An electric motorcycle?



110 mile range?

How many of those 110 miles are balls-to-the-wall flat out?

Most guys I know would be out of juice well before lunch.

Fake sound too?

Boring!!!

https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/

https://www.ktm.com/us/e-ride/

my shortest run would be 180 miles, so it would get me half way there..

I guess we can add electric motorcycles to the list of things Texans can't grasp.

If it sells more bikes, great. The more people ride, the safer the roads will get for all of us. It’s not for me, but I commute 28 miles a day on my bike. The range is plenty. I imagine the torque is a lot of fun too.

It will appeal more to daily riders and not so much to the weekend or monthly riders, or those who have to dress like a pirate.

Not for me!

A high performance dirt bike that is quiet, very cool.



mike r

What is a Harley without a 2 cylinder rumble?

Gay!!!

Not for me. I like to hear a motor, and would need more range.

Notice that the practicality of all things motorcycle stays completely unrecognized by the media?

Ever wonder why?

A

I’ll agree that dirt bike applications are a whole nother issue, with all that torque might even out-perform gasoline dirt bikes. But even a 200 - 300 mile range on a electric street bike would keep ya on a short leash given the long recharge times.

A 200 mile range can get a lot of people to work without a recharge for two weeks.

Because they ain’t all that practical?

Says me who didn’t own a car until my forties.

Yeah but you're retarded.

There's no point in trying to sell a practical motorcycle because there is no practical reason to own a motorcycle. It's purely an emotional decision. Do you need a 1700 cc V-Twin motor to ride to work? Or a 1400 cc race bike with lights that will tickle if not surpass 200 mph? Of course not but if we were looking for sensible we'd all be driving Honda Civics. How boring would that be? I hope this new Harley tempts some young people to try a motorcycle and live a little.

............. Probably the sound of the future........ Sadly; for all of us dinosaurs......

The bike lot at work today. Yeah, my bike is it. Mid 70s and overcast. Beautiful riding weather. You know who can't see the practical use of this new bike? The people who aren't riding their bikes. The people who have a bike just taking up space in the garage and aren't riding every day anyway. I'm in no hurry to switch to an electric bike, but I can see the practical use of it because I do ride every day.

Total nonsense.

Gorgeous bike regardless.

Thanks. This is another picture from work last week. I sent it to my son to torment him. He's in Afghanistan and I'm baby sitting for him. I try to ride his once or twice a week to keep the battery charged.

I would be interested in electric vehicles and toys when they are functional and meet all my needs, including safely having the range I need to drive. I live in Wyoming and it is not uncommon to have 70+ miles between locations with services. If the batteries were not functioning at optimal level, I might not make it there. They are going to have to do better than that.

Wasn't aware that even existed. Thanks for posting that. A mountain bike, with better suspension that you don't have to pedal and goes 60 mph. I'd seen the zeros and a buddy has an electric trials bike, but I need one of those.

Sure they are, but that doesn't mean the majority of people who commute on a bike can't take advantage of the technology as it is. Electric bikes aren't being marketed for cross country trips any more than scooters are.

Oh wow.

That's a sharp bike. Is that the Scout Bobber?

This might come as a huge shock to you but electric motorcycles are in their infancy and most people don't live in Wy-fugking-oming.

Yeah. Of the 16 months he's owned it, it's been at my house for at least 10 of them. I kinda feel bad that the tires are showing wear. I'll just tell him they were like that when he left.

Hey, he wanted to go fugk off in Afghanistan so that's on him. Grin...

Does that bike do pretty decent on the highway?

I don't push it too hard since it's not mine, but it does go pretty well. Fast and fun in the curves, but not much for suspension. The motor is fun to wind out to 8000rpms.

Well, Scarlet Johansson can rock a Livewire.....

Cool bike.

That thing’s badass.

The really cool part for me is having two bikes at home has allowed my daughter and I to ride together. She rides mine and I ride my sons. I guess when he comes home I'll have to buy her a bike.

If I lived somewhere else I'd buy one.

That is cool.

Buy her CB1000R and tell me what you don't like about it.

Thanks.

She's way too much of a daredevil to turn loose with something like that.

Fine.

The 650 then.

I wonder if that time includes always burning the headlights?

She's been riding for a couple of years, but never got her license. This year I told her she had to get it to ride on the highway, so she skipped class for 3 days to take the H-D MSF course. They took it on brand new street 500s. When it was over she said the course was fun but hated that underpowered bike. We are actually going to look at an 883 sportster for her, as she's more old school.

Of course it does you stupid fugk.

Probably. LEDs don't use that much power. Can't turn the lights off.

A SPORTSTER?

Barf.

Glad you can spend time with your kids though.

Fugk. Are we boycotting electric motorcycles?

That thing is fuggin’ sweet!

What a joke...

It's for the best. The torque would probably jerk the bike right out from under some folks.

5 minute video. How long does the battery last?

They’ve been trying to sell “practical” motorcycles for a long time, since before the 650 Honda SilverWing at least. The latest attempt is the Bergman (??). Sales of these various incarnations have always been flat.

The thing I have against the 883 is that it’s geared lower than the 1200 in every gear, seems like it’d be sort of busy at highway speeds.

For short runs to the grocery store or easy commuter purposes, maybe.. For anyone that actually RIDES (as in: 200-600 miles/day or a long, 5-10 day trip) they're about as worthless as a screen door on a submarine.. Range + time to charge = severe limitations..

IMHO HD should concentrate on what they do best - and stay away from any such electric bike..

I can see no reason to get an 883, when a 1200 on the same platform, is available. Had a 1200 2007 Sportster. Nice bike, inexpensive to operate, entertaining. Currently on a 2009 Lowrider. Still adjusting! Figured I was done going fast. Spent a whole bunch of years dragging knees. The cops didn't use to be so para-military then. Electric cars really haven't caught on yet, primarily due to range limitations and down time. Run out of gas on a ride, you're up and running in a relatively short ride. Electric? I guess you have to go back later and collect it.

Agreed. The goose that laid the golden egg, our generation, is passing away, meanwhile I feel for all the dealers who were compelled to invest in those friggin’ Harley superstores.

In the eyes of the public Harleys ironically have become “old fat guy bikes”, if they can keep their roots alive, eventually they will be rediscovered.

Right now when I step into a Harley mall I see Sportsters and “Streets”, both too small for all-day passengers, then it jumps up to friggin 800+lb motorized sofas that most folks couldn’t pick up by themselves if they fell over. I wish there were a range of bikes in between.

Most damning in my mind tho is that the dealerships will not work on bikes over a certain age, proof-positive IMHO that Harley has lost its soul.

OR just pay attention to battery charge level and not try to go farther than you have the electrons for. Even gas bikes have fuel gauges now. And my 2009 HD softail even has a miles remaining countdown display - they can do the same thing with battery state.

HD actually has added several models to that 'mid-range' area over the last couple years.. And more and more younger riders are gravitating to those - at least, that's what I see when I drop in to the biggest dealer in the area (St. Paul HD). I had an HD Switchback for about three years. Smaller, lighter, but rode pretty rough (Dyna suspension).. Traded it last year for a Street Glide. MUCHO better (full touring suspension).. But then I tend to ride anywhere from 100-300 miles/day when the weather permits and I don't get tired/stiff from its use..

That's not limited to HD.. Few dealers will work with any bike over 12-15 years old, if for no other reason than parts may not be available.. That's the main reason I sold my '87 Kawasaki Voyager 1300-6 after 18 years of solid, reliable operation.. I knew that if something finally gave way I'd not be able to get it fixed.. It was time to get rid of it.. Helluva bike, though...especially at that time..

600 miles a day is one helluva commute.

“Parts not available”?

For a Harley?

See, they sold their soul, lost their way, switched over to building disposable bikes, just like that other nation who’s name I won’t invoke just now.

Meanwhile it’s gotta be depressing to be an HD dealer; ya had to build a mall, clean used Harley’s are being sold at giveaway prices, your customer demographic is literally dying off, and first they were sending you “Streets” to sell, and now they’re gonna send you ebikes?

JMHO

Harley's may not be as popular as they were in the 90's but I'm sure they'll be just fine.

