Hi from the Lone Star State

Hopper · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:28 am **Posts:** 20

badinfluence63 wrote:

Hopper wrote:

badinfluence63 wrote:

One of the main reasons that I haven't gotten a Harley before is because I am not a poser and am not defined by which brand of motorcycle I ride. I never pass a brother on the side of the road, much less because of what kind of bike he rides or which patch he is wearing. When I was a teenager, Harleys and Indians were about it except for the scooters and motor bikes. If I walked up to you in person, you would not be able to tell what kind of bike I ride, no HD's sticking out, no shiny belt buckle or pins, although I do have American and Texas flags on my vest (about 3x5") . I do love my HD, but that is just my own relationship with my bike and I really don't care what anyone besides family and closest friends think. My doo rag has no logo and has faded from black to a dark brown from being in the sun. My leathers are worn and the brass on the shoulders is not polished, my bike is, because that is how I inspect it and care for it, not to impress anyone but myself. I am old school from when you shook hands on an agreement, you kept your end, no matter what. The word of some of these wussies today means nothing.
Speaking of life style, I drove a big fast long nose Peterbuilt with a big Caterpiller engine and 5x4 tranny pulling a 44' Wilson triple deck stock trailer for a few years and Bull haulers have a special brotherhood ,unlike other truckers, that is very similar to real bikers, we like big fast shiny 'cars' and never leave a brother in need of assistance. Bikers didn't care much for my bull wagon when loaded (always seem to be a spray coming from the trailer). I tried to help them around when possible. I agree 100% about the posers which is why, if a stranger ask, I tell them I ride a motorcycle and do not mention brand name unless I am asked. As long as I rode metrics, I got pretty good at spotting posers. If you are not riding a Harley, you get that 'down the nose' look like you are somehow below them as a rider and I wouldn't trust riding with one of those types for a mile. I rode a Kaw vulcan 1500 for nine years with family that mostly rides Harleys and did not hear a negative word about my bike, if fact, on family rides they always ask me to lead, not because of what brand of bike I ride, rather because I do everything within my power to keep us all safe, together, and out of dangerous situations
Next time you meet a 'bull wagon' wave or give him the 'all clear' sign, he will appreciate it because he is in a hurry, and give him room, there is some serious wind being pushed out from the 'pot' of the trailer and he is probably moving at a high rate of speed.
Life is Good, ride safe

I use to work for Allied Van Lines in my late teens early 20's. I realized real quick it wasn't for me. Takes a special breed of man to be on the road and away from home for so long, not to mention a good dependable woman to keep the home fires burning and being true.

As far as anonimity as a rider....same here. I have no stickers on my cars,shiny belt buckles etc.. While I do prefer the company of a seasoned Harley rider more importantly a person who is a man of there word. Like you, a mans word is his bond. Someone who can get from point A to point B safely. Someone who is economically stable ands takes care of his ride. I been on the road with too many riders who because of there lack of PM make you the victim of there negligence. My current riding partner besides my wife rides a 1992 Kawasaki Voyager and we tear up the road. We'll go to Lake Placid,NY for lunch...250+ miles one way. Or East Providence,RI... another 200 miles one way. Unfortunately he is 8 years into his 2nd marriage and is on a short leash.

As far as not getting a Harley because of some real or imagined stigma...well you can thank the posers for that. The riders who think because they are on a Harley they are supose to act like they believe HA do and of course they only know the TV version of HA,lol. A co worker who loves and rides motorcles wants a Harley but won't get one for the reasons you mentioned. His loss.

I'm glad you over came your mental block about a Harley but look how many years you wasted not owning the best bike in the world. You know..Apple Pie, Chevrolet/Ford/Mopar/GM and Harley by God Davidson,lol.

