Discussion
  • Read More
    kamla deviHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 9:32am

    Reasons why I would not buy a Harley:

    1. I have better things to spend money on.

    2. I don’t have a lot of money.

    3. They are too loud.

    4. They are too dangerous.

    5. Helmet hair.

    6. I’d rather have a moped.

    7. Scott Walker likes Harleys. I hate Scott Walker and everything he stands for.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Richard M Tysonkamla devi
      1/12/16 9:46am

      I really like numbers 6 and 7. The spite is strong with you.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      ogt92kamla devi
      1/12/16 10:00am

      The reason they are loud and owners often make them even louder is so people inside 4 wheel vehicles can hear them, because lets face it they are not always easy to see.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    McMikeHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 12:49pm

    Re: Paunchy middle-aged, Doobie Brothers fan.

    I always ask about this. What will happen? What will happen when this demographic hangs up their helmet for the last time?

    I go to a few rallies every year, and it’s always the same baby-boomer acts from the late 70s. (38 special, Bad company, Foghat, Marshall Tucker band, Three Dog Night, America, etc..) I wonder to myself, “Who the hell listens to this shit anymor.....” and then I take a look around.

    The cruiser biker rally is in for a rude awakening here in the next 10 years when the numbers of bikers and the entertainment (both the same age) start dropping. There are bikers of all ages, but it seems that most of the lifestyle/music is catered to one specific demographic - the endangered one. Bikum Boomer-Paunchus

    What are they going to do? Who’s next in line to hold the lighter for the next biker generation. I’m in my mid-40s, so are my high-school jams next on the playlist? I can’t imagine Husker Du, Black Flag, Tears for Fears, Biz Markie, or Debbie Gibson playing Sturgis, so what’s going to happen?

    Harley has a bigger problem on their hands than putting women in seats. They need to scramble to make sure they get young butts in the seats NOW so when their main demographic start kicking the bucket in 10 years, these young Harley customers have grown into older Harley customers, and ready to buy the more expensive motorcycles.

    No one young is buying the big $20-25K bikes now.

    They tried to get women and children on bikes by introducing the smaller Street models a few years ago, but from what I hear they aren’t selling nearly as well as they hoped.

    It worked with Apple. Put an iPod touch in a child’s hands, and they’ll naturally want an iPhone when the time comes. The unfortunate part with motorcycles is that there are so many less-expensive options. Those small, cheap Street models are around $7K, and you can buy a LOT of Honda/Kawasaki/Yamaha for that kind of money.

    My fear is that I’ll be 50 years old, and find myself at a biker rally with hardly anyone wondering, “Where the hell did everybody go?”

    Here’s a preview of a photo I’ll take at a Gin Blossoms concert in an unnamed 2025 bike rally - (only remaining original member is the drummer.)

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      ManwichMcMike
      1/12/16 12:55pm

      “They need to scramble to make sure they get young butts in the seats NOW so when their main demographic start kicking the bucket in 10 years, these young Harley customers have grown into older Harley customers, and ready to buy the more expensive motorcycles.”

      I agree. And the best way they could have achieved that was with the Buell brand.

      But they fucked that up because the company didn’t have the patience, foresight or expertise to stick with it.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      d15bMcMike
      1/12/16 1:02pm

      HEY.

      I still listen to the Doobie Brothers.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    seeyaHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 9:36am

    Because women have a higher emotional intelligence than men?

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      mightyninth (towering in shiny metallic purple armor)seeya
      1/12/16 10:41am

      <I am too slow>

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      under_electricliteseeya
      1/12/16 11:44am

      Or more risk averse?

      Sure there’s a small percentage of women who are totally into bikes and own one but clearly not enough to make the numbers HD is shooting for.

      I had a cousin die riding one (although it was more the driver’s fault who hit him than my cousin’s) and I’ve been fascinated by bikes for a long time, but I live in a city FULL of idiotic drivers and top that off with family members who would give me no end of grief and frustration (as me owning a bike would give them) if I ever bought one for myself.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    MolierthanthouHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 10:06am

    As someone who has her motorcycle license I can tell you I wouldn’t buy a Harley because they are generally too powerful and heavy. Also, they are sort of lame. Why would we pick Harley over Moto Guzzi????

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Low Information BoaterMolierthanthou
      1/12/16 10:47am

      Too powerful? I'm straining to think of a single manufacturer that manages to squeeze less horsepower out of a liter of displacement than HD. Heavy, yes. Vibrate-y, yes. Poorly designed with crap ergos and in all honesty more of a lifestyle brand than a legitimate form of transportation, yes. Too powerful, I might have to respectfully disagree.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      MolierthanthouLow Information Boater
      1/12/16 10:52am

      Haha. You’re right. Let’s just all agree that they are hideous. You have to be really fat to look good on one. (I’m pudgy so don’t get at me bodyshamers & anti-bodyshamers or whoever you are now.)

