awesome trails near yosemite

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 6:38 PM -0400 6/30/06, John Kokola wrote:

>The Harley bashing is getting old.

Harley bashing never gets old. Not so much bashing the bike as bashing the image. I just don't get the whole leather thing, especially the assless chaps. It just reeks of gay. Also, I'm sick of the ridicule and shitty looks Harley riders give real riders for wearing safety gear. Makes me wanna shove that doo rag up their ass. I was at Bike Night at my local Quaker Steak & Lube on Wednesday. It was a sea of Harley riders. When I rolled in wearing full gear, they looked at me like I'm the autistic kid who has to wear a hockey helmet while playing in his yard. If the parking lot was full of adventure riders, I would have looked cool in the safety gear. What really amuses me is that most Harley riders that I've encountered assume that I'm a beginning rider because I'm not on a Harley. I laugh because I log more miles in a year than most of them will in their life. Mark

[Jim]

I agree that the real joke is the immage. Harley riders think of themselves as the only true bike riders, and everyone else is a wanna- be. Yet they typically put around town or a local scenic road as their big ride, with 10-20 of their buddies, stopping every 30 minutes to get the feeling back in their hands. When they travel further, you'll usually find a truck and trailer following the group, with tools and room to carry a dead bike. They spend more time polishing their bikes than riding them. What really gets me though, is the whole Harley price joke. For a while, you could buy a used Harley for the price of a new one, because the orders were so backed up! Even now, a used Harley costs a bundle. New prices are just insane. Think about what you are paying for. Outdated technology with lots of shiny things bolted to it. The only "engineering" that happens from one model year to another is planning what combination of chrome goodies to offer in a package, wrapped around the same frames and engine. I don't mind the cruiser bikes. In fact, I would love to buy my father's Intruder 1500 to ride with my wife. But I would never own a Harley, because I actually want to RIDE, and not sit at home trying to stop another oil leak or bolting on a new piece of chrome. I also don't want to have to find someone to follow me with tools when I ride. Jim --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Tengai Mark Van Horn wrote:

> > At 6:38 PM -0400 6/30/06, John Kokola wrote: > >The Harley bashing is getting old. > > Harley bashing never gets old. Not so much bashing the bike as > bashing the image. I just don't get the whole leather thing, > especially the assless chaps. It just reeks of gay. > Also, I'm sick of the ridicule and shitty looks Harley riders give > real riders for wearing safety gear. Makes me wanna shove that doo > rag up their ass. > I was at Bike Night at my local Quaker Steak & Lube on Wednesday.

It

> was a sea of Harley riders. When I rolled in wearing full gear,

they

> looked at me like I'm the autistic kid who has to wear a hockey > helmet while playing in his yard. If the parking lot was full of > adventure riders, I would have looked cool in the safety gear. > What really amuses me is that most Harley riders that I've > encountered assume that I'm a beginning rider because I'm not on a > Harley. I laugh because I log more miles in a year than most of

them

> will in their life. > > Mark >

[Don S]

I have to agree with Mark in that it's an image issue. It's caused by character flaws of the unfortunates who have inherited the gene. If it weren't for their false bravado and self indulgent, cocky attitude and their overt desire to put it in your face, they'd be more pitied than ridiculed. In short, they pretty much deserve what they get. Don Tengai Mark Van Horn wrote: At 6:38 PM -0400 6/30/06, John Kokola wrote:

>The Harley bashing is getting old.

Harley bashing never gets old. Not so much bashing the bike as bashing the image. I just don't get the whole leather thing, especially the assless chaps. It just reeks of gay. Also, I'm sick of the ridicule and shitty looks Harley riders give real riders for wearing safety gear. Makes me wanna shove that doo rag up their ass. I was at Bike Night at my local Quaker Steak & Lube on Wednesday. It was a sea of Harley riders. When I rolled in wearing full gear, they looked at me like I'm the autistic kid who has to wear a hockey helmet while playing in his yard. If the parking lot was full of adventure riders, I would have looked cool in the safety gear. What really amuses me is that most Harley riders that I've encountered assume that I'm a beginning rider because I'm not on a Harley. I laugh because I log more miles in a year than most of them will in their life. Mark --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[jokerloco9@aol.com]

You seen to be spouting off a lot about "outdated" Harley technology while on a KLR forum... As if the KLR is "state of the art"????? How funny is that?? Jeff A20 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[jokerloco9@aol.com]

