Modern Vespa

I wonder if he's in hiding with a price on his head?

http://www.goingfaster.com/angst/noharley2.html

And I don't even own / like Harleys.

The first few paragraphs were fun. But I got bored and couldn't finish the book:)

Funny and interesting writing style, but I just can't get worked up that some folks like to dress up like pirates and ride around on slow, loud, expensive motorcycles. Not my thing, but I'm glad they're out enjoying two wheels.

Thanks for sharing, Claude!

That midlife crisis comic strip was 👌😸

In defense of HD riders (did I just say that?), not all are created equal. Sure, the old coots that buy the chromed out baggers and have never ridden previously; the guys and gals that spend more than I make a week in the HD clothing boutique (see what I mean? "boutique" and motorcycle should never even be on the same page)-those folks certainly fit the pirate/gypsy stereotype. But not all Harleys are chromed-out paint shakers on wheels and not all HD riders are mindless lemmings. Of course, you have to buck the stereotype within the stereotype and not chrome and leather up your bike and your wife. My little brothers (60 and 63 years young) have both owned really nice HDs and never succumbed to the hype. Most recently, my youngest brother (the 60 year old punk) had a HD Sportster. Of course he had to rechip the engine and change out the exhaust, but thought it was one of the best traveling bikes he had ever owned. And he has owned everything. He just bought a new BMW RT and was complaining that those guys are as bad as the Harley guys when it comes to be nerdy cycleclones.

Not like me when I put on my Vespa jacket (with Vespa patches) and helmet to ride to the post office. So we are all guilty in some degree. Vive la différence! (uh, I mean differenza)

Sounds like some Harley rider forgot to wave.

The article is interesting but very one sided. As a Vespa owner, I don't buy for performance, does it mean Vespa isn't a real Italian bike. I am not certain HD is pitching their product as a performance at all. They pitch style and noise. If they wanted to enter the Duccati and Ninja market, I'd see the point.

I think I get his point, but I just can't get past the overwrought writing style.

He's doing with writing what he's complaining that Harley owners are doing with their bikes. Lots of unnecessary farkling that adds nothing to the "performance".

He (HD rant guy/gal) did not care for HD's offerings or performance.
He liked Buells - a bike first powered by HD Sportster motors.
He thought HD should be partners with Chevy....because -why?...
Did not HD and Porche work on the Harley Vrod?

So.... we gone from - "Chrome don't get you home" and "Loud pipes save Lives" to the hyperbole highway? Yup, that seems about right.

I resent his unwarranted disparagement of Twinkies(tm).

Interesting backstory about that. About the time Harley was getting design help from Porsche for the V-rod, supposedly for the heads, Porsche hired Yamaha to do some design work on a vehicle that nobody's quite sure was ever made.
It was longer than it needed to be, but there were lines that were hysterical.

I didn't know Porsche and HD worked together for the Vrod. I saw one the other day and said *outloud* "That's an actually nice looking bike."

I'm told it doesn't shake like the other hogs. I've even read it's "boring to ride." I guess some people like the fillings shook out of their heads.

I thought that too, the first time I saw it. When I found out that it's the Harley that Harley riders don't think is a Harley, I liked it even better.

I've never been a huge Harley fan. Didn't hate on 'em (Sportster 883 came closest to likeable), but just a little tall on 'tude, short on versatility, from my standpoint.

But, this guy...coming out of the gate slagging every Hog and rider? Makes no sense at all. Simply mean, period...he clearly hasn't hung out with enough Harley riders (by "hanging", I mean doing more than sharing a stoplight). And, one more thing...his writing certainly ain't anywhere near Rushdie's league. Just a guy with opinions...and you know the old joke about opinions.

