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Harley Davidson went woke?
I had no idea, I wasn't paying any fucking attention to them.
It's been decades now since I owned a motorcycle, even longer since I was a biker.
Looks like the boycott is in full effect and they're being shunned at Sturgis of all fucking places.
Sturgis is like Mecca for Harley riders and it's like them saying, "Nah, we don't need to see The Black Mosque, just visiting the airport is a fine Hajj."
I wonder if they have Bud Light...
Yeah, Bud Davidson, Harley Light, whomever they are, went very woke. And they don't make motorcycles here in the US anymore, they just assemble them from foreign parts. At least Honda and Suzuki and BMW are honest about where they come from.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, weird question, why does a hard-core motorcycle club need DEI? If it's so important, why don't they ask all the outlaw motorcycle gangs to DEI up also?
That's what happens when they pick a sportswear ceo to take over a motorcycle company.
ReplyDeleteWhile I like the idea of Harleys, they're way overpriced and way too attractive to thieves for my taste. If I had the money, I'd get an older-fashioned BMW boxer twin---the kind they built before they went all "Sportbike" style. "Join the Achtung Generation! BMW World Tour, 1933-1945!"
ReplyDeleteThere was once a time when I could piece a Harley together from parts for just a couple grand. I knew people then. I think I gave up on them when they became a lifestyle that included a free motorcycle.
DeleteOlder Bimmers do have the allure of simplicity, but they lack parts support. Do you own a machine shop?
How old a BMW are you talking about? I own a 78 and pretty much everything to keep it running is available from specialists. Geren face Motometer gauges are very expensive but VDO gauges are cheap. 70s and 80s twin are well supported and most 60s /2 parts are available.
DeleteIf I had the money, I might well settle for an older Goldwing in reasonably good condition. I'm told they're reliable, and they're also all over---parts shouldn't be hard to find.
DeleteJoe, he's talking about one from when Zündapp was a going concern.
DeleteAnd it shows how out of touch I am on bikes. When I left, the only way to get a 60's Bimmer moving was to put it on a trailer. Things have, obviously, changed! For the good I see.
Funny you should mention Zündapp, they actually stayed in business until 1984, although most of their post war stuff was 50cc. An R12 would be as difficult to keep running as a Harley XA, but R60 /2 or R75 /5
Deleteparts are mostly off the shelf
Actually, the Bimmers I lust for are more 1970s-1980s boxer twins. As I say, before they went all "sport bike." I had friends who had them and all swore by them. Hell, if I had the cash, I'd love to get a SOLO Ural (no goddamn sidecar) and modify it to look like a WWII bike. (Putting little RAF rondels and red stars on the tank would probably constitute "stolen valor.")
DeleteIt shouldn't be too hard for 3rd party builders to clone a simple V-twin. If it is sold ala-carte and home assembled then it is basically just dependent on state laws as far as getting things titled and licensed. As long as Federal law can be circumvented it should be possible to build retro-bikes. Just can't offer turn-key or rollers because they'll shut that down.
ReplyDelete-swj