My latest ruminations

[Ndiaz]

For my latest ruminations, with which Venture riders will identify, click on the following:

http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=52 .

 

Then click on "Christmas in the Summertime." As I've mentioned before, my columns for http://www.thetentacle.com are published every other Tuesday, and today is such a Tuesday. This site is not a motorcycle site, but I have the privilege of being allowed to write about motorcycling and math education (and today I managed to combine the two).

 

Nick Diaz

Middletown, MD

[kenw]

A very nice article! Good luck on the new bike, and welcome to the club!!! There's a lot of people that can help you in you efforts here.

 

Kenw

[Bubber]

For my latest ruminations, with which Venture riders will identify, click on the following:

http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=52 .

 

Then click on "Christmas in the Summertime." As I've mentioned before, my columns for www.thetentacle.com are published every other Tuesday, and today is such a Tuesday. This site is not a motorcycle site, but I have the privilege of being allowed to write about motorcycling and math education (and today I managed to combine the two).

 

Nick Diaz

Middletown, MD

 

I read one of your other articles where you bad mouth and bash Harley Davidson MC. Well that’s fine that you don't like them but a lot of other people do. Yes the design is old school but then a lot of us are old school and it is a classic design.

I don't presently own a Harley but I have and I like them. I just can't or don't choose to pay the money to own a new on. Actually I like a lot of different bike that go by a lot of different names, and yes there a lot with Japanese names. I have never owned a BMW either but every time I see one it seems to have a bazillion miles on them so I can only guess that they are ridden and must be pretty reliable.

If new and improved means super sport bikes (crotch rockets)? Then please keep them, I have no interest in doing wheelies and stunts to see if I can do something a little dumber than the other guys that do that kind of thing.

I presently ride a RS Venture Midnight and I am perfectly happy not doing wheelies and power braking to stand on my front wheel. I want to get on ride half way across the country if I want to and not worry about a break down.

That gets me to my real point. Every body has different needs and you ride the bike that fills that need the best. So if that is a classic MC or a Chopper of a Cruiser or even a rode sofa.... go for it. Bashing other makes just don't cut it for me.

Like em, don't like em, your prerogative. Don't tell me or others they are sheep because of your hang ups.

BTW if you want to meet some sheep if were you I'd walk into a biker bar and tell all the Hell's Angle that they are all a bunch a pussies I mean sheep. I am sure they can show you the errors of your ways. Have a great day and enjoy. Oh ya Welcome to America!

[Orrin]

Nick, welcome! I enjoyed your articles and read several of them. You touch on many of the things that attract many of us to motorcycles. I certainly enjoy Harleys, road sofas, customs, but not rude bikers. It does not make any difference if they are on a super sport bike or a GW, just don't care for them.

 

The group I ride with has everthing imaginable on 2 wheels and will probably have some 3 wheelers shortly, if we are lucky enough to keep on aging.

 

Thanks for your insight, "and keep on wriding, I mean righting".

[Guest BluesLover]

Love those "invisible roads".

 

Every year, 6 of us plan a 10 day trip around finding them. A couple of years ago, it was down through PA, VA, TN, KY and places in between.

 

Last year, it was through New England (didn't get to MA though).

 

This year, it will be an Around the Great Lakes route (MI, WI, MN).

 

Cheers,

[MamaMo]

Read alot of the articles. Just one question what is number 11 on the Dumb Questions?

[Guest tx2sturgis]

This guy's anti-Harley rantings are proof that:

 

1. Jap bikes were invented to keep idiots off Harleys.*

 

2. Any idiot with webspace can say anything they want.

 

3. He has never ridden a Harley.

 

4. Harleys evoke emotions. Good or bad, thats the way it is.

 

 

I ride both Metric and American bikes, and dont consider myself a 'clone' simply for riding a bike that is comfy, attractive, and sounds good, whichever one I'm riding.

 

I once let a Suzuki Bandit riding friend of mine, one who has always hated Harleys and everything he thought they stood for, ride the HD DynaGlide that I owned at the time. He was surprised and came back with a huge grin on his face.

