Birdwatcher used to ride at such a high rate of speed that no Harley rated his purchase.
So I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.
Exactly so, turns out two slow-revving seriously undersquare air-cooled pistons rising and falling nearly simultaneously while attached to an actual separate and heavy transmission intrinsically ain’t THE best setup for lightweight speed and agility. Even on a Sportster ridden on the straights (which don’t count) even the 1,000cc Virago I was on at the time would walk away. He topped out at about 115, I still had about another 5mph left, we demonstrated this many Sunday mornings. He later became split pelvis guy, came off and hit the steering head on the way off,still rides tho.
But more’n anything, if you left your Harley regularly parked ANYWHERE back then, the local Outlaw club would stop by, lift it into the back of a van, and be on their way.. IIRC all they had to do was switch out the cases and Shazzam! It was a whole ‘nother Harley.
You might be too young to remember those bad old days.
I get it.
You were just too fast for those Harley's.
...But more’n anything it was the theft issue, else I prob’ly woulda been flogging a Sportster for a period of time. But when your bike is your only transportation, it’s gonna get parked places, and back then if it was a Harley it was just a matter of time.
Like a good many other young impressionable dumb asses of that era, greatly influenced by the then new movie, Easy Rider, I felt my recently purchased, used, partially Sportster-ized, Harley "K" Model needed a more 'Chopper' look so I found a shop in a not too distant city that did that kind of work. Went with a metal-flake paint job with flames and matching helmet, extended fork tubes, custom cobra 2 passenger seat w/sissy bar, and a few other minor 'gee-whiz' touches.
I drove over to the shop every few days to check on progress and soon discovered the shop was owned, managed and run by a regionally known outlaw motorcycle gang and a regular hangout for local club members, as well. One day after he got to know me, the owner/manager started asking me questions about if I'd be interested in upgrading to more extreme chopper look or to a larger engine, newer, more custom chopped Harley as he could set me up with all the parts or a already completed one. I told him I hadn't really thought about it any since mine was still pretty new to me but asked him what he had.
He proceeded to lock the front door to the shop, did the look over both shoulders thing, then opened what had been a concealed trap door in the old wood floor of the shop, and motioned for me to follow him down a ladder into an old cellar. There were wall-to-wall Harley motorcycle parts of all kinds piled up and hanging on the walls everywhere.. He shined a flashlight on a solid chromed Sportster frame, told me he could make me a good deal on it and how cool it would look on my bike. Rest of story -- everything in that cellar was 'hot', which most likely explained why my like new whole front fork assembly with wheel "went missing" the very first week it was at the shop. They did replace it though but the replacement was not in as nice condition as my original was.
Needless to say, I was beyond glad to finally get my bike finished and out of there.
The guy I originally bought mine from had been a die-hard, old school Harley owner for years but went with BMWs during Harley's AMF ownership. A couple of years later he was killed riding home from work one night on his latest BMW. He was on a narrow, two lane blacktop county road and got rear ended hard by a guy driving a pickup truck. The driver of the truck claimed the taillights on the motorcycle weren't illuminated as to why he didn't see it. They sure enough didn't work after the crash so there was no way to prove otherwise.
Back in ‘70 my cousin took a Honda CB750, put extended (6” over?) forks (didn’t alter the stock frame at all, just put on longer forks ) and a sissy bar and called it good.
Only Harley theft I’ve actually been around was at a poker run/party at a small East Texas bar out in the sticks. Great live band, so many bikes the parking lot was full, bikes were parked along the road, including mine.
That night THREE Harleys were lifted from the roadside No doubt while the thieves’ buddies were mingling with the crowd.
The people who owned those bikes weren’t dentists and lawyers neither, they were blue collar working stiffs, Harley faithful, who had many hours and dollars invested in those bikes. It was painful to watch.
Fk’n outlaw bikers, pure scum, .
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
) and a sissy bar and called it good.
No doubt while the thieves’ buddies were mingling with the crowd.