Man, I agree with every thing you said, kind of a 'cut your nose off to spite your face' thing with me. I finally realized that because I wanted to a ride Harley, it did not make me like the posers. Put my jacket on today to go to lunch and noticed the zipper is a Harley wing so I guess I mislead you on the leathers. lo
On the trucking thing there is one option you didn't mention. My wife can drive an 18 wheeler as good as I can, she drove daylight and I drove night, it was sort of like touring this great country together. I couldn't believe it when she told me she wanted to learn how to ride. She took the motorcycle safety course and 9 years later, here we are and she loves to ride as much as I do.
How blessed I am!

badinfluence63 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:51 am **Posts:** 1966

Hopper wrote:

Man, I agree with every thing you said, kind of a 'cut your nose off to spite your face' thing with me. I finally realized that because I wanted to a ride Harley, it did not make me like the posers. Put my jacket on today to go to lunch and noticed the zipper is a Harley wing so I guess I mislead you on the leathers. lo
On the trucking thing there is one option you didn't mention. My wife can drive an 18 wheeler as good as I can, she drove daylight and I drove night, it was sort of like touring this great country together. I couldn't believe it when she told me she wanted to learn how to ride. She took the motorcycle safety course and 9 years later, here we are and she loves to ride as much as I do.
How blessed I am!

You are truly blessed and smart for making your wife a part of your life and lifes interests. A good wife and good relationship ends up making your wife your best freind.

Hmmm..never thought of getting a wife who could help me drive...thats pretty smart and cool. Like I mentioned I was young and while I enjoyed traveling all over the country I was unsettled into what where why and who and ended up joining the Army......my life took off from there. I have many fond memories of my time with Allied Van Lines.

Spiting your face for your nose...that image is also the HD MOCO's fault, they sell it with every bike that rolls out the door. Its not for everyone and in your case delayed a potential sale.

At one time, I'd say the late 60's and early to mid 70's it seemed that only cops and robbers rode HD's. Everyone else was following the leader, after all he's on a Honda,lol. And HD MOCO can thank the robbers(1%'s) for this bad boy image the HD MOCO packages and sells.

But not for nothing the Harleys of today are just awsome. Nice styling,fit and finish. Reliable..I rode my 10 year old Ultra from New Hampshire to San Diego last year with zero issues. Mountains, dessert,prairies you name it the bike rode true. And as a cross country guy you know damn welll theres too many places you would rather not break down, especially on a motorcycle. This year I on;ly took 3 trips. One to Pigeon forge, one to Marble Falls,AR and one to Kill Devil Hills,NC and each time bikes performed flawlessly. Of course I leave no stone unturned in maintenance.

Here is my 2001 Ultra:

Hopper · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:28 am **Posts:** 20

You are truly blessed and smart for making your wife a part of your life and lifes interests. A good wife and good relationship ends up making your wife your best freind.

Hmmm..never thought of getting a wife who could help me drive...thats pretty smart and cool. Like I mentioned I was young and while I enjoyed traveling all over the country I was unsettled into what where why and who and ended up joining the Army......my life took off from there. I have many fond memories of my time with Allied Van Lines.

Spiting your face for your nose...that image is also the HD MOCO's fault, they sell it with every bike that rolls out the door. Its not for everyone and in your case delayed a potential sale.

At one time, I'd say the late 60's and early to mid 70's it seemed that only cops and robbers rode HD's. Everyone else was following the leader, after all he's on a Honda,lol. And HD MOCO can thank the robbers(1%'s) for this bad boy image the HD MOCO packages and sells.

But not for nothing the Harleys of today are just awsome. Nice styling,fit and finish. Reliable..I rode my 10 year old Ultra from New Hampshire to San Diego last year with zero issues. Mountains, dessert,prairies you name it the bike rode true. And as a cross country guy you know damn welll theres too many places you would rather not break down, especially on a motorcycle. This year I on;ly took 3 trips. One to Pigeon forge, one to Marble Falls,AR and one to Kill Devil Hills,NC and each time bikes performed flawlessly. Of course I leave no stone unturned in maintenance.