 

He had not expected to enjoy it, but he did. The power, the torque, the sound, the feel. All were pleasing to his senses. He never bought a Harley, but he did at least understand something of the attraction.

 

I bought my new 2007 Venture in August last year, and have been generally pleased with it, but no man-made machine is perfect. It turns out that with the drivetrain issues I am having with my Venture, I may not take it to Sturgis after all. Most likely I will be riding the 8 year old, 72,000 mile Harley Ultra. And why not? It has made the trip 8 times, with countless other trips thrown in.

 

Its funny that, at least right now, as I write this, my fairly new Yamaha Venture seems less reliable than my old Harley.

 

Mr. Diaz, you have every right to express your hatred on that website. But a real man doing that would have set up a forum for the opposing opinions to be expressed, as is allowed here.

 

Good luck to you, and enjoy your American freedoms, including those that allow you to ride, to hate, and also, to be angry.

 

 

________________________________________________________________

 

 

* Used to illustrate the opposite side. No offense intended to anyone riding Metric. I do it myself!

 

 

 

 

 

[Ndiaz]

I read one of your other articles where you bad mouth and bash Harley Davidson MC. Well that’s fine that you don't like them but a lot of other people do. Yes the design is old school but then a lot of us are old school and it is a classic design.

I don't presently own a Harley but I have and I like them. I just can't or don't choose to pay the money to own a new on. Actually I like a lot of different bike that go by a lot of different names, and yes there a lot with Japanese names. I have never owned a BMW either but every time I see one it seems to have a bazillion miles on them so I can only guess that they are ridden and must be pretty reliable.

 

If new and improved means super sport bikes (crotch rockets)? Then please keep them, I have no interest in doing wheelies and stunts to see if I can do something a little dumber than the other guys that do that kind of thing.

 

Bubber, do have a great day yourself, and it's great to be an American. We certainly agree on that, eh?

I presently ride a RS Venture Midnight and I am perfectly happy not doing wheelies and power braking to stand on my front wheel. I want to get on ride half way across the country if I want to and not worry about a break down.

 

That gets me to my real point. Every body has different needs and you ride the bike that fills that need the best. So if that is a classic MC or a Chopper of a Cruiser or even a rode sofa.... go for it. Bashing other makes just don't cut it for me.

Like em, don't like em, your prerogative. Don't tell me or others they are sheep because of your hang ups.

BTW if you want to meet some sheep if were you I'd walk into a biker bar and tell all the Hell's Angle that they are all a bunch a pussies I mean sheep. I am sure they can show you the errors of your ways. Have a great day and enjoy. Oh ya Welcome to America!

 

Bubber, I wrote two, not just one, articles in which I take a rather "contrarian" view of HD. This view is one that many people out there, I'm convinced, hold on to, but it's not a politically correct one. Read them both again, and tell me where I'm wrong, specifically, and we can debate the points, one by one. These are not 'hang-ups" of mine, as you say, but carefully thought-out statements.

 

"New and improved" does not automatically, ipso facto, mean crotch rockets. "New and improved" means Gold Wing, ST1300, FJR1300, Ducati, your Venture -- you should get the idea by now. You're taking a leap that was not intended. It shows you that you don't read my articles very closely.

 

If you go to the website, http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=52 , and click on my article "Enjoying What Life Brings on Two Wheels," then you'll see how I put down the sports bike radicals as well.

 

Once again, my point was not to "bash" HD, but to bring out points that go contrary to popular and conventional thinking about HD, and to prompt folks to think about them. I'm afraid, Bubber, that you've missed the point, which is, among others, that some folks don't think about the ramifications about HD before they plunk their money down.

 

Of course, just as I have the right to express my opinions and draw my conclusions about HD, you also have the right to disagree with me. If you wish, refute my points, one by one, on this forum or in private, and we can thus engage in a friendly discussion or debate.

 

I have no intention to go into a biker bar, or any bar, simply because I don't drink -- particularly when out on my motorcycle.

