Little old men and huge motorcycles -

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Islandgypsy

New Member
I’ve heard you don’t buy a Harley to ride but to gain membership into the Harley lifestyle. But why don’t they sell a lighter than 800# peer-acceptable model that an old man can safely handle ? Sure, a motorcycle is not the logical or safe transportation choice for old men with trouble seeing, walking, balancing and/or controllable bowel movements. But they still want to arrive on a Harley!!
My inability to accept some situations reminds me of a deceased friend saying “ the more people I meet, the more I love my cat”.
 

Q: What do you call a Harley that doesn't leak oil?

A: Empty

Q: How is a Harley Davidson like an old dog?

A: They both like to ride in the back of pickup trucks.

Q: What is the difference between a Harley Davidson and an old dog?

A: The dog can get in the back of the pickup by itself.

Q: Why do Harley riders never ride faster than 50mph?

A: Any faster and they can't see where the parts fell off.

Q: Why do Harley riders chrome all their parts?

A: It makes them easier to spot on the side of the road.
 

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Keesha said:
If they made a lighter Harley, then it wouldn’t be a Harley. ✌
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Morning Keesha😊 they recently introduced lighter Harley’s in the 750 and 500 cc class. Total failure. Much better bikes but not accepted by the true “born to ride” set.
 
My son has 2 Harleys. No issues. One is bigger than the other, but since I am no longer interested in bikes, I never asked the sizes. My last bike was a Kawasaki in 1975 when I bought my Kawasaki 900, actually it was a 903cc.

My son keeps trying to get me to take one of his bikes out for a ride, (I still have my license), but I wouldn’t. I don’t feel that I have the balance anymore. And, even if I did, I wouldn’t enjoy it anyway.

I clocked a crotch rocket at 107 mph on a very warm July night about 8 years ago. I wasn’t sure if I could catch him or not, but I thought what the heck, I’ll give it a try. Luckily, another Trooper just came on the interstate about 12 miles ahead at the next exit. Between the 2 of us, he later said that he knew he was had, so he gave up. That cost him over $700.00 for the 2 fines and in addition whatever his lawyer’s fee was, plus a suspended jail sentence, which we requested no jail time.
 
Islandgypsy said:
Rare picture, Pappy. I’d have that blown to poster size, framed and on the living room wall.
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I think you mean AMF. The same company that made the pin setters for bowling lanes. AMF also had a bomb line inside the plant, which ran 24/7 during the Vietnam War.
 
Probably the only "safe" Harley motorcycles for older drivers are the 3 wheel "trike" models. However, considering that these models can range anywhere from $28K to $50K in price, most Seniors can probably find better uses for such sums of money. In our area, there are gobs of Harley riders, especially on weekends in the Summer, and a good share of them are the Trikes.
 
Ah yes, the old American Machine and Foundry ownership days. Avoided those terrible Japanese bikes and decided Italian reliability would more closely match in the Harley lineup. And it did. FIAT - Fix It Again Tony again and again until the crush value exceeded the resale value. Not one of Harley’s proudest choices.
 
Islandgypsy said:
I’ve heard you don’t buy a Harley to ride but to gain membership into the Harley lifestyle. But why don’t they sell a lighter than 800# peer-acceptable model that an old man can safely handle ? Sure, a motorcycle is not the logical or safe transportation choice for old men with trouble seeing, walking, balancing and/or controllable bowel movements. But they still want to arrive on a Harley!!
My inability to accept some situations reminds me of a deceased friend saying “ the more people I meet, the more I love my cat”.
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Walker1.jpg
 
My son and I went to Daytona for Bike Week on his 21st birthday. We trailered his bike and had a lot of fun. We avoided the bars during the evening and hung out mostly on the beach. Well, we did go into the Boot Hill Saloon one evening at his insistence. A lot of tough looking dudes in there, including gangs wearing their colors. Even the female bartender looked like she could have kicked my butt. We did have really great weather.

He wanted to do Sturgis, but I told him to go with his cycle buddies, dad was sitting that one out. When he got home, he said it was awesome and came home with some pics of some really fine looking customized bikes. It’s amazing how artistic some of those guys are.
 
Islandgypsy said:
Ah yes, the old American Machine and Foundry ownership days. Avoided those terrible Japanese bikes and decided Italian reliability would more closely match in the Harley lineup. And it did. FIAT - Fix It Again Tony again and again until the crush value exceeded the resale value. Not one of Harley’s proudest choices.
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When I came home from Vietnam and finished my time in the Marines, I still had about 4 months before college started. My dad’s friend was a supervisor at AMF and he asked me if I wanted a temporary job. I asked him what I would be doing. He said that I could work on the bomb line spray painting them as they came down a track. I thought, why not? So, I went over to the plant and took the 50 cent tour. That place was hot, dirty, guys walking around swearing like a bunch of drunks and women that looked like they were beaten by someone.

After I gave it some thought, I declined the offer. I ended up working on the farm I had worked on back in school and I also had another job. I went from not having any job to having 3 jobs for awhile.
 
I always wanted a motorcycle when I was young but never could afford one. So I lived out my fantasy vicariously by getting my two sons used motorcycles. I got my younger son a 1976 Honda CB 550 and my oldest son a 1980 Suzuki GS650G.

I liked the Honda the most. It was big enough and fast enough for me.
 
Trade said:
I always wanted a motorcycle when I was young but never could afford one. So I lived out my fantasy vicariously by getting my two sons used motorcycles. I got my younger son a 1976 Honda CB 550 and my oldest son a 1980 Suzuki GS650G.
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Fine bikes, both. But they wouldn’t be parking out front at Earl’s. They have room out back though. Those who park our front are “born to raise hell”. Those who park out back are “born to raise petunias”.😊
 
Me and bikes go back to the 60's, some good, some not so good. I have no problems with my current one. (2003 Heritage) When the day comes that I can't hold her up anymore, then maybe I'll go trike. For now though, it's 2 wheels for me, and 3 wheels for the wife. (y)

softail2.JPGDSC01712.JPG
 

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