Hog members

[Mariner Fan]

I have alot of friends who ride Harleys. They may or may not be HOG members but I've never felt that they felt superior to me. Heck, we are all brothers on the road.

[midnightventure]

I wonder how many that have posted about stuck up Harley riders won't wave at sport bike riders? I see two different types of Harley riders. There are quite a few that just want to ride from one bar to another. Now that I think about that, I see that behavior in a lot of cruiser riders. Then there are the real riders that go on long trips and use any excuse to ride the bike. The older Harleys might not have as much power as our bike but they are easy to ride. Whats funny is that the stuck up Harley riders treat Sportster riders like Jap bike riders. When I am riding my Dual Sport the Jap cruiser riders don't wave at me either. If you want to have some fun walk into a Harley dealer in a Aerostich Roadcrafter and go sit on a Buell. They will just stare.

[BuckShot]

I have one friend(kind of) that rides an HD, and he always gives me a ton of s**t about my Venture and all the Jap bikes I have owned. But he rides on poker runs with us once in a while. All the other HD riders I know don't care. I even have a couple of friends that are past presidents of Harley clubs and don't care what I ride, as long as I ride. It always amazes me that some people don't wave, whether its because of what you ride or not. I have been wondering the last couple of years if some don't wave because they don't know any better. With all the new riders out there the last few years, you have to wonder. I also thinks its funny when I meet a group of HD riders coming towards me and half of them wave. It tells you real fast who the real men ( and women) are in the group.

[loehring]

I have one friend(kind of) that rides an HD, and he always gives me a ton of s**t about my Venture and all the Jap bikes I have owned. But he rides on poker runs with us once in a while. All the other HD riders I know don't care. I even have a couple of friends that are past presidents of Harley clubs and don't care what I ride, as long as I ride. It always amazes me that some people don't wave, whether its because of what you ride or not. I have been wondering the last couple of years if some don't wave because they don't know any better. With all the new riders out there the last few years, you have to wonder. I also thinks its funny when I meet a group of HD riders coming towards me and half of them wave. It tells you real fast who the real men ( and women) are in the group.

 

They don't wave because they're afraid of losing control of the bike. Mom always said to use 2 hands.

[LilBeaver]

Old venture 8 -- that is a good point, that maybe some of the newer riders just don't know to wave, don't think about it, don't see it, or see it too late... Every once and a while I will catch that I'll be cruising along, watching the road and all the nuts around me and see a bike's tailight in my mirror and realize I didn't wave... I just didn't see them coming.

But regardless - Reading through some of these I finally got to a few that captured my thoughts...

 

I consider myself a biker... Simply because of my love motorcycles and love to ride (Personally I put on 15-20k a year (total on all of my bikes)), riding near all year round because I can't get enough of it. I don't care what others ride, as long as they ride. One of my local riding buddies rides (and prefers to ride)a sport bike -- and we get a lot of funny looks from some when we pull in to the pumps next to each other, but a simple smile and nod, wave or a Howdy, and it is no big deal to me. I'm always excited to meet fellow bikers.

 

As far as I'm concerned you ride what you like, I'll ride what I like and honestly, does it really matter what someone else thinks about riding your bike? after all, no one is forcing them to ride anything but what they are on...

 

Keep it shiny side up!

-Rick

[ddoggma]

I come from a HD background. Both my uncles were/are real deal bikers. Ones a retired FAA big chief with a panhead and the other that has pasted away. Was a top notch mechanic and a tattoed, rubberbands in the beard type biker. He rode a HD chopper he built. Both great guys. Grand dad rode Indians and HD. So bikes run in the blood and I like Harleys good enough, but I understand thier limitation. And for my money I figure it could be better spent on something else. That is if I had the money it takes to buy a Super Glide. Cause thats about the only one I would want...lol Well, not really. If I was rich, I would have a HD custom to cruise around town on. But I'm poor and was lucky enough to find my 88 Venture for a great price. I wave to most, if I see a pack of HDs I'll wait to see If the leader waves before I wave at them. I find the BMW guys and the cafe guys more snobby, than most. I like to stop at a bar with a bunch of mixed type bikes out front. I like to look at the bikes and I'll have a non alcohol beer and sandwich, while I talk to the other riders. You know, the ones that will talk to you without being a jerk. The others I leave alone. They are in their own little world. I do believe my remaining uncle would have razzed me if I spent alot of money on a newer yammy or BMW. I would have to buy a basket case and go from there if I was to do it like they did.