 

Bubber, have a great day yourself, and indeed it's great to be an American.

 

Nick Diaz

Middletown, MD

Edited July 8, 2008 by Ndiaz

[Ndiaz]

Read alot of the articles. Just one question what is number 11 on the Dumb Questions?

 

MamaMo, questions #11 thru 15 will come out in the next few months. I'm going to quote from my own "Part III", of the 10 Dumb Questions. At the end of that article, I wrote the following:

 

"Women, being the more sensible gender, are far more receptive than the "bikerbro" type to this safety-minded line of thought. Which brings us to question Number 11, about women riding.

 

Oops, sorry, my 10 questions are up, for now. I guess #11 will have to wait…"

 

I venture to say you've surmised by now what the 11th question will be about!

[Ndiaz]

One disagreement you and I have, tx2sturgis, is about my anger. I have none of that. Strong opinions on a given subject does not automatically signify "hate" or anger.

 

Read my reply to Bubber and you'll see where I come from.

 

www.thetentacle.com welcomes opposing viewpoints. Go to it and contact the editor for "equal time", and he'll be glad to have you express your views of disagreement with me.

 

In the meantime, read my other articles, with which you'll have a difficult time disagreeing.

 

And please don't call me "Mr. Diaz". On this site, among motorcycle friends, I'd rather be Nick.

 

Nick Diaz

Middletown, MD

Edited July 8, 2008 by Ndiaz

[Guest tx2sturgis]

One disagreement you and I have, tx2sturgis, is about my anger. I have none of that. Strong opinions on a given subject does not automatically signify "hate" or anger.

 

Let me see...you referred to Harley riders using these terms..and I quote:...'lemmings'...'sheep'...'sheep in wolf's clothing'...'clones'...'An underlying factor is also stupidity'..'lots of money and very little brainpower'

You called the Harleys we ride...'junk'...'loud rattletraps, overpriced dealer wannabes, or pieced together, “hope-it-works-tomorrow” wonders.'...'Hardly Ableson',...'mediocre HD chassis' ...'Harley Davidson is a wart on the face of America.

 

And finally, your quote of the day is:

 

 

'but I hate the motorcycles that my country manufactures.'

 

I copied your article here at the bottom of this post so it might refresh your memory. And I posted it in Harley Davidson Orange...just for you, buddy.Either you didnt write this stuff, or you dont have the slightest idea what the hell you said. Name calling is a childish practice. You are a hater, and you spent a large amount of time proving it. Don't lie about it now.

 

Thing is, I KNOW what Harleys are all about. Really. Its the freinds you make, the thumbs-up you get, the sound when you accelerate up the freeway on-ramp.

 

If you dont like them...just say so. But dont piss on us and tell us its raining.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

 

 

I’m an ardent admirer of the United States of America, my adopted country, which welcomed me to these shores a half century ago. This great country has provided me with opportunities I wouldn’t have faced, had I remained in Communist Cuba.

 

American exceptionalism and ingenuity, pride in advancing the freedom of man, determination to succeed in solving problems, foreign and domestic – there is nothing in this world, no problem no tragedy, no foe so insurmountable that the USA cannot surmount and conquer. We take second best to no one – it’s our national point of pride.

 

So, then, I’m afraid to inform you that, in at least one regard, we are willing to settle for second best or, even worse, last place. The USA has become complacent in the world; we are content to sit around and watch others whiz past at breakneck speed – and yet we do nothing.

 

We’re being left in the dust because we can’t or won’t, keep up. Why? Because we are stuck in a misunderstood and ill-conceived mental rut.

 

I’m talking about motorcycles – American-made and -built motorcycles. Harley Davidsons, to be exact.

 

Since coming on board as a contributor to TheTentacle.com, five of my columns have been on the passion of my lifetime – motorcycles. My three most recent pieces have dealt with math education; however, in light of the improvement in weather in recent days, my thoughts have drifted away from such trivial subjects as education and more toward those infernal two-wheeled motorized contraptions our mothers used to warn us against.

