Speedtrip

Sales of motorcycles have been going down for a few years now without a doubt.

A word about the author of this article though, Susan Carpenter the LA times motorcycle "reporter" is a FOOL! She recently wrote an article describing how motorcycles are environmental nightmares because they spew ten times more pollution than light trucks or SUV's. With motorcycles getting great press like that from someone purportedly knowledgeable on the subject no wonder the numbers keep falling.

motowebmaster

We know better, but yet it's unsettling that public perception appears to be associated to the outcome of one manufacturer. In other words, does the public not recognize (or notice) that we don't all ride the same motorcycle?

SidecarFlip

HD rminds me of a bloated carp floundering about in shallow water with the only prospect a slow death and a stinking mess in the end. Lets not forget about Victory and Indian. Wonder how things are going at Spirit Lake and Stone Mountain georgia?

The Prophet

Harley bashing in general only serves to validate the bad side of motorcycling, and we've seen it / heard it so much it gets boring and blurred after a while.

Here's some "fresh" material that is fantastic for a good, hearty, Sunday morning laugh...

Harley-Davidson Free Country

Go down near the bottom/middle of the page and click on "View all Statements".

Oh man, now I've heard it all. Is it just me.... or does anyone else suspect that the submitters of this drivel are actually 14 year olds, just reaching puberty, and fantasizing about a world where they are "cool"?, and real actual chicks might really speak to them.

No wonder a multitude of folks think of motorcyclists as... under-educated, big-mouthed, fantasy world seeking, arrested adolescent, immature oafs.

If this were a joke, or sarcasm, it would be funny in a twisted sort of way, but sadly it is not. The saddest part of it all is that it is instigated, and supported by HD, and an insult to anyone over their pre-pubescent days of clumsy teen-aged , poor role model, arrested development.

Hopefully, this embarrassing material doesn't get out to the general public, and someone on the HD staff get wind of it and suppresses the whole idea.

At any rate, read it for a good, hearty laugh, try not to get sick - if you begin to feel ill, stop reading, and repeat the mantra - "It's only a youngsters fantasy, it's only a youngsters fantasy" - before resuming, and take it for the hopefully excellent sarcasm and sardonic, role-playing diatribe it, hopefully, really is.

Can you believe that more than one adult (over say 21) person actually thinks this is a "lifestyle"?

Help!

__________________

• A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu
• Motorcyles are not my whole life, but they make my life whole. ` me

motowebmaster

I like the one that includes the words "the respect that it demands"

The Prophet

With apologies to any "real" riders who own HD's - and surely there are a significant number - but come on!

HD riders whine and complain about all the "hate" and threads that bash HD, but look at all the endless ammo they provide.

If you can read more than three of these consecutively without laughing out loud... well, then you can probably "feel" the proclamation of Freedom in the hypnotic white lines of the open road, the brotherhood of leather, skulls, immitation plastic Nazi Helmets and fringe, the calling of the open pipes singing only to you, the power and thrust of the motor as it vibrates powerfully between your legs...!!!

Eeeuuuuyyyucchhh... I just swallowed some bile...

A little more ridin' please, and a little less barstool filosofizin'.

When HD raises their purchase prices during an Economic Crisis, closes US factories and cuts jobs of thousands of laid off USA workers, then creates a Business Plan to start up factories in China and India (yes, it's a fact, read all about it in the HD Quarterly Report) under the shady pretenses of creating a market there, how do they dare allow folks to blather on about "American Iron", "Freedom", and all this Patriotism hypocrisy.

Wake up guys. Brand loyalty is a joke when it only flows one way - into the pockets of the "New Regime" CEO's who are not riders, nor enthusiasts, but actually members of the same ilk you "think" you are protesting/rebelling against. Greedy, self-absorbed, yuppie POS's that could care less about any "Freedom" baloney, and more about maintaining their decadent, multi-million dollar selfishness. They are merely feeding off the teat of your ill founded need to belong to some half-baked "lifestyle".

How many HD "lifestyle" riders are picketing with, or otherwise helping out the laid off Harley D workers, or visa-versa? How many of the jobless HD owners who are now losing their bikes are the other "lifestyle" HD riders helping out? Where is all this "brotherhood" baloney channeling to? Don't chant it, if you don't mean it.

Be a real "Rebel", and wake up to reality.

Bob

SidecarFlip

Bob:

I tried to post an answer to your post and was told I didn't have access to it or some such 'drivel'......(as you say).

Couple things.

I find it amusing and at the same time disturbing that you (as a moderator?) just condoned the exact same scenario on this site in reference to a parallel post which Shawn subsequently locked.

Don't dance a double standard. It's not becoming nor is it conducive to increasing subscribership, which is, after all, the foundation of any site.

Your statement about the 'pre-pubescent' posters on the HD site is far from the actual truth. One just has to refer back to the locked thread to see the obvious mindset.

I visit this site infrequently. It will be less in the future, much less. I have actively supported this site because of Shawn but I can't support the double standard and I won't.

If your mindset supports that double standard, so be it. However, you need to be a bit more analytical in your opinions because your post flies in the face of the precedent set in the locked thread.

I agree in part with your opinion expressed in your post, however, it's appears that it's not the general consensus of the management here.

Having stated that, I'll return to sites where I can express my opinions (after all, that's supposedly what Internet sites like this one ((and countless others)) are supposed to be about).

Being a moderator is a tough job. However, you breached one of the tenets of protocol. You can't have it both ways.

With that, I'll bid my goodbye.

__________________
MIA

motowebmaster

Flip,

It is hard to say how this site will develop over time, but it has a multi-threaded approach. In other words, it will support threads/posts with diverse views. I'm thinking that a time will come where the homepage can't effectively list all of the latest posts; because listing them at once will appear unusual.

For example, it would be strange to have these three hypothetical posts in the same "blocK":

• Stunt Riding in an urban area
• Valve problem on a Desmo-based engine
• Poker Run that involves the Playboy Mansion

It is highly doubtful that any one motorcyclist would find an interest in all three topics. However, there may come a day where similar topics are discussed somewhere on this site. Some users are already coming to this site via a particular forum, without looking at all posts or the homepage.

I've been doing motorcycle-based sites for years, and understand that it is not the norm. Moderators on this site will need to be open-minded individuals, that enjoy seeing others participate in the way that moves them. We may not agree with it; but as long as it involves some degree of enthusiasm regarding a motorcycle

The common-interest motorcycle community format is still a good thing. I just believe that we are at a point in motorcycling and internet-utilization where that mindset is going to change. Opinions may change among riders, but most of the change will be in how they share their thoughts and questions.

Hope this helps,

__________________
Shawn
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