Lots of dealers won't work on old schit. It's not unique to Harley or motorcycles for that matter. It's mostly dependent upon what kind of person owns the dealership or runs the service department.

I don't know where you live but Teslas are about as common as Lexus around here.

Aye, there's the rub, and when they finally do figure out efficient battery technology, these things are gonna be ruling the world anyway.....

Oh, a gated community.....

Guess what happens if you leave your vehicle parked with a flat tire?

Do they even have spare tires in a Teslas or Lexus?

I know Lexus do.

Never ridden in a Tesla.

Someone drives by your house and shoots at it?

Around here they drive by the HOA and shoot at that instead, its better that way.

I think that they'll last about as long as this did...

No.

They impound your POS and make you pay a few thousand dollars to get it back.

Short way of saying, dick heads like you are the reason gated communities and HOA's exist.

Most I've done in one day was 735.. On the right bike, it's a piece of cake.. On the wrong one - it's a trip to the chiropractor..

I'm about to do 1500 in mid-May. Not in one day though.

You must be referring to the old AMF days... Those WERE depressing times..

Last year was one of my least driven years on bikes....about 6,000 overall.. I usually get in somewhere around the 8,500 miles done by October 15.. Two years ago, for the Memorial Day ride, I had 3,000 done in 8-9 days... The worst was the day I left home.. For 2 1/2 days the weather was 53F and rain.. Not a fun time...but necessary..

Oh crap, around here “They” is gonna have problems.....





No flat tires in my driveway Bub, and both my vehicles run, grass is cut too

We do however have some of them nasty portable driveway hoops, and kids playing in the street.

OMG, I even put up a purple martin colony in my front yard

Lost a few to BB guns but hey, these are ‘hood martins Yo....

I got about 2K in the past month. And that's just running around the suburbs and city.

My brother drove his bike here in January and then flew home and now wants it back. So... I'm gonna deliver.

Small World, I’m fixing to put about 2,000 on mine too

Sweet...

Yeah it sounds like a great area to have a family.

Which bike is that? Have you decided what you're going to buy?

Ive done several 1,000 mile days, more’n I can recall, on a Kz 550, a Virago, a Ninja 750
and a KLR, but every time I get to feeling like a stud all I gotta do is google “Iron Butt Rally”.....

Down time is still too long, to recharge.

There are several great families here, see, it’s all about the parents......

That's his BMW 1600 GTL.

I'm pretty set on the KTM 1290 Adventurer. But I'm not buying one until I have a garage again. We just got a second offer on our house so we should be done renting pretty soon.

So today, it's not the ghetto?

No, it’s the West Side of San Antonio, always has been.

You might say “ghetto” because you live in a gated community.

Oh ok.

West Point graduates and cons serving life terms, all from the same high school. It happens more’n you prob’ly think.

Thank goodness, I'm old enough that I won't see the electric takeover. When I can't drive something with an internal combustion engine, it will be a wheelchair...

I think what happens is you live in a schit hole that you claim is dangerous but really isn't.

It's just a schit hole.

No, it’s the West Side

....and we’ve had kids hauled out of classes on felony murder warrants and others graduating from big name Universities.

The kid who got shot on my street broke into a house but that was years ago, and nobody likes a thief, and the drive by was on next door, not us.

......Did I ever actually say my neighborhood was “dangerous”?

It’s actuall pretty safe....... .......most of the time

You should pay more attention to the bullschit you type on here.

What was untrue?

Your stories.

Nope all true, as written. Stop in some time on that KTM when you get tired.

The West Side is like a Hispanic version of the Ozarks, without the woods.

No thanks.

OK l’ll fess ‘up, we’ve only had four murder warrants served on campus since I’ve been here, can’t even begin to recall how many college graduates. We did have a fleeing felon shot and killed on campus several years back, but he weren’t a student so that doesn’t count.

My very favorite story is the guy who came on campus wearing a ski mask and laid out the kid who had date-raped his little sister with a crow bar.

Ski mask guy was never caught.

The police there shoot fleeing felons? What was his felony? Was he armed? How did he get onto your campus?

A convicted rapist attended school there? Was he a minor? How is this information known? If somebody is wearing a ski mask, how do you affirm their identity?

They do if they drop a weapon and stop to pick it up. Fortunately this happened at night, on a weekend. The guy was running from the Cops, across campus just happened to be the shortest route from Point A to Point B at that moment in time.



No, he was never charged, nor was the incident reported.



If the kids trust you they will tell you, this was before cameras and happened in the student parking lot, as school was getting out. The kid who got laid out wouldn’t talk.

These sort of stories ain’t unusual for big-city schools, it’s not like I’m special.

Debatable.

So you were told the name of the individual that assaulted a student with a crowbar on school grounds but never reported it?

Did the thought ever occur to you that perhaps the girl in question wasn't telling the truth and that attempted murder took place on an innocent teenager?

Are you 12 years old?

OF COURSE I reported it, to the Admin and the Campus LEO’s.

The Cops already knew, see, the kids trusted them too, as they will if you have good Cops.

Knowing the girl, and the guy who got laid out..... actually, no.

So they knew who assaulted the juvenile with the crowbar but chose not to arrest. No probable cause I guess.

Such wisdom.

To bad we can't clone you and put a Birdwatcher in each squad car.

I dunno, our Cops would have handed it off to SAPD, and they woulda taken it from there. I dunno who they interviewed or didn’t.

I woulda thought street Cops know stuff all the time, but either can’t build a case or have other priorities but I dunno.

Ain’t you in Law Enforcement?

(Besides being the enforcement officer of the local HOA I mean )

Now you're talkin! I see a test ride in my future...

Yep.

And my investigative know-how tells me you're full of fugking schit.

Oh yeah.

You seem strangely detached from reality. Anyhoo, the invite stands.

Maybe a rewrite?

Ya, and thinking on it, the way it was told to me it was a tire iron.

LMAO.

One of my favorite street bikes I've ridden was a buddies old BMW R90. Mid 70's I think. Just a cool old motorcycle. When ya hammer the throttle you can feel the bike rotate to one side from the inertia of the crank.

Harley does nothing for me. They look as bad as they did a decade or two, or three, ago. That Indian Scout is pretty cool though.

I like the idea of a lot of the smaller naked bikes. The little Husky's seem pretty cool. You may end up looking like Magilla Gorilla riding the thing though.

https://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/en/vitpilen/

Good Lord! You’re actually worked-up about this.

How many years ago was that?

“Under inflated” as in around 20psi, looking a tad more bulgier than usual, flat is a whole diff’rent ballgame.

I have to explain this?

....uh oh, here come the Flavettes.....

I'm not worked up at all.

4

Uh-huh.

No you don't.

I really like those Husquarvana's. I believe that 701 has the same motor as my Duke. Might be the same bike pretty much.

My dad recently found one of those old R90's and missed the boat.

A big single like that has to be fun.

It tears pretty good.

On my KLR650 I was amazed at the powerband they wrung out of a carbureted thumper. Not in straight line acceleration, the detuned motor was always regarded as something of a dog, but that bike could torque through the dirt AND pull 80 on the interstate all day long, all while being one of the most trouble-free bikes out there, as well as among the most inexpensive.

Which Harley dealer told you they wouldn't service old bikes?

Read it here, read it elsewhere on the ‘net.

Heard it from a Harley-riding friend this past weekend.

I would be happy to hear it wasn’t always true.

I’m old enough to remember Shovelheads and the people that rode ‘em, right before the first Evo motors arrived. Sure they were maintenance-intensive, but they carried tool kits and spares. Decided on rebuild times by running a finger in the pipes to check the carbon.

I’ve always wanted a bike you could keep forever, back then Shovelheads were one of the ones that might.

I figured.

You know different?

Here ya go.....

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touring-models/674496-is-your-bike-over-ten-years-old.html

Something I need to look into before buying.

Maybe not all, but most franchised dealers refuse to work on even their brand that is over 15 years old. The Jap dealers are more adamant about this, but not far off is Harley.

It ain't parts availability, it's lawyer BS pertaining liability issues with a unit that's served past it's service life.

