Islandgypsy
New Member
Pretty bikes both. And the reason the wife’s is not a Harley ?
Little old men and huge motorcycles -
- Thread starter Islandgypsy
- Start date
Trade
Well-known Member
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”.
This is my bike now.
squatting dog
We don't have as far to go, as we've already been
- Location
- Arkansas, and also Florida
The wife has always rode her own bikes (well since the wheelstand episode of 1973 anyway).
But. alas, she could no longer hold up any 2 wheel bike. We got this Suzuki Trike because it was reasonably priced, and we weren't sure if she'd like trikes. Turns out she loves them so, when the day comes I can't ride 2 wheels but still want to ride, then we will off both these and get a trike with a larger engine. (this one is 805cc).
Beautiful looking bikes.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.
View attachment 81594View attachment 81595
Pappy
Living the Dream
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
Old Dummy
Who am I? Why am I here?
- Location
- In the backwoods of NYS
Heh, a motorcycle thread on the Seniors' forum!
I had five bikes between 1970 and 2015 -- the last two were Harleys. Never had any problems with either and they didn't leak oil. The last one was an '88 Heritage that I bought new. Was a great running bike and it had 56k miles on it when I sold it.
The '88:
First bike, '70 750 Honda, new; 2nd was a '74 new 900 Kaw, 3rd was a new '84 Honda Magna 1100. I had told myself for years that when I got too old to ride at 100+ MPH I would buy a Harley, which is what I did -- my 4th bike was a used '79 Sportster.
The urban myth that HDs are trouble-prone and leak oil is mostly because of two things: 1) Many HDs are 40-50-60 years old and the miles may be unknown, and therefore very high; and 2) Many of these older bikes have been cobbled together by numerous owners, many of whom are would-be mechanics at best. If something isn't fixed properly, the odds of it breaking down (or leaking oil) are much higher. At any rate, these are my observations after having two trouble-free Harleys and working on bikes all my life.
Of course, a big upside to owning a Harley vs. foreign is their resale value. As with Corvettes, there is no such thing as a Harley graveyard. But there sure is for Japanese motorcycles. Having said that, I liked the three I had -- they were blindingly fast (for their day) and bullet-proof. But their resale value stinks.
And speaking of Corvettes, I bought one in 2014 (a 2007) when I realized that I didn't want to ride around on two wheels anymore and sold the bike the next year. No regrets. This will likely be my last toy:
I had five bikes between 1970 and 2015 -- the last two were Harleys. Never had any problems with either and they didn't leak oil. The last one was an '88 Heritage that I bought new. Was a great running bike and it had 56k miles on it when I sold it.
The '88:
First bike, '70 750 Honda, new; 2nd was a '74 new 900 Kaw, 3rd was a new '84 Honda Magna 1100. I had told myself for years that when I got too old to ride at 100+ MPH I would buy a Harley, which is what I did -- my 4th bike was a used '79 Sportster.
The urban myth that HDs are trouble-prone and leak oil is mostly because of two things: 1) Many HDs are 40-50-60 years old and the miles may be unknown, and therefore very high; and 2) Many of these older bikes have been cobbled together by numerous owners, many of whom are would-be mechanics at best. If something isn't fixed properly, the odds of it breaking down (or leaking oil) are much higher. At any rate, these are my observations after having two trouble-free Harleys and working on bikes all my life.
Of course, a big upside to owning a Harley vs. foreign is their resale value. As with Corvettes, there is no such thing as a Harley graveyard. But there sure is for Japanese motorcycles. Having said that, I liked the three I had -- they were blindingly fast (for their day) and bullet-proof. But their resale value stinks.
And speaking of Corvettes, I bought one in 2014 (a 2007) when I realized that I didn't want to ride around on two wheels anymore and sold the bike the next year. No regrets. This will likely be my last toy:
Islandgypsy
New Member
I think most of the reliability and oil leak truths were only for the very old models ( knuckleheads). I rode a friend’s Buell 1200. It was light, fast and handled like no other Harley. But without the Harley name on the tank, the demand and resale were very poor. Old men need toys. My latest 1240 pound 192 hp Yamaha R1 powered sh#t your pants ride.Heh, a motorcycle thread on the Seniors' forum!
I had five bikes between 1970 and 2015 -- the last two were Harleys. Never had any problems with either and they didn't leak oil. The last one was an '88 Heritage that I bought new. Was a great running bike and it had 56k miles on it when I sold it.
The '88:
First bike, '70 750 Honda, new; 2nd was a '74 new 900 Kaw, 3rd was a new '84 Honda Magna 1100. I had told myself for years that when I got too old to ride at 100+ MPH I would buy a Harley, which is what I did -- my 4th bike was a used '79 Sportster.
The urban myth that HDs are trouble-prone and leak oil is mostly because of two things: 1) Many HDs are 40-50-60 years old and the miles may be unknown, and therefore very high; and 2) Many of these older bikes have been cobbled together by numerous owners, many of whom are would-be mechanics at best. If something isn't fixed properly, the odds of it breaking down (or leaking oil) are much higher. At any rate, these are my observations after having two trouble-free Harleys and working on bikes all my life.
Of course, a big upside to owning a Harley vs. foreign is their resale value. As with Corvettes, there is no such thing as a Harley graveyard. But there sure is for Japanese motorcycles. Having said that, I liked the three I had -- they were blindingly fast (for their day) and bullet-proof. But their resale value stinks.
And speaking of Corvettes, I bought one in 2014 (a 2007) when I realized that I didn't want to ride around on two wheels anymore and sold the bike the next year. No regrets. This will likely be my last toy:
Attachments
squatting dog
We don't have as far to go, as we've already been
- Location
- Arkansas, and also Florida
He he... true that... and older women too. The wife's dose of go fast. 2000 Z28 Camaro, with B-4c police pursuit package and corvette cammed and power chip. It replaced her 95 Z28.
