harley and the special olympicss

Nashco wrote:

Nashco wrote: H-Ds primary goal in life isn't about being fast...but don't kid yourself, nearly every bike they make is still faster than your car in a straight line and in the twisties.

Note that I didn't say "anything with four wheels" but that I said YOUR CAR. I'm making a gamble that none of you guys harping on Harleys are cruising around in an Exige on the weekends looking to eat up a Springer Softail in the hills. Furthermore, it's not very often you see a shifter kart or a Formula Atlantic cruising up the PCH or across Deal's Gap. I must be going on the wrong days. Bob, you're all over the place...you started off going on about the bikes being heavy, poor handling, and too expensive to maintain. Now you're just saying they cost too much to purchase so they don't interest you. Am I the one drinking the koolaid in thinking H-D has great cruisers when I've done back-to-back comparisons? I never said H-D made cheap bikes. Bryce

Yes, the bikes that fit into the price ranges I can, and would, afford are exactly as I stated. You chose to talk about new bikes. That was your choice. New Bikes have they sell have no appeal to me and are overpriced.

What's so hard to follow?

Nashco wrote: Note that I didn't say "anything with four wheels" but that I said YOUR CAR. I'm making a gamble that none of you guys harping on Harleys are cruising around in an Exige on the weekends looking to eat up a Springer Softail in the hills. Furthermore, it's not very often you see a shifter kart or a Formula Atlantic cruising up the PCH or across Deal's Gap. I must be going on the wrong days.

Not to be inflamatory but I will eat up a springer soft tail in my wife's E46 325xIT on snow tires given a twisty enough road.

You went on about people dinging them that haven't ridden them - I have ridden many a Harley, have you ever tried to really wringthe piss out of one? It might "feel" fast but its not.

EDIT: My original point was that it does not take a remarkable car to out pace a bike. It just takes turns and an average one.

I think it matters how a road is set up whether a car is faster or slower. If there are long straights into tight fast turns I think a bike would win, but if the roads is tight turn after turn the cars extra grip will win. So if the road is straights the bike accelerates faster out of the curves than the car but the car can have a higher average speed through the turns. The more time spent on the straights the advantage goes to the car. It also matter how well the bike can brake to keep the straights longer and lessen the time in the turn.

Nashco wrote: benzbaron, you're being generous at 50%, I bet it's closer to 80% of the people that bag on H-Ds haven't ridden one...

...and 90% of the people that bag on Harleys couldn't give a crap if the ride good or not, they just don't want to be forced to hear them...

There's truth to that. Loud pipes might save some lives, but helmets save a lot more. Put a muffler on it and lose the bandanna, I'll take HD riders and their bikes more seriously.

Really? I feel like we've been down this road before...

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/southpark-has-a-word-for-harley-riders/15804/page5/

... whatever, my head hurts, I'll stop banging it against the wall.

Bryce

Bryce, we're different people. We have different opinions. Why bang your head against a wall to try and change someone's opinion? Yours is no more "right" (or wrong) than ours. You love Harleys, great for you. I don't. I have a really good friend who spent YEARS selling parts and service for them that tells me I am smart with my thinking.... but onlt on this. I am sure you have friends with similar experience telling you the same. That's what life is man.

Relax. Have a cold one on me.

I will admit, I am not a HD fanboy but I got my A$$ handed to me by a big twin. I was on my $18k+ eye-tailion sport bike to boot.

Somewhere close to deals gap, I was very unfamiliar with the roads and overwhelmed by them (it isn't northeast Ohio) and a guy who I am guessing was very familiar with the roads and wanted to show me up. If it weren't for the straight sections, he would have lost me.

Granted, I am not the fastest guy on the street, but I had won several WERA championships and even had my pro license for a while.

As far as bikes vs cars, give me a stock 600cc bike vs a stock sub $100k new car and lets hit the track. When SCCA had the runoffs at Mid Ohio I used to watch them on Speed and my best race lap times were better then most of the car times that I saw (and the bikes use a bus stop chicane before the keyhole).

Rusnak_322 wrote: I will admit, I am not a HD fanboy but I got my A$$ handed to me by a big twin. I was on my $18k+ eye-tailion sport bike to boot.

Thats too bad that your pasta burner got punked by a farm tractor. I once smoked a 1200 sportster with my two strokin, rice burnin, RD350

I find threads like this funny.

I have a 2005 Sportster 883. It has mufflers on it and I wear a full face helmet btw. I don't own it because I want to go fast. I own it because that's what I wanted. I understand that that's not what everybody wants and that's cool. My brother has a CBR900. He loves it. I have no interest in doing 160mph on 2 wheels.

To each his own.

alex wrote:

ReverendDexter wrote:

alex wrote: Harley is different. They're not building bikes, they're building a brand - a task at which they've had incredible success for more than the past decade. But, their market is drying up as boomers get too old to ride, so they're going to have to make some big changes if they want to continue their dominance. I predict that their days as king of the hill are numbered, but I've been surprised before.

Yeah, I don't think killing off Buell was the best idea. Weren't they the only American sport bike manufacturer? Now if you want an American bike, you're buying a cruiser.

I agree. It does not speak well for their capacity to adapt to change. Seems more like they're clamoring for money.

In fairness, I think HD saw VERY hard times coming and decided to focus on what they do best. There was no reasonable expectation that Buell was going to take on the Big 4 making performance bikes and be able to make a worthwhile profit, I don't think....

In reply to jwdmotorsports:

I have a sport bike and also have no interest in going 160.but i do enjoy a bike that works well . it is nice riding a bike that shifts well, turns well, and brakes!It is kinda like having an M3 , you can drive it every day and for commuting. but if a need comes up be it speed or stopping they are better handled.

Here's what a bike can do to a car on the track - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj0UjUo5Jsw

http://www.kennycoolbeth.com/ <-- I worked with his cousin.

Harleys can be blazingly fast.