Harley's - Sport Bikes, etc
09-03-2014, 02:53 PM
#41
I'm kinda surprised at how many Harley owners there are here considering they have the worst dollar per horsepower ratio possible. 20K+ to 30K+ for less than a hundred ponies. I'll admit they are the majority bike out on the road near and far and they look good and sound good but I just couldn't pay what they get for them w/o even a hundred ponies at the wheel, not to mention the 2-3" of suspension travel and very poor cornering clearance.
,
Suzuki M109R
, 1800 Gold Wing
, Honda 929 Fireblade
, Honda CBR 1100 Blackbird
, and an amazing Honda Rune,
but once I bought my 2012 Harley Davidson Road Glide
I fell in love with it! Sure it isn't the most powerful, best handling, or most refined bike I've had, not by a long shot, but there was just something about the Road Glide that just fit me better than anything else I'd ever had! The sound, the feel, the heritage... all gets in your blood!
I look at the Harley much like the Vette! Is it the best sports car in the world? Nope! Is it the best built, most relaible? Nope! Is it the most refined, highest hp, best handling, most comfortable....? Nope, but it's made by an American company with a long history of americana, and there's nothing like it, just like the Harley!
09-03-2014, 03:28 PM
#42
Race Director
I've got a 1975 Norton 850 Commando......motor is pulled and in pieces right now......
Last edited by SSWEET; 09-03-2014 at 03:45 PM.
09-03-2014, 03:29 PM
#43
Race Director
Member Since: Jan 2014
Location: Huskerland
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2021 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
99 Twin Cam Ultra.....had it ten years and just sold it....don't know yet what I will get next.....Victory maybe?.....
Who can remember these bikes? This is my winter restore project. A 64 Honda 250 CL Scrambler.....this was the bike to have back in the mid 60's....64 was the only year of the 250.....I had one just like it back in College and then some 305's......
This is what I hope it looks like when I'm done.....
Who can remember these bikes? This is my winter restore project. A 64 Honda 250 CL Scrambler.....this was the bike to have back in the mid 60's....64 was the only year of the 250.....I had one just like it back in College and then some 305's......
This is what I hope it looks like when I'm done.....
Last edited by Huskerman; 09-03-2014 at 03:43 PM.
09-03-2014, 04:11 PM
#47
Drifting
I've been on motorcycles for 50 years now and have done more touring with a bike than I have with a Corvette. Here's one of them...
This I just picked up from a friend so I don't have to ride the touring bike all the time...
and this we use for touring...
This I just picked up from a friend so I don't have to ride the touring bike all the time...
and this we use for touring...
09-03-2014, 04:40 PM
#48
Team Owner
Member Since: Mar 2014
Location: Below the bottom of Berby Hollow, NYS
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TerryL - Take a test ride
Other bikes have been trying to capture the H-D mystique
forever. What does that say?
It's funny - every time I end up paired at a light with a sport bike
and I am on the Harley same thing happens.................
I walk away and see the same thing in my mirror. The sport rider is
looking down at the tach and twisting the throttle.
Other bikes have been trying to capture the H-D mystique
forever. What does that say?
It's funny - every time I end up paired at a light with a sport bike
and I am on the Harley same thing happens.................
I walk away and see the same thing in my mirror. The sport rider is
looking down at the tach and twisting the throttle.
I knew several old-timers (all long dead) who had HDs in their youth during the '20s-'30s-'40s. There really wasn't much else available aside from Indians and a few lesser-known models. These guys rode around before most of the roads were paved, riding in mud half the time and dust the rest of the time. "Handling" back then meant how well you could dodge horse crap, lol. The speed limit was however fast you dared to go. They took their girls for rides, they raced each other, haha, despite everything else that stuff never changes.
You HAD to be your own mechanic back then because flat tires and other problems were quite common (same with cars). Aside from that, the old Harleys were pretty rugged. They had hinged rear fenders so you could pull the rear wheel off while the bike was upright rather than lay it down in the dirt, pull the wheel off and fix the flat.
My love for Harleys goes back to this era and lifestyle, not the Hell's Angels.
One old farmer I knew had a '50s Panhead FL, all original (Hydraglide, rigid frame, had to be a '57 or earlier) that he bought new. Around 1990 I offered him $10,000 for it but he wouldn't sell. He's been dead for 10-15 years and I never did find out who ended up with that bike.
I guess I'm just a nostalgia freak.
09-03-2014, 06:40 PM
#51
Racer
09-03-2014, 07:13 PM
#56
Racer
actually foot clutch/tank shift was available at least into the early 70s, mostly for police bikes in the later years.
have to check w bruce palmer but I think foot shift became available in the early 50s.
guess it took a while for people to get used to it, kinda like square tail lights
09-03-2014, 08:06 PM
#57
Team Owner
Member Since: Mar 2014
Location: Below the bottom of Berby Hollow, NYS
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1956.
actually foot clutch/tank shift was available at least into the early 70s, mostly for police bikes in the later years.
have to check w bruce palmer but I think foot shift became available in the early 50s.
guess it took a while for people to get used to it, kinda like square tail lights
actually foot clutch/tank shift was available at least into the early 70s, mostly for police bikes in the later years.
have to check w bruce palmer but I think foot shift became available in the early 50s.
guess it took a while for people to get used to it, kinda like square tail lights
Back in the mid-80s I looked at a '65 Electraglide which, as I recall, was the last year for Pans and first year for electric start (it was foot shift). It was all original, unrestored, ran nice but I didn't buy it, I bought a Sportster instead. Not sure, but it seems to me he was asking $4,000 for it.
09-03-2014, 08:14 PM
#58
Drifting
That is a sweet '55. I keep thinking about selling my '56 because I'm kind of tired of maintaining a fleet of vehicles. By the way, my panhead is an original paint, nearly 99% original bike. The few parts that I've replaced have always been NOS that I'd hunt up at AMCA swap meets.
Last edited by Revette; 09-03-2014 at 08:18 PM.
09-03-2014, 09:17 PM
#59
Advanced
Sold the 2001 HD for the 2006 Hayabusa, then sold the 'Busa for the Corvette. Then recently got the sport bike bug again. I am going to keep them both this time.
09-03-2014, 09:21 PM
#60
Le Mans Master
Well being that I have ridden most makes and models and owning Honda's that are right along side my Harley. I can say without a doubt, the Harley is the ride I prefer. My Harley has plenty of ponies and corners great and though I don't take corners 50 over the posted speed limit, I have not had issues with 20 or more over (that only happens when I miss the signs 
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)