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[SirMichael]

  I talked to a friend that I havn't seen in awhile the other day and he asked me a question that I actually never really thought about until then!!

  I told him that I've had a couple harleys(3) over the last couple of years and that I was in the process of getting another one and he asked me.......

  Why do you own a Harley Davidson??   First I wanted to say, If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand, but I thought about it for a second and wanted to be nice, so I just said, I like the whole H-D image & all that is involved with everything and everyone around them!! (plus this really cool forum ) I told him, once your hooked, your hooked!! I am not sure he understood really, but I just thought it was a pretty cool question!!

 There might of been a topic like this already, but I ask everyone.......

               What made you get your first Harley & Why do you ride a Harley??

                                                                                           MIKE

[Janine]

It was love at first sight!   Just had to have it. Everything else paled in comparison.

[Twolanerider]

My first Harley probably wasn't even all Harley.  In my teens and early twenties there were several... uh... projects that were ridden for lack of funds to ride anything else.  While it's only a guess now I'd not be surprised to see old pictures of Truimpasakis, Hondespas and Harlezukis.  Pretty much whatever could be welded up or beat together to get me around.  The more common actual complete bikes were British.

When first got a Harley that was actually all Harley the company was still a joke and the bike had its ancestry in a bowling ball.  But there was still the aura of the company's times past.  Can honestly say that (then) it didn't really matter much to me though.  The only thing that mattered was just getting from place to place.  Didn't ride much with anyone.  So it was never a collegial endeavor.  Or at least if it was I've forgotten it as 25 or 30 years have passed.

So for me I guess the only question I can apply to myself isn't about "then" but about "now."  Why do I still ride them today? The company is annoying.  It is barely adequate by modern standards of either manufacturing reliability or consumer support.  And others build bikes that look like them, run better and are cheaper.

But the others aren't them; they aren't the Harley.  Even the bike isn't the most important part though.  It's what comes with it.  The feeling that comes from those you see while you ride it.  Or from those you ride with.  The look in the eyes of the kid that still all but hangs his head out the window like a dog as you pass the family sedan on the interestate. 

It's not the corporation.  Nor their manufactured mystique.  It is the bikes.  But even there it's only the bikes insofar as the people and the experiences we get to enjoy because of them.  In other words, it's me; and it's us.  We make the bikes what they are and we "are" the Harley mystique and the Harley feeling that are the reasons I ride this bike.

[SirMichael]

 Nice post Don,
 I do agree that it was amazing that guys rode these things way back then!! I've heard alot of the issues that they had back then and what it took to maintain one!! Plus the company went downhill for a minute and was  alittle messed up then also!! I guess somethings havn't really changed, huh!!

 I have to say, when I was younger, in my motocross days, I use to think, how could anyone own a Harley, but as I got alittle older, I started to think differently, not to sure why, but I guess I just started to see more of them around and all that came with them!! Alot has to do with my friend Tommy (Tommyo), he had a Harley for awhile before I got my first one!! I saw him on his and started talking alot about them with him and then the rest is history!!
 
I went to look at used ones with my wife and thought wow are these things exspensive, then about an hour later, we bought a new 05 15th anniversary fatboy w/95 motor in it!! The cooliest thing about it, that they gave us 2 free H-D shirts with the bike, we were hooked then!! Now, about 100 H-D shirts & 2 more bikes later, we are working on another bike and still enjoy it just like it was the first one!! It's definitly addicting!!

 I don't consider myself as a biker or whatever people want to classify you as, my wife & I just enjoy the whole aspect of it all and have fun with it all!!

 I guess my only complaint would be, that the MoCo would do alittle better with the issues that some of the bikes have!!(110's) I don't own a 110, but I don't just for that reason!!

 Well, I will keep spending my $$$$ on these "noisy slow-azzzz things" and enjoy every minute of it!!

                                                                                 Later,
                                                                                             MIKE

                     

[nidan]

When I first heard a panhead as a kid , that did it . After I rode my first one 25 years ago it sealed the deal.

While I've haad a wide variety of bikes , nothing is as  enjoyable all day.

[sefatboyscott]

Because at one time I had more money than sense...........that's why we all have em quit lying!

