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RE: Fancy a Harley?

Black Dog — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:38:28 GMT

Hehe - I think you're right. There's something about "entry level" and "Harley" that don't quite go together.

I don't know where my nearest Harley dealer is (this is Westest Wales here), but if I get near one I will certainly try and blag a test ride.

I just lurve the sound. Blat blat.

RE: Fancy a Harley?

pewee — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:04:19 GMT

Why not go along to your local HD dealer and book a test ride. Everey HD main dealer can do this.Forget all the twaddle about fingerless gloves and bandanas ands the associated expense, get on Ebay and buy a Buffalo cordura and leather jacket + overtrousers or, a pair of cheap 2nd hand leather riding trousers and away you go.

I have a little 'sporty' which I use for work most days and also ride out on whenever possible at the weekends, yes I do have loud pipes on it but I kid you not, the prats in the traffic certainly know you are there and rarely, if ever, give me a hard time.

My boss rides a GSX 1400 and he regularly gets aimed at and pushed out simply because no one can hear him coming and the very sight of a sports bike trikling down the outside of a traffic que winds people up.

HD's are expensive but they really do hold their value.

One final tip, IF you do decide to take the plunge, make sure you buy the biggest one you can because the problem (including me) of buying the smallest is that once you have it you then want a bigger one.

RE: Fancy a Harley?

Black Dog — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:29:42 GMT

Agreed on the testicle question. I have ten fingers - I can spare one, however painful. On the other hand ...

Fantasy Garage:

Suzuki Bandit 1200S - current bike, cheap and reliable all-rounder
Suzuki GSXR600 - for when I feel like a thrash, possible trackdays
Harley Sportster 1200 - try everything once
Moto Guzzi 850T or T3 - Italian muscle, possibly as a project
Laverda triple (3C, or preferably the Jota) - for the soundtrack alone
Matchless G80 - big chuffy single, like wot me Dad rode in the War, to restore and use on sunny days (could also be Norton ES2 or a big Beeza)

No. 7, if I could stretch the list, would be a 60s Triton with the sweptback pipes and Manx tank. Not to ride, just to have in the living room. Mrs Dog would add a 1300 Pan, the one with the armchair pillion, for foreign trips.

This list can (and will) be updated at any time, when other ideas come along! That's what fantasy lists are for.

Good idea, Hoov.

RE: Fancy a Harley?

Mazz — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:54:33 GMT

I'd rather stick my finder in a grinder than have a testicle explode thank you!! I can't possible comment on the mid-life crisis debate... I'm not even halfway to 50 yet!

Good call RH, starting off a new thred me thinks....!

RE: Fancy a Harley?

roadhoover — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:39:06 GMT

I can't decide which would be the more painful, finger in a grinder or exploding one's wedding tackle.

Watching it on telly is a lot less painful.

Cough cough! there was some self deprecation on my part in there as well BD, you have a proper bike and you use it, It doesn't appear to be a whimsical desire to be something you are not.

Don't get me wrong given the large shed and money to burn, I'd have a Fat boy and eagerly by the shades, as well as a ZX-10 (C model) '07 Triumph Tiger, Zed 1000, Track day only weapon, a fizzy, Vincent black shadow, Laverda Jota.............

Choose six bikes for your fantasy garage, what would they be?

RE: Fancy a Harley?

Black Dog — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:08:21 GMT

roadhoover (17/09/2007)

The average age of an average Harley rider I bet is around the fifty years old mark. A bit too old to be an outlaw in todays society I venture.

Oi! <cough> <coughcough>

roadhoover (17/09/2007)

(I believe i/m right in saying he burst a testicle as well). Now that takes balls !!

I really did not need to know that. Really.

RE: Fancy a Harley?

roadhoover — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:17:32 GMT

Yeah, and I'd just like to say, that the average outlaw biker is almost certainly not a wealthy man so therefore other than the dedicated HA riders and similar who do tend to actually live the lifestyle, the rest are wannabee's who perhaps don't shave on a Thursday or Friday night so that they can look suitably hirsute (though not too unkempt) for the Sunday ride to the local bingo hall or whatever with their 'Road Captain' back patch. I think for the majority of Harley riders these days it's more an advertisement for their purchasing power and might of their osmium credit card and a lack of anything else to spend their wealth on. The low tech lifestyle appeal of the Harley is an incredibly expensive hobby. If you are going to be a rebel at 50, I reckon a **** off no mercy horsepower greedhead slim and curvy sports bike should be the way to go

Sure the desire is there and Harley have plugged into that dream for years, but lets face it. The average age of an average Harley rider I bet is around the fifty years old mark. A bit too old to be an outlaw in todays society I venture.

