Harley Dudes

[DMPLATT]

I saw the funniest thing yesterday. It was a gorgeous day yesterday, so I went for a ride to the beach. I don't know how everyone else in here does it, but I always wave to everyone on a bike. Of course there are some Harley guys who won't give you the time of day, but oh well.
I saw this guy on a big full dress harley turning right off of a side street, well he was going to give me a lesson, so he gunned it and just about lost it. There was a lot of sand where he was stopped and he spun the tire and fish tailed it and just barely kept it off the ground. If I didn't have my helmet on, he could of seen me laughing my butt off :twisted: (of course I wouldn't have laughed if he went down).
I learned my lesson, don't gun it when you are in a pile of sand. :lol:

 

[robinjo]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Now if he only learns not to race a GS the world will be a better place! :wink:

 

[Dark Jedi]

I bet he had 'upgraded' his bike with the more powerful Screamin Eagle filter cover... :wink:

 

[earlfor]

Re: Harley Dudes

I doubt he has figured out yet that the sand may have played a part in his fishtailing around like that. LOL Hardley riders are slow learners. Hell, they dont understand the concept of protective riding gear either.

Earl

I saw this guy on a big full dress harley turning right off of a side street, well he was going to give me a lesson, so he gunned it and just about lost it. There was a lot of sand where he was stopped and he spun the tire and fish tailed it and just barely kept it off the ground. If I didn't have my helmet on, he could of seen me laughing my butt off :twisted: (of course I wouldn't have laughed if he went down).
I learned my lesson, don't gun it when you are in a pile of sand. :lol:

 

[Hoomgar]

Re: Harley Dudes

I doubt he has figured out yet that the sand may have played a part in his fishtailing around like that. LOL Hardley riders are slow learners. Hell, they dont understand the concept of protective riding gear either.

Earl

For sure Earl, he thinks the fishtailing was the raw awesome power of his bike breaking traction on clean dry pavement
He most likely didn't even know it was there.

LOL!

 

[Wingnut]

Of course not all Harley riders are erogant. But this weekend the wife and I went for a little ride and while stopped at a stoplight this guy pulls along side with his big Harley, big fairings and radio blasting. I look over and nod and he just glances and looks straight ahead. The light turns and off he goes. As we pull away I mention to the wife that the guy is probably really mad at us. "Why" she says. I explain "Because it cost us $1500 to go for a ride this evening and it cost him about $20k." Yeah, I'd be mad too.

 

[earlfor]

Well, at least HD's are fun to play with. Just use enough throttle to stay close behind insuring he will use all of his. I think they would be embarrassed if they knew how little throttle I require to keep up with them. I have yet to be impressed.

Earl

The light turns and off he goes. As we pull away I mention to the wife that the guy is probably really mad at us. "Why" she says. I explain "Because it cost us $1500 to go for a ride this evening and it cost him about $20k." Yeah, I'd be mad too.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah, the imfamous Harley vs. crotch rocket debate. Having pretty much one of just about every "type" of bike, I wave to everyone. Sometimes I get waved back to, sometimes I don't. I couldn't really care less either way.

2 things to think about:

1.) Maybe he read on a message board somewhere and saw some "ricer" bashing Harleys and now he doesn't want to pay nice. Heck, I love all bikes but posts like this still make me want to give everyone the finger instead of waving. It doesn't matter what you ride so long as it has 2 wheels instead of 4. Not everyone in the world is out for the quickest 1/4 mile time, or the fastest lap around Laguna Seca. Some enjoy the ride just for the ride.

2.) Before we all go praising our GSs as God's gift to motorcycling, let's remember that (while they are great all around bikes) on other message boards we're the ones being laughed at. Our GSs won't outrun a new Hayabusa or ZX-10R and they certainly won't out-handle an new R1 or Ducati. They don't make the low end torque of the Harley Davidson and they don't make the top end power of (most) new 600s. People all wonder why we would want to ride something that's 20+ years old.

I have a GS1100E, a custom chopper, a Harley, 3 "off-road" bikes, and I'm in the process of buying a Hayabusa. Each one I have for a reason. Each one has it's strong points and it's weak points but they're all great bikes. That's why I don't understand why people think their type of bike is the only one worth having and everyone else is wasting their money. I just don't get it.

Flame off...

---Chris

 

[earlfor]

I make fun of Harleys, because someone has to do it. I make fun of Busas because theyre just glorified, cosmetic girly bikes. I used to like Kawasaki, but not since Mattel took over their manufacture. I guess cruisers are ok if youre bowlegged anyway and just want something that naturally fits your stance. The only reason I ride a GS is because David Price was giving them away.

Earl

That's why I don't understand why people think their type of bike is the only one worth having and everyone else is wasting their money. I just don't get it.

Flame off...

---Chris

 

[rodcwer]

I wave at anyone on a bike,we have a brotherhood as far as i'm concerned.i personally like my 1000L it is more like a cruiser,thats my style,earl is on a 1150 e he likes to lean forward when he ridesas does dave.evrybody has their own preference.Hell i can't sit here and tell you i'd never own a harley,the main reason i dont is i refuse to pay the money.ican afford one i choose to not own one.i got more out og customizing my 1000L than buying a new bike.MY .02

 

[scotty]

I would buy a sportster tomorrow but i refuse to pay 7 to 8K for an 8 to 10 year old bike. I like the 1200 except for the darn vibrations.. they are wonderfull for just chuging around town-going to the bike shop or bike hang out and sounding cool. But whren i crank up my gsxxrr750ed the eyes are all mine. I dont do it for that reason though. The thing is just loud.
I actually like Harleys and thank them for keeping bikeing alive. those folks are the most active when it comes to bike events etc.

