Should I do it?

“Post a pic of who will be riding on the back with you...then we'll decide.”

“Is that a Honda Davidson?”

“sure go ahead, just make sure you write me in your will”

“Marko, it's a Drifter.”

“Ewker, I got knocked off one of these when I was 24. Still here.

”

“or your ghost is =)”

“Feeling lucky, punk?


”

“No more than usual.

”

“I say yes. You should.”

“pheady I was actually debating whether to get a harly for myself or do a thru hike...”

“There's no way I could leave work long enough for a through-hike of anything other than a drivethru. But I could make my weekends a little more fun getting to a trailhead or two...

”

“thats what i was thinking pheady-

I could risk not getting my cushy job back that everyone wants and do the thru-hike OR get one of those and ride around with my hair flying in the wind.....in tight leather...”

“Not to put too big a damper on things but Obi was in an accident by Lake Berryessa on the 4th. He broke a few bones in his hand and got banged up but is otherwise going to be ok. He is probably going to replace the bike.....”

“My personal feelings about motorcycles aside, if it's really what you want, yes, by all means go for it and have some fun!”

“Hell yes, ride 'em if ya gottem.”

“Born to be Wild! Go for it!”

“NO!!!!



Not not full dressed HOG!


Show how cool you really are on a chopper.”

“Indians totally rule the day, but you're better off buying a Harley. The resale value will always be better. If you just want a bike that looks cool for less $$, take a look at the Honda VTX 1800. For under $8K you can get a nice bike, throw on a set on Vance and Hines pipes and you'll be rocking down the road.”

“would you really want to leave a bike at a trailhead?”

“I've had Harley's, dirt Yamaha's & 4 cyl Honda's. If I ride another I will buy it, so I don't. One day I was riding the windy gravel roads of the beachwoods at about 70. The speed limit was half that & I had it laid down on it's side. A big 'ol woodchuck shot out from the side of the road & I braced for the taste of gravel. This was gonna hurt. Well I hit him with the front & rear wheels but somehow the bike stayed up. The next day, coming home from work on a winding highway (again around 70). A deer climbed the embankment around the resovoir & I couldn't see it until it jumped the guard rail. I could touch it jumping across my face. Don't know how I didn't go down on that one either. A day or two after that another deer ran along side me. That was it for me. SOMEBODY was giving me an awful lot of chances. Left my bike in my shed for a few years & gave it away to a pastor with a lot of adopted kids who wanted one badly. Haven't rode since. I've seen a lot of co-workers mangled.”

“Navi: I'm cool even if I ride a tricycle. :)

Pepper: I know how he feels.

Packrat: The bike pictured is a Kawasaki Drifter. The 800cc MSRP's for less than 8k. The 1500 is aound 10.

Goat: I would do it at certain trailheads, but you're right about others.”

“The older I get, the more freinds I lose on bikes. Just lost another one on Sunday. It's not the cycle riders who are usually at fault, it's the people driving their nice safe cars and trucks. In this instance a guy in a F350 thought he could make a left turn and beat the two cycle riders. One rider made it, the other one hit his door. Mother of 2, new harley for christmas, dead on the road. I don't like cycles because they offer no protection from the other idiots on the road.”

“I used to race motocross and survived some pretty wild crashes --- in the dirt. I had a few close calls on street bikes and decided they weren’t for me.

I’ve got two friends with artificial legs because of them.

Suit yourself stumpy.”

“I had a friend in college that was a volunteer fireman. He told me he responded to a call where a guy riding a Honda Goldwing was sitting at a traffic light when he was rear ended by a Toyota pickup. The Goldwing suffered some damage but the rider was able to ride it home. The pickup suffered far more damage and had to be towed away.”

“In 1974, 2 Days before deployment to Germany, I got rear ended by a Corvette. the front of the car rode the rear tire on my motorcycle up under the rear fender and back down....my fender opened his hood like a can opener...curled a slice back about 6 inches...bent my fender up about 1/4"....

The Corvette had just (Within the last 15 minutes) come out of the paint shop with a custom two tone metal flake paint job....

Can you say Karma? I knew you could.....”

“These are reflective of the new midlife crisis - right?”

“I covered an inquest a few years ago where a guy had won the lottery. First thing he did was go out and buy a harley - killing himself in an accident on the way home from the dealership.”

““I covered an inquest a few years ago where a guy had won the lottery. First thing he did was go out and buy a harley - killing himself in an accident on the way home from the dealership.”
Y2
2:08:38 PM
7/11/05
ignore this user

Sounds like the plot for an episode of The Twilight Zone.”

“If you're going to get one, you have to get a cool jacket to go with it.

”

“

I pick it up today.

WEEE!”

“Nice knowing you. Good luck.”

“Thanks. You don't know me, but thanks anyway.

1500 cc's of fat bore power should keep me honest.

BTW, I can hook up my laptop to the electronic fuel injection module and modify the ratios, torque bands, timing and idle without ever picking up a wrench. Ain't technology great?”

“If that is a Harley I say do it. If that's a Ricer acting like a Harley I say don't do it.”

“Just don't tell your wife.”

“It's obviously not a harley. Harleys never had fenders like that, and Indian is now (once again)defunct. It's a Kawasaki Drifter, and I've done my homework on the brand names. I wouldn't buy a harley, and if I was given one, I would sell it.”

“LOL @ Buck”

“"I wouldn't buy a harley, and if I was given one, I would sell it.”

I've said it once I'll say it again, why oh why do you hate America Phaed? LOL!

I want a Kawasaki Concours.”

“I wouldn't buy a harley, and if I was given one, I would sell it.”
Phaedrus
2:39:04 PM
8/03/05

BB will be so crushed. ;-)”

“Touring bikes are pretty damn cool.

When the guy was giving me the demonstration, he brought out the laptop and adjusted the idle and timing down to that low-end "po-pop, po-pop" rolling idle that Harleys have. Then he showed me the actual cost of almost 10 hp and 5 miles per gallon for that idle. yikes!”

“$2.94 @ Walmart.

”

“Don't forget the oil pad for underneath the harley in the garage, and the AAA membership for when it breaks down on the highway in the desert.”

“The 80's are over Phaed. Harleys are the best cruiser out there. You should have just waited three years when the Drifter would be down to about $2,500 in depreciation.






















I'm just kiding. Remember, I ride a damn Honda scooter. Have fun on your bike!”

“LOL! It never ceases to amaze me how brand loyal Harley owners are. The image seems to be the biggest factor in buying one. While I admit, I really like the styling of the old Indian Chiefs, I was NOT going to spend 23k on a damn motorcycle.”

“I'm not a bike guy but from what I know about cars (particulay in hopping up vintage flatheads) that sounds like a bit of sales dishonesty there.

That lopy sound is usually caused by swapping in a bumpy (high lift) cam not through screwing up your idle speed and timing. Plus a more open exaust magnifies the sound.

If folks are timing their engine back to get that sound then they are idiots along the same vein as the loud exhaust but nothing else import "tuners".

Yes, you will loose power with a lopy idle --at idle-- due to valve overlap. You gain it back plus some at WOT. Camming is for high rev power at the expense of low end.

Screw up your timing and all you've done is screw it up. Any gains (if any) are marginal at best.

MPG loss is true though in any scenario.

Have fun with your new bike.”

“I'm so jealous.”

“HPM, you're right about the sales pitch, and about the stupidity of the adjustment.

Still, some people do it just because it sounds cool. That's the part I just don't get.”

“Wow, that's hard for me to comprehend. Doing that for a long time will screw up the engine.”

“He didn't mention that.”

“You don't want to run an engine too rich or too lean.”