This is the word I got when way too many were bringing their junk to me to work on when I was working at an independent cycle repair shop just a couple years ago.

Now, I know I'm kinda new here, but I have to ask; flave, have you actually ever ridden a motorcycle? You've mentioned so many times that if you lived here or there that you would buy a bike. Surely there is a brand/model that would suite your local.

I'm here to help.

That was hilarious. Thanks for posting.

Not that it matters anyway. I'm sure a veteran motorcyclist like yourself would have little need for service departments.

No.

LMFAO.

I had a ‘92 KLR last serviced/repaired at the local Kawasaki dealer in 2011, but over that span of time the only changes to the bike had been cosmetic.

Sorta ironic, the longest running unchanged continuous-production motorcycles might be the Honda and Suzuki dual purpose 650 thumpers. Once I met two Honda 650 dual sport riders from Oregon down in Oaxaca, Mexico. Along the way they had rebuilt one of their bike’s motors in a motel parking lot.

I was impressed.

Wow!

Did the two people really tell you that story?!?!?

Depends on the bike, depends on the miles. Age 27 until past 35, motorcycles were my only wheels, put in most of my 250,000+ miles during that time. Average service interval on my bikes was -6,000 miles. Back tire and chain life, again dependent upon the bike, was around 10,000 miles.

This is some reasons among many that no one should ever buy a motorcycle to save money.

Yes, and their beat-up bikes in the courtyard of their little back-street hotel in Oaxaca made me envious as all get-out. I had flown in like ordinary folk.

Sounds like you’re ready to buy a bike and move to Oxaca.

Don’t forget your bicycle pump.

There’s a group bicycle ride in downtown San Antonio, up to 300+ bikes, every week. When I go I hang around at the back, helping the total newbies with their flats/adjustments/breakdowns etc.....

Right before I left on that trip this past weekend, I took the bicycle pump out of the car. I was wishing I hadn’t when I took that neglected donut out of the trunk, it’s hard to find a gas station air pump that will go 35psi, let alone 65.

I’m sure their time with you teaches more than you could ever know.

Nice bike

Well, they sometimes learn how to change a tire anyhow. I do it because the alternative is to be an old broke divorced guy sitting at home, instead I’m an old broke divorced guy who has some hot, tattooed, in-shape young women with sex in their eyes smiling and waving at him.

Of course, in the highly unlikely event that they had the hots for an old broke divorced guy, I would prob’ly get winded and maybe have a cardiac between second and third, let alone hit a home run.

Actually what disturbs me is the number of single adults in their twenties and thirties with no kids. That is what the decline in birth rates across the West looks like on the ground.

1.) Seek help.

2.) How many kids did you father before you hit 30?

Just one, but you’ll agree I’m different from the norm.

It’s the mindset of the women that’s different now, which is why the collective West is commiting demographic suicide.

I might if I had moved of my own free will into a neighborhood where they can charge you “thousands of dollars” and tow away your car over a flat tire in your driveway.

Sounds like a sort of Hell to me.

I think you're starting to get it.

We got a house down the street for sale.

I saw a guy with a battery powered bicycle. He had fabricated a very small trailer. In the trailer he had a very small generator to recharge his bicycle battery,

Harley is just trying to stay in business. The V-Twins just aren't selling enough to keep them in business.

Oh yeah. How much is that '97 Indian Scout worth now? Oh that's right. Not worth schit. They went out of business.. again. My '97 Heritage Springer is worth more now than it was the day I bought it.

Dream on , Harley bashers. Dream on. It's an American company that's been around since the turn of the century. Oh yeah, that other century.

Reminds me of a bunch of liberals talking about how America never was great.

Hope the buyer's like retards and bicycle pumps and drive-by's and great families and streets that are dangerous until they're not depending on the conversation that day.

Uhhh...

What?

I believe Harley stills holds 50-60% of all big cruiser sales in the US.

They're not going away any time soon. Electric bikes or not.

What ‘97 Indian Scout are you talking about? Never even heard of one? Didn't see one posted?

I believe Harley stills holds 50-60% of all big cruiser sales in the US.

Yes, but that market is going away, the new generation is not buying them. Times are changing and Harley does to seek other markets.

Exactly. When I worked in a motorcycle dealership back in the 80's we couldn't give away a KZ400. Probably the very definition of practical in the greater Boston area. Kawasaki would only let us order Ninja 900's and 600's if we ordered a quantity of KZ400's. How about the Honda Nighthawk 700? It was an inline 4 cylinder with hydraulic lifters, electronic ignition and shaft drive. Probably the most trouble free practical motorcycle of the era but a real slug on the sales floor while kids were lining up to buy Hurricanes. If a factory wants to sell bikes they have to realize that practical is the death knell and instead stir the customer's emotions. Harley needs to push the performance capabilities of electric bikes. I still hope it will draw in the younger riders but when people are shopping for a Harley they want a Huge Harley. If that wasn't the case the Kansas City Sportster factory would still be operating.

The H-D Street 750 apparently sells really well in the Far East....

https://www.bookmotorcycletours.com/news/best-selling-motorcycles-2017

I’m thinking these are made in India.

OK, You got dirt bikes, sport bikes and image bikes.

The Harley rider is an image rider and is going the way of the dinosaur. Harley management knows this and is trying to find another market.

I am in Kalifornia and half the Harley dealerships of 20 years ago are out of business. There are all kinds of big V-Twins on used market for cheap as compared to a few years ago when all the rich urban duds wanted one, so they could dress up and play biker on the weekends. Their girlfriends looked hot in their shinny black chaps.

Drive-by next door, drug sales doen the street and yet I don’t gotta lock my door or my car, and a kid from the next street graduated from college with an Engineering Degree.

I’m living in the past, there’s always been the hard core, men and their women, who simply loved their Harley’s. More than an image, it’s a lifestyle.

I expect those people are still there.

I knew a few old guys back then that were Uber cool, nothing to prove, not violent, not criminal, no colors, just bikers.

Example, compared to my '97 Harley Davidson.

LMFAO.

Try on somebody else man.

You and I both know you're a fugking liar.

Uhhh.

Ok.

If you want to see what the H-D market is like,..stick one up on Craigslist.

You gotta give 'em away right now don't ya?

Well,.....you won't need to sit by the phone.

I think HD's are pretty much a Boomer toy,...and the Boomers are getting past the motorcycle age.

A lot of young men who are at "peak motorcycle" age don't even know how to drive a stick shift car.

My brother says the same thing and I think that's a valid point.

If you can't drive a stick, a motorcycle has to be a little scary. Especially if it weighs 700lbs.

About half the young men are puzzies. These electric motorcycles are proof.

Oh brother.

So the latest technology is for pussies. How you on the internet, you pussy.

Funny how some of you are offended by an electric bike. Makes me really wonder why.

You all do know that these are marketed and designed for commuters, right? How hard is that to understand? Of course, round here all the H-D owners keep them inthe garage and aren't interested in commuting on a bike anyway. The bike lot at work today was devoid of H-Ds again. I guess they're saving them up for those weekend fair weather days. Or maybe H-D owners are too busy hitting the open road to work?

Personally, I don't think this will be a success because of the price. A commuter bike needs to be economical. $30K is about 3 times as much as it should be.

H-D is trying to make a hail Mary pass with the electric motorcycle. The technology isn't ready. The problem H-D has, is their name is associated with big twin cruisers. Any other type of bike they might want to produce is already being made by somebody else so they would have to compete in an established market.

A lot of the young men I see getting involved with motorcycles are going for the adventure type bikes. Some are still buying sport bikes. But sport bike ergonomics get old pretty quick,...and a lot of manufacturers are offering high performance motorcycles that can actually be ridden.

I had a Ducati 900SS when the Hinckley Bonnevilles came out. The Ducati SS ergonomics were good for about 100 miles back when I had mine during my early 40's. I had it down to the shop getting it serviced and they had 3 new Bonnevilles on the showroom floor. I sat on one and it was like old times.

I brought it home with me,...went back and picked up the Ducati later. The Ducati didn't get ridden much after that,..so I sold it.

Im not offended. Are you offended?