 

Sorry about the rambling, I had a tooth pulled monday and I'm all over the place from the pain killers....and it still hurts some.

[Schlepporello]

When I ride, I wave at all other motorcyclists I encounter without regard to what they are riding. Around here, the ones who are most likely to not return the wave are the young punks on the crotch rockets. I'll get the occasional HD rider who's too stuck up to wave, but I've experienced the same thing from a few Gold Wing riders. It's their problem, not mine.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Are yall talking about the 'cool wave'...or the nerdy newbie 'howdy wave'?

 

Well let me back up and say, if you want to wave, then wave. Who gives a ____ if they wave back?

 

Having said that, most riders are more likely to respond to the 'cool wave', than the nerdy newbie wave.

 

And if your waving at riders involved in shifting, clutching, and staying clear of soccer moms in killer vans, then dont expect a lot of replies. The cool wave gets almost 90% return out on the open road, unless its near a large bike rally and they got tired of waving at every damn fool.

 

Sometimes...every now and then...yall amuse me.

 

But its all good.

(wheres the 'cool wave' smiley?)

[karbar99]

Well, You know they're over on their forum asking the same question:

Do you ever feel like you're getting snubbed by those Rice Burner's?

:rotfl:

[Black Owl]

Old venture 8 -- that is a good point, that maybe some of the newer riders just don't know to wave, don't think about it, don't see it, or see it too late... Every once and a while I will catch that I'll be cruising along, watching the road and all the nuts around me and see a bike's tailight in my mirror and realize I didn't wave... I just didn't see them coming.

 

 

Now that's scary. We talk about cagers not seeing us...

 

[MasterGuns]

I ride a Harley and would never join HOG. Too much crap to deal with. And when riding I don't wave at anyone and couldn't GAD what others are riding. I dislike everyone equally.

Edited April 16, 2009 by MasterGuns

[GeorgeS]

I'm driveing down to LA, next week, and will most likley be rideing brother in laws Spare HOG. Him and my sister are pretty nice folks !!

 

He keep 4 Hogs in his garage, but the feed bill get pretty high, at times.

 

Also, I used to be a HOG Farmer, ( Really !! No Bull )

[LilBeaver]

Now - I suppose I could clarify this... Usually this occurs in 3+ lanes of traffic or whatever or on the express way and the bike that gets missed is traveling in the opposite direction :-P

 

Now that's scary. We talk about cagers not seeing us...

 

[capn eddie]

I have had only a few Harley Riders give me a hard and I don`t mean just ribbing which is ok. I almost bought a Ultra classic before I bought my 07 Midnight Venture. Belong to a local star chapter and stopped a harley dealer to check out the bikes and were told we had to move our bikes because only harleys could park up front. We had to park on the other end of the lot. Needless to say we left. My thoughts have now be changed about Harleys. And yes I have good friends that ride harleys and we give each other alot of crap about ones bike. But all in good fun.

 

hey little bob the reason they wanted you to move your bike is if people going into the shop seen your bike they could not sell the ones in the store :rotf:

[GeorgeS]

Went down to auto parts ( working on a MB again *&%$#@*(&^% ) to pick up my part. A Hog was parked there, an OLD one, 1940, 80 CI. I swear it was the most rusted, crappy looking bike I ever saw on the road. Holes in the fenders, rusty, worn out tires, rusty spokes, parts missing, twisted wires etc etc,

 

He was just leaveing, so I engaged him in conversation, about guess what ??