By the way, you obviously aren't familiar with Harleys. The engines were re-designed in 1999, the TC88 motor. They don't leak oil. And the motors are very stout. It is also my understanding the Evo motors 1984 to 1999 were very good also. Yes, the older Harleys were cantankerous and leaked oil. My TC88 has given me zero problems, and is quite powerful, more powerful than your beloved KLR. Sure, it cost 4 times what a KLR costs. But a BMW or a Mercedes car costs a lot more than a Toyota Corolla, and does just about the same thing. Maybe if you think about it, you might figure out why. I will give you a hint: I had a 1983 Honda Goldwing a few years back. It ran fine, and did what it was supposed to do. But it was the most boring, dull, lifeless hunk of metal I have ever owned. Then I rented a 2001 Harley Heritage Softail for a day. It rumbled, snorted, popped and vibrated it's way down the road. It was love at first ride. Just like my race car. I had to have one. A few months later, I dropped $21,500 on a 2003 Heritage Softail. A ton of money, but I have never regretted it. And I drive a 2001 Toyota Echo to compensate. And a 1990 Dodge Diesel truck for the race car. No piece of crap BMW or Mercedes for me..... Jeff A20 2001 GSXR1000 2003 Heritage Softail [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 11:07 AM -0400 7/1/06, jokerloco9@... wrote:

>You seen to be spouting off a lot about "outdated" Harley technology while >on a KLR forum... As if the KLR is "state of the art"????? > >How funny is that??

Ya, but look at the prices. A new, bottom of the line 883 is comparably priced to a KLR and actually a decent deal, but what "real" Harley rider would want to be seen on one of those? Now, let's take a look at a brand new FLHTCUSE Screamin' Eagle Ultra Classic Electra Glide (whew!), yours for only $31,000. Shit! That's more than the price of a new Jeep Commander! And for what? Sure, it probably weights almost as much, but scrap iron is cheap. Mark [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Don S]

Who said anything about state of the art. The KLR at least has an overhead cam engine and is liquid cooled. The Harley Flintstone still flaunts it's Barney Rubble designed push rod air cooled crap not dissimilar to a Briggs and Straton lawn mower. Still laughing? Don jokerloco9@... wrote: You seen to be spouting off a lot about "outdated" Harley technology while on a KLR forum... As if the KLR is "state of the art"????? How funny is that?? Jeff A20 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --------------------------------- Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1 /min. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 11:25 AM -0400 7/1/06, jokerloco9@... wrote:

>My TC88 has given me zero problems, and is quite powerful, more powerful >than your beloved KLR. Sure, it cost 4 times what a KLR costs. But >a BMW or a >Mercedes car costs a lot more than a Toyota Corolla, and does just about the >same thing. > >Maybe if you think about it, you might figure out why. > >SNIP > >No piece of crap BMW or Mercedes for me.....

Uh.... don't you kinda contradict yourself here? Or are you saying that the Harley is a piece of crap because it costs a lot more than the KLR? Mark

[Don S]

This conversation reminds me of a bonehead I knew who had bought a lemon (North American car). The thing just kept costing him money for repairs to things that shouldn't have failed. Regardless of the fact that the vehicle was a piece of sh*t, he'd defend the vehicle and his wisdom for buying and maintaining it. It's like he didn't have the guts to admit that he had made a bad purchase. The really funny aspect was that when he calculated in his cost for repeated repairs, he felt he was "adding value to the vehicle"! Now that, my friends, is stubborn stupidity often found in brand loyalists who cannot see their way past their egos. It's fools like him that allow poor manufacturers to remain in business and continue to provide the market with inferior products. Do not underestimate the stupidity of the average uninformed consumer who cannot see past his/her own vanity. Don Tengai Mark Van Horn wrote: At 11:25 AM -0400 7/1/06, jokerloco9@... wrote:

>My TC88 has given me zero problems, and is quite powerful, more powerful >than your beloved KLR. Sure, it cost 4 times what a KLR costs. But >a BMW or a >Mercedes car costs a lot more than a Toyota Corolla, and does just about the >same thing. > >Maybe if you think about it, you might figure out why. > >SNIP > >No piece of crap BMW or Mercedes for me.....

Uh.... don't you kinda contradict yourself here? Or are you saying that the Harley is a piece of crap because it costs a lot more than the KLR? Mark __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[jokerloco9@aol.com]

Apparently you believe that a Jeep Commander is more desirable to everyone than a Harley whatever you said. Thank You for having the wisdom for knowing what everyone wants. Jeff A20 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]