You can read my posts on here and see that I'm clearly not. I'm also not saying anyone that has a bike different than mine must be a pussy. I'm for more people riding whatever.

Ok. Glad you didn’t get butt hurt or chafed twot.

Yeah, I do enjoy pointing it out in others though. Campfire snowflakes abound

Nope, all true. If we meet on the fishing trip you can judge my character face to face

On the flat tire issue; in your gated community, I’m sure you got a week or so and then you get a sternly worded letter from the HOA, ‘nother week the tow truck arrives.

On my street, two guys early twenties had maybe 10yo Japanese sedans, tricked out like they do now parked on the street, four wheels on but obviously not running and being worked on, for like three months. City Code compliance eventually put orange move-em-or-else stickers.

They go talk to the Code Compliance lady, she gives ‘em two weeks, they get em running in that time. That’s how it worked. I dunno from personal experience I’ve never been out of code.

The house next door to me recently sold for around $160,000, a decent price in these parts, after house flippers from California bought it, fixed it up and resold it. The previous resident was a retired Navy Veteran and good guy, a nice young couple bought it. The house on the other side of them the druggie grown sons are back, and apparently dealing again.

And you can lean on my front door and force it open. Or do what I do if I’m locked out; take the window A/C out from the window and climb in.
20 years this year, never had a break-in (knock on wood).

One of my wife's childhood friends retired last year at age 61. He's got an old BMW R65 that he's had for years. I think it's a late 70's model.

He rode it from Toronto to the Arctic Circle last summer. Some where up there his transmission took a dump and left him stranded in a little village. He rented a room somewhere and sent off for parts that took a week to get there. Some local guy let him use a garage and some tools to fix it and he got it back home.

He's an unassuming looking guy,...spent his life working as a mechanical engineer. But he's got nerve to take off for the Arctic Circle on a 35 year old motorcycle at age 61.

My wife said that everytime her family would go visit them, him and his dad would be up under the hood of an old car with grease up to their elbows.

Why would a Harley owner put his bike up on Craigslist? That's ridiculous.

You can stop trying.

You're full of schit.

You lost me again. Why is that ridiculous? Craigslist is full of Harley adds.

That guy is a hero to me

The BMW to have was the R75GS, their 750cc dual sport version.

In 1994 in bought a new R100GS/PD which was gonna be the bike I kept forever, the last BMWAirHead. Turns out that bike was one of the few lemons BMW ever made, stuff broke on it constantly. I was spoiled at the time on account of my previous daily transport was a stone-axe reliable KLR650 on which I put about 40,000 miles..

After two unhappy years and 45,000 miles I couldn’t sell that POS Beemer fast enough. I changed the oil in the KLR, dropped in a battery and after two years of sitting it fired right up like I had just ridden it the day before.

Now I’m needing another forever bike, this time forever prolly ain’t gonna be all that long.

I was prob’ly wrong on a whole week with a flat before a HOA letter where you live, I’d guess a week before the tow truck arrives.

OK, another recent episode from my neighborhood, only the names have been changed.....

I don’t really work for a living but it ain’t uncommon for me to not really work until way late. At night I ride my bicycle without lights so as not to attract attention. So anyways I turn the corner to my street and there’s Roberto, wrenching on his mom’s truck.

Twenty years back Roberto was the punk kid who poisoned the guy down the street’s three dogs so he could break into his car and steal the sound system. The guy with the dogs found out who and serverely beat young Roberto.

Unfortunately the dog guy was on probation for DWIs and got sent to jail, whereupon his wife left him and took the kids. This was a shame as we all liked dog guy, he was an honest roofer/remodeled who did good work.

Twenty years later Roberto, now divorced with a kid,is a decent-enough guy. Works construction, works the oilfield, whatever he can find. The big news he shared that night is that there was a big police raid down the next street, six or more Cop cars at a house, looking for Stevie. Stevie is a thirty-something drug-dealing ex-Con who nobody likes. Now Roberto, like everybody else, was glad to see Stevie maybe gone, but would never turn him in.

Two houses down from Stevie and his dad lives a nice family. Their oldest son recently competed in State-level academic competition (with a project he got from me, natch ) and is one of those naturally gifted kids and a fine young man.

I asked that kid the next day about the Cops and he said he had seen Stevie sprinting off down the street moments before the Cops arrived. Some of the Cops were plain-clothed. They knocked on the kid’s front door and asked if they could search the house for Stevie, his mom let them in and they searched the house. No Stevie of course. Neither did the kid say anything about Stevie.

It speaks volumes tho that the family would let the Cops in, good family, nothing to hide at all.

No news of Stevie, possibly if the Cops had all that on him they picked him up somewhere else.

Ain’t you coming to Texas? this is all easily verifiable.

"Honey, get the kids! The retard's gonna air his tires again!"

I'm in Texas all the time. My parents live there.

I don't know why you're so anxious to meet me. I'm just going to make fun of you to your face the same as I do here.

Yeah, and dudes on sport bikes have zero image, right? And they're workin' on it..

That's because yer in Kalifornia.. With all the regs, taxes, BS laws and a flaming libby gov't, it's a wonder any business is still in CA...

We'll add guessing to the list of schit you're no good at.

Over the past 17'ish years I've lived in areas that are considered meccas for bikers.

I ain't seen any shortage of Harley's. Might not be as popular as the 90's and early 2000's but they're not going anywhere.

I don’t wanna give you the idea that the Cops are on my street constantly because they’re not. In fact the last police altercation I’m aware of was close to twenty years back and involved dog guy’s kids, after he had been incarcerated. They were three brothers, ages about five through 13. Decent kids.

Apparently the mom commenced to leave them alone for long periods of time and for whatever reason one morning a Cop knocks on the front door to do a welfare check. The dog guy had boxers, and after the poisoning incident there was one left, a female.

A kid opens the door and the boxer runs out and scares the Cop, who then attempts to shoot it. The good news is the dog was only slightly wounded, but a mailbox across the street took one to the chest.

Only other incident of note involved a kid who was the daughter of a former student from my street. After graduating she became a stripper and married a strip club guy from Houston, two kids.

That didn’t work out so she was back with her mom with her two kids. The little girl was a nice kid, her brother however was clearly a psycho, from an early age.

Nine years old and he’s playing with a lighter in the front room, sets a couch on fire. Doesn’t want to get in trouble so he doesn’t say anything. The mom was out back, comes in smells smoke, sees the fire and runs out the front door with the kids. When she opened the front door the fire really took off.

Fire Department saved the house, but it was heavily damaged. The woman’s mom, a school bus driver, had just paid off the house but had no insurance. Took her about five years to get the house livable again but she finally did.

The grandmother is back living in it again, fortunately the daughter and the two kids ain’t. See, my house sits empty for long periods of time, especially now. And from what I seen of the lighter kid, if anyone was gonna break into my house and make my life miserable it was gonna be him when he hit his teenage years.

Didn’t happen, dodged a bullet, so far.

Typing a lot doesn't make you not full of schit.

You're full of schit.

Agreed.. In this area HDs outnumber the rest by a factor of 3-1..

It had better be really fast to make up for the extra 30 minutes of charging time when you get to the next town.

NO Thanks,

I'm in Florida City every day and there are Harley's galore heading south.

Plenty of 20's-30's year olds on them too. Maybe not as many as previous decades, but like I say, they're not going anywhere IMO.

Peaks and valleys.

A lot of Harley's up here in NW Pa. too. I rode for almost 40 years, and my main transport was a bike. Most of the time, it was a Japanese sport bike, but I put an awful lot of miles on a BMW R100RS. Got my first Harley, a 2005 Sportster, in 2006. I no longer rode as if every day, was race day. The bike was inexpensive to run, and pretty darn entertaining, without going over 100mph. Recently got a 2009 Lowrider, and though I only have about 1000 miles on it so far, I'm favorably impressed. Nice looking, economical, entertaining. I like the retro look and feel, with modern reliability. I think that is a big part of the Harley appeal. The live wire looks to be an attempt to stick a foot in the door, just in case they can gain some sort of advantage, should a trend for electric bikes occur. I can't imagine they expect it to be very profitable, but probably look at it as advertising.

