This has gotta hurt

[Tigeress]

Originally posted by Jackal1
Watch and learn.

CC!

I have ridden on the back of a Harley and caught the H-D bug as a result.
Actually got MC added to my driver's license when I was like 24 and was given the chance to drive a sportster... hoooyah

Unfortunately, I lost its balance at a stop light and could not keep it from laying down; it was heavy...

I felt sooo bad about it... but the guy was cool about it although he never let me drive it again. lol A guy behind me got off his bike and pull it back on its kickstand then picked me up by the waist and plopped me back on it.

Can't explain the H-D bug; just have to experience it...

That was when I was young and foolish!
I doubt anyone could talk me onto the back of a motorcycle today...
But... never lost that H-D bug

Last time I rode on the back of a motorcycle was in Singapore in 1998.

Was given a ride back from work to the hotel via an 8 lane highway in  very heavy fast moving traffic by a Singaporean-Chinese male colleague.

from --> http://www.mot.gov.sg/landtransport/milestones.htm

Scared the absolute living **** out of me!!!
Cars tend to hug or drive on lane divider lines and change lanes without signalling or even looking many times and the guy I was riding with was weaving in and out of all this... OMG!!!!!!!

I had my arms wrapped around him so tight I don't think he was the same for a week!

It was one of those big bad-ass Japanese crotch-rockets as he put it.
A blue one...

My knees were shaking so bad when I got off it I almost fell down. HAHAHAHAHAHA I went straight to the hotel bar and had several Jack & Gingers and a cigarette to calm down.

I waited for taxis after that.

TIGERESS

[StSanta]

I've ridden several of the Chinese motorcycles.

Sure, they're dirt cheap. And they're still seriously overpriced.

Motorrad, a German biking magasine, has done several serious tests on them. On one of them, the back end just fell off. Other structural failures include the front fork, the chain system and the rear damper(s).

They corrode horribly, the welding is absolutely poor. They can't hold compression, have worse suspension than a pogo stick, huge dips in the torque curve, heavy for their size and are generally just about five or six decades behind the Japanese with a reliability record that'd make the captain of the Exxon Valdez blush.

Sure, they might get better in the future - I expect them to improve and at least get just a few strides behind a mediocre Japanese bike. But they got a long way to go just to get there.

I'll settle for this Suzuki for now:



The SV650S - now this is a near bulletproof little machine. Doesn't have the HP of a supersport but the grin factor of this 90 degree V-twin is off the charts

[Tigeress]

Originally posted by StSanta
I've ridden several of the Chinese motorcycles.

Sure, they're dirt cheap. And they're still seriously overpriced.

Motorrad, a German biking magasine, has done several serious tests on them. On one of them, the back end just fell off. Other structural failures include the front fork, the chain system and the rear damper(s).

They corrode horribly, the welding is absolutely poor. They can't hold compression, have worse suspension than a pogo stick, huge dips in the torque curve, heavy for their size and are generally just about five or six decades behind the Japanese with a reliability record that'd make the captain of the Exxon Valdez blush.

Sure, they might get better in the future - I expect them to improve and at least get just a few strides behind a mediocre Japanese bike. But they got a long way to go just to get there.

I'll settle for this Suzuki for now:



The SV650S - now this is a near bulletproof little machine. Doesn't have the HP of a supersport but the grin factor of this 90 degree V-twin is off the charts

Same things were said of Japanese products at one time and were justified. Look at Japanese products today... mmmm... your bike is a Suzuki! never mind!

Got an audio of it running?

Back seat looks scarrrry!

Beautiful MC you got there!

TIGERESS

[Jackal1]

 Ummmmm..errrrrrrrrr....--------> Nevermind.


What has been witnessed in the H-D world the last few years is a Yup trend/fad.
It has helped and hurt in some instances . The 10 year plan just went beyond all expectations.
It will be milked for everything it has while it lasts. No doubt.
Some new Yup fad will come down the pike and take it`s place.
Then it will be what has always kept H-D what it is, the biker.
20K, a gold card and 300 miles does not make you a bro.
H-D sort of turned it`s back on the lifestyle for a while in the name of the allmighty buck as most companies will do.
Down played the image. That`s what started the big Yup trend.
It`s sort of funny now that the very image that they tried so hard to play against in the media and promotions..........is now being used for promotion.
When it was made easier in some countries to obtain a Harley, they went for it.
Before that was the big push for rebuildables (basket cases). Everything that could be scraped up was purchased and Connexed overseas. It was a gold mine for gold diggers.
It also ran prices up on parts by depleting supplies. Used to be you could scan adds for basket cases by the numbers any day of the week and take your choice at a reasonable price. Most of the scoots that were rebuilt relied on H-D parts for the basics .......... jugs, pistons, rings, gears, etc., etc. You went to H-D for the parts. Good for H-D before the big push and also the very foundation of what kept it afloat during some pretty lean times......the biker.
Along came companies such as S&S to fill the void that had been made.
Now H-D is having to repair some damage done since it has been proven that the die hard will have what he wants one way or the other. Quality has also been equaled and surpassed by these companies.
Things will settle down with a new twist. H-D has formed and made new partnerships with these companies and relearned where the bread is actualy buttered from.
Time to come home.