Group Charity Rides - GS Unfriendly?

[nsoccer3097]

Is it just me, or do most of the charity rides seem to "cater" to HD owners?  Reason i ask is that here in KC we have a yearly ride for March of Dimes - Bikers for babies - at the Kansas Speedway.  Supposedly, everyone's invited no matter what type of bike.  I have a couple family members who own (i should really say, making payments for the next 8 years on) HD's who've gone and they say that 98% of those there are HD's or the like.  Don't get me wrong, I have NO problem riding with some harley owners i know, in fact a few weeks ago we went to some local "harley" hangouts and i parked right next to them.  Granted I got a couple looks and snickers, but hey, they're just jealous that mine runs more than 50% of the time and what i paid for mine is probably as much as one of their payments.  Even some other "sport bike" owners do the same.   Anyone else get this feeling?  Granted, I'm in the midwest and in KC where there's a harley factory, but still.  I think I may just go ahead and go out there - their problem, not mine.  Just curious.

[glenn9171]

http://www.goingfaster.com/angst/main.htm

Send them to this page.  Tell them that you are not a mindless drone and can choose a bike based on it's merits, not on hype and propaganda.  Then ask one to race.   :nana:

[nsoccer3097]

actually did race a buddy of mine, sort of.  he has a 100th anniversary edition heritage with the gold key bullshit and extremely loud annoying ass pipes.  he thought he was cool and took off at a stop sign.  i quickly followed, caught up with him going about ninety and proceeded to pass him.  nothing was said at the next stop sign while we waited for my cousin and his wife on their road queen classic.  interestingly enough, a lot of harley riders are against/hate the v-rod.  watching discovery channel special, there seemed to be quite a bit of engineering/thought put into it.  i think it has a harley racing engine.  106 hp to the rear wheel too.  maybe i should wear one of these...
http://www.denniskirk.com/powervendor/details/detail2.asp?PartNo=350078SHIRTS&serverid=nlStreet
http://www.denniskirk.com/powervendor/details/detail2.asp?PartNo=350079SHIRTS&serverid=nlStreet

[glenn9171]

They hate the V-Rod because it's engine was developed by Porsche and it's heads are made in France.  It's also the reason it performs as well as it does.  It still only beats the Honda Magna (early 80's engine) in the 1/4 mile by less than a second.  The Magna also costs about a third of the V-Rod.

[Black Snowman]

http://www.goingfaster.com/angst/main.htm
:nana:

That's hillarious. I have a friend who's a Harley rider and I bet he'd agree with the marketing crap  

[pantablo]

harley (and clone) riders like to cruise. they like to ride slowly from point a to point b where we, and most sport bike riders or even standards (remember, I said most-not all) prefer a nice twisty road. Those make for less than hospitable conditions for a charity ride IMO.

[Black Snowman]

My friend takes his Road King to work occasionally tapping 135 on the speedo. Usually only when he meets up with another co-worker on his Dyna. Faster than I want to go. At least they have some stability at that speed with their long wheelbase and trail and shallow rake.

Still not fast by superbike standards but like I said, still faster than I want to go.

[nsoccer3097]

true.  funny thing is, most don't wear any protective gear other than jeans and boots.  always seem to get made fun of in my helmet, jacket, gloves, boots, and jeans, but hey, i don't feel like picking rocks out of my arms and legs for the next 3 years and i didn't go to college to spill my brains out on I-35.

[70 Cam Guy]

maybe some of the rides cater to Harley owners since they are a more expensive bike.  People conclude that they have more money to spend

lol :lol:

from the Harley hater's site

[tkm433]

As long as the terms "them" and "us" or similar terms or "negative" comments are made about "their" bikes while "our" bikes are "better" or "worse" then there will be an issue.

Just my view!

Its the same as saying some of my friends are "black, white, jewish, etc" in that when we have to put something in class, race, religion, or other then there is a issue and then there is a problem.

It sounds like you are you are doing the same as what is referred to as pulling the "race card" when it comes to race but in this case it is due country of build of your bike and your view that all Harley owneres hate non-Harley bikes and you view their actions as "I hate Jap bike" when it could be they feel the same about "you" as you think of "them" in that since we do not ride the same type bike then we should hate each other.

