Ive been meaning to put up a similar post myself since I joined MO late last year. I get tired of the endless knocking of HD, the Genx-y-z" comments, sport vs. cruiser myself. Im old enough to remember when the Honda 750 came out and started to really threaten HDs dominance. Hostility in those days was real, as in get run off the road if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time (I was).
Even funnier was the snobbery within even the HD ranks. Sometime in the 70s, HD started using Hitachi starters. Guys would rip them out and put in the Prestolite so they didnt have "Jap Junk" in their bikes. Then the belt drive came out, and it was endless comments about "rubber band bikes." It never stops. Just the other day there was a rant on guys who used trailers to get to Daytona. My friend and I took our bikes from Ft Lauderdale to Daytona on a trailer. My back is broken in two places, (thanks Mr. Cager) and I cant ride more than an hour at most without extreme pain. My buddy has a steel rod for a left leg, but he still rides with a Pingle shifter. I say its better to show up on a trailer than not at all.
Im perfectly aware there are thousands of HD, cruiser, and especially custom or chopper buyers who are in it for the fad. Then there are the ones with the endless chrome and leather fringe, neon lights, whatever. Our bikes are as different as a sailboat is from a "go-fast," but theyre both cool.
I believe that the more people there are out there on any bike at any time, the more cagers there are with a family member, friend, or co-worker who rides. And its my hope that this fact means there are more cagers paying attention to bikes, and not inadvertently, or even deliberately, causing us to wreck. Not to mention that as the industry thrives, our choices in bikes, accessories, service, and cool stuff like MO only increase.
One more thing: Im not at all sure why, but I believe God likes motorcycles. Maybe its because they take us out of the cage and put us back in the world, maybe its because they cause far less damage to the world than the SUVs, or maybe God simply thinks theyre cool. Whatever the reason, when I ride, I feel closer to God than when I don't.