If the concept takes off, It would almost guarantee that every bar on a known motorcycle route would have numerous charging stations. There is never a bad reason to stop for a few more beers.....
Maybe they could market it under the green new deal and go for the federal tax dollars.

Around here, counting the Japanese Harley 'lookalikes' along with true Harleys, outnumber the high reving 'tupperware' crotch rockets by a pretty fair margin, with the majority of the crotch rockets being ridden by 30 and under year olds.

Personally, I strongly doubt that the oil and gas industry is in any imminent nor long term danger of loosing any significant worth because of lower demand for fuels due to electric powered vehicles.

MG, what's the world coming to. My 1997 Heritage Springer doesn't whine, it rumbles

My EVO beats the ground like a Bass Drum

Did it come with two cymbals and a monkey to sit on back?

I don't think the intent was to replace the internal combustion engine.

OK for you deniers that Harley is looking at financial problems I suggest you invest in their stock. But you better look at their annual financials first.

I really don't know if an electric motorcycle will help keep them business or not. I look for them to cut back on the number of models offered.

Everyone knows they're less profitable right now but that doesn't mean Harley is going away. They're still very popular.

Their e-bike could very well take off, or fail. But the success of the concept isn't hinged on Harley Davidson's model.

H-D is crashing big time. Sales have dropped 16 out of the last 17 quarters.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/10/31/harley-davidsons-earnings-are-worse-than-you-think.aspx

They must be disappointed, They prob’ly moved here so you wouldn’t come to visit



No, I knew you wouldn’t come.

I figure you’re just PO’d because your neighborhood sucks big hairy moose balls.

Be careful not to leave the trash cans out too long, $100 fine don’t ya know

Pay attention this time. When you have a vintage, pristine, custom Harley-Davidson LIKE MINE, you don't list it on phugking Craigslist.

Because Craigslist is only for Riceburners?

It's funny to see you squirm when you get called out for being the bullschit artist that you are.

Get the donut swapped yet?

My son got a good deal on a VRod from Craigslist in Fargo area.
The guy owned 3 motorcycles.

Does he like it?

Don’t worry the Japanese will perfect this and make it reliable and extend the mileage.

Ok...

Called out? How? all you have done is call me a liar, and refused to stop by to see for yourself.

Anyhoo... since you asked; the drive-by story..... and I erred when I said I never violated city code. About five years after we moved in, Mary the nice lady who lived next door moved out, renting the house to a family who had a nephew or whatever who was MS13, who spray-painted “13” out on the street, a shaved-head gangster on his phone out front cursing at the people he was talking to.

The old man of the family was a real prick, mean to his dogs too. They did however have little kids out front all the time and they liked us because we were nice to their kids.

My ex grew up in the house I’m in, so did her nerdy, bookish brother, the computer science major. These working class West Side neighborhoods do breed some nerdy kids, which are the ones I work with. Like many nerds he is clueless about mechanical things and when the water pump went out he drove his old Isuzu pickup clear to our house, killing the motor.

He was family and that OK looking but dead truck sat in our driveway like 9 months. It was an Isuzu, nobody had motors any more. Meanwhile prick guy next door is working on vehicles and has his driveway full of pieces.

Ordinarily no one says anything but the guy across the street, a retired Army guy and his wife, want prick guy and MS13 guy gone so they complain a lot to Code Compliance. The City comes out and prick-guy points at us and says what about that truck? So we both got cited.

Just as well, brother in law finally got the truck out of the driveway.

Shortly after, the drive-by on the house next door. We slept through it, nobody called the Cops, prick guy showed me the bullet holes the next day, some widely scattered holes in the front of the house. Shortly after that they moved out. Nice family with kids moved in, been there ever since.

So there it is; you can decide for yourself if the neighborhood is scary or not if ya want.

Scariest part of my day is the bicycle ride home, often late. There’s an apartment complex en route gone Section 8 which ain’t getting any nicer over the years. Worse, bicycles are now catching on here among the dregs.

Some of yall are either a bit slow or purposefully obstinate.

The parking lot at work again today:



Can you tell what's missing? For those who are slow on the uptake, it's bikes.
H-D is trying to do something about it. For all the pissing and moaning y'all are doing about real bikes, no one is riding them. It's cool y'all got a tricked out 20yr old bike in the garage. That doesn't exactly do H-D any good though. They need people to ride daily and buy bikes. Maybe H-D owners don't have jobs?

This bike is specifically for commuting and urban use. Pissing and moaning about 600 mile road trips makes as much sense as bitching about a Tesla because it doesn't have the payload of a F250. The bike is for riding to work and running errands. Something current H-D owners apparently aren't doing. It fully recharges in 1 hour, which is plenty for commuting.

As far as craigslist, it's absolutely flush with H-Ds. Almost all low mileage, because people aren't riding them. The adds stay on there forever because no one is buying.

This bike costs way to much and won't sell. It won't be because it's not fun to ride and doesn't meet it's purpose. This bike will have more torque than anything else H-D makes. My guess is it will be a blast to ride in traffic.

I don't care either way, but I am smart enough to know more bike riders is good for all of us. Brand and type doesn't matter. It's funny how some bikers think the only real bikers are those who are exactly like them.

Stick to the gullible.

I see right through you.

My Indian Springfield is the best bike I’ve ever owned. Bought it in August of 2016. I literally just go back from a ride. its got almost 22k miles on it already. Most of those miles are what I could squeeze in between work and I would’ve had more but I owned two other bikes that I also rode at the time . Now that im retired Im really gonna pack some miles on.

Most - not all but most - Harley types don't really ride. They like to be seen as riders, but they really don't ride all that much. They rid back and forth to the bars on weekends or trailer the things to events. Thats why there are so many low mileage HD’s out there. My buddy has a gorgeous Road King thats twice as old as mine and doesnt even have a quarter the miles mine does. And he actually rides more than most of the other guys I know.

We got shots fired on the Birdwatcher thread.

Repeat. We got shots fired.

Nope, exactly true as written. I have already suggested several times you come and see for yourself.

As a place to raise your kids? It’s PARENTS who make the difference, I have and continue to be awed by the parents of some of the kids I teach and the sacrifices they make.

We have some freaken awesome kids graduate from my school, my job is I get to help with that.

Nope, it’s true, most Harley OWNERS don’t ride much, hence the current plethora of low mileage used Harleys.

The years when I lived off my motorcycle were ‘84 through about ‘96, no car, just a motorcycle, about 250,000 miles.

Back then I rode too fast for Harleys and besides, they got ripped off so much you couldn’t just leave one parked anywhere, which was problematic when it was your only ride.

The influx of low-mileage “Yuppie Scum” riders began after the introduction of the Evo motor when in one stroke Harleys went from being maintenance and repair intensive to being one of the most reliable, durable, trouble-free bikes around.

At bars I’d have just rode in from Utah or wherever and get scoffed at by fat Harley guys who mostly rode to the nearest bar once or twice a week.

Beyond all of them, who are now dying off, there prob’ly still remains the committed core group of Harley faithful. Who put miles and miles on their bikes.

LMFAO...

Classic Birdwatcher bullschit.

You said it, not me.

Must be your inner idiot talking.

Thank you.

2,500 miles in 2 1/2 days is pretty far, pretty fast, but won’t even begin to get your foot in the door of the Iron Butt.

http://www.ironbuttrally.com/about/about.cfm

And wow, I look in after two decades and Mike Kneebone is still the man

Easy.

There’s no room for a woman to ride on the back of that bike. Ain’t that the point?

I can’t believe you said plethora, dude.

He absolutely loves it. It only had 3 ,000 miles on it.
If he ever buys a house and needs money for a down payment
I promised I will buy it.
I just bought a 2018 Heritage Softtail and couldn't be happier.
I traded in a 2015 Gold Wing. It was like riding a barge.

Another episode to invite disbelief. To put this in context the houses on my street are only about 20 feet apart, it’s about 30 ft from my front door to the sidewalk.

Around 9:30 my ex calls me to ask me to go check on her 84yo mom who ain’t been answering her phone all day, I’m in the middle of cleaning the No 4 Enfield. Ex-MIL lives only a 5 minute drive away and is a nice old lady so I drive over and she’s fine.