 

He said it was a Highly Modified WWII, Army bike.

 

The Plates were Washington, ( Horseless Carriage ). Never saw those before.

He said something about that was the only way the state would licence the thing.

 

But-- when he left, One Kick of the Start lever, it was purring like a Harley !!

[Guest seuadr]

Went down to auto parts ( working on a MB again *&%$#@*(&^% ) to pick up my part. A Hog was parked there, an OLD one, 1940, 80 CI. I swear it was the most rusted, crappy looking bike I ever saw on the road. Holes in the fenders, rusty, worn out tires, rusty spokes, parts missing, twisted wires etc etc,

 

He was just leaveing, so I engaged him in conversation, about guess what ??

 

He said it was a Highly Modified WWII, Army bike.

 

The Plates were Washington, ( Horseless Carriage ). Never saw those before.

He said something about that was the only way the state would licence the thing.

 

But-- when he left, One Kick of the Start lever, it was purring like a Harley !!

 

so it smoked, spit out oil, and a couple bolts fell off?

 

I kid, i kid

[RedRider]

Well, I will throw in my HOG story.

 

When I was between wife 1.0 and the upgrade 2.0, I was dating a young lady that owned a Sportster (since upgraded to a Springer Softtail - nice bike). I was in my first year of motorcycle ownership and rode my RSV (first bike). Her Brother-in-Law also rode a Harley and was a member of HOG. My GF and I were invited to join the HOG chapter for a ride one Friday evening. We met at the local Harley dealer and rode about 100 miles to a nice place for dinner.

 

While I was prepared to take some abuse for riding a metric bike, I was pleasantly surprised at my reception. All were welcoming and many came over to review my ride - all positive comments. They welcomed me as a new rider and many shared their history of owning Jap bikes. All in all, a very nice group.

 

There is no punchline to this story. It was all positive.

 

Other than the fact that I don't like riding with a large group, I would ride with them anytime - although they may not ask me.

 

RR

Edited May 6, 2009 by RedRider

[Freebird]

I think I've told this story before but will do so again. In 1998 I went to Sturgis on my Honda Shadow Ace. I camped at Glencoe right in the middle of a bunch of riders that were probably in the 1 percenter category. Rough looking crowd and I was just a bit apprehensive about it but figured what the heck. It turned out that they were as nice as any group of riders I had ever associated with. There was not a single negative comment made about what kind of bike I rode. To them, it was all about riding and that was all that mattered. I doubt that any of these guys were members of HOG but some may have been.

 

In my limited experience, I have found that the true Harley bikers really don't care. It is usually the younger "yuppie" crowd that exibit the attitude that we are talking about. It's the young crowd that likes to ride their Harley from bar to bar or hang out at their local Quaker Steak bike night that are more apt to make comments about the ricer burners.

 

I personally don't care. I let it go in one ear and out the other...very little between my ears to stop it... I've admitted many times and will do so again, I do like the Harley bikes. I love the history, I love the sound, I love the look. I've owned them before and had very few problems. I would like to have one in the garage now parked right beside my RSV but it is not financially feasible at this time and I certainly don't want to sell the RSV. When I bought my RSV in '99 though, I could have bought anything I wanted at that time and I chose the RSV for a number of reasons that were important to me.

 

I guess all I'm saying is that I don't think it's the bike that creates these attitudes in some riders. I think that there has to be some type of insecurity in them that leads to the mentality that they must fit into a certain group. There are many riders of other bikes that are pretty much the same way.

[Long Tall]

My best Bud from college rides a Road King...and we put a lot of miles on the bikes when we can meet up.....But the local HOG Chapter is REAL picky about anyone owning anything other than a HD..

 

SO....before I got the RSV...I was riding a 2002 Triumph Bonneville America....Would go the Poker Runs and rides and it got the most attention....You see...I started on a 1965 Bonny.....

