What is it with Harley riders?

[the old grind]

Good to have threads like this so folks have another place to flame anyone who does what they don't. Besides, us 'Harley Riders' need to be put in our well-deserved places anyway. Reasons:

- We're the guys with the ugly grey beards. (tho' not me)
- We're the ones wearing black all the time as a badge of honor, conforming to no-conformity as it were. (tho' not me)
- We don't care the least bit about anyone else's noise, just want to cover it up with our own. (our rights vs theirs)
- Our bikes are littering the roads with breakdowns and endangering others with puddles of oil scattered just everywhere.
- We're the idiots that see wearing helmets as more dangerous than going without. (not me, btw)
- We're constantly blocking traffic, unable to ride up to normal speed limits.
- We'll never win a race up the tightly winding 'old canyon road' (losers!)
- We don't do wheelies on the freeways, service roads, or 'main drags' thru small towns.
- We're only preserving jobs in a few US states vs where personal accessories and polyester are globally sourced.
- We're the only ones anyone else ever has to listen to coming or going, warning call or not. (that one's silly)
- We don't all have saddlebags or radios, and rarely ride wearing sneakers or sandals.
- Some of us are so stupid we like our bikes as-equipped, even retaining stock exhaust setups. (ok, that's me)

Certainly we're all alike to the last man, and bums like us should be deported so that Lexus & Gold Wing (2 wheeled car) drivers can brag up ALL the reasons they didn't 'Buy American'. Others can then be jealous of and flame them while we waste away in exile. btw: IMO tolerance of those who are different than our ideals is no longer a part of American culture.

A third or fourth owner of a H-D might be a young kid who hasn't mastered the usual upkeep of a bike, but thinks it'd be fun and worth the experience. (same as with tractors??) Import bikes are perfectly fine and provide lots of bang for the buck (in mph?), but a 'third' owner is often stuck with something he bought for a song and avoids the complexity of diagnosing or fixing that one untraceable thing that put it out of service.

I have 6 bikes to dump on my heirs someday (won't sell to empty handed wannabe's) and one is an import, a Yamaha 650 twin that I admit is as fun to ride as any. That it would outrun any of the others anytime or anywhere doesn't mean drifting around someone's horse jogging track in third gear on a hard-tail Sportster isn't fun too.

 

[MossRoad]

The issue is hear it or don't hear it. Even if we don't buy them we still have to listen to them.

 

[DK35vince]

The issue is hear it or don't hear it. Even if we don't buy them we still have to listen to them.

Exactly right.
I have no problem at all if someone rides a Harley.
I have lots of friends and co-workers that are Harley riders.
My only issue is the noise. Nearly every Harley owner/rider I know has the loud pipes. WHY ??
No one else wants to listen to the thing..

 

[polo1665]

The issue is hear it or don't hear it. Even if we don't buy them we still have to listen to them.

Exactly right.
I have no problem at all if someone rides a Harley.
I have lots of friends and co-workers that are Harley riders.
My only issue is the noise. Nearly every Harley owner/rider I know has the loud pipes. WHY ??
No one else wants to listen to the thing..

I'm with these guys. I have many friends who ride Harleys. One of my favorite vacations was an eleven day trip out west with seven other bikers, six of them were Harleys. We had a great time.

The problem I've got with the riders now is the increased decibel level they seem to think is important. You can make the argument that the noise level helps make others aware of a bike's presence, but I am pretty sure that I pose little threat to a cycle rider while I am sitting at a table in a roadside café in a resort town. These guys aren't downshifting. They are sitting in traffic revving their motors so that everyone will notice them. What is really annoying is when the traffic begins to move and they purposely hold back so that they can get a running start to wind through the gears, as loudly as possible, before slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of them. Amazes me that anyone would defend that crap.

.....................and my GL 1800 rolled off of an assembly line in Marysville, Ohio.