Why do not we wear arm band with the bike we ride on them so that all will know?  The Harley guys could waer a arm band with a "hog" or just the name of the bike "Harley" on it while the GS500 rider could wear a arm band with the "Rising Sun" or "Suzuki" on it?  It would be just like 1939 all over again!

Read the post above and I would guess that half of them would refer to terms that would devide Harley riders from GS500 riders and it would in my view be no different than placing arm bands on everyone and going back to 1939 Nazi Germany and putting a label on someone and hating them for no more of a reason than the label or because someone said something about the "other people" that made you want to hate them for no reason other that what someone told you or you read on the internet.

No, I do not own a Harley and no I have never owned one but in general I do not hate them or dislike them.

[nsoccer3097]

so.... are you equating me to a nazi?  i have no problem whatsoever with harleys or their owners.  what i have a problem with is people who treat others differently based on their differences/choices.  to me, a little joking between people isn't harmful, hell, it happens all the time on this board.  just as i said before, i ride quite often with harley owners.  all i was doing is asking my fellow gs owners if they felt the same way as i do sometimes of not having a "local" group to identify with.  granted, this may be only because i'm in an area where gs's, and naked sport bikes for that matter, are few and far between.  good example, i went to a fairly well known local harley dealer one saturday on my gs and parked in the "motorcycle parking".  proceeded to look around at various bikes.  i look over to make sure my bike is still standing and it's all by itself.  the closet harley was parked about 50 feet away and this place was busy.  i've even went places and parked next to a harley and had the owner move his bike.  dont' get me wrong, i'm not saying that all HD owners are that way.  unto each their own.

[glenn9171]

TKM433, when was the last time you saw a flier for a poker run and saw anything other than a HD or other cruiser's picture on it?  I have never seen one.  I went on a local poker run for charity and it was 98% Harleys and other cruisers.  The Harley riders would not park near the "Jap bikes" at any of the stops.  They actually said "we only ride with 'real' bikes".  You wonder why people have negative views about Harley riders?  I am not saying that all HD riders would do this, but I would guess that over 80% of them locally would.  

I work with a guy that used to own a Yamaha standard bike in the 70's.  He hasn't ridden in about 20 years since he sold the Yamaha.  Recently, he bought an '03 HD 883 Sportster.  The cheapest HD currently sold.  I asked if he wanted to go riding some time.  His exact quote was "I ain't riding with no Jap bikes".  Yes, he used such poor grammar.   I asked if his reason is because he was afraid of being passed in a corner.   :nana: I even reminded him that he used to own a "Jap bike", himself.  His reply was that he bought a "real bike" this time.

I am going to a local fund raiser tonight for our local Sheriff's campaign fund.  Its a steak dinner and a ride afterwards.  A friend of mine rides an R1 and several of his friends are riding their sportbikes.  I will reply back later about how the "real bikers" treat us.

[Pam G]

Anyone been watching the Travel Channel's bike week shows?  Most of it is "Big Twin week".

I think a lot of Harley riders have an American vs. Japanese bias.  Many think that a "real" motorcycle has to be made in the good ole USA.  I've worked with union construction types that think that you must drive an American made car, since union workers make these cars.  How many of them realize that many/most of the parts are Japanese?  The Ford Probe was basically a Mazda MX-6.  The Explorer looks a heck of a lot like a certain Mazda SUV.  Chrysler gets a lot of their stuff from Mitsubishi (anyone remember the Talon aka Eclipse?)  If you were to sit in a new Pontiac Vibe you would think that you were sitting in a Toyota Matrix.

Harley people tend to tolerate or sometimes even admire the European bikes.

Many Harley people dislike the V-Rod because it isn't the same old air cooled pushrod tractor motor.  It's new technology, water cooled, and it's just not "traditional".

I don't do the charity rides, poker runs, etc, but once I rode the GS to a local dragstrip with the ex-boyfriend (who rode a Yamaha V-Max) and a scruffy cruiser-looking guy said "Nice bike".  I asked him "which one?" because the bikes were parked next to each other, and I thought he was commenting on the Max, but he pointed to the GS.  I was surprised.

