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it just dawned on me, because when they brake down it takes all 20 of them to figure out whats wrong with it. I went out riding with my neibhor, who is all HD. We must have stopped like 10 or more times in the 180 mile round trip ride, and we couldn't go over 70mph, because everytime we did something would rattle off one of the HD's. The old kaw was dying not being able to strech her legs. It pissed them all off when a 33 year old jap bike had 0 problems, and the 2 or 3 year old bikes were breaking left and right. I think one of the HD's even lost a muffler on the highway

Post edited by: oldkaws4ever, at: 2007/07/08 02:25

it's funny cause it's true!

Now come on! Trolling, errrr, posting like that in here is too easy! The HOG apologists on other forums would be up in arms over this. I dare you to post that on the Craigslist or Cycle Word American forums!

"95% of all HOGs built are still on the road. The other 5% made it home!"

i went on a ride recently on my kz with my uncle and some of his friends (all H-D) an they gave me shit for not having an magneto cover, then halfway thru the ride we were doing 55 down a bumpy back road (i'm a hardail btw) and one of my guage bolts rattled out and my headlight bucket ring untwisted and pop'd out with my headlight, but luckly the both stayed with the bike so i managed to get em back togeather.

asses gave me shit the rest of the ride.

themachine - and your bike was 20-30 years old? At least that's a reasonable excuse. I see you're from Duluth. I personally helped keep HD afloat in the mid-70's by purchasing a new Sportster XLCH 1000 while stationed at the airbase in Duluth in 1976. (cost me $2200 - I couldnt afford the $3200 for the KZLTD900 that year) It was hell kick starting that cold bike in March.

Post edited by: skippr76KZ, at: 2007/07/09 12:14

im starting to think im too hard on harley davidson owners. true, theres purists out there who think if it isnt a harley, its not a motorcycle worthy of being on the road. you can usually spot those guys all decked out in HD gear and full biker attitude. but im starting to think alot of them just want to be motorcyclist and dont know any better between brands or just think theres only one way to go.

im not writing this as some support post of HDs being great machines that are reliable in any aspect besides having mechanical problems (least the older ones, apparently the newer ones are better?) and always being loud!

but sometimes i meet people who ride HDs and they see my bike and they dont know what to say because theyve never seen anything like it. after educating them on what a ujm is, i leave that interaction myself further educated. not on their ride but more so on the fact that theyre riders. we're all out there because we enjoy riding motorcycles for one reason or another.

but yes, to hell with all those jerkoffs who think theyre too good to even wave back when i give them the low salute. maybe they dont know any better?

I was out this weekend with a Harley guy. He's one of those standup kinda guys who just really likes to ride. Has put 40K on his new injected Harley (because he admits...he wanted a Harley but didn't want to have to fight with it constantly to keep it running) over the past few years for himself, and not specifically for the name he's riding.

So he's was showing me some nice back roads up to Port Angeles and on the way back, we're at an intersection waiting to turn onto the freeway. I'm just slightly behind and to the right and I see a candy purple 883 sportster pull up behind me. I get a little smile thinking we might join up for just a little bit. But instead, he pushes his way around me, pulls up level with my friend's Harley, glances at him and bolts off dangerously into the freeway. My friend just looks back at me and shakes his head declaring...."I knew he was going to do that when I saw him bully past you. That's just not right, I hate guys like that."


We past him about 5 miles later stalled at a light trying to get his bike running again...I was wondering if my friend was going to want to stop but he didn't even glance over. Probably just as well, he wouldn't have wanted our help, I'd imagine.

skippr76KZ wrote:

themachine - and your bike was 20-30 years old? At least that's a reasonable excuse. I see you're from Duluth. I personally helped keep HD afloat in the mid-70's by purchasing a new Sportster XLCH 1000 while stationed at the airbase in Duluth in 1976. (cost me $2200 - I couldnt afford the $3200 for the KZLTD900 that year) It was hell kick starting that cold bike in March.

<br><br>Post edited by: skippr76KZ, at: 2007/07/09 12:14

i think my uncle got his first harly back around that time, you know anyone from lost race?

btw duluth sucks in the winter.

Nate's line is too funny:) "95% of all HOGs built are still on the road. The other 5% made it home!"

I am not a big fan of Harley's, however I do like the 1977 XLCR which was Willie G. Davidson's design.

It was a nice black cafe racer style with a tailpiece, triangular side covers, a little 1/4 fairing and superbike style bars. The design was probably going after the big Kawasaki market. Interestingly enough, this was around the same time that Kawasaki was looking to dip a toe into the cruiser market with their 900/1000 LTDs and Kz650 SR. The arguement could be made that both companies were going fishing in each other's market.

With only 58 horsepower (if I recall) it certainly wasn't a match for the big Kz. Come to think of it, a stock Kz650 would have probably stomped on it.

If I could get my hands on one for real cheap, I would like to restore one for when I am older and looking to slow down a little. I would have to tinker with it somehow to squeeze a few more ponies outta the 30 year old twin.

Anyhow, I liked the lines of the XLCR then and I still do today.

Cheers - Colin Firth-Ontario Canada



Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2007/07/09 20:24

Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2007/07/09 20:27

[
If I could get my hands on one for real cheap, I would like to restore one for when I am older and looking to slow down a little. I would have to tinker with it somehow to squeeze a few more ponies outta the 30 year old twin.

Anyhow, I liked the lines of the XLCR then and I still do today.

Cheers - Colin Firth-Ontario Canada



Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2007/07/09 20:24<br><br>Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2007/07/09 20:27[/quote]Good luck with that. My #1 shop forman out on the floor was born into a Harley family (he rides a Yamaha, how bout dat shit?, but he does own a Harley) he's got all the prices down. That bike that you admire(and I do to), can't be bought for cheap, no way no how. When it first came out, they had trouble selling them, what'd they make them for two years? Now, you can't touch them unless you've got some serious coin to throw that way.

ThousandKaw wrote:

[
]Good luck with that. My #1 shop forman out on the floor was born into a Harley family (he rides a Yamaha, how bout dat shit?, but he does own a Harley) he's got all the prices down. That bike that you admire(and I do to), can't be bought for cheap, no way no how. When it first came out, they had trouble selling them, what'd they make them for two years? Now, you can't touch them unless you've got some serious coin to throw that way.[/color]

Sounds like the Z1R story. Radical new style and the customers reacted like the bike had an STD. I saw one on ebay sell for $3500 last year. It looked a little overused but it was all there and the owner claimed it ran.

Cheers - Colin Firth - Ontario Canada