GS5 vs. Harley...Now, the Story can be Told!!!

[kylegod]

I read the first page or two but had no patience for the next 5. haha.
But anyway, my dad rides a softail deluxe. It has a monster engine but makes no where what it should hp wise for that size. This is the same for just about all harleys. I dont get it, but harleys are for certain people and certain riding styles. I occasionally ride with my dad and about 7 other harley guys on the weekends and even though they are 700+ pounds and not making what they should for their size motor, they still win in a straight line when compared to a gs500. But like the thread starter said, once the street curves, forget it. I get frustrated riding twisties with these harley guys. But harleys arent meant for that. Its a nostalgia thing, at least it is for my dad and his 7 rider buddies. Its less about performance and more about looks, comfort, and nostalgia. I mean im not into that, but to each his own. and all these guys arent "prejudice" towards metric bikes. no doubt there are some harley guys that are, but they guys i know are like me, if youre on a motorcycle...good. Thats all. doesnt matter what it is. And thats how it should be.

[Toogoofy317]

Actually, TT according to the report. When it was the pedestrians fault they were Jay Walking, wearing dark colored clothing at night,  walking with back to traffic. Pedestrians do have the right of way in Cross Walks or in parking lots. I think that is fair

I dunno even when riding I get annoyed by loud bikes part of the reason I haven't gotten an aftermarket exhaustyet


Mary

[Electrojake]

This has to be the dumbest thread I've ever started (which is saying something... )
Definitely doesn't take much to derail a topic and send it flying off in an unexpected direction.

No, No. . .
On the Contrary XealotX, you're a genius.
I should take lessons.
Although I would not have had the kahunas to start this "Harley Rider Driving Skills" topic in the General GS500 Discussion area, your first post here energized the entire message base!
This topic speaks for itself; 8 pages of posts and still growing.
And a tad more interesting than 8 pages of "How do I get rust off a headlight bracket". <snicker>
XealotX, you nailed it with this one!

[GeeP]

Harleys...

Best passed in a power wheelie.

Keep the grin to yourself.

[JAY W]

Hi, don`t know if its the same in the states but in the UK,Bikers usually give a nod or wave to each other,its very rare to get a nod back from a Harley rider,its an import here so its not about having a foriegn bike.I  just class them as image bikers.
Balancing at lights is fun,i was taught to hold rear brake,with left foot down,incase you get shunted..like its gonna make any difference.

[Electrojake]

Hi, don`t know if its the same in the states but in the UK, Bikers usually give a nod or wave to each other, its very rare to get a nod back from a Harley rider, its an import here so its not about having a foreign bike. I just class them as image bikers.

This Harley Drivers (not riders) thing is kind of on topic, so. . .
1.) Harley drivers: The polar opposite of Adventurer-Tourer guys.
2.) Both feet always hit the ground at a stop. (If your GS500 weighed 800# and had a 22 inch seat height, you would put both feet down too!)
3.) All summer long they rattle the neighborhood with their loud pipes.
4.) Soon as September hits and the temperatures start dropping into the 60's, all becomes silent.
5.) By November the only bikes on the road are a few BMW's and fools like me.
6.) Beamers ALWAYS wave, Harleys NEVER wave, and UJM's will usually wave at speeds below 85 MPH.

Disclaimer: The sport is many different things to many different people. I understand the Harley thing. No problem, I respect their piece of the pie.
When I pull up to a Harley Road King on my stinky little Yamaha, I feel cheesey. His loud pipes, all the chrome. I'm instantly out-classed. 
But then again. . .
Put that Harley Road King next to a BMW K1200LT and presto! The Harley starts looking like a mass-produced, Chinese made, child's toy. Guess it's all relative, eh?
-Ej-

P.S. So where's XealotX with a follow-up? Now's his chance to shine.
Let him know; The Mother of all off-topic threads has been revived! 

[johnny ro]

I give credit to the ones I see riding in winter. Maybe its not actual harleys, could be japanese versions. Probably a mix. You also hear a few ducatis on my road right past when I winterize.

[JB848]

All I have to say is loud pipes are rude, obnoxious, ignorant, stupid, offensive, offensive, outrageous, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, unacceptable, offensive, reprehensible, repugnant, repulsive, revolting.....etc,etc

Oh Yeah and just plain moronic!