I'm waiting to see if Eric Buell sticks that V-Rod motor in one of his XB's in the future.

[mrslush50]

"Many Harley people dislike the V-Rod because it isn't the same old air cooled pushrod tractor motor. It's new technology, water cooled, and it's just not "traditional". "

See this is what makes no sense to me.  Isn't America about innovation, and technology?  About moving forward and working hard to develop new ideas and products?  So why is a "real" American motorcycle made with 60 year old technology and parts?  The V-rod is the first step in the right direction Harley has taken in 40 years.  Here's hoping Harley tells Eric Buell to start developing his own engines and gear boxes.  Then we might see some truly innovative American motorcycles.

[nsoccer3097]

wasn't the v-rod "designed" for harley to compete with the sport bikes in attracting younger riders?  don't get me wrong, i dig the designs of the v-rod, but dropping 21k just aint gonna happen - i think the same applies for most of that market.  don't see very many on the road around here either.  on a side note, i was looking through a mag at the store, sport bike i think, and they had a v-rod with corbin accessories that was sky blue.  had hard bags and a headlight fairing that was about 2 feet long, both painted sky blue.  found a pic of the fairing: http://www.corbin.com/harley/vrsca/vrod_fairing.shtml

[jake42]

ugh the topic that just won't die..   i posted about this a couple months ago after riding with my neighbor and a bunch of harley guys.  I think the bias is far more on the HD side than on the 'jap' or sportbike side.  I wave, they don't wave back, they won't acknowledge me when i park at work .. i don't hate them, i just think they're Dicks!!

if i hated them i'd wait till they left their precious bikes and then push them over.

[glenn9171]

Back from the bike nite/steak dinner.  My friends and myself waled around and looked at all of the bikes.  The cruiser guys only looked at the cruisers.  One of them (wearing chaps, leather do-rag, and a tank-top) asks me if I had a bike there.  I said yes and pointed to the freshly polished GS behind me.  He said "Oh, that little rice burner".  I told him that it really must piss him off that my bike that I bought brand new for $3300 can ride circles around his $20,000 hog.  He looked a little pissed. :nana:

I got a friend who happens to ride a Yamaha V-Star 1100 Custom to go over to the guy a little later and just spontaneously asked if the guy wanted to race.  The cruiser guy asked him what kind of bike he had.  My friend told him not his bike, but my GS.  He all of a sudden wasn't interested in racing.  Said his bike wasn't built for racing.  But he was interested when he thought he would be going against a Yamaha cruiser.  I would imagine it would be hard to hold your head high at the next bike night after getting your ass handed to you by a 487cc "Jap bike".

[Pam G]

If anyone would want to check out a major rally where riders from all parts of the country get together, the Honda Hoot is a very good rally.  It's in Knoxville, TN in June.  I was there in 2001, and I found the mix of motorcycles to be 1/3 cruisers (more metric than H-D), 1/3 sportbikes, and 1/3 tourers/sport tourers, and sprinkled with your typical standard/naked UJM's.  There are about a half dozen rides to do as well as other events.  The rides are not done in a big group, but you can leave according to your schedule.  Ride alone or hook up with some people doing the same ride.  One of the rides goes down to Deal's Gap & on the Dragon.  I think there is a website www.hondahoot.com, but I don't think they put up a schedule until Jan. or Feb.

[glenn9171]

Unfortunately, the only reason the Honda Hoot has such a variety of bikes is because of it's name.  The HONDA Hoot.  It's not the Harley Hoot.  If it were, you could bet the sportbikes and standards would not be so prevalent.  I have seen the Hoot on TV and it looks very nice.  Well organized and family oriented.  Exactlly what motorcycling needs.  The Hoot looks to be much more inviting to non-HD riders than most other rallies.

[Wrencher]

I found this sort of dichotomy really interesting when it came to my Buell.

My Buell wasn't Harley enough for the H-D riders, and too Harley for the import riders so it and I didn't really fit into any of the neat little boxes. Heaven forbid you should meet another outcast Buell rider....instant lifelong brotherhood!