Ages????

[Kubota-monkey]

Lets get a tally here of just how many persons in this forum are under the age of 18...

The Ben from MA /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Kubota-monkey on 1/7/01 01:54 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[PaulB]

Not me - just about to hit 41 next month (and my wife is buying me a Harley Davidson to celebrate! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Wanted one for 20 years, now she says "life is for the living, do what your heart says" Just a Sportster, the "Girls bike" of the Harley line, but a Harley just the same.

 

[Kubota-monkey]

The Sportster is a great looking bike. I have seen quite a few of those around these parts. I live in some pretty serious harley country here /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

The Ben from MA /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

 

[Thomas]

Paul,
Your wife has a good out look on life.
"Girls bike"nope..wrong..no way..etc...for I feel if your comfortable and enjoy the item its have the fun...just like our tractors. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif



Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[ERNIEB]

When I was 17, a long ,long, long time ago, I was doing my very best to get away from tractors/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Thomas and Paul, Remember the old Sportsters. We used to say that if you weren't a motorcycle mechanic when you bought one, you would be one by the time you got rid of it. In 1968, a friend of mine bought a 57 Sportster. I think he spent 1/3 of the time riding it, 1/3 of the time pushing it, and 1/3 of the time wrenching on it./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Now, I hear Sportsters are as dependable as any, and I actually own a tractor. The times they do change.

Ernie
"You can plainly see that the Alamo was never built by a military people for a fortress."
Green Jameson, Jan 1836 (in a letter to Sam Houston)

 

[Bird]

ErnieB, have you ever seen some of these big "get togethers" of motorcycle riders? The Harley owners show up with theirs in a pickup or on a trailer (or their wife following in the pickup); the Honda riders show up on their bikes without the backup transportation./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Harley-Davidson even threatened to sue me because I wouldn't buy their bikes for the police department quite a few years ago (but declined my invitation to have at it); however, I've heard unsubstantiated rumors that they may actually be building something that'll do more than make a deep throated rumbling noise from the exhaust in recent times./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif When I had my Aspencade, I could stop and pick up a 12 pack of beer to put in each saddlebag to carry home. My cousin tried that on his Harley (once only). The vibration popped the tops on every one of them before he got home./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[ERNIEB]

Bird, The only "get togethers" I saw, involved a group that I think is still around, and I'm pretty sure you know who they are. I usually tried to avoid those "get togethers".
There are some folks on here who list motorcycles among their hobby/interests, they would know better than me, but I've been told the Evolution engine Harley now uses is vastly superior to the older twin V's. I know a couple of people who own the newer model Sportsters, and all say they haven't had any problems with them. My guess is the vibration is still with them.

Ernie
"You can plainly see that the Alamo was never built by a military people for a fortress."
Green Jameson, Jan 1836 (in a letter to Sam Houston)

 

[Thomas]

ERNIEB,
Sure do remember those old Sportsters of the 60's,w/ the control shifting on the right side./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif
Maybe thats where the Willy the Wrench & Mickey Mechanic names started. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Thomas]

Bird,
Have to agree about the noise and the vibration.
I had 64 Sportster..80fx..and still have 60 wide glide w/ the side shift.
I'm sure I'll get slack for this part,but now my main ride is Honda 1100 Ace shaft drive...Now when I get off of my back and butt doesn't hurt and I can hear and no more leg cramps riding thru the mountains. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

DFB every get those leg cramps riding thru the mountains. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Heard story about you folks riding your bikes in the Texas sun,than all of a sudden drift off the road....yikes.

Didn't your department have a lowest bid policy on new bikes.



Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

ErnieB, I've heard good things about the evolution engine, but the only one I've actually had any experience with was the first or second year when they came out with that name. A dealer wanted us to "test" one for awhile, and engine seized up within a week. Of course, that's been a few years back.

My own bikes were a Yamaha, 3 Hondas, and one BMW, but haven't had one since '88. With the big Honda and with the BMW, I've made trips of over 800 miles in a day with no more, if as much, fatigue than driving a car, but guess my bike days are over. I just renewed my drivers license and dropped the motorcycle endorsement.

And Thomas, we had a low bid "that meets specs" policy. Harley didn't meet specs, but submitted a bid anyway and thought they could bluff.