Since I’m out anyway I decide on impulse to see a late movie at the dollar movies; Cold Pursuit w/Liam Neilson.

Just rolled home at 1:15 am to find my front door wide open, lights inside on, inside clearly visible from the street. What happened is,if ya dont care with my front door it doesnt latch properly. Running out the door, expecting to be right back, I had not closed it properly.

My door had been wide open for going on four hours on a Friday night, empty house. Car gone from the driveway, me clearly not home.

Nothing inside was touched. Enfield still standing in a corner. Pretty much the way it’s been here for the past 20 years.

So I dunno if I live in a bad neighborhood or not.

Not really sure why a lot of Harley guys don't ride much. My 10 year old Lowrider had 11000 miles on it, so the previous owner did about 1000 miles a year. Incredible. The weather has been pretty crummy up here, I've had the bike for 3 months, and have 1000 on it. You would have to TRY to NOT ride to only do 1000 a year. The bike does look almost brand new though. The woman is 65, never rode before, and really likes it. She DID put a red mohawk on her helmet. I feel overdressed....the new electric stuff is interesting. Honda even has a prototype that won't fall down. It balances itself. Apparently, no skills and a lot of money, is how they perceive the potential buyer.

I always thought those were the coolest bike they ever built.

The Honda dealership nearby has a 1985 Goldwing for $3,000 out on the showroom. It's immaculate. All Gold too. Pretty cool.

Clearly.

Please excuse our resident 9 year old.

I think at the height of their popularity there were a lot of Harley owners. Not riders.

And they didn't get their bike to have a bike, they got it to have a Harley.

Alright, so get out there “in the wind”, “live to ride ride to live” and all of that. I just always found it better with a woman pressed against my back is all.

I suppose it would work the same way if you preferred men there ‘Flave.

I know your brain is fixated on your youth, but most members here are middle aged and married.

The 1984 - 87 Wings, were the best of the bunch, in my opinion. They became cars after that. Not too big, 1200, hydraulic lifters, decent handling. I was a Honda mechanic at that time. They were a huge improvement from the previous years.

Honey, I’m going for a bike ride and you can’t come?

How does that work?

Depends on the wife.

Little stinker is a showoff...she even wove little horseshoes into the red mohawk.

Well, if a wife has stopped having sex, she will most likely start again after she rides around on the back of your motorcycle, maybe even with you.

Congrats Benchman

I’m sorry, if you already wrote it I missed it, what model and year Harley is that?

2009 FXDL Dyna Lowrider.

When they need to have reverse that should be a Red Flag.

And like practically every other fad and trend that goes nationwide, started in Hollywood, then picked up by other entertainment and sports industry celebrities and 'in-crowd' wannabes. Even the Japanese felt it necessary to start marketing their own models of less expensive Harley V-twin 'Cruiser' style sound and lookalikes.

This^

Guess you shoulda kept your bike.

Yep.

Terminator 2 sold Harley’s like Dirty Harry sold Model 29’s.

I'm sure it did. I had my first bike before that came out, but I remember how much I wanted a big cruiser with heavy front forks after that. AND a cut down 1887 shotgun.

I was still on a KX80. Grin...

But boy did I want me a Fat Boy to do me some empty canal racing.

Middle aged!! You runnin’ for office?

I got my first dirt bike when I was 7 years old, a brand spankin new Honda Z-50. I loved it, but it wasn't long before I wanted something bigger(power wise as well as just taller.)
Anyway, I remember being so jealous of my slightly older riding buddies that had Kawasaki 80s or Honda XR-75s.

Yeah.

And I expect to lose in the NE.

Didn't need it.

Ya wouldn't catch me ragging on some guy about his divorce, but that's me.

Anyhoo... on the topic of no passenger seat; your buddy's bike breaks down on a ride and you cant run him home to get his truck or buy the parts he needs. Can't run anyone down to the corner for a gallon of milk, can't take young relatives for a quick spin around the block, a bunch of stuff.

A puzzle to me.

My bikes have always been one up. If someone wants a lift they can steal a bicycle like everyone else. Also, I tend to ride aggressive and don't need dead weight throwing me off in a curve. I ain't into giving joy rides either.

I hate nostalgia but let me tell you my first bike story...

My first bike was a KX60. I didn't know a front brake from a rear tire. I never asked for, or even thought about a bike.

My dad walked me out into the garage on Christmas and said "here you go." And that was that. I sat on it, finger blasted it. I think I even washed it inside the garage but I still didn't even know how to start it.

I think it was around January when my sister's boyfriend (they were older Junior/Senior type age) asked why I didn't ride it. I explained I didn't know anything about them and my dad was always working. And since he gave it to me I felt like he expected me to "just know."

So boyfriend gives me this lesson (our house was in a rural area) and I get the idea of it and feel comfortable. He asks if he can take it for one last spin and I of course say yes. So he's just putzing around doing short wheelies in a big long circle and still kinda showing me some things.

Worst fugkin' timing in the world because here come Ol' Chainsaw Dave. He home from work early. Steps outside the back door while boyfriend is on it and yells "Get off that bike you stupid son of a bitch! Can't you see it's for a little kid?" Back inside he goes.

Boyfriend brings it back to me and kills it. Tells me "Be careful when you discover the powerband on this thing."

I said "what's a powerband?"

"You'll see."

LMAO.

You want a hanky?

What isn't?

First bike was a GSX 750. Talk about a fast learning curve. Pretty sure the bike was stolen since it didn't come with a title. That's OK, because I got it in a trade for some klipsch speakers I bought off the back of a delivery truck. They were so big my home stereo wouldn't drive them. The trade went well, he didn't ask why I had night club speakers and I didn't ask why no title. Traded the bike a couple years later for some guns.

2 stroke power band is a wonderful thing..... woohoo

Haha. Yeah. That a steep curve.

Too bad it flat destroys the earth.

I read that on CNN.

What doesn’t my chainsaw have one?

It does... the piston is only 1" in diameter..... you have unreasonable expectations

It's Massachusetts compliant?

Another 'flave joke?

WTF?

The trail of blue smoke will be the end of us..... in 12 years...;)

No Flave, that was a reference to Kingston's "bore"

I keep toying with the notion of a KTM or Husq 300 and plating it. Would be hell of fun to squirt around town and the odd commute in addition to trails.

Two strokes are just too much fun.

Oh.

I thought you were talking about our camp out.

Never mind.

You sound like a broken record.

Just get a SuperMoto.

They say the loud exhaust makes cows fart more.

So... No more of that.

I am just glad this thread has not turned into a rubber dick thread like the others........

1" bore and 2 strokes...... hmmm.......

Buddy bought one of those Husky 300’s this year. It’s a fun sob to ride!

Harley threads...

OK, seems sorta negative.

We went to the Ft. Lauderdale car show this morning. Really cool, very low key. Almost free to park and get inside.

Anyway, the Honda dealer had some bikes and I show Mr.s 'Flave the CB1000. She says "Yeah, that's very cool."

I show here the African Twin and explain that's what I need because they're so practical. She says "That thing looks gay."

LMAO.



Travis

PS-I put a race track around her eye.

And you seem like a condescending prick.

So I guess the world is in balance.

I thought Mrs. Flave worked like 7 days a week how did she have time for that?

Uhhhh, ever hear of the celebration of our Lord and Savior?

Just a little jab for something you did 4 years ago. If we’d only see it coming, we’d have fun with it. When husbands die, lots of them go first, WTF do they do with the surplus — all those angry little bits.

I don't know what any of this means.

That’s how everyone feels about your posts, but you keep posting. So STFU.

Too many pronouns?

Better than amateurnouns.

Sounds like a porn site.

www.ameaturenouns.com

I never shutup.

I think Kingston is really smart and says things that go over everyone's head........

Either you overestimate me or are making fun of me or both.

Huh?

I don't get it.

Closest thing to what I'd call a "practical" motorcycle was the Honda Pacific Coast:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Pacific_Coast

At least I didn't bring up your 1" bore and 2 strokes performance issue's.......:)

What you don’t get is a long list of simple things.