 

Anyway....I'll wave/stop for anyone but I also like to have fun...So....in 2003 I made a point to let all of the HD riders I met KNOW that I was "OLD SCHOOL" with riding....They looked "Puzzled".....

 

Then I let them know that Triumph had their 100th Anniversiary in 2002....I then pointed to the 100th Anniversiary Badge on the America.....It was REAL COOL....A lot of that

"MYSTIQUE" just melted away.....I would say 80% of the folks I said this to could not believe it even when that saw the Badge. I really BURST a lot of bubbles in 2003 and 2004 and 2005 and 2006...

 

My IRON HORSES.. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/u-7kF8gYk7oqdMHXjckmgw?authkey=Gv1sRgCKXDsPfXrdfF8QE&feat=directlink

 

George In Virginia

[Monty]

There were Harleys back in the 1800s, even though they were "established" in 1903.

Watch this video from a friend of mine. This is the guy I got my trailer from. He has just about any bike you can think of.

 

Click on the Throttle Down video.

http://sgcustomcycles.com/

[Long Tall]

There were Harleys back in the 1800s, even though they were "established" in 1903.

Watch this video from a friend of mine. This is the guy I got my trailer from. He has just about any bike you can think of.

 

Click on the Throttle Down video.

http://sgcustomcycles.com/

 

Nice...but when I did a search for Triumph Motorcycle Timeline I get this...

 

http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/

 

and this...

 

http://www.sorenwinslow.com/Triumph.asp

 

Same search for Harley Motocycle Timeline gets me this...

 

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/H-D_History/history_1900s.jsp?locale=en_US

 

and this was on Widipedia......

 

In 1894, the Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first motorcycle available to the public for purchase.[3] However, only a few hundred examples of this motorcycle were ever built. Soon, as the engines became more powerful and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the number of motorcycle-oriented producers increased.

The first known motorcycle in the United States was said to be brought to New York by a French circus performer, in 1895. It weighed about 200 lb (91 kg) and was capable of 40 mph (64 km/h) on a level surface.[4] However, that same year, an inventor from the United States E.J. Pennington demonstrated a motorcycle of his own design in Milwaukee. Pennington claimed his machine was capable of a speed of 58 mph (93 km/h), and is credited with inventing the term "motor cycle" to describe his machine.

In 1898, English bicycle maker Triumph decided to extend its focus to include motorcycles, and by 1902, the company had produced its first motorcycle—a bicycle fitted with a Belgian-built engine. In 1903, as Triumph's motorcycle sales topped 500, the American company Harley-Davidson started producing motorcycles.

In 1904, the Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company, which had been founded by two former bicycle racers, designed the so-called "diamond framed" Indian Single, whose engine was built by the Aurora Firm in Illinois. The Single was made available in the deep red color that would become Indian's trademark. By then, Indian's production was up to over 500 bikes annually and would rise to 32,000, its best ever, in 1913.

 

Just enjoy doing the research....Not being a PIA ....Just like reading all the history again...

 

BOTTOM LINE.....WE RIDE BIKES WITH MOTORS IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM...I'm OUT OF HERE>>77 degrees here and going riding

 

George In Virginia

[Monty]

I love reading history. Kids today are missing out on soooo much.

[sofapilot]

If you want to walk through time and see the Harley-Davidson story... Its all at the H-D Museum in Milwaukee....

Including Serial Number ONE !

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/07/0711_harley_museum/image/slide-5.jpg

[silent67]

I ride a Harley and would never join HOG. Too much crap to deal with. And when riding I don't wave at anyone and couldn't GAD what others are riding. I dislike everyone equally.

 

Yep, my Great Great Grandmother always said, " when I am by myself, I am in good company ".

[davecb]

I've got a diehard Harley riding brother in law who rides an Ultrs Classic. When I bought my RSV he kept riding me about it not being a "Harley". One day I parked my RSV beside his Ultra Classic, and said: Look, this is what your bike wants to be when it grows up.... He has never badmouthed my RSV again....