 

So, back to motorcycles I gravitate this time to my least favorite brand of bike, the Hardly Ableson, a.k.a. Harley Davidson.

 

You seen them everywhere, and you know the kind of rider that is usually aboard one of those HD bikes – leather chaps, leather jacket, combat boots, American flag do-rag, the very epitome of a “bad biker.”

 

All that is just a wishful image, however. All that stuff came out of a corporate catalog. One Harley rider looks like another, pretty much; yet they all claim they’re “individuals.” Seeing a group of Harleys go past is like watching a deleted scene from The Stepford Wives. They’re all identical; they look alike; and they all ride the same thing – junk.

 

Very few Harleys are truly fast or powerful. Most are just loud rattletraps, overpriced dealer wannabes, or pieced together, “hope-it-works-tomorrow” wonders. They are paper tigers, all show and no go. One can get a hundred pounds of chrome on one of these motorcycles straight from the factory.

 

Matching leather everything as well, even down to the little official HD logo, which is oh-so important to this flock-behavior mindset. Studded, braided, polished, painted, chrome, but it’s all flash. It’s all custom parts and paint, all jury-rigged and low tech. In anything else but a Harley, the extremes that most HD owners go to would be considered tacky and tasteless, and probably laughable.

 

The roar of a Harley is really just the growling of a sheep in wolf’s clothing, and the bleating of the image-driven lemmings that ride them.

 

Harleys, of course, can be made to perform, but one has to rebuild them from the ground up. By the time decent performance is extracted out of a Harley, one could have bought two or three Japanese bikes for cash. Harley’s fastest motorcycle, the Sportster, isn’t anywhere near deserving of its name. There is no sport to the Sportster, with an 883cc engine pushing out a meager 47 horsepower.

 

When Harley Davidson decided a few years ago to re-design its engine for power and performance, to whom did the company go? Not to American engineers and designers, but to Porsche. Yes, the same German manufacturer. This powerful, water-cooled Porsche engine, wedged into a mediocre HD chassis, is frowned upon by the Harley faithful.

 

What about price and cost of upkeep? A top-of-the-line HD costs many thousands more than a comparable import motorcycle, is less dependable, does not enjoy the quality of workmanship, and won’t even perform as well – not even close.

 

So, why do so many people flock to HD dealerships, (which are essentially boutiques incidentally surrounded by a two-wheeler here and there), and wait in line for months to buy a Harley at full retail-plus price?

 

Because they are sheep.

 

Why does a Harley hold its resale value so reputedly well, when all the cards are stacked against it?

 

Because of that elusive thing called “image.” An underlying factor is also stupidity.

 

Harley Davidson’s stupidity, you may ask? Goodness, no. HD is probably the smartest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. The stupidity can be traced right back to the unwitting public which buys what Milwaukee is selling.

 

And what does Milwaukee sell? Only one thing: “Image.”

 

Image, symbolism, with no substance – image at a price. Anyone can buy a Harley; it just takes lots of money and very little brainpower. How else can one explain paying so much and receiving so little in return?

 

“Image!”

 

Image is a powerful thing. We, as Americans, want to project a strong image to the rest of the world; in doing so, however, we have become lazy. We are now willing to pay large amounts of money to buy an image, rather than go out and earn one for ourselves.

 

We are lazy. It is easier to walk into a motorcycle dealer, buy a new Harley Davidson, and then tell ourselves: "I own a Harley, therefore I am bad and cool, because a Harley is bad and cool. That movie I watched last night proved that!"

 

It’s much easier to do that than it is to go out and actually prove that one is bad and cool. It doesn't matter that one is plain and ordinary. Hey, one can become bad and cool just because there‘s a Harley on the driveway. It doesn't matter if the bike is made up of parts from six or 10 other Harleys, the Harley owner is, ipso facto, bad and cool. All because one owns a certain brand of motorcycle?

