Perhaps some truth to that
I just had a Harley Electra Glide as a loaner while my Triumph was in for service. I only had it a couple of days, but now that I have actually ridden a Harley I have a slightly different perspective than I did before.
1. Even with stock pipes it is loud. It may not be as loud as it would be with straight pipes, but it is still a whole lot louder than any other bike I have ridden.
2. It gets a whole lot of attention, mostly favorable, from people who don't ride. That includes attention from women who have shown no interest in my sportbike. If you want to pick up chicks, the Harley seems to be the tool of choice.
3. It is the first vehicle of any kind that I didn't feel the urge to test for top speed. I suppose you could do that, but that is missing the point. It was fun just to putt along on the Harley. There is joy in that, too.
4. It is low tech, but you don't notice that as much as its mass. You feel the mass rotating beneath you, and it feels like a locomotive- immensely strong if not particularly agile or quick.
5. It is very comfortable. Even more forward footpegs would be hard on the back, but the Harley was a whole lot more comfortable than a BMW R1100RT that I put some miles on. Vibration was there but was not really the problem that I expected.
So, those of us who ride sportbikes should ride one of these things before judging them. If I were going to ride across the country many times, I would seriously consider one of those monsters. If my main reason for riding was to get attention, I would want one even more. As it is, I commute on my TT600 and go on longer rides of 400 to 600 miles in a given day, and the sportbike is great for that kind of thing.
One last thing, I am a 42 year old bald guy, so I can't really grow a grey pony tail, and I am still married to my first and, I hope, only wife, so I don't really need to pick up chicks right now.
I just had a Harley Electra Glide as a loaner while my Triumph was in for service. I only had it a couple of days, but now that I have actually ridden a Harley I have a slightly different perspective than I did before.
1. Even with stock pipes it is loud. It may not be as loud as it would be with straight pipes, but it is still a whole lot louder than any other bike I have ridden.
2. It gets a whole lot of attention, mostly favorable, from people who don't ride. That includes attention from women who have shown no interest in my sportbike. If you want to pick up chicks, the Harley seems to be the tool of choice.
3. It is the first vehicle of any kind that I didn't feel the urge to test for top speed. I suppose you could do that, but that is missing the point. It was fun just to putt along on the Harley. There is joy in that, too.
4. It is low tech, but you don't notice that as much as its mass. You feel the mass rotating beneath you, and it feels like a locomotive- immensely strong if not particularly agile or quick.
5. It is very comfortable. Even more forward footpegs would be hard on the back, but the Harley was a whole lot more comfortable than a BMW R1100RT that I put some miles on. Vibration was there but was not really the problem that I expected.
So, those of us who ride sportbikes should ride one of these things before judging them. If I were going to ride across the country many times, I would seriously consider one of those monsters. If my main reason for riding was to get attention, I would want one even more. As it is, I commute on my TT600 and go on longer rides of 400 to 600 miles in a given day, and the sportbike is great for that kind of thing.
One last thing, I am a 42 year old bald guy, so I can't really grow a grey pony tail, and I am still married to my first and, I hope, only wife, so I don't really need to pick up chicks right now.