They are a different kind of annoyance. They live to tell you how much everything costs while sipping chilled chardonnay from a bottle that was cooled to perfection in one of their tankbags, then throw every piece of gear imaginable on the bike and suit up in a one piece suit with a name that sounds like a state park in Kenya, more ATTGAT than you knew existed, the very expensive helmet they bought in Germany and will be replacing because it's not quite right and there's a better one coming out soon, hook up the phone, coms, and the GPS to ride four blocks to Starbucks to sit and talk about how great their bike is, good places for brunch. brag about their gas mileage, whine about how much it costs to service a BMW, offer to show you the receipts if you don't believe them, and pull out the tablet to show you the RTW trip they have planned sometime in the future. But the worst have to be Moto Guzzi riders. They will show up at your campsite, talk you into letting them set up their tent on your space, so they don't have to pay for their own spot, tell you how much they saved on some army surplus tent that looks like it was in the line of fire at Appomattox, ask to borrow your tools so they can set up the tent and do some work on the bike, drink all your chardonnay and hard liquor, offer to trade a couple hotdogs for some of your steak, discuss at length where to get the cheapest beer in whatever part of the world you happen to be, tell you how overpriced BMWs are, and what they think of the posers who buy them, "borrow" your firewood because they don't want to pay for any, and sit up all night around "your" campfire with eight other strangers they met in the campground and invited over, drinking warm Old Milwaukee because it was on sale back home, they aren't about to pay for ice and it's too far to walk to a motel and fill up a plastic trash bag from the ice machine.
I about lost it when I saw a listing for a Moto Guzzi Wine and Cheese set on AF1's website. Talk about not knowing your market. An app that told them where the cheapest beer or vacant houses where they could sleep in the back yard in any town they rode through would go over a whole lot better.
Don't even get me started on MP3 riders.

Oh, dear, I had to read this before turning in, didn't I? Laughing too damned hard now...

"sheep in wolf's clothing" - loved that phrase.

The rest? TL:DR.

We all know that a GTS 300 can out-dabble a Harley from the light.

Oh!

Most of us want to feel special in some way. Jumping on a Brand
kind of fills that "feel special" need.

I feel much cooler riding my Vespa over my Suzuki Burgman.
The Classic Branding Image of Vespa obviously has done it
for me. Always wanted one, finally bought one.

Oh, and I also like wearing 8 Panel Wool Irish Hats from
Hanna-Hats in Donegal Ireland.

I must be a slave to branding.

Bob Copeland
Frost Bite Falls Minnesota

This Press Release is just too perfect to leave out of the thread.

Road King Special: Harley adds 'contemporary' style to Touring line

MILWAUKEE, WI - Harley-Davidson says its new Road King Special, powered by the new Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine, is pushing the company's Touring line toward a new, contemporary style.

Editor's Note: Harley-Davidson will debut the new Road King this weekend at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in Chicago.

"By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and lowering the bike's profile, we've moved the traditional Road King into a new space that's very current in the custom bagger scene," said Brad Richards, vice president of styling and design at Harley-Davidson, in a company press release.

The signature styling element is a dark front end topped by a large gloss-black headlamp nacelle. A new 9-inch-tall, 1.25-inch diameter mini-ape handlebar puts the rider in an aggressive posture; other bike features, including the new suspension available on all 2017 Touring models, provide the rider with comfort for long runs on the open road, Harley-Davidson stated.

"Chrome was retained only on some key engine components," such as the lower rocker boxes, pushrod tubes and tappet blocks, to emphasize the V-twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight engine, added Dais Nagao, H-D designer-stylist. "We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert, a finish that's also featured on the tank console."

The Special's engine guard, handlebar and hand controls, mirrors, turn signals, engine covers, air cleaner cover, muffler and exhaust shields feature black surfaces. New gloss-black turbine cast-aluminum wheels include a 19-inch front wheel topped by a low-profile fender. At the rear, stretched saddlebags flow over the mufflers to provide a "slammed to the ground" appearance without reducing suspension travel, the company stated. A rear fascia panel fills the space between the saddlebags and the rear fender, and a low-mount license plate module completes the tight, low lines of the rear end.

The Special edition features the new front and rear suspension featured on all 2017 Touring models, Harley-Davidson noted.

The Road King Special is being offered in four colors: Vivid Black, Charcoal Denim, Hot Rod Red Flake Hard Candy Custom, and Olive Gold.

http://www.dealernews.com/road-king-special-harley-davidson-adds-contemporary-style-touring-line

Of course he's not in Rushdie's league. The joke being is that a cult like group of people would would love to string him up.

Well...double ow.

Only Harley I like.

very humourous writings

In America other companies do not try to make better motorcycle, try to make better Harley Davidson. Indian, Victory, other stupid companies, all say is like Harley but better. Still big slow loud sign of jerk.

I'm looking for a 40s WL Harley, love the simplicity the durability of the old hogs. The site reads like the rantings of someone relatively new to motorcycling.

The 45" side valve engine used in the WL was manufactured by Harley-Davidson from 1936 until 1972. That's a heck of a long run and lots of spare parts are available. In Europe it's easier to find a 40s era WLA (the military version) than a civilian WL.

-craig