 

I love my adopted country, but I hate the motorcycles that my country manufactures. I don't think that they come anywhere near being able to be compared to what the U.S. of A. is all about, or what makes this land great. Harley Davidson is a wart on the face of America.

 

I dislike Harleys and don't even consider a Harley to be an American motorcycle. It is a sad, pale product that captures very little of the American experience and doesn't come anywhere near what a real American motorcycle should be.

 

The USA stands for technology, ingenuity, performance and innovation. Harley stands for none of that. Milwaukee churns out the same tired old designs every year, a piece of this model, a piece of that model, change the tank, paint it black, add 40 pounds of chrome and five grand to the price and give it a name like American Historical Limited Edition Super Extra Easy Wide Glide FGXLHR, or something equally incoherent and, lo and behold…

 

…you have a brand new Harley for this model year.

 

Tune in next time when the “Made in the USA” title is debunked.

 

Meanwhile, ride safe, y’all.

Edited July 8, 2008 by tx2sturgis

[Ndiaz]

I'm already home, Mr. tx2sturgis, thank you.

 

Do have a nice day.

 

Nick

Edited July 8, 2008 by Ndiaz

[Bubber]

tx2sturgis http://venturerider.org/forum/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif

 

I can see mr tx2sturgis that you must be one of the lemmings that Diaz was

talking about because you have a opinion that clashes with him. LOL

 

But I am afraid that he has cut you to the quick with his snappy reply or shall

or shall I say lack of reply. I would suggest that you do not tangle with with

this man of pure wit. LMFAO

 

You would be having a battle of wits with an unarmed apponent.

 

 

BTW

All bike have good things and bad things or things that could be improved

that is why the aftermarket exists for all bikes not just Harley amd RSV.

Ride what ya like and don't listen to the crap some people want to feed ya.

 

Dang there I go with an opinion again.

[Ndiaz]

tx2sturgis http://venturerider.org/forum/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif

 

I can see mr tx2sturgis that you must be one of the lemmings that Diaz was

talking about because you have a opinion that clashes with him. LOL

 

But I am afraid that he has cut you to the quick with his snappy reply or shall

or shall I say lack of reply. I would suggest that you do not tangle with with

this man of pure wit. LMFAO

 

You would be having a battle of wits with an unarmed apponent.

 

 

BTW

All bike have good things and bad things or things that could be improved

that is why the aftermarket exists for all bikes not just Harley amd RSV.

Ride what ya like and don't listen to the crap some people want to feed ya.

 

Dang there I go with an opinion again.

 

Bubber, you're a gentleman. I believe Mr. tx2sturgis has made my point for me.

 

Nick

[Bubber]

Bubber, you're a gentleman. I believe Mr. tx2sturgis has made my point for me.

 

Nick

 

 

AND YOU WOULD WRONG! AGAIN!!!!!!

Shall we end this since it is going nowhere and fast?

I am done here thanks for letting voice my opinion. It may not be right but it is mine!

 

Over and out

si-a-nara

Adios

Ad-ve-ter-zain

 

Oh heck! I be gone.

[Ndiaz]

Whatever...

[Dexx]

Thing is, I KNOW what Harleys are all about. Really. Its the freinds you make, the thumbs-up you get, the sound when you accelerate up the freeway on-ramp.

 

 

 

Things I know (in my own humble opinion): If I gotta spend 20 grand to have friends and get the thumbs up then I will ride alone and keep both hands on the grips. And personally I prefer the sound of the V4 when I grab a handful of throttle over any harley i have ever heard. That being said, there is a blue Springer in my area that catches my eye every time i see it, it's a beautiful looking bike, but I would never choose to own one.

 

As far as Nick goes....He can be an opinionated SOB at times and I have been in disagreement with him several times in the years I've known him, BUT he is hardly uneducated and rarely shoot shoots from the hip without good reason. You don't have to agree with me, and Nick probably doesn't care if you agree with him. Many times ( i think) his aim is to provoke discussion that may require some thought before responding. And many times people respond before thinking. He's still a great guy to know.