What is it with Harley riders?

[MossRoad]

My cousin had a Kawi 500 triple two stroke. Scariest thing I ever rode! :shocked: Wheelie magnet.
...
Joe

Yep. That thing was great.... in a straight line. They were know as death bikes in the curves because they had crummy wheel bearings and if you were leaning into it and gave it too much gas the front end would lift and you'd go bye-bye.

 

[MossRoad]

Here' take a 9 second ride on a chainsaw!!! :laughing:

750 Kawasaki Triple 1/4 mile - YouTube

 

[Marveltone]

Yep. That thing was great.... in a straight line. They were know as death bikes in the curves because they had crummy wheel bearings and if you were leaning into it and gave it too much gas the front end would lift and you'd go bye-bye.

Very true! The side cover and other assorted parts were held together with JB Weld and who knows what else, due to too many brushes with the pavement.

Joe

 

[k0ua]

I can't imagine needing 130 horse in a bike. My little KZ650 had 62 horsepower, and if you were following a car and wanted to pass , you had to make sure you were well pulled out before you "twisted its ear" or you would be eating a trunk for lunch. The thing had awesome (at least to me) torque and acceleration. I can attest for sure it would run off and hide from a Harley sportster. I know several of the bikes you guys are describing would eat my little Kaw's lunch but how much power do you really need?

 

[sd455dan]

I think most of the bikes have plenty stock- My 1978 z1000 is plenty for me. but these new bikes are over the top KTM just released a new version of their Super Duke street bike -the Super Duke R rated @ 180 hp with a curb weight of 417lb.

 

[k0ua]

I think most of the bikes have plenty stock- My 1978 z1000 is plenty for me. but these new bikes are over the top KTM just released a new street bike -the Super Duke R rated @ 180 hp with a curb weight of 417lb.

Wow.! just Wow! Where do you open up a bike like that? A closed track?

 

[sd455dan]

When Motorcyclist Mag tested it they went to Spain and ran it both at the track and on the streets - one of their comments was (So fast you'll forget how to form complete sentences!)

 

[jmc]

Yep. That thing was great.... in a straight line. They were know as death bikes in the curves because they had crummy wheel bearings and if you were leaning into it and gave it too much gas the front end would lift and you'd go bye-bye.

I had the blue 500. (1971). Yes about bad handling. Hard to keep up with my friends in the curves. They called it my Kowasloppy. One theory was that they made the frame tubing too light to keep the weight down. Wheel bearings might explain it too. Lucky to be alive.

 

[milkman]

Here' take a 9 second ride on a chainsaw!!! :laughing:

750 Kawasaki Triple 1/4 mile - YouTube

Nice ride. Here's one that makes my hair stand up on my neck and my heart about thumps out of my chest. One crazy ride, don't know if the guy is still alive or not. The vid is about 13 minutes long and in parts of it you can see that his digital speedo is pegged at 299kph.

Ghost Rider - Uppsala Run - OMG WATCH - YouTube

 

[Boondox]

I don't understant it either. Why don't they fine them for unnecessary noise? Next, they can go after those dang airplanes. They disturb many square miles of peace and quiet at any given moment!

Both my bikes are quiet as sewing machines; I've never understood the loud pipes thing. If you like the sound, great, but why share it with the world? Wouldn't it make more sense to save it as a .wav file and put it on your iPod? That way they could enjoy the sound through earbuds and others could enjoy the absence of it. And don't get me started on the loud pipes save lives crap!

 

[Egon]

iPod Pete? How do you keep a "Bad Boy Image" listening to an iPod and having to check the RPM display to see if the bike is running.

 

[Boondox]

iPod Pete? How do you keep a "Bad Boy Image" listening to an iPod and having to check the RPM display to see if the bike is running.

Not sure, old friend. But those pipes are annoying enough voters that we're all being painted with the same broad brush. I'm tired of being turned away from campgrounds even though my bikes are as quiet as can be. NY State setup motorcycle only checkpoints that are of dubious legality because they single out one group, but the vast majority of voters in that state applaud the move. That ought to tell the pirates something.

 

[Pine Strip]

All this talk of Motorcycles on this forum..... just had to stop at the local dealer yesterday and check out a 2010 & 2006 pair of Goldwings for sale. I sold mine less than a year ago, and I've been clean ever since.