Flave, you have a stalker.......

Probably right.

For example, I don't get why you love all that big clydesdale sized COCK.

Change the record...

When people say there's no such thing as a "practical" motorcycle, you're probably talking to a retard.

Horse COCK lover in the house

Clydesdale LOOOOVE that big ol' horse COCK.

Plus he can't shoot.

Or go outside without crying.

Take it easy on yourself, that’s not exactly throwing a hotdog down a hallway.

I know the feeling.

Of all the dealerships to walk into I find the Honda product line to be the most interesting and diverse. They’re all Hondas too so they’ll run forever. I don’t care for their cartoonish big v-twins with the fat rear times and weirdly arching gas tanks, can’t believe anyone buys ‘em. But everything else in their product line is good.

In particular I think they hit it out of the ballpark whith their inexpensive 400lb wet wt Rebel 500 twin. I could have a lot of fun flogging that thing down backroads in the Hill Country.

Yeah, I've thought about that Rebel 500 ABS for my daughter. I plan to go test ride one sometime soon when she's home. Pretty sure it's the same motor as in the CBR500 detuned.

My first Street bike was an H1B Kawasaki. Fun city!

C'lymescale, Rick put you in charge?

They felt they had to have an "answer" to Harley Davidson.

(They didn't).

Those uber-fat rear tires prob’ly seem real cool unless you actually ride enough to wear one out, and then ya find out the cost of a replacement.

A silent motorcycle seems like the wrong way to go. I'm thinking the noise some bikes make is the only reason non-cyclists ever see a motorcycle.

Those fat rear tires are over $300. Never saw the need.

The most fun I’ve had on backroads was on smaller-displacement motorcycles running with the fast boys on full-on repli-racers. There’s very few curves worth hitting on legal highways that can be taken at faster than 80, so all ya really need is a motorcycle that pulls useful acceleration through 80 mph.

Except if ya don’t got that many horses on tap, you have to hit every gear and braking point exactly right to stay in the powerband Great fun.

One time during my 750 Ninja period I was out riding with a guy on an actual 250cc KLR dirtbike. To keep it fair I didn’t go faster than 70mph even tho the bike would do 140 easy. Still, for the roads we were on 70 was plenty fast. That guy just left that little 250cc thumper flat out pegged the whole time.

Much I tried I could NOT shake that SOB , every time I checked my mirrors there he was, right on my tail. ‘ Course, places where the road straightened out I coulda just twisted the throttle and left him behind, but straight lines don’t count, cornering is everything.

A friend of mine, former Navy flier and retired commercial pilot with more money than he can spend, used to keep a couple of those Rebels in his garage just so friends and acquaintances who didn't have bikes could go riding with him. I rode one. They're easy to ride.

Haven't seen him in a while. Not sure if he still does.

“Practical” is in the eye of the beholder.

Fer example any $14,000 motorcycle versus any compact four-door sedan.

First thing is driving the compact sedan doesn’t require putting on a special and very expensive suit of clothes every friggin’ morning, even when you’re running late, to bring your compact sedan. Add yet another layer of time-consuming expensive clothing when it’s wet and/or cold out. If it’s below 27 degrees or so and there’s ice you can still drive the sedan.

Speaking of expense, your four compact sedan tires will last anywhere from five to ten times as long as the back tire and chain on your motorcycle yet cost only 50% more to replace all four on the rare intervals they do need replacing. Likewise depending on the bike, the compact sedan will require half as many oil changes and far fewer factory-recommended service intervals..

With a sedan you can drop off the kids at school on your way to work even with all their backpacks, science projects, sports bags and musical instruments.

On days you gotta wear a suit you can wear it to work while driving your sedan.

At work or anywhere else, your parked sedan is far less likely to attract the attention of casual vandals, probably no one will sit on your car, and your car cannot fall over, nor are your cars seats gonna get brittle and split over time from the sun.

To prevent the above from happening, you do not need to bring along a cover to cover your unattended car, which is good because putting on the cover adds even more time required to get to work, even when you are already running late.

If you DO cover your compact sedan, in the event of a thunderstorm it ain’t gonna act like a sail to tip your car over anyway, no will you ever be obliged to sit on a soaking wet seat after said thunderstorm

If you still have a wife and she asks you to pick up some milk and other groceries after you pick up the kids, you can easily do this in your compact sedan.

Of course a compact sedan is not nearly as entertaining to operate as is a motorcycle, but for a close second you can move the kid’s booster seat to the middle of the back seat, wind down all the windows, crank up the radio, and PRETEND yer on a motorcycle, livin’ in the wind

Deep thinker.

As always.

That makes a lot of sense.

Yeah those are a sharp looking bike. Price is right too.

Actually, it very much does, depending on how much seat time you actually have on motorcycles and how you rode ‘em during that time.

I must be getting old, with all this talk of visiting I plumb forgot our esteemed and much-missed Boggy Creek Ranger AKA James and his lovely and gracious wife actually did stop by and pick me up at work six or seven years ago, we went out and ate local and took a look around.

After that he got on here and pronounced my AO as “being like Nuevo Laredo”, I thought that was a bit harsh, Nuevo Laredo is flat scary, besides which, most people around here don’t speak Spanish.......

That also, makes tons of sense.

I wouldn't have one.

Yep. Bout as queer as a 3 dollar bill.

LOL!

Well, just in case yer laughing WITH me......


I forgot the parts about how your compact sedan does not come with a sidestand, and therefore cannot punch through hot asphalt in the summertime and fall over.

Neither is your compact sedan gonna have an air-cooled motor, so will not over heat when snarled in stop and go traffic, thereby significantly shortening the service life of the motor.

Also, when the thermostat triggers the radiator cooling fan, in a compact sedan, said cooling fan will not blast hot air on your already hot legs while you are sitting out in full sun in that uncomfortably hot very expensive clothing which will soon acquire a rank odor of stale sweat. Instead you will be sitting in air-conditioned comfort, and any bare skin you have exposed will not be burned, aged and damaged by the sun.

Wow.

650 Burgman's are probably the most practical motorcycle ever built. They're also very quick and comfortable,..especially after being fitted with a Corbin seat. But hardly anybody knows how much fun they are because you can't look like Sonny Barger when you're riding on a 650 Burgman,..so not too many people in America wants one.

They're especially fun when you twist one up into triple digit speeds and swoop past a pack of cruisers out on the interstate.

This one is 16 years old.

“Sigh”, I should move on to the obvious and state that in a compact sedan a “fender-bender”’ will in fact bend only fenders while the operator of said sedan incurs very little risk of either death or permanent debilitating injury, said injury in turn incurring ruinous medical costs while at the same time resulting in a reduced or absent personal income, possibly causing a financial and emotional catastrophe to descend upon one’s wife (if still present) and children.

Preach, brother

I guess in all of Birdwatcher’s illustrious travels he failed to notice the 900 bajillion people that find two wheeled motorized vehicles to be the most practical form of transportation for their given circumstance.

I don’t like it.

People tend to do a lot of touring on them,....sometimes with one of those slick one wheeled banking trailers on the back.

JFC.

Phone a friend already.

That’s different than that hunk of chit you own. You need to trade up. Put your foot down with the wifey.

I know. Hardly anybody does unless they put 100 miles on one. Then they're spoiled for all time.

No,...it's pretty much exactly like the one I own except for the color.

Life ain't for the faint of heart. If a person's really worried about how they leave the family, they've got insurance.
I do all kinds of risky things. Ride bikes. Fly airplanes. Run with scissors. Drink out of a garden hose. Play with fire.

Mine has a Corbin seat and I took about 7" off the windshield. Other than that it's exactly the same bike.

LMAO.

I think that's a pic of a Bergman you blind fugk.

you just told him to be more forceful ……….and then said wifey...…….bob

Here's another crazy idea.

I'm single, 20 years old and work for UPS. I live in the San Diego area. A motorcycle shaves 60 minutes on my daily commute.

Is this practical?

Gasoline.

Some more wild and crazy "outside the box thinking."

I go to college in Georgia. I ride a Vespa to my job and classes on campus.

