Sleeper

[red bandit]

Anybody put 750 emblems on their 11? Then go looking for Harleys!

[CatatonicBug]

Dunno what difference it would make. There isn't enough chrome on the XS to catch the attention of the Hardley riders, and they don't have a desire to go fast enough to challenge even a true 750. Reminds me of Ramone, in Disney's Cars movie... "Low and slow..."

[Ivan]

The guys on the sporty choppers around here are the aggressive Harley riders. I can usually get them to hook up, but in town its more about who has the bigger pair than the faster bike. 80+ down main in heavy traffic and see who brakes first. I guess I am too stupid to loose.

As far as an all out drag race, on my 81 with the 750 FD, they get me off the line, but have to shift two to three times before I hit second. By the time I do hit second, its usually all over. Some of the good guys that weigh $1.50 less than I do and a big engine can keep up, but they still have a payment every month.

On my 79 with the 1100 FD, well that is a different story. That thing is bad to the bone and will make my 81 look like a 250 Virago.

[fredintoon]

Anybody put 750 emblems on their 11? Then go looking for Harleys!

Hi Red,
another Harley slagger eh? What's wrong with them? Apart from being old-fashioned and overweight, that is, but WTF, so am I.
Also beyond my price range but not as much so as a Ducati and really not as much so as a Vincent.
OTOH, I toured Cape Breton Island's Cabot trail this summer (alas, in a rented car) and the trail was wall to wall motorcycles.
I would estimate ~60% of them were Harleys. Lotsa old geezers riding them, too. Southernmost Harley plate I saw was from Florida.

[stoked]

I have only run into one person that new what the XS eleven emblem on my bike meant. And he was riding one. Everyone else has no clue. Mine is most often assumed to be a CB750, even with the Yamaha on the tank.

[tw1980]

I have only run into one person that new what the XS eleven emblem on my bike meant. And he was riding one. Everyone else has no clue. Mine is most often assumed to be a CB750, even with the Yamaha on the tank.

Yeah I was at the Yamaha dealer the other day talking to them about the new Xmax and looking at some R1's.The salesman asked me what kind of bike I road and I got a lot of puzzled looks.The service manager was the only one who knew what I was talking about.

Terry

[redbone]

most harley riders/owners have their bikes simply as status symbols. a great deal of the older riders started on the jap bikes and know what the mighty beast xs11 is. they will not challenge you, [they hate to be embarrased] especially in front of the rest of the posse.
it's them younger, new harley ridin, status seeking, bandana sporting, no helmet wearing, pony tail types that will give you a try.
ALWAYS, put them in their place accordingly.
peace out,
redbone

[madmax-im]

You know folks that H-D riders for the most part are just like us...but like any group loyal brand they do have a few lacking a good mentality...so really nothhing unique about that or exclusive to one brand of riders. H-Ds' are not the kind of bikes i would ride, but I would no less respect them as I would want to be respected...going around looking for H-Ds' just to beat them in a race is pretty immmature stuff. JMHO

[CatatonicBug]

it's them younger, new harley ridin, status seeking, bandana sporting, no helmet wearing, pony tail types that will give you a try.

Around here, the only ponytails are made of white hair, and usually match the long white beard. The young ones all ride crotch rockets or have chopped their bike so much that the only thing left that can be considered a HD is the engine.

[DiverRay]

I was on a LARGE ride last fall. The older HD riders KNEW what I was riding, and gave me a thumbs up as I was going past. The younger ones just sneered, but got put down by the older HD crowd! I was on the MNS, and this was about one month after I got it. I DID have one older rider give me a bad time, until I told him to count the exhaust pipes! He thought it was an 850MNS, as he didn't know they made an XS1100 MNS. He didn't want to race once he realized his mistake!

[cywelchjr]

I was on a LARGE ride last fall. The older HD riders KNEW what I was riding, and gave me a thumbs up as I was going past. The younger ones just sneered, but got put down by the older HD crowd! I was on the MNS, and this was about one month after I got it. I DID have one older rider give me a bad time, until I told him to count the exhaust pipes! He thought it was an 850MNS, as he didn't know they made an XS1100 MNS. He didn't want to race once he realized his mistake!

I haven't really run into an HD rider that didn't respect my XS. As a matter of fact I had a few who have admired my XS400 (they said it sounded good (I guess the almost straight pipe original exhaust helps)) as well. But I do know that most of them do NOT respect most of the Japanese HD clones. I don't think it's about them not being U.S. made, but rather that for the most part there is no real originality, just a copy of the most popular motorcycle in the world (notice I didn't say the best, just the most popular).

[Crazcnuk]

"You know folks that H-D riders for the most part are just like us...but like any group loyal brand they do have a few lacking a good mentality"

I put it to you that pretty much the whole group lacks intelligence. Let's look at the facts.

Name ONE reason to buy a hoggie over all the other brands out there:

Power? no (like a tugboat, slow but sure)
Speed? no (1920's technology)
Handling? no (like racing a tub)
Reliability? no (Yeah right)
Features? no (They just started using 1970's CB radios!)
Quality? (fit and finish) no
Comfort? no (vibration)


So what is they buy them for? People buy Harleys because thier penis is too small and they think that by buying a bike that some tough rowdy types rode back in the late 40's early 50's, the rest of us will think that thier penis is much larger than it really is.

This is why most of them also put on loud pipes, because when they ride down the street, with normal pipes, they notice no one is looking at them, to see how big thier penis is.

This is also why most biker get togethers are largely crowds of Hogs, it is a group therapy thing where they can sit around and reassure each other they didn't get ripped off on thier new bike.

The funny part is, if you look at the modern harley riders, they are mostly old guys (mid-life crisis) young punks (who know nothing about bikes) and tiny women trying to act cool with a bike that is too large for them to comfortably maneuver.

[Geezer]

If you really want to screw with Harley riders get an old RD350 or RD400 and set the oil injector up on the rich. you'll blow by the hogs so fast they won't know what happened and you'll leave them in a smoke cloud that James Bond would be proud of.

Geezer

[tw1980]

I don't care what kind of bike other people ride.If they ride it legally,safe and enjoy themselves that's my only rule.

Terry

[Poprock]

HD rider waved at me the other day...right before he reached up and held his nose as I rode by. I've been ignored by 'em before but that was the first disrespect. My impulse was to U-turn and blow by him, but the county mounties are hungry around here and I didn't want to lose to him in an immaturity contest. As much pull as HD has with the gummint, we're lucky we can still ride Jap bikes, so I just enjoy mine.