 

[the old grind]

A wise speed demon ought to know better than to wear cop-caller pipes! I bet my H-D has all of fifty hp, enough to keep up with traffic and enough to go much faster than I care to. I don't appreciate loud pipes when somebody roars past me doing 75 or 80mph on the freeway (boring place to ride unless traveling)... drowns out the sound of my cam gears and lifters. Yeah, that's me over in the slow lane, whether riding or driving. ('pocketa-pocketa-pocketa')

btw: If my garage door is open when a meter reader guy pulls up I often hear, "want to sell that bike?" & I wonder if he can read want ads or CL listings to find a better deal than I'd offer , might have shown him others in the barn as alternatives, but fear a rough-looking guy like him might come back with friends and load up while I'm getting a haircut or something. IMO, if these guys could afford a bike they'd already have one and want to tell me about it. None of the ladies sent out have ever asked me to take them for a ride. Guess I never know which days to spalsh on the AXE. :confused3:

 

[TomSeller]

Nice ride. Here's one that makes my hair stand up on my neck and my heart about thumps out of my chest. One crazy ride, don't know if the guy is still alive or not. The vid is about 13 minutes long and in parts of it you can see that his digital speedo is pegged at 299kph.

Ghost Rider - Uppsala Run - OMG WATCH - YouTube

That guy deserves to hit a tree. He is endangering the lives of innocent people.

 

[mjarrels]

I'm spending the winter in the Philippines, land of 110 - 155 CC motorbikes. Went shopping at pure gold (Costco type store) and what did I see at the stoplight. Three big Harley's being ridden by expats living here. No noise.

mark

 

[TCowner]

JMC, I had the same blue 1971 H1 Mach III. Below 5800 rpm it was slower than a Honda 90 but at 5800 rpm hang on because the 60 hp hit all at one time. Harleys,, Nortons and even the 750 Honda was just left in my cloud of blue two stroke oil. It was a trick to launch the darn thing. Just lean as far forward as possible, take up to 7000 rpm and let it go. The first rear tire lasted about 1000 miles. It was the fastest bike around, that is, until Kawasaki had the gall to release the 750 Mach IV in 1972. I was no longer the fastest.

That defeat still haunts me to this day.

 

[MossRoad]

JMC, I had the same blue 1971 H1 Mach III. Below 5800 rpm it was slower than a Honda 90 but at 5800 rpm hang on because the 60 hp hit all at one time. Harleys,, Nortons and even the 750 Honda was just left in my cloud of blue two stroke oil. It was a trick to launch the darn thing. Just lean as far forward as possible, take up to 7000 rpm and let it go. The first rear tire lasted about 1000 miles. It was the fastest bike around, that is, until Kawasaki had the gall to release the 750 Mach IV in 1972. I was no longer the fastest.

That defeat still haunts me to this day.

I recall pulling up next to a VMax at a stoplight on my highly modified RD400. The guy starts inching forward and revving his engine, so I obliged. Now he's thinking "400, you've got to be kidding". Well, the light turns green and he thinks he's just gonna ease the throttle and walk away, while I launch from about 6K rpms. See ya buddy!!! Eat my blue smoke! :licking: Hahaha I had him for a good block and a half. Buy the time he caught up to me I was stopping for the next light. Needless to say, I did not give him a chance to redeem himself. Had he launched he would have torn me up. Never underestimate a small displacement 2 stroke. It takes almost twice as much 4 stroke to compete.

Now I did see a rather impressive Harley at the drag strip around 1980.... this thing was highly modified. The guy launches, runs out of fuel 3/4 of the way down the track, blows the rear tire and still turns a sub-nine second run! THAT was impressive! :thumbsup:

 

[npalen]

This is an old thread that I had started what seemed like a couple years ago but I see it has been much longer than that.

What I was questioning is why Harley riders have to "blip" their throttle when pulling up to a stop etc. I was thinking that they just like the sound of their engine and got a lot of "blips" of feedback in this thread.

Reading the article posted below made me remember many years ago driving stick shift cars pickups,trucks and, yes even a Harley 74CI back in the fifties, that "blipping" the throttle was an aid in downshifting.

I don't recall anyone in this thread mentioning this as the reason for Harley riders doing just the same without going back and reading the whole thread. Just seems odd so wondering if a lot of riders do it "automatically" without thinking about the reason?

The article is about motorcycle quick-shifting and the automatic "blip" when down shifting. Interesting stuff!

How does a quickshifter work? - RevZilla

Quickshifters are becoming more common on more kinds of motorcycles. Here's what they do.

www.revzilla.com