Quote from: XealotX on November 17, 2009, 06:22:09 PM
This has to be the dumbest thread I've ever started (which is saying something... )
Definitely doesn't take much to derail a topic and send it flying off in an unexpected direction.

Thanks XealotX for such a productive Topic! I challange others to do the same

[tt_four]

I give credit to the ones I see riding in winter. Maybe its not actual harleys, could be japanese versions. Probably a mix. You also hear a few ducatis on my road right past when I winterize.

European bikes are made for riding in awful weather, especially rain. That all it does is rain there.

[BaltimoreGS]

I give credit to the ones I see riding in winter. Maybe its not actual harleys, could be japanese versions. Probably a mix. You also hear a few ducatis on my road right past when I winterize.

European bikes are made for riding in awful weather, especially rain. That all it does is rain there.

I don't know if that is always true.  Kay was looking at a '96 Ducati Monster 600 a friend of mine was selling cheap last year.  He was a fair weather rider and always kept the bike garaged.  Looking at the bike I noticed the wire harness connectors were rather exposed to the elements compared to other bikes like the GS that tuck the connectors away in the headlight bucket or under the tank/bodywork.  Since Kay was going to be storing the bike outside I was worried about rain getting into the connectors and corroding the terminals.  Any Monster owners that can comment on that?

-Jessie

[tt_four]

well ok, I'll agree with that. Ducati's are kinda an exception to general motorcycle usage. I know they've got great handling and all that, but the motors in those 600s are junk, and they're basically the European "Harley", the bike for people who want to look good. Not to say the bikes wouldn't be fun, but Italian stuff is about style. If I was ever lucky enough to own an MV Agusta it definitely wouldn't see much bad weather.

When I was talking about European bikes, Triumph was at the front of my mind, with BMW coming in a close second, so I'll narrow that down to at least British and german.

[tt_four]

So I just transferred to a new office for my job, and I got this awesome seat right next to a window. This guy I was in training with years ago always comes over to look out the window to see what it's like outside. Anyway, he looks out and tells me he always keeps an eye on the weather because he just bought a $22k Harley road king. It was like the $22k was part of the description like the "F" in GS500 and GS500F. Haha. When he said that it reminded me of this thread so I figured I would dig it up. I'm gonna go riding with him when it warms up so I'll see how his bike compares to my $1500 91 GS.

[meri]

In case you need help against your friends hardley: http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/motorcycle-with-rocket-pods-shoots-rockets-at-the-push-of-a-button

[jserio]

the bike you ride doesn't make you a dickhead. i've seen plenty of dickheads riding around in all kinds of weather on all kinds of bikes.

[tt_four]

the bike you ride doesn't make you a duckhead. i've seen plenty of duckheads riding around in all kinds of weather on all kinds of bikes.

What's a duckhead?

[jserio]

d-i-c-k-h-e-a-d. gotta love the vulgerism filter. 

[tt_four]

Ok, well I'll second that then. As much as I don't have the highest opinion of harley riders, and as much as I love sportbikes, I've always felt like 95% percent of the guys on sportbikes aren't worth the time of day. There's a couple really nice guys who just like to ride, but a huge portion of them are snotty 20 year old kids with too much money, or middle aged overweight men who have too much money and needed something 'cool' to spend it on, and both of them tend to bring a rotten attitude to anything they do.

[XealotX]

This thread is still in circulation??



Truth be told, once the temperature dropped below 20 degrees I parked the bike in the corner of the garage, plugged the battery into a tender, and forgot all about it and this website for the past month.

[johnny ro]

This thread is still in circulation??



Truth be told, once the temperature dropped below 20 degrees I parked the bike in the corner of the garage, plugged the battery into a tender, and forgot all about it and this website for the past month.

Its a durable concept, to wonder what is wrong with Harleys.


I have voted nothing really wrong above.

The same debate popped up the other day on my favorite car site, the truth about cars. People ranting and raving on both sides of the question and calling each other stupid. Weird. Get a life, eh? Except for "open pipes" issue, they should all be confiscated and crushed.

[mister]

I work with a guy named Harley. I don't think he'd like to be confiscated and crushed.    

Michael