Is this practical?

Thank you for referring to me in the third person, it makes me feel special. I get it, you must be referring to those electric rental scooters popping up everywhere.

Diidn’t I say several posts ago that practically is a relative concept?

Besides,as you have affirmed several times,I AM a retard

So feel free to wind the crap out of that classic Harley-Davidson Livewire on that five-mile commute to work (any further’n that and ya aint gonna get that full two weeks out of a charge that you mentioned).

Here's another wild and crazy idea.

I am a gook. I live in Thailand. I ride a scooter. I can't afford a car. And if I could, I'd have nowhere to park it.

My entire family fits on a scooter simultaneously.

Is this practical?

....or solar power, if he’s really, really patient.

Take credit when credit is due.

You achieved that all on your own.

Is those pronghorn or deer?

Look like pronghorn.

Not at all,l. Speaking from experience, he’ll get laid a whole lot more in a college setting if he rides an actual motorcycle.

I see we're back to reliving your youth.

That's shocking.

Whitetail.

Sunsabitches.

You guys all dried out now?

Used to be a group of Vespa riders that cruised the trendy part of down town Dallas. It’s called Deep Ellim

They were all....... Gay!

What, I’m supposed to relive my old age?

Oh wait, there’s that whole Grandpa gig, joyful beyond all expectation

What? They leave the car at home?

Hang on there Stud, I’ll see all of that and raise ya this....

Yer talking to s guy who commutes ten miles to work in the dark every morning in traffic......


.......on a bicycle

Yep.

Farming now....wishing it would rain some....

Why don't you just buy a tent and a pogo stick so you can claim total victory?

You’re right, over the last forty years among motorcyclists known to me personally, all riding companions at some point. In separate incidents.......

One death.

One lost leg ( the guy continued to ride after that, the sidestand on a K bike automatically flips back up when you start to ride)....

One shattered leg (spiral fracture femur, compound fracture fibula, tibia)

One split pelvis. Bolted back together.

Permant brain damage (to the wife despite her helmet, tragically ending a marriage).

One foot ground down to the bone despite the boot (trapped under a sliding motorcycle),

Holy Crap! I’ve known a LOT more people just drove cars and truck during my life , thinking hard here on who got hurt.

This is always fun.

That's funny.

You’re just jealous because your neighborhood sucks so much worse than mine.

Anyhoo you were right, the Africa Twin is a much better choice than a CBR1000, on the street you’ll rarely get the chance to unleash all the horses the CBR1000 has, especially in the twisties. Straight lines don’t count.

Once while up in Connecticut while on my KLR650, when leaving Marcus Dairy I fell in behind a leather clad color coordinated fast guy on a GSXR1100. (at that time the hottest street bike around). Granted, following some guy down a tight mountain road is MUCH easier than being the guy in front, all ya gotta do is follow his line and especially pay attention to his brake light as he reacts to stuff you can’t see yet. Flogging that KLR I was able to stay with him for about five miles, then the road straightened out and he disappeared into warp speed.

I'd consider riding that Livewire but I'd be leaving my /06 VStar 1300 behind. I'm at 80 years now and don't do change well these days. Change is impracticable you know!

Might be the foreshortening effect of the video, but it sorta looks like that guy was riding faster than he could see, especially zipping by that store.

Yeah I'm sure your neighborhood holds great appeal to me and mine.

I highly doubt any rider gives a fugk what the KLR behind them is doing. Ever.

I hope you spent Easter with some normal people. I think you could use the exposure.

Probably.

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.

Thanks for the kind thought, ran down to the coast to look for spring migrants and stopped in to visit a fellow ‘Fire regular.

As to the KLR issue, you seem not to get it. If your are some knee-dragging guy who just dropped several thousand dollars on the latest high-zoot super bike and a brand-new matching green leather outfit and helmet, you absolutely DO care about that friggin’ KLR headlight shining in your rearview mirrors.

No offense, but in this and other responses here, it seems like you ain’t actually been around motorcycles all that much, not street bikes anyway.

It wasn’t just me, LOTS of motorcyclists were that way, still are.

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.

I trust there were no flats. This time.

Lots of people can afford high end schit and not give two-fugks what anybody else thinks about anything they're doing. Perhaps if you lived outside a schithole at some point in your life you'd know this.

None taken.

Oh ok.

It all makes sense now.

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.

Well, I'll be... I think I've seen about everything now... Time to die... But I digress.


First 'big' bike I ever had was a '70 Triumph Trident.. Loved it.. Only negative was the damn carb ticklers that seemingly always either leaked or stuck down to flood one of the carbs.. The '71 I had 2 years later had the same issue..

What happened to your sedan with AC?

Amal monobloks. I had them on a 67 Norton N-15. They were fairly worn out so I replaced them with a 2 into 1 manifold and installed a single 36mm Mikuni carb.

Those were bad old days. But... What's your Virago worth now? And, have you checked the value of that same year Sportster now?

Viragos were actually pretty nice bikes. Always had the feeling they were made to a price point, and they were. Worked well though. Had an XV920RJ, just to be wierd. Enclosed chain, instead of a shaft. Looked sporting enough, but ridden in a spirited fashion, the front cylinder exhaust pipe would touch first, lifting up the front wheel. I know this for a fact. Funny, what you find out at the end of a decreasing radius right hander....

Please don't make him change his stories any more than he already has.

He gotta be exhausted by now.

LMAO.

Those old Triumph Tridents were Awesome bikes.

Ya know, if you leave for work on a beautiful morning in your compact sedan, it really doesn’t matter if you neglected to check the weather forecast that day. Because if it’s gusting to 50mph and 40 degrees out with cold, heavy rain when you get off work, it really ain’t that big a deal.
(that used to happen to me about twice a year, still does on my bicycle )

On the topic of auto theft, San Antonio used to be notorious, prob’ly nothing like the Harley theft rate, but bad. The way I understood it, a teenage punk could steal a car, drive 150 miles down the interstate to Nuevo Laredo, take the bus back, and make $400 in an afternoon.

A few years back a pawn shop guy in Laredo told me the that things had gotten so bad across the river that it was no longer safe for car thieves to deliver cars there themselves, instead they had to pay guys to actually drive those cars across the Border, cutting down on profits.

I dunno how bad car theft is here at present, I expect all the electronics we have now complicate the theft process quite a bit.

It’s not about what other people think, it’s about what YOU think, especially if you’re the guy with matching leathers on the repli-racer.

And heck, what if you’re a guy on a Bergman that just got passed up by two Beemers......

It’s called ego, ya really ain’t been around motorcycles much at all have ya?

Well anyway, off topic ;when yer test riding that CBR1000 and that Africa Twin, drive each out into the parking lot, set it on the sidestand, get off and then just kick ‘em over and observe the results. The crazy part is all that expensive plastic on the CBR confers no significant aerodynamic advantage at less than 100+mph. OTOH On the Africa Twin, ya might ding a crash bar, but that’ll only make the bike look cooler



Ya know many American Indians don’t really live in America, they live on a network of reservations because that’s what they grew up with, I suspect many gated community people turn out the same way.

Anyhoo.... in my motorcycle period before I met my ex I owned no furniture and would always get ground floor apartments so I could push my motorcycle inside at night.

Now I find myself alone again with almost no furniture, I just need a motorcycle to push through the front door. I do have a garage but it just wouldn’t be the same.

Damn, and here it was several pages now ya hadn’t called me a liar.

I dunno, let me check Craigslist......


I thrashed that Virago to death, it died at three years and 75,000 miles, the problem was the electronics board tended to make the front cylinder fire slightly out of time in some applications. Each cylinder had its own timing chain, the front timing chain broke 50 miles from home, I paid some guy with a pickup $100 to bring us home.

As I’m sure you’re aware, it wasn’t worth rebuilding.

I remember those RJs, prob’ly were really great motorcycles, not cruiser-styled at all.

On the topic of decreasing-radius turns don’t ever ride the Cherohala Skyway TOWARDS the Tail of the Dragon, more decreasing-radius turns than I ever saw in my life

Going the other way it’s prob’ly absolutely wonderful......

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,
.