No, no it is more because we want to be individuals, then again we all dress the same and hang out at all the same places.....so nope thats not it either.............hmmm

I like the first obvious answer, if I have to explain you won't understand, hell sometimes I don't understand. It's like one of those relationships filled with fighting and make up sex. You want to quit it but the satisfaction after a ride makes you want to ride it again even though you curse it in between rides.

[HogBreath]

I ride a Harley so the guys at the bar will accept me as part of the group. I'm a tender delicate wallflower in touch with my inner feelings. But, when I put on my leather jacket, chaps, and dew rag I feel like an outlaw, a biker, a desperado, a lonely cowboy with only my horse for a friend.

Well, I like the sound too.

[Screamin]

Lot's of reasons but spose I'll start w/ the American born and bred. I've had japs both big and small. They were all fun. Never got interested in the beemers. Just not my style I guess. On my 5th harley and I just enjoy(ed) the hell out of them. There's the roads traveled, the friends made, the obstacles overcome, the sights seen, all of it and it's all been one hell of a ride. Harleys seem to fit me and what I like. A cross country run, quick stop at a watering hole, or day cruise around the state, my Harley works for me. I like to think I can run w/ t best and hang with the rest as there are times when it's good be alone on the road and times when it's great to be part of something bigger. I enjoy a trip down the road alone (or w/ my bride) as well as the big events and everything in between. All of these are just better on my Harley.
Then there's the motor. I'm far from a proficient wrench but the idea of two big pistons working w/ all of the other motor guts is something I kind of understand - and like. I'm more enamored by that thought than the latest motor from across the sea all whirring (and working well) and whining. Our thump thump turns into a sound that just stirs something in me that's hard to explain but very real.
The friends made along the way on Harleys are truly priceless. MC rights folks, HOG members, indys, young and old are mostly just wonderful folks and mostly on Harleys. The bonds formed now are deeper than the bikes but when you get down to it the Harley opened the door for us to all walk through.




And lastly I guess it's cause chicks dig em.   

[skyglide]

Is there any other kind ?  And as said above if I had to explain you wouldn't understand but that is a phrase for a Jap forum. Never got hooked on the t-shirt collecting but I can see how it could get addicting. But I have the OCD bad

[SneakyPete]

I think it is the combination of being immediately accepted into a large group of people with the same interest and being able to express your individualism by customizing your ride to suit your personality while remaining Harley Davidson.  No other bike manufacturer can compete with that.  Everything else is just transportation.   

[iski]

I ride a Harley so the guys at the bar will accept me as part of the group. I'm a tender delicate wallflower in touch with my inner feelings. But, when I put on my leather jacket, chaps, and dew rag I feel like an outlaw, a biker, a desperado, a lonely cowboy with only my horse for a friend.

Well, I like the sound too.

 

&

 




I ride Harley's because there are a couple of them in my garage. 

[Chief]

Because I can.

[murphy]

This forum is a prime example why I have one.

When you don't have one, you substitute other bikes for them.

After you see others on theirs, you’re always are saying... "one day".

It's not just a brand name, it's a lifestyle.

Once you own one, you are the person on the other side of the fence; you now have others looking at you and your ride saying... "one day"!

They are damn expensive to own, and now that I think about it, it’s an extreme form of segregation... if you want to play, you have to pay!

After you've "paid" a world of like minded people opens up to you that you thought you'd never been privy to before.

The irony though is that it's all in your mind, there are very few Harley people I know who would not include you in part of their group just because your not riding the same brand name.

There is pride in ownership!

[sefatboyscott]

Because I can.

That's a good thing. I know lot's who own and claim to be able to ride them.......500 miles a year don't count as riding to me. That is the guy with more money than sense.........lol. For that guy I pose the question why do you own a Harley? I have seen alot of things done on Harleys and more often than not lately I would not consider so much as riding as the 40-50 year old guy hops on his first bike and it's a Twin Cam. Yeah, buddy good place to start! The good news is when he wrecks it within 6 months mine becomes more limited in number........haha.

PS: there are exceptions to this but generally speaking watch how many try to hold the bike up with their feet when going through a crowded area like a bike rally.....and that's before they have that beer they are there to get......scarey stuff man.

 

[tommyo]

What's a Harley???