 

[Nerobro]

Harleys are lower tech than my lawnmower.. (exluding the vrod) There is a lot of "good" to be said about stone tools and bear skins, but without getting much higher tech you can have a GS. I make fun of the GS500 becuase it makes only 40 horsepower, when the EX500 makes 50. If you want to do the math on how much horsepower a harley would make as a 500 it becomes even more laughable. But I'm a geek, and I'll quickly and happily admit that fact.

Though.... like the paintball community, I've met all sorts. You will see jerks on other bikes as well. And there are a LOT of damned decent harley riders.

 

[Anonymous]

Harleys are lower tech than my lawnmower.. (exluding the vrod)... ...If you want to do the math on how much horsepower a harley would make as a 500 it becomes even more laughable.

Two things to remember here:

1.) Being more technologically advanced does not automatically make something better. As a matter of fact, most of the time, it makes it even less reliable.

2.) If we want to compare a Harley at only 500cc, let's think about it the other way go ahead and give it 4 cylinders instead of two. Now that would be a monster. Roughly 150hp and 175 ft-lb of torque could lay a pretty good hurtin' on the new "technologically advanced" bikes making only 80 ft-lb. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Speaking of power, I found these specs on the S&S website.

145cid Evolution V-twin

- Displacement?? 144.7 CI (2376cc)

- Bore:?? 4 3/8

- Stroke:? 4 13/16

- Compression Ratio:?? 11:1
?


Rear Wheel Dyno Results
SuperFlow CycleDyn Chassis Dynamometer


- Max Horsepower:?? 186 @ 5700 rpm

- Max Torque:???????????? 183 @ 4900 rpm
?


Fuel Injection


- Module:? S&S VFI Module for 2002 - up

- Induction:? S&S VFI 2.062" Throttle Body,
??????????????????????? Manifolds, and Special
??????????????????????? Billet Velocity Stacks


Cylinder Heads:? S&S Special "Big Fin" Design

Ports:??? S&S CNC Machined Oval Style

Chamber:?? S&S CNC Machined

Intake Valve:?????? 2.200"

Exhaust Valve:?? 1.800"

Valve Springs:? S&S .660" Triple Coil with
?????????????????????????????? Titanium Top Collars



Lower End


Flywheels:? S&S Pressed Together Assembly

Connecting Rods:? S&S 8.250 Billet Steel

Crankpin:?? S&S 1.500" Pressed-In Style


Oil Pump: S&S High Volume
??????????????????? High Pressure (HVHP)

Engine Finish:? Full Show Polish

Tappet Guides:? S&S Polished Billet

Gearcover:? S&S Tribute 145
??????????????????????? Special Edition
??????????????????????? Polished Billet

---Chris

 

[Nerobro]

That engine is the antithesis of what a cruiser engine should be. Peak torque at 4900 and peak horsepower at 5700...

you have a 2.3liter engine... why not make the 150lbft of torque at 1200rpm like the rocket 3 does ;-) Well at least it's a well tuned lawnmower.. if still a lawnmower.

 

[bwringer]

Heck, I wave enthusiastically at everyone on two wheels, traffic and conditions permitting.

If they wave back, great. I've got a new pal. If they don't, I figure maybe it will do a tiny, tiny little bit to penetrate that stupid Hardley "attitude". They sure as heck can't say they didn't see the waving goofball in the bright yellow helmet and bright blue jacket.

 

[Nerobro]

Two things to remember here:

1.) Being more technologically advanced does not automatically make something better. As a matter of fact, most of the time, it makes it even less reliable.

2.) If we want to compare a Harley at only 500cc, let's think about it the other way go ahead and give it 4 cylinders instead of two. Now that would be a monster. Roughly 150hp and 175 ft-lb of torque could lay a pretty good hurtin' on the new "technologically advanced" bikes making only 80 ft-lb. 8)

Well.. if you want to call a GS less reliable than a harley, I"ll let you have at it. Properly applied technology, even if it means it's more complex, is more reliable.

Now, if we made a harley four cylinder, we'd need to be just as fair to the competition. The cylinder count wasn't even the question though. Just horsepower/displacement. if you want a fair comparison look at that S&S motor in direct comparison to a triumph rocket three. The harleys torque curve looks PITTIFULL in comparison.

Also keep in mind, it's the drivability of the torque curve. The harley has some interesting spikes. and it's not terriably even. Look at the SV650 or the ducati monster. The torque curve is almost flat. That's what makes for an easily controled engine and bike. (that's the key to superbike engines, the detune them to produce that nice flat torque curve) If you want to ignore drivabilty, horsepower is horsepower. The bigger the number, the faster the bike. Torque isn't "really" a factor in acceleration or top speed if you have adequate gearing.

that's not to say I'm not friendly to all riders

 

[Anonymous]

Heck, I wave enthusiastically at everyone on two wheels, traffic and conditions permitting.

If they wave back, great. I've got a new pal. If they don't, I figure maybe it will do a tiny, tiny little bit to penetrate that stupid Hardley "attitude". They sure as heck can't say they didn't see the waving goofball in the bright yellow helmet and bright blue jacket.

I get waves from HD riders 'cos they see the high bars and think I'm one of their gang.The looks I get when they realise it's an old Jap 4 are priceless. 8) Don't get many from race rep pilots,probably because they'd fall off if they took one hand off the bars! :wink: :wink: :lol:

 

[Nerobro]

Yaknow, I do think cruiser riders are friendlier as a rule.

 

[Anonymous]

Yaknow, I do think cruiser riders are friendlier as a rule.

Yep,them and tourers!We get a great deal of European riders in Edinburgh,you name it they ride it,and most of them seem friendlier than yer average Brit race-rep pilot!