 Indian Scout?

This is more for everyone, but people are people, and don’t give up an opportunity to meet new acquaintances at bike functions just because they don’t look like “old school”…

 

[rickpoco]

I don't feel betrayed by Harley, its the machine and freedom I love Harley used to have an ad that was something like "its the journey not the distination" I like that. Harley still makes the coolest bikes, you can only get that look and sound on a Harley. I will still keep my hog membership, I just don't like those real organized events where you have to get hereded around like some kind of mindless whatever. I ride bikes to get away from that crap. I noticed at least at the couple of events I went to , they seem to be run and organized by women and the mag Hog Tales is edited by a women. I have a wife and daughter who I respect so I am not a women hater , they just do things different. saferiding rickpoco

 

[Kags]

I would say I have seen both sides of this issue. Ive been there in a way (feeling like we dident fit in) but I passed it off, let it roll of my back. My jacket must be 7years old now and get this I bought it at a pawn shop for 19 bucks! I also bought into the H-D stuff, I would never pay MSRP it way to pricy but when you get a 50% off sale most the stuff is reasonable compared to any store . So in a way I still dont fit in.

I dont do alot of HOG stuff. Ive found we have a better time doing porker runs that draw in all types of bike (not just Harleys) or rides me & my friend put together. That way there is no "fitting in" to it.
And where do I hang out on Sat night? down at the local shop that draws mostly sportbikes, talk about not fitting in!