Here is my 2001 Ultra:[/quote]

Good looking, classy bike.
Yes, My wife is my partner and best friend. Didn't think it could get any better after trucking together, then we started riding together and nothing has ever bonded us like our trip experiences have. Big upside to getting the Harleys is seeing her grin all the time. She went from a 97 Vulcan 1500 4 spd to an 09 Softail Custom 96B 6 speed. Since 02 she has always had the smallest and/or oldest bike, the Custom had less than 7K when she got it in August and has almost 10K now. Will get some pictures up when I figure out how and what the size restrictions are. noticed your pic was like 63K. I have never had a bike that was not black
We were in Waldron Ark. the middle of October, seven bikes ( happened to be all Harleys this time ) and 9 family members. Great riding and good food. My family is like a club withing itself although we don't call ourselves a 'club'. We ride all together a couple of times a year and smaller groups take several trips. Me, my wife, and our 2 sons do NM and Az every year and my wife and I do several trips together in the summer, she teaches, I'm retired, Summer is wide open.
Enjoy the Holidays and thanks making me feel like I'm in a good place.

badinfluence63 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:51 am **Posts:** 1966

Purple....yeah not my choice. Its slowly growing on me. It use to be my neighbors bike and he made an offer I couldn't refuse...10,000 miles for 10,000 dollars.

The bike was 7 years old at the time and only had 10,000 miles on it. It blue booked at the time for like about 14,500$. I had to totally go thru it as he is a stoner (he is a nice guy, retired) and apparently the concept of Preventitive Maintenance illuded him,lol. Screws were missing in the fairing and the lowers. The rubber seal on the clam shell was half off. Not to mention the cam lobes were starting to wear so I bumped the cam to the SE 204,stge 1+2 down load and upgraded the gear drive too. Got a better seat, fairing bra, lower 4 inch windshield,the awsome t-bag windshield bag, better saddle and tour bag inserts and the inside the tour pac lid organizer. Also got XM radio. Never could get the XM radio to sit right once I put the different bars until somone told me about Ram mounts. Now it sits perfect! That is the best modification,lol. I also replaced all the cables...throttle,brake and speedo. Put 10" Paul Yaffee's Bagger Nation bagger bars and cool new mirrors from Demon Cycles. While the 10" bars look like shit the handling is much better. My right front fork is leaking now. Yeah. Always one thing or another.

Hopper · **Joined:** Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:28 am **Posts:** 20

badinfluence63 wrote:

Purple....yeah not my choice. Its slowly growing on me. It use to be my neighbors bike and he made an offer I couldn't refuse...10,000 miles for 10,000 dollars.

The bike was 7 years old at the time and only had 10,000 miles on it. It blue booked at the time for like about 14,500$. I had to totally go thru it as he is a stoner (he is a nice guy, retired) and apparently the concept of Preventitive Maintenance illuded him,lol. Screws were missing in the fairing and the lowers. The rubber seal on the clam shell was half off. Not to mention the cam lobes were starting to wear so I bumped the cam to the SE 204,stge 1+2 down load and upgraded the gear drive too. Got a better seat, fairing bra, lower 4 inch windshield,the awsome t-bag windshield bag, better saddle and tour bag inserts and the inside the tour pac lid organizer. Also got XM radio. Never could get the XM radio to sit right once I put the different bars until somone told me about Ram mounts. Now it sits perfect! That is the best modification,lol. I also replaced all the cables...throttle,brake and speedo. Put 10" Paul Yaffee's Bagger Nation bagger bars and cool new mirrors from Demon Cycles. While the 10" bars look like shit the handling is much better. My right front fork is leaking now. Yeah. Always one thing or another.

One of the coolest things about getting a Harley is the multitude of options that open up to me. Some things are very hard to find for a metric. I always had in my head, that some day I would find that basket Harley somewhere, take it home, take it apart and rebuild it into a my own personal bike. Didn't happen and that diminishing dream was a large part of getting past the 'poser' thing. It is almost like starting to ride again, one does not realize the difference in a metric bike and a Harley until faced with it. Do not understand the specifics of the cam but figure it is high performance. If I had of had an Hd all of that time I would know exactly what you were talking about. Thank You for giving me something to research and learn about, that is why I am here.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

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