A pretty decent video about how Harley-Davidson killed itself

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nathane

Active member
[QUOTE="MTVR, post: 2788435, member: 21700]

We watched Norton race when we visited the Isle Of Man for the TT- wow, that thing was loud...
[/QUOTE]

And hideously slow !
 

MTVR

Well-known member
And hideously slow !


It didn't look hideously slow going past Whitehouse Park in Kirk Michael. It did slow for the Ballaugh Bridge Jump, but everybody does, to avoid running into The Raven pub. And it really didn't look hideously slow as it passed another bike on the Sulby Straight.

In any case, it was certainly much faster than the Ducati il mostro 1100 S that my wife and I lapped the Snaefel Mountain Course on...
 

jkam

nomadic man
Motorcycle sales went to mega dealers awhile ago.
Some have 15 brands of bikes to sell.
The old school small dealership is about gone.
BMW went the way of forcing dealers into new company designed buildings,
All chrome and grey toned carpeting, not your typical motorcycle shop.
Some of the old school dealers couldn't afford to make the change and shut down.
I remember the old Iron Horse BMW in Tucson, great place to hang out and BS with other riders.

The world is becoming owned by a few, getting worse every day.
 

nathane

Active member

It didn't look hideously slow going past Whitehouse Park in Kirk Michael. It did slow for the Ballaugh Bridge Jump, but everybody does, to avoid running into The Raven pub. And it really didn't look hideously slow as it passed another bike on the Sulby Straight.

In any case, it was certainly much faster than the Ducati il mostro 1100 S that my wife and I lapped the Snaefel Mountain Course on...

I'm there most years, it's where my family lived, I've ridden many laps (recreationally, I'm not a bike racer, I only race cars). Trust me, it was slow, would have done OK in the classic. You could certainly hear it coming though.
 

MTVR

Well-known member
I'm there most years, it's where my family lived, I've ridden many laps (recreationally, I'm not a bike racer, I only race cars). Trust me, it was slow, would have done OK in the classic. You could certainly hear it coming though.

Well, you may be faster than that, but I'm sure not.

We looked into what it would take to race in the TT. It requires a Snaefel Mountain Course license, which we could only get by racing in the Manx GP first. Even then, you have to "audition" for a spot in the TT- basically, what press can you as a racer attract to the TT. And I would hsve needed an age waiver from the Clerk Of The Course.

We experienced this same kind of thing when my wife and I first got into motorcycle road racing- there was nothing special about me, I was just another mid-pack expert, and sponsorship opportunities were limited. But for her, being a bikini model, sponsorship opportunities fell out of the trees, before she ever entered her first race.
 
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MTVR

Well-known member
BTW, the proximity of the Arai Village to the Okell's beer tent in the main TT compound cost me about $2,500, but we now have cool helmets...
 

nathane

Active member
Well, you may be faster than that, but I'm sure not.

We looked into what it would take to race in the TT. It requires a Snaefel Mountain Course license, which we could only get by racing in the Manx GP first. Even then, you have to "audition" for a spot in the TT- basically, what press can you as a racer attract to the TT. And I would hsve needed an age waiver from the Clerk Of The Course.

We experienced this same kind of thing when my wife and I first got into motorcycle road racing- there was nothing special about me, I was just another mid-pack expert, and sponsorship opportunities were limited. But for her, being a bikini model, sponsorship opportunities fell out of the trees, before she ever entered her first race.

hey MTVR, did you think about starting an autobiography thread? I'm sure it would engage and entertain, I for one would love to read it.
 

Ragman

Active member
The problem is that Harley-Davidson is not a motorcycle company- they're a marketing company. And their customers are not motorcycle riders- they're simply posers.

So there is this cringeworthy codependent relationship, where Harley-Davidson panders to the Walter-Mitty delusions of an aging group of suburban dentists, to include selling them Village People dress-up costumes...
Ouch-Sorry to say but that comment comes from some uneducated starting point. As a Harley rider with 3 Iron Butt rides under my belt and a trip up the Dalton Highway-all on a 1992 Low Rider which carried two weeks of camping gear along the way I would politely point out that it is not the motorcycle brand that makes the rider but the rider who makes the rider. Happy to discuss my Yamaha enduro as well or my age if that matters-
 
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