Bird

 

[DFB]

Thomas, my main ride is pretty comfortable on the long hauls.(see pic) Rubbermount engine, air suspension front and rear. <font color=blue>YOU HAVE A 1960 DUOGLIDE PANHEAD 74 CI WITH TANK SHIFTER?</font color=blue>/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif I'd like to see that. Wanna sell?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I only go back to '76. Bicentenial edition./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Bird buddy, your showing your age again./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif H-D has been on fire for the past 20 years. Nostalgia, baby boomers and mid life crisis fuel the flames. The price of new tractors and Harleys are pretty close. Honda still has the biggest factory bike a new 1800cc model. Btw I can put a lot a beer in those saddlebags./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Ernie, just for the record the Evo engine has been replaced with a new twin cam design. 1450cc with an available factory boost kit for total displacement of 1550cc. Fuel injection is option too! Sportsters are now 1200cc
Paul, have fun with your new bike. what model sportster do you have in mind.

 

[Boots]

I'm not under 18, but I really wanted a tractor, even back then. I'm now 34, and just purchased my first tractor (used). At what age did everyone here purchase your first tractor?

Take Care,
Boots.

 

[DFB]

41 for my own tractor. Getting older or smarter or maybe both./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Got my first bike when I was seventeen. First H-D at 21. Still got it.

 

[markcg2000]

Got a brand new JD790 last July when I was 37 /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif.

Had the land for it for two years; kept waiting for the great deal on a Ford 8n that never occured. My wife finally decided I was crazy for looking at 50 year old tractors and made me buy a new one /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif that would have a warranty /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

<font color=green>mark</font color=green>

 

[Bird]

Gosh, there's a lot of "kids" on here./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I'll be 61 in less than 3 weeks. And while I operated relatives' and neighbors' tractors, some for fun, some for hire, I didn't actually buy my own until I was 55.

Bird

 

[RobS]

Got my first "real" tractor at my current age of 41. I don't count my Craftsman and a previous Wheel Horse that I inherited. Got the tractor bug as a child (Tru-Scale toys) but really hit as a teenager when I got to use a Kubota at the body shop I was working for.

Been there, done that on the motorcycles too. Two screws in my wrist for it. I was more into Japanese crotch rockets though, not Harleys. Now I'm much happier on my bicycles and tractor.

Rob

 

[roysallis]

In November 1998 my son and I bought 40 acres, mostly pasture. In January 1999 I started shopping for a tractor and drove one at the dealer for the first time, I was 59 at the time. In February I bought a JD5210. Since then my wife, son, daughter-in-law, and myself have put almost 250 hours on it.

 

[markcg2000]

How old are the children using tractors? My son is 11 and my daughter 9, but I won't let them use the tractor until they can safely reach the controls from the seat ... if you can't hit the brake or the clutch, forget it /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

<font color=green>mark</font color=green>

 

[bpence]

I'm 50 as I write this and have had some kind of tractor around most of my life. Growing up on a dairy farm, you learn to love 'em or hate 'em pretty quickly. It's been a while since I've spent hours on a 150 hp flat deck turbo-diesel plowing ground, though. That's something that really demands one's complete and undivided attention.

Had an old Allis Chalmers C that was my "project" for 10-12 years before buying the Kubota B7100 a couple of years ago. Sold the C to a fellow from Ohio who just loves to refurbish old tractors and show/sell them. I hope the old C ended up finding a good home. My wife swears I could take that old tractor apart and put it back together again blind-folded with one arm tied behind my back. The old ones are labors of love, for sure. Even getting it started was always an adventure.

My kids all started working with the lawn tractor (JD 316 and Simplicity prior to that) when they expressed an interest and could safely reach all the controls. And, they all had to recite "Dad's Rules of Safety" and swear to abide by them before they were ever handed the key. I used to spend what seemed like hours just watching them operate the tractors to make sure they were OK before I could turn away and do something else.

Bob Pence

 

[Thomas]

DFB,
Very sharp looking bike. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Sorry the 60 not for sale...to many good memories...hope to pass it down to my nephew. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I thought I was about the only one who ran white walls and stringers plus black bags thru the upper northeast mountains.../w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif guess not. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

I'm sure we must have pass one another thru the years....have you ever seen someone drink a coffee w/ donut crumbs all over them beside the road...that was me. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Have you ever gone tractor hunting on your bike,also stop look at old tractor beside the road....so do get some interesting looks. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif