hungryhorace

Of course not.

scrubbedexpat097

You obviously know very little about the Motorcyle market.

Michael

Yah I smell the smoke coming out of your arse.

Michael

I don't know much about motorcycles but when I was a teenager, the 6 cylinder engines for the racing cars in northern Minnesota were turning 10,000 RPM while racing. There were short oval dirt tracks so they had to keep the gear low to keep the speed.

hungryhorace

I know quite a bit, thanks. When you see Harley's being used for something other than carrying lazy people about, and instead being raced at 200+ mph around a track, let me know.

Bob

Speaking of...saw one being ridden about by a chap wearing boat shoes....it's very hard to be tough, when your dressed like a banker...and these days, they're about the only ones who can afford a new one...or middle aged dentists.

The bikes do look pretty cool though...but I'd rather a Norton than a Harley if we're going chrome.

Michael

Who needs to race when you have these?

zzrmark

I think you may have misunderstood HH's post - I smell a hint of sarcasm perfumed with a sprig of irony in there!!!

And as for this???? Please classify my ZZR1100 (that's a ZX11 Ninja in the US). It most certainly isn't a racing bike despite the fact that with the few tweaks I've done it'll do about 180mph (although the size of my testicles means I haven't exceeded 150 on it!).
Just knocking different types of bikes because they're not HD's is daft. Harley's are ideally suited to riding the long straight roads of the US, the chrome aftermarket accessories rust out really quickly in UK climes but otherwise they are no more or less reliable than many Japanese/European marques.
Motorcycling in Europe is a completely different ballgame to the US, more so in the UK. A large percentage of bikers of UK bikers use their machines to commute as well as for pleasure and whilst Harley's have their followers they are not the most practical of machines for UK roads - that said there are some nice 'sports' models in their range which are better suited to the narrow, twisting, lane splitting style riding in the UK.
In more recent years I don't think there has been a single manufacturer (of international repute) that has maintained/improved the build quality of their machines. It seems to me that the general public have been willing to forgo quality for price. The Chinese have turned out some really horrible, and dangerous, rubbish very cheaply which many new bikers have been tempted into buying. (Along with many other independent mechanics, I am always very wary before accepting Chinese bikes for repair work). So whilst the Chinese have been busy improving their build quality in the last two years the rest of the bike world seem to have adopted the policy that if people will buy cheap Chinese rubbish they'll buy poorer quality, cheaper models from them.

I don't think the situation is any different in the car world. Everyone wants cheaper, newer goods and it doesn't take a genius to realise that if goods are likely to last for a shorter length of time the manufacturers will see more repeat business. The same can be said for televisions, mobile phones, washing machines, toilet paper... no, wait a mo...

Michael

Not once have I knocked any bike. The only one on this thread that has knocked a bike is HH and he hates everything American.

scrubbedexpat097

Why oh why does riding around on a touring bike make you any more lazy than riding around in a car or truck.

You really are a silly know it all little boy aren't you

hungryhorace

It doesn't. Americans are generally lazy whether they be in their truck, or their car or their crappy bike.

Does that help?

zzrmark

Sorry Michael, I should have left a few lines between the previous sentence and the quote above which was the start of the general 'rant'.

I'm afraid my pics don't have any 'gravel rash' contenders aboard but you can have customised and speed. If this image works then you should be looking at my other toy, a CBR900RR Fireblade, all my own work! (Apologies all for the size of the image, I really must suss out how to attach thumbnails!!!)

MMcD

.......who takes a puerile delight in stirring the pot:

Michael

Use the attachments just right of the white smiley face at the top of the edit box.

SultanOfSwing

I bet they'd sell a lot more if you got a free one of those with each bike. Though, that does sound a bit rapey

I've nothing against Harleys, but I do think fast Japanese bikes are cooler. I was a fan of road racing back home though, so I have a bias. Triumphs and Nortons are, of course, cooler still.

I think everybody knows that Harleys are built for comfort and not speed though, that's really like comparing a Cadillac Fleetwood with a Dodge Viper. Utterly pointless