 

[KubotainNH]

I've had some sort of motorbike for 25 years. I can't stand loud bikes, doesn't matter if it's a 4 banger or a V twin. The V twins seem to be the most outrageous in my area. I see no correlation between loud and being known you are there. If I'm in a car I rarely notice the loud bike until it is right next to me and at that point I can see it. Why should I have to hear a bike 2 miles away that's over the legal DB limit? My house is at the top of a small hill and the road hits the main road at the bottom of the hill, when these bikes max out the throttle up this hill I can't hear anything inside my house until they are 3/4 mile up the street. This is constant during the summer, I just don't get it. The noise makes me want to run into the bike, not be careful around it. Of course these same folks have no helmet and wear sleeveless shirts. I guess very dead is better than skinned up. When I had a dirtbike it was not uncommon to see a LEO checking the DB levels at the local OHRV area and many places in the country are being closed because of noise.

I don't like loud stereos either but they seldom bother me when I'm in my house.

BTW, that Southpark is hilarious and I never watch that show.

 

[CobyRupert]

Any chance anybody knows the South Park season and episode number (so us Netflix users can find it)?

 

[the old grind]

So any loud twin is automatically an H-D and never a Polaris Victory, modern Indian, or one of the other recent H-D clones, (Asians don't copy anyone, they must've invented the v-twin ) but one brand is bashed by some who barely admit that it's the operator and not the bike?

This thread is not titled "What is it with loud motorcyles" .... OP could have said 'some Harley riders' but didn't, and it still wouldn't prove anyone knew which make they were forced (OMG!!) to listen to. Better to hang a broad label on your frustration than to better distinguish the real offenders, or to admit we just like to get in a few kicks while someone's on the mat?

I can go a whole summer without riding and still hear 4x4 trucks, air traffic, and tractors in the nabe pretty much daily, and all year long. So what is it with those vain and imposing pilots, anyway??? All winter long they drone noisily overhead just when the bikes are garaged and we're enjoying the abject silence of everyday living. You just know it's those Cessnas, but if it wasn't for them it might be the boggers and boom-boxers next in line. (Gotta judge somebody for the sins of whomever. Pick a label & give 'em both barrels. If you're not happy, no one should be?)

Oh, just let it out, all ye sufferers!!!!!

btw: I keep wondering if 'live and let live' only works if someone does it 'our way' anymore. It's the loudest guy that's under the gun here, but over the rumble of my bike's rather quiet OEM exhaust ('89 FXSTS to be 'plated' again this year) you might hear me laughing my ao at all this p__ing and blaming ... er, that's if your not on your noisy tractor again blasting and boppin' along to "The Captain & Tenille".... (all in good fun, right?)
____
Edit: Big ride-in and cookout at my place planned for this summer. All bikes and tractors welcome. Neighbors think loud vehicles are the 'coolest'. (no exhaust queens, please) Polyester slacks will get you advanced swimming privileges. :thumbsup:

 

[PapaPerk]

...............Born to be Mild................:laughing:

Lol!!!

 

[KubotainNH]

So any loud twin is automatically an H-D and never a Polaris Victory, modern Indian, or one of the other recent H-D clones, (Asians don't copy anyone, they must've invented the v-twin ) but one brand is bashed by some who barely admit that it's the operator and not the bike?

This is why I specified V twin, the make matters little to me. I just want the laws followed, if the bikes can be loud then my dirt bike should be allowed to be loud and I shouldn't be pulled over if my car muffler falls off.

 

[DK35vince]

So any loud twin is automatically an H-D and never a Polaris Victory, modern Indian, or one of the other recent H-D clones, (Asians don't copy anyone, they must've invented the v-twin ) but one brand is bashed by some who barely admit that it's the operator and not the bike?

Harley riders are by far the worst offenders for loud bikes. Simple as that.
Loud Harleys are so common in my area that my wife thought they came from the factory that way and wondered why Harley didn't sell a bike with a muffler.
I rarely see a Harley running with a stock exhaust.