Old Dummy
Who am I? Why am I here?
- Location
- In the backwoods of NYS
Yes, that's true. I would include the Pans too. But America was building some of these (and Indians, etc.) when we were still bombing Japan. They didn't make inroads in the American motorcycle market til the early-mid '60s. They made some tough machines and the American companies had some real competition on their hands as far as quality-control and reliability. But we still owned the big-inch cruiser department.
But Japan's big success was in building FAST, reliable machines and then by copying the Harley look. They don't have the sound though because they don't have the odd firing order of the HD pushrod v-twin (although maybe they do now, I haven't kept up with this stuff in the past 15-20 years). But the last Harley clone I saw on the road with loud pipes did NOT sound like a real Harley.
I crashed twice in the early '70s, bruised my kidney the first time although no long-lasting effects. I recently had some pain in my kidney (I remembered what it felt like) and I told my doc about the crash which I didn't think would matter 47 years later. It didn't, an ultrasound found a kidney stone, heh. So I got that to look forward to.
Biking was great fun, but now I cruise around in an automatic, climate-controlled Vette. If it's not too hot or too cold and I feel like some wind, I take the top off.
Haha, this is the last subject I thought I'd be discussing on this forum.
drifter
Well-known Member
My riding days are over. Have owned a harley, two hondas, and a kawasaki.
Liiked the Kawasaki best. It was a town bike, a 454 cc. Been to three rallies.
Small ones, nothing like Sturgis. One I liked best was Ruidosa, New Mexico,
only about five thousand riders showed up. Coupe of gang members had a
get-to and local and state police shut down the town in ten minutes, part of
a preplan to avoid trouble. While it lasted it was fun. Rode mountains and hills
out on the Mesolero Apache Indian Reservation to my hearts content. Ran
out of gas but an Indian family had a barrel of gas so they got me going. Met
their son who was recently home from a tour in the Marine Corp. He already
had a job waiting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Rallie itself wasn't much but
meeting all the people from far and wide and the ride in the mountains with
some of them made it a great five days. I wish I coud still ride a bicycle but
that pleasure is no more also. Only good memories remain. But that's life.
Liiked the Kawasaki best. It was a town bike, a 454 cc. Been to three rallies.
Small ones, nothing like Sturgis. One I liked best was Ruidosa, New Mexico,
only about five thousand riders showed up. Coupe of gang members had a
get-to and local and state police shut down the town in ten minutes, part of
a preplan to avoid trouble. While it lasted it was fun. Rode mountains and hills
out on the Mesolero Apache Indian Reservation to my hearts content. Ran
out of gas but an Indian family had a barrel of gas so they got me going. Met
their son who was recently home from a tour in the Marine Corp. He already
had a job waiting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Rallie itself wasn't much but
meeting all the people from far and wide and the ride in the mountains with
some of them made it a great five days. I wish I coud still ride a bicycle but
that pleasure is no more also. Only good memories remain. But that's life.
I don't know where you heard that "you don't buy a Harley to ride but to gain membership into the Harley lifestyle" but as a Biker I can tell you that you definitely didn't hear it from a fellow Biker, and It's completely untrue...A Biker buys whatever Bike he likes and feels comfortable on, and a Biker could care less about fitting in...I ride a Harley because I fell in love with the sound and look of Harley's back when I was a young kid...I owned a lot of Japanese Bikes and Harley's in my 53 years, and I still love Harley's the most.........The Harley Sportster is a small Bike and only weighs around 500 lbs...Trikes are also a great option for older guys with health issues who still want to ride...Or ride with somebody that has a sidecar on their Bike. *Joking*
...But seriously, good luck and I hope you find a nice Bike to ride... ...These two are my babies. 
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Laurie
Senior Member
- Location
- Kingdom of Fife
Not being American, I know very little about the
Harley Davidson, except that it is a motorbike.
I did learn somewhere a while ago that they were
not very good and heading for oblivian until they
bought another bike company, Indian I think, that
is supposed to have saved them from going under!
Is this true?
Mike.
Harley Davidson, except that it is a motorbike.
I did learn somewhere a while ago that they were
not very good and heading for oblivian until they
bought another bike company, Indian I think, that
is supposed to have saved them from going under!
Is this true?
Mike.
Pappy
Living the Dream
My last bike was this Harley 1200cc, on the right. My buddy and his Sportster, and I were on a trip to Stowe, Vermont. It was a great trip.
rgp
Well-known Member
- Location
- Milford,OH
drifter
Well-known Member
I think not. Separate companies, seperate bikes.
Old Dummy
Who am I? Why am I here?
- Location
- In the backwoods of NYS
This is all from memory, so the dates are probably not accurate. Indian was an early American bike in direct competition with HD. But they went out of business in the 1950s I believe.
Then around 30 years ago someone bought the original Indian name from whomever possessed it. They made new Indians for some years, then they went belly-up too if memory serves.
Now I hear of new Indians again. But I have not kept up with this stuff for the past 20 years or so, and too old and too lazy to Google it so I'm not really sure where Indian motorcycles stands now. But they were never a part of the HD company.
Not true...And Harley Davidson's are manufactured and sold in many other countries all over the world.
Laurie
Senior Member
- Location
- Kingdom of Fife
I'm not an American either, but I know Harley Davidson is not a motor cycle, it's a way of life!
Sturgis is still on my bucket list!
The Indian was a different type of bike altogether.
There’s a great movie called ‘the Fastest Indian’ which stars Anthony Hopkins thats made about the Indian motorcycle. It’s a great movie and a great make of bike.
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-World-s-Fastest-Indian/70043295
