Maybe you should look into one of THESE:
As their Slogan says, "Ride One, You'll Buy One"
I've got one of these from the late 50's. Mine's a ratty old junker, but it IS fun.
Posted on 03/30/2005 3:01:07 AM PST by Melas
You Are What You Ride: Progressive Survey Finds Differences Between Harley and Sport Bike Riders Go Beyond Bike Type
Wednesday March 9, 1:33 pm ET
Both Dig Body Art But Harley Riders More Likely to Wear What They Ride, Says America's Top Motorcycle Insurer
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2005-- What can you tell about a person by the kind of motorcycle they ride? Plenty, according to a recent countrywide online survey conducted by The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, the number one seller of motorcycle insurance in the U.S. The survey finds interesting differences - and similarities - between Harley-Davidson riders and those who ride sport bikes.
For example, everyone knows that Harley riders wear their passion for biking on their sleeve... literally. The survey finds Harley riders are three times more likely than those who ride sport bikes to own clothing or artwork that displays the brand of motorcycle they ride (93 percent versus 30 percent, respectively). Harley riders are also more likely to have body art such as tattoos and piercings (52 percent versus 40 percent).
The survey also finds that Harley riders are more likely than those who ride sport bikes to plan rides around where they'll eat (32 percent versus 23 percent).
Sport bike riders are three times more likely to eat at fast-food restaurants (18 percent versus six percent), while riders of Harleys are nearly four times more likely to pick restaurants with the nicest looking waiters/waitresses (11 percent versus three percent).
The survey confirms that both rider groups have much in common, too. For example, both say "freedom" is the number one reason they ride. And though sport bikes are commonly known as "crotch-rockets" or "road-rippers," only six percent of those who ride them say they do so for "speed" while fewer than one percent of Harley riders say the same. Both groups listed the same top excuses for justifying a quick ride: running errands, testing the engine and visiting friends.
Progressive's survey also finds that ninety-five (95) percent of all riders acknowledge their fellow bikers while riding. Waving is the preferred method of acknowledgement (37 percent), although Harley riders are nearly twice as likely to acknowledge other riders by pointing two fingers down (29 percent versus 16 percent).
Harley riders are six times more likely to only acknowledge those riding the same style bike (18 percent versus three percent).
Additional survey results include:
An overwhelming majority of riders (88 percent) donate time or money to charities. Two-thirds of Harley riders (67 percent) and one-third of those who ride sport bikes (33 percent) participate in at least one charity ride each year.
Sixty-nine (69) percent of all riders daydream at work each day about riding their bike.
Eighteen (18) percent of all riders call in sick to work at least once a year to go riding.
Women prefer to ride with their significant other (58 percent), while men choose to ride with their friends (63 percent).
Adding custom parts that enhance the look of their bikes was the number one choice for Harley riders (73 percent), while adding performance equipment was the top choice for those who ride sport bikes (44 percent).
Adding more tools and extra bars of Lava soap is the top choice for those who ride vintage Brit iron. ('65 Norton Atlas, '61 BSA 441)
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You probably know your Lucas electrical enough to earn a PhD!
But there is nothing like opening up the BSA on a winding road, watching the road unwind under that skinny front tire and feeling the thump-thump-thump of that big single against the kidneys........
LOL - and the farther you ride them, the less they weigh!
I had a friend who was always ragging on me about how much I had to tinker with my Nortons. He finally got a Sportster, and the first time we went for a ride together stuff started falling off about as fast as we could go back and find it. It was stuff that was never put on right in the first place, but it sure shut him up!
Lucas, the Lord of Darkness.
The three positions on a Lucas light switch:
1. Dim
2. Flicker
3. Dead
Maybe you should look into one of THESE:
As their Slogan says, "Ride One, You'll Buy One"
I've got one of these from the late 50's. Mine's a ratty old junker, but it IS fun.
"C&S is still around. Several stores around Middle Tennessee."
My Dad's house was around the corner from the one in West Nashville, I think it on 46th and Alabama? The first one was out on Charlotte Pike many years ago.
In the early 60's, the biggest prize we could ever have was finding an old gas mower in the trash bin. Then somehow with tape, wire and rope secured the gas engine onto a 3speed bike frame.
We never did build one that lasted more than 1 or 2 city blocks. Someone or something always wound up broken, leaking or bleeding. :-)
I wanna see it do a stoppie. ;-)
ROFL!!
When I take mine up it doesn't last past the first shift and the only way I really know I'm up is if someone tells me or I feel a small blip when I shift. The next clue is when I check the air in my front forks and the gauge reads 0.
It's so dam heavy, and with my fat 245lb butt on the backseat I can't fly for long. :-)
PS- It stops just fine! Really.
oh,,, LOL,,, ain't doin' a stoppie! :-)
Sure beats the heck out of sleepin' on the ground!
We can make exceptions for trailer pulled by bikes.
I’ve met some great people on the road, and – believe it or nor – not one single A-hole. I’ve been lucky. I even met up with some lawyers who turned out to be OK. They were a bit cautious, but considering their social class it was to be expected.
I pulled into a rest stop on I-10 in Texas and noticed about a dozen new Harley Dressers – all identical models, all identical paint jobs. We started talking and I heard their tale. They had been setting around their country club one day trying to come up with something new to do and decided a motorcycle ride to Mexico City would be adventurous. They went to the local Harley shop and put in their order. The hired a mechanic with pickup and parts, booked a tour and headed for Mexico. They were on their way home to Nebraska (?) when we met up. One couple wanted to leave the group and see something besides the Interstate so they tagged along with me. They were a bit uncomfortable in a couple of the diners, but enjoyed themselves when they realized that Cowboys and Good Ole Boys were good people too. Camping on back roads was to them Ultimate Danger and Adventure.
I imagine they had some good tales to tell when they made it back to the club.
A friend of mine has one of these, the Triumph Rockett III. It is HUGH bike. Too dam big for me and too much power (140hp). Triumph has the classic line which are retro bikes based on the Triumph Bonneville of the 1960's. That is what I have and I LOVE it. The big difference in the Bonnevilles between now and then is now they have electric start, don't leak oil, and are as reliable as hell. This bike is a BLAST to ride. Triumph has a 100 year history just like Harley and Indian and you don't see alot of Triumphs on the road probably because alot of people are too young to remember Triumph, and most people arent aware that Triumph is even building bikes again. Also because Triumph does not advertize, is why they can keep the price of the Bonneville Classic at $6800.00. A bargain for a piece of history that is also very functional and a hell of alot of fun to ride. I am a Triumph fanatic so anybody that is interested in buying one can e-mail me with any questions and I can steer you to some of our Triumph Bonneville websites where we hang out. Here is the Triumph Bonneville T100 Classic bike which I ride all the time (I also have an orginal 1968 Bonneville in showroom condition that is too nice to ride): 
ping
Mine is a 750 ACE. I keep telling myself that I'll get a Harley when I've worn the engine out on this. At 2000 miles a year, that may be a long time.
What year was the Sportster?
There is still one at 46 and I-40 West about two blocks north of Charlotte.
I own a car wash further out Charlotte bordering Hillwood-Brookmeade.
Sylvan Park has been gentrified by GenX and Y yuppies btw.
My dad used to ride Triumphs and BSA's back in the late 60s/early 70s. My uncle still is involved with buying and trading triumph bikes.
I'm also enslaved to Lucas' consort Amal, the Evil Goddess of the Fumes.
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