Thread: Harley's and other Motorcycles

How many of you guys ride Harley's? Other Bikes? Years, models, years of riding? Lynn

I quit riding when I got rid of my sportster. Before that was a 600 Ninja, before that was an old Yamaha 650 special. I have a Suzuki 1100 GL that is in vital need of restoration but haven't decided if I want to tackle it or not. I've been thinking about another bike. Maybe a sport tourer bike. I love Harleys but I refuse to pay the price for one.

In one of my fleeting moments of insanity I briefly owned a '41 Harley UL (flathead) 74ci. Bobber style, suicide shift (hand shift, foot clutch), rigid frame, springer front, rear brake only, kick start. It would either make a man out of you or a widow out of your wife :twisted:

Sold it and bought a sports car instead.

Tony

My health doesn't allow me to ride anymore, but I used to love my little Honda 500 twin for basic transportation. My favorite bike was a detuned Kawasaki 900 when they first came out, and would do an actual 140 mph top end. But as heavy as the bike is (although not in Harley's class as far as weight) it gets really squirrelly at over 130 mph. Only did that once on a Los Angeles freeway, and that was enough for me. I prefer Harley's (who doesn't) but the new machines are soooo ungodly expensive, and sound like crap unless you change alot of stuff around on them. My dream bike was always the Nortons and Triumphs of the 50's and 60's, and almost had one. One of the major regrets of my life was leaving the state before ownership was mine on that one. Liked the Ducati's for speed, and the BMW's for reliability. Gosh, I think I really loved all of 'em. )

First bike was a BSA 441 Victor, ran off a magneto & the headlight would go out when you came to a stop. Sold that & bought a new Triumph Trident in '72, sold that when I got divorced got a '72 Sporty in '96 but had to sell it when I got the back problems (had to give up the skydiving too, my wife was thrilled).

Rick

Originally Posted by Rick

First bike was a BSA 441 Victor, ran off a magneto & the headlight would go out when you came to a stop. Sold that & bought a new Triumph Trident in '72, sold that when I got divorced got a '72 Sporty in '96 but had to sell it when I got the back problems (had to give up the skydiving too, my wife was thrilled).

Rick

Oooh .... I owned a 1972, Triumph 650cc Bonneville, bought new. I kept it for a year before deciding to sell it with about 5,000 miles on the odometer. I used to love that big round single headlamp lighting my way along tree-lined roads in the country at night. At a stoplight, for a fraction of the cost, I could outrun almost any production automobile on green .... up to the legal limit, of course ink: 8)

I used to own a Ninja 600E. I quit riding after a close encounter. Soccer mom in rush hour, putting on makeup, talking on a cell phone, driving a Suburban. She decided to change lanes, never even looking in the mirror to see if anyone was there. I'm glad my employer forces us to do a defensive driving course annually or I might have been squeegie'd off the Interstate.

It was nice to take for a ride around the lake (conveniently 1 mile west of my house). Scenic rural areas were also a fun drive. I miss the feeling of freedom that you can really only get on a bike. No mandatory helmet laws in Oklahoma (yet), although I wore one 95% of the time.

Rick,
I remember the BSA Victor well from my adolescent days. 4 cycle with a compression release lever on the handlebars. Mine had a straight pipe with a single pivoting baffle plate you could either open or close (why would anyone want to close it :twisted It was a leg breaker evey time we tried to start it.

Tony

I ride a Triumph Daytona 955i, 2002 model and will be picking it up this evening having just had it serviced.

I have had bikes sinice I was 7 years old, the first one being a CZ 250 motocrosser with a dodgy throttle that used to stick wide open and had no kill switch. The only way to stop it was to reach under the tank and rag the HT lead off, I still have a scar on my middle finger where I got a huge bang from doing it.

Only tried riding a Harley once in this country and it scared me witless they just aren't designed for UK roads. The roads are too bumpy and too twisty particularly in my part of the world. The Harley I tried was a Road King and the brakes and suspension were appaling.

I really like the look of the new V-Rod though and may give one a test ride.

I guess the other problem we have over here in general for bike riding is the weather, it's generally crap and it's certainly no good for cruising around wearing T-shirt, bandana and shades.

The bike market over here is predominately aimed at race replica riders and some of the really good twisty roads around here can become like Leguna Seca on a warm summers day.

Rode a '54 hog for awhile, then a 650 BSA for a couple years. In '72 I bought a new Beemer which I still ride. It runs as good as the day it was new, providing I put a little Octane boost in the tank... they don't make high test gas like they used to!