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    IAMBlastedBiggsLostBurnerHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 9:25am

    “The Doobie Brothers, a band whose heyday was in the 1970s...”

    Well, there's the start of your answer.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      IanIAMBlastedBiggsLostBurner
      1/12/16 9:34am

      I happen to like the soulful, robust voice of Mr. Michael McDonald! :(

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      seeyaIan
      1/12/16 9:48am

      You’re a legitimate monster and I hope you’re imprisoned.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    EvenBaggierTrousers4Hamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 9:31am

    Well, first of all you have to make the bikes more attractive to females.

    Duh...

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Quint the GreyerEvenBaggierTrousers4
      1/12/16 9:33am

      You sexist pig. That's Frank's bike!

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      2016EvenBaggierTrousers4
      1/12/16 9:35am

      Looks like “hello kitty” brand product...

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Rom RombertsHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 9:49am

    The open road. The wind in your face. Destination: Adventure. How many laws will I break? All of the cool ones. I mean. I will do cool crimes. Crimes you can kind of buy into. Like robbing a man in a helicopter. I’ll do that. He doesn’t deserve the helicopter. I’ll ride away at sunset so I’m sun-blind and silhouetted. Maybe I will do a good kind of a murder. I could chance upon a couple. They are arguing. My assumption is the man is bad so I take a length of pipe from my hog’s leather satchel and I hit him right in his dome. PWINK. Down he goes. Again, I wait in the road until the sun starts to set and then I drive directly towards the orange half-dome of the sun. I can’t remember if the woman I saved was thanking me or crying or calling the police. I am freedom. I am the road. I am adventure. I am wearing a screen-printed corporate logo on a t-shirt.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Jerk StoreRom Romberts
      1/12/16 11:51am

      You are this gentle flower:

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    IanHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 9:41am

    A little anecdote that is loosely related to this:

    Remember when there was the big biker riot/brawl at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, TX earlier last year? It involved the Banditos biker gang. I posted about how f*cking stupid everyone involved was. One of my girlfriend’s cousins decided to chime in, in as incoherent a manner as she could, and whined about how I knew nothing about what I was talking about. When myself and a few friends pressed her about what SHE was talking about, she wouldn’t answer. Turned out her husband is a member... :/

    At Christmas Eve dinner, the cousin was there with husband. And the asshole wore a Banditos shirt (my girlfriend joked that it was probably the extent of his clothing collection). But apparently he did it specifically to get a rise out of me. It angered me only because it made me question how childish these stupid man-children can be. I’m 34. Wouldn’t even consider for once wearing a specific clothing item to piss someone off.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      foobar6000Ian
      1/12/16 10:03am

      Pissing off libs is all they got left man.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    GrumpyEagleHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 11:05am

    A friend of mine, who is tough as hell and cool to the point of my having a bit of a lady-crush on her, recently went on a harangue about how she will no longer attend any of the HD shows or events in our area because she's sick of the continuing clueless boobs, babes, and "bitch fell off" imagery. HD still doesn't get that there is a significant market of women who earn their own money, don't need to pair up with a guy on a bike, and hate pink. And these women do like the looks, sound, and image of the classic big Harley cycle - they just don't want to deal with the trappings designed for Neanderthals.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      sunstrokedGrumpyEagle
      1/12/16 12:28pm

      http://www.amazon.com/DOESNT-CUSTOM-…

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      MyOceanGrumpyEagle
      1/12/16 3:15pm

      YES.

      The stupidity of Harley not being able to appeal to women is pretty fucking obvious when it’s mainly dudes who think women don’t ride or don’t know what they’re doing if they ride.

      I went to a local dealer when I decided to get The Bike I Really Wanted after laying down the current bike I had at the time. I knew exactly what I wanted, but the old guy salesguy was trying to sell me on something else. When I refused, he handed me over to a young salesguy...who turned out to be the nephew of the owner of the dealer. He was mildly condescending at first, but not nearly as bad as the old guy, but when he figured out that I was fucking serious about what I wanted, he came through with flying colors. But how many women face an overly condescending attitude and are repulsed by that? A lot, I’m imagining.

      And of course there’s the HD merch for women. Nothing for serious riding, just fringe and roses on thin leather. Real fucking protective and cool-looking, biker dudes. Ugh.

      Harley claims they want to hear from their women riders, but what I see reflected back isn’t reality. Stop masturbating and actually listen up, dudes.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    cuntybawsHamilton Nolan
    1/12/16 9:31am

    “Everybody likes to look a little bit badass, and nothing says that better than a Harley shirt with a skull on it.”

    This is indescribably sweet and sad

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      FlapMouthedGingercuntybaws
      1/12/16 9:48am
      GIF
      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Eddie Rabbitcuntybaws
      1/12/16 12:00pm

      So rebellious. . . in a conformist sort of way.

      Reply
      <