Us vs them

[STEVE07]

My buddy that I ride with the most can say this. He's a good friend!! He has an Ultra, 2 harley style customs, a Triumph Speed Triple, a Ducatti Monster, and a Yamaha 250 dirt bike. And I've ridden all of them. He has an opinion or two.

It would be fun to play in his garage

 

[jd4300]

mine would be if they drove a honda " Oh they make lawn mowers too right? suzuki samari ?, and i hear kawazaki makes tools for home depot ?

as a side note i have owned each one of the above brand bikes. each one was great for what it was at the time

 

[hobo55]

Why bother saying anything?

 

[SeaRider04]

Why bother saying anything?

Exactly. Either you ride or you don't. I don't care what you ride, just ride.

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

I bought my Harley because that bike was a staple in my life growing up. My dad wanted one so bad, in the summer time it was all he talked about. When the day came that I could actually afford one I jumped at the chance...

I guess it's a strength in numbers thing. And when we go out they talk about how their bikes are faster (I don't care, I didn't buy a crotch rocket, I'm not trying to go fast) when we park at a biker friendly establishment they go out of their way to park their bikes away from the Harley's, it's down right annoying.

The way I see it is these "other" bikes are the ones that have the problems with us. "You only buy a Harley to fit into a mold" I need some good come backs or something, I'm getting verbally beat up when we get together. Look, its either I get good with the verbal judo or I'm blowing both their bikes up. :small3d011: :s

No comeback needed, owned metrics for years, the banter of Us vs them was really that...when it comes down to it there is only one Harley, the others are just pretenders...! Your friends are just brainwashed simply because tons of technology and R&D has been poured into them just to be in the same league does not mean they are better...just different! You have no illusions of being a pretender or an ax to grind to justify your ride...just tell them you like Harley and a MOTORCYCLIST first...don't have a need to KNOCK someone's ride to prove it...!:cheers

Maybe a lesson in why the Goldwing by Honda is so popular...all the R&D and marketing was done here in America...from people who owned touring bikes --uh Harley?!!! Think they would have hit the mark if they developed it on a far away island with no really open roads or using any testimony on the Japanese mainland?...they just listened REALLY well to those in the know and learned the nits and picks of the touring bike industry using technology also from here in the States. Not bad that Yamaha and others can thank their existance to this fact: Harley and Honda competing for the same business actually are both the better for it and the industry as a whole reap the benefits as well.

 

[01dynaglide]

I would ask them how many years has the metric bike that they are riding been making bikes. Then hit them with "that's all, Harley has been since 1903. they must been doing something right." Fads don't have 106 year anniversarys like Harley will have this year.

 

[tlyoungb]

When ever some metric rider gives me grief, I always ask. "Hey when was the last time you saw a 1903 Honda, or whatever." Then I just trun around jump on my bike and ride off into history.

 

[gs34]

I don't think you really need to say anything. You bought what you wanted. Did they REALLY buy what they wanted?
Their bikes can be faster than yours. They can cost less than yours. They can handle better than yours. They can be more hi-tech than yours.
BUT, no matter how hard they try, they can never be the thing that your bike is...
A Harley Davidson......and bottom line is, that is what they are trying to emulate the most.

 

[brderj]

I'm absolutely not going out looking for fights, and typically I never say anything, even when the ribbing is aimed at me the most. I usually don't care, I have what I have and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It just bothers me that people have this stigma about Harley riders being stuck up, when in fact I have never heard another Harley owner giving grief to anyone else. I'm sure it happens, and I'm sure the stigma has a reason, I'm just saying I've never seen it. I guess I just needed to vent a bit, I feel better after putting 100 miles on my bike today, those two didn't even bring theirs out of the garage.

Oh, and a guy I work with has a Honda. When I took my daughter out on my bike she became a 100% Harley fan. SHE is the reason there is a Harley stigma out there!!! Anyway, she see's my friends bike and says "Daddy, is that a Harley?" I told her that it wasn't and that it was a Honda. She said "A Honda? I thought they made cars?" The smartest 7 year old ever!!

 

[steve299]

I do what is right for me, not others. I ride what I want to ride, not what others think I should. I served my country for 20 years because I wanted to, not because others said I should. WHO CARES WHAT OTHERS THINK, I do what I want.