It's all a probable mid life crisis for most of them and I'm sure I'll be no different when I reach that particular stage in my life. (Fatbloke on sportsbike in too tight leathers thinking he can still cut it with the dashing young blades of tomorrow) Still at least a bike is more preferable than a car (but only because they've probably got one already).

Fingerless gloves yeah great, cool baby, tough men's hands don't hurt when scrubbing off speed on the black top, just ask Troy Bayliss, he had the best gloves money could buy, crashed at Brands probably at only 100mph plus I think it was, managed to shave his left finger down to the bone enough to have it amputated at a later date, and still carried on racing. (I believe i/m right in saying he burst a testicle as well). Now that takes balls !!

RE: Fancy a Harley?

Black Dog — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:11:11 GMT

Well, I can appreciate the outlaw image (I read Hunter S Thompson at age 16 like everyone else), but fingerless gloves?

Them's what your granny used to wear when it were nippy out, like.

I've seen old ladies wearing them, and gardeners when it's cold, and Ive even seen someone wear them while playing the piano in a cold hall - so to me, that puts them somewhere a tartan kilt from M&S and a pair of Marigolds on the coolness scale.

Hey, I'm one baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad outlaw biker - check my beige cardigan, dudes.

RE: Fancy a Harley?

Mazz — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:05:49 GMT

It's because they're all rock hard BD... well, that's what they'd have you believe!

RE: Fancy a Harley?

Black Dog — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:31:40 GMT

Mazz (06/08/2007)

Plus I won't wear open faced lids either and you really need one to finish the look... or a bandana, but you can't over here.

Aye, that's the problem! If you get a Harley, you have to buy a whole new set of riding gear. A full-face lid and textile suit (or racing leathers) just look WRONG. You'd have to go for a piss-pot helmet, RayBans, Brando-stylee leather jacket, jeans, and those funny boots with the square toes and stacked heels. Plus I'd have to let the beard grow out a bit. Stopping washing might be the hardest part

And fingerless gloves! What's that all about, then?

RE: Fancy a Harley?

Mazz — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:26:12 GMT

Harleys have had the same sort of thoughts in my mind. I don't think I'd buy one tbh but I wonder what they'd be like to ride on. My little GZ was a sort of Harley look-a-like but without the sound and grunt. The seating position is nice. It's very comfy with plenty of room, but the lack of pace really bugged me. A Harley (being a 2litre... well, some of them!) would have the speed, looks and aggression, but my stature just doesn't suit it.

I think it's steriotypical to assume Harley riders are what they are in the movies... but it's the vision I get when I think of one and if I saw anything else it would look wrong.

Plus I won't wear open faced lids either and you really need one to finish the look... or a bandana, but you can't over here.

Fancy a Harley?

Black Dog — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 13:17:54 GMT

Several things recently have got me thinking. Hoover's question about Japanese Harleys was one, a road test in this month's RiDE was another, plus I was buzzed (in the cage) by a flight of open-piped baaaaad boys on black HDs this morning (God knows where they were going at 7:30 am).

For the first time in my life, I have actually considered buying a Harley as my next bike. Only considered, mind, as in "well, that's not completely out of the question". I love the sound, I quite like the feet-forward idea, the lack of speed and cornering ability don't worry me too much (it wouldn't be the only bike in the stable), and it might be comfy for two over a distance. On the downside, I don't like the whole macho "diet of raw meat" nonsense of the official HD ads, which seem to be designed to appeal to grey-suited civil servants who want to score with the chicks by looking "bad", and TBH I'm not completely thrilled by the image of the riders over here. Round me, there are two kinds of Harley rider - men who don't wash, carry weapons and deal in drugs (stripped and hammerited ageless choppers), and mild-mannered accountants (year-old Dyna Glides with immaculate tasselled bar-ends and leather panniers). Neither has any appeal for me. And yet ...

I wonder if it might be fun. Perhaps it's an itch you have to scratch before it goes away. Earlier this summer, I spent two weeks in France wondering if I didn't prefer the simplicity of a small tent. Saturday night, we got the old tent out and camped out on the lawn for a laugh. I now have no desire to return to 2-man tents, cooking on bended knees and constant backache. But I had to give it a go, "just to see".

Same with a Harley.

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