Going off the deep end?

[clovishound]

I grew up in Daytona in the 60s and early 70s. During bike week most everybody local stayed home. A few adventurous folks might drive down Main St on the peninsula, but it was pretty rough back then. Nowadays the bikers are mostly professionals who are weekend warriors.

[bandit1250]

I rode bikes since 1968 and I still get the urge to get another one. My wife talks me out of it because she sees the ones come into the hospital after accidents especially if a car or truck was involved. She also knows I can't resist turning the throttle. I got hit head on in '72 and luckily made it through that one but still got back on. The traffic and the text message folks scare me in my compact car so a bike may not be for me anymore. We have had bikes come in the shop broke in half from getting hit by cell phone talkers at traffic lights. I could not make myself buy a Harley because of the noise all the guys around here make all summer long. My neighbors all have them and they know I can't stand the loud pipes and they make it point to blast them right past our house when leaving on them and rattle the windows while we are having dinner. I wish I still had my '68 Dodge Coronet R/T so I could open the headers and do a couple burn outs past there house while they are having company there for dinner. A Harley is fine if you want one but they sound better with stock pipes. As far as a Harley being made here they are not all American made. When I clean one up at work I see Showa on the front forks and rear shocks made in Japan. The carbureted ones have Keihin carburetors or Mikuni. I would not doubt that the injected one have foreign made fuel injection components on them. The cast wheels are not made here on at least some of their models. The gauges are usually foreign made and may be Nippon-Denso. Harley is the assembler using parts from vendors abroad and charging for American made. That is the way most companies operate today. Buy the one you want and like the best and watch out for the folks not watching for you and if your area is like here keep an eye out for deer and bears crossing the roads.

[PT7]

As I already mentioned, ditto, I like talking motorcycles. But as I opened this thread this morning, one brief comment you made stood out to me (in bold below). So I found this web site, and there are a variety of interesting comments on motorcycle driving, ownership, and safety. Just some tidbits for you to glance at, if interested. http://ridingsafely.com/ridingsafely1.html

I can't believe I'm writing this, but I am. The past few days I have been infected by an urge to buy a motorcycle. I've never in my life owned one. I'm too old for a mid-life crisis, so it's not that. I have always been an avid bicyclist, and riding a bike with a motor is even cooler than pedaling one.

I'm not at all sure what type of motorcycle I should look for. I'm a big guy, 6-1, and let's just say it's been awhile since "skinny" has been used to describe me. Although I lived in or near Milwaukee for many years, I'm pretty sure I don't want a Harley. I don't like the noise they make, and frankly they seem overpriced.

If we have any bikers here, I'd welcome suggestions on what type of motorcycles would be good ones to consider.

[JEBar]

finally, some most welcome good news for Elio Motors ===> Elio Motors gets a $2.5 million lifeline from Overstock.com .... I can't believe that any company would pump that much money into another business unless they are certain doing so will result in the company going into production on a level that will make a profit .... I sure wish I knew what they must know

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/24/1727 ... t-offering

[Mistered]

That's not "noise", that's beautiful sound, lol.

Yep - and if we have to explain you WON'T understand......

[Barnaclepete]

I’m in Boulder City, NV for work. There sure are a lot of Harley guys cruising around showing off like....popinjays.(I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction lately). One guy stoped at a stop sign with an old BMW R50 or 60 amidst a pack of Harley show offs. I think they got mad because, ignoring their uniform poorly designed noise makers, I took off my sunglasses to inspect that FINE piece of Bavarian engineering and congratulating they guy for his good taste. I like the old Harley bikers, but in the passed decade or so, the whole Harley and V twin thing has gotten WAY out of hand.

[tractortad]

I own a 1997 Harley Davidson RoadKing and I guess I'm one of those Harley lovers that everyone is bashing in this post. I've been riding bikes for 40 yrs and Harleys for the last 25 yrs. To me, there is nothing like the sound and ride of a big Harley Davidson V-twin putting down the road at about 60 mph. There are motorcycles, and then there are Harleys. To each their own....

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

And, they are US Made to boot.

Just like our Henry's.

[JEBar]

Can cryptocurrency and Overstock save Elio Motors’ 84-mpg commuter .... https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/elio ... ocurrency/ .... after months of literally no news, a bit of sunshine is creeping in ... still to early get excited but its sure nice to have some good news

[The Wiz]

I have had many cycles if my life time but no Harleys. I always thought they were overpriced. I had more Honda's than any other because they just run forever. A few thoughts on riding. Cycles are inherently dangerous, just like guns. Make sure you get training just like you would with guns. Take a Motor Cycle Foundation course , a two day class. Community colleges usually offer them on weekends for a nominal fee. Believe it or not, read up on it . Lots and lots of material. Then practice, practice. I would not get anything bigger than 900 cc's. Remember, if you drop your bike ( and you will) make sure you can pick it up.
My motto when I was riding was " their out to get me", cars, people, animals, etc. But what finally " got " me was my own stupidity. Never think you know it all. And I stopped riding. You have to decide how much more risk you want in your life.

And after 10 years, I still miss it.

[BigAl52]

Ive owned Harleys, Hondas, Suzukis, and Kawasakis. I currently own a Honda F6B which is a Goldwing with no trunk. I think Harley's are overpriced and under powered for what you pay for them. There game is to sell you the Harley cool factor. They want you to return and spend enormous amounts of money to try to gain enough horsepower to be able to run with what other companys give you when you buy theres for less money. The current bike I own for comfort and drivability is the best one I have ever owned. That being said I'm thinking of getting out of it because it doesn't seem like there is a day that doesn't go buy that I don't see someone on there cell phone texting or staring at it while driving. I'm probably sounding like your wife right now ditto but Im not thinking I want to go out of this world via complements of a cell phone. YMMV. Al

[dave77]

I quit riding back in '84. No matter how careful and defensive you are there are too many people out there that don't see small cars let alone motorcycles. 80 year old lady pulled out in front of me from a stop sign. Even though she was barely moving and I was only going around 25mph I ended up laid up for almost a year with a permanently messed up foot.

Just last week I watched a SUV driver cruising through a parking lot right in front of Fred Meyer, eyes straight ahead, paying no attention to pedestrians on both sides of her.

[JEBar]

the rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated ....Elio Motors signs MoU with Automotive Fortune 500 OEM to Provide Powertrain


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