I was on the way home from the track tonight, just minding my own business. A group of Harleys follow me off the highway and pull up on the driver side of the car. A hot blonde on the back of one the bikes starts talking with me and as the light changes I take off at maybe half throttle. So as we pull up to the next light there's a car in the left lane, me in the right and the Harleys behind the car in the left lane. Suddenly, one guy yells, " Hey, you think that piece of XXXX is a race car?". Mind you, I still have the numbers on the window from the track. So I yell back, "We'll see at the next light". So as we're heading for the next light I slap on the helmet. Just to be funny. He pulls along side at the next light and starts running his mouth again, reving the hell out of the bike, laughing about the helmet. Light goes green and I holeshot him big time. Jump out to a huge lead, probably 5-6 cars and that was enough for him. Next light, he wouldn't even look at me and his buddies were laughing their a$$ off. Awesome end to a great night. Had a .001 Reaction Time at the track!

 

sounds like a great race!I herd Harleys are slow for bikes, Dont lot of em run 14s???

 

I have some special equipment on my bikes for the Hardleys... they are called 'rear view mirrors'.

 

Harleys are slow. They are one of the only bikes I can hold off. What dickbag.

 

Nice kill, you're a nut putting on your helmet on the street! I'm no one to talk though, because I once dawned a rubber monster mask in broad daylight in March. I just kept driving, faced forward and minded my own business. I just wanted to see the reaction on other people's faces if they even noticed. I was on the highway and I almost suffocated from laughter. I later found out that wearing a mask in public is illegal (Virginia).

Call Harleys slow all you want, but you guys havn't seen a real Harley. Chances are there would be no trash talking, just a rev and you would know it was on. Ofcourse, I'm not talking about stock in any way shape or form.

 

A guy i work with has a harley with some work done to it. 100hp at wheels. Dang quick too.

I ran even with a bike once all the way to 105, i run 14 flat so alot of bikes like those cruisers are slow.

 

yes, wearing a mask is illegal in Virginia. that i can say. what part of VA ya from.







and so as not to be attacked for being off-topic. harley's are slow

 

they must give out alot of tickets in VA on halloween.



harleys are slow. i would have been more impressed if you beat a civic.

 

yeah, one night we got the bright idea to ride down the road with the scream masks with the tounges hangin out..... yeah.:nono:

 

1983 V65 Honda. Cruiser. Over 100 HP to the rear wheel STOCK. The V30 (a 500cc) put something like 60+ to the rear wheel for mid 12 sec. passes stock. Hardleys are slow.
Oh... and if I really want to ride a vibrator, I'll get a sex change. :shrug:

 

Sorry, I guess it's just personal experience, but I've never actually seen a fast Hardley. And that's in nearly 15 years of riding.

 

There is a key stipulation in that law saying that it is only illegal to wear a mask in public if over the age of 16. It is an old anti-KKK law.

As for harleys, I don't know why people buy them. Nice kill.

 

oh i have.

tube frame, flat rear slick tire... running on alcohol. i forget what it ran, but it was single digits.


ofcourse, because its a air cooled motor, it would suck *** and overheat... plus you couldnt turn it.. lol.

dragbikes are cool. and some of the harley motor classes are pretty affordable to race in... well, affordable as far as built drag bikes can be..





that damn air cooled motor is why i dont own a buell.
i have a honda hawk ( props if you know what the hell that is.)
every sportbike ive ridden, new or old, has felt like a overweight slug in the handling department compared to the hawk.
except the buell firebolt. it was the lightest, most flickable begging for twisties street bike ive ever ridden. but. one fatal flaw. the motor.

it lacked power.
they fixed that recently with a bigger motor... buuut.
its air cooled. i ride YEAR ROUND. 29* out? wear a riding suit.
but thoes bikes never warm up when it gets that cold.
and in the summer, they dont overheat, but they lose power when they get that hot.

if it wasnt such a long motor, the Vrods motor would kickass in it.

sadly, Buells will never reach what they could have been as long as they have harley motors in them.... well, current harley motors.
someday, the old retards that dont know how much better other bikes can be, will accept a modern watercooled motor... then (and only then) can they start to move forward.
im all for keeping the Vtwin torquey powerband. i love it.
but, it needs to keep that curve, and move it up on the graph.

 

Gotcha. I guess I should have stipulated non-dragbikes. You're right. There are some impressive dragbike Harleys.

It's funny, and Harley purists hate this, but the best bike that Harley has ever produced is the V-rod. Of course, it took Porche to build the motor, but it is a good bike.

And yes, I know exactly what a Hawk is. I've ridden one. Honestly I find my R1 a bit more responsive in the handling department. It may just be the way the inline 4 responds vs the twin. It also may just be that I'm very used to mine, and only ridden the Hawk once.

 

it'll also be very dependant on how the hawk is setup. off the showroom floor, hawks were just OK. it takes a few tweeks to make them awsome.

 

Haha thats awesome. I hate those *******s with the loud pipes.

I could never understand why they get a free pass when it comes to no mufflers.

 

Motorcycles are allowed to make more noise for safety reasons.

 

You probably got up against some rub on a dresser. Most of the "true bikers" know that Harleys arent necessarily quick. As to the V-Rod being the best Harley ever built, I disagree whole heartedly. I guess thats probably because I was raised different than most of the people on this board. My old man owns a '39 and a '47 Knucklehead, which most of the people on the board probably don't know that that's a Harley. Besides, I hate the sound of crotch rockets, they sound like Civics witha bigger more annoying fart can. The AMF years were bad years, but previous and later years were good. But, what do I know, I guess there must be some reason that Harley's actually retain value. Sorry, just didn't want to hear all the bad talking about Harley's because of some idiot on a Harley.

Gilley

 

Those crotch rockets sound gooood!! Civics and the like have weird sound too them. Kinda deep but "fart" like sounds too. Sport Bikes have a indy car kinda wail, higher pitched and different tone than 4bangers, since they scream at over 9000 rpms in some if not most cases.

 

Hmm it all makes sense now.... that's why Honda's need fart pipes cuz they are small and slowwwww...

 

By the time any Harley is even moderately quick, there are very few Harley parts left on it. They currently enjoy exactly the same type of popularity that the little ***** cars do, you either buy into the "image" and become part of the "culture", or you just chuckle at the whole thing.

You will generally ride or drive what your friends ride or drive. Most dullards never get much further than sitting around with their buddies, telling each other why their chosen vehicle is bitchen, and (fill in the blank) are not, and never learn anything about something different. My first bike was an FXR Harley. My current bike is a ZX9-R. I have learned a LOT.

Current sport bikes redline around 14,000 to 16,000 rpms. If you think that sounds like a "Honda Car", you need to put the baffles back in your Harley so your hearing can recover. It's kinda like saying an indy car sounds like a pickup truck because they both have V8's.

 

That has no bearing on why I don't like Harleys. I've ridden several of them over the years. Including the Road King, V-rod and a Buell(not sure what model). The things I don't like are the stupid amounts of vibration, mushy gearboxes, godawful suspension, frankly dangerous brakes, and the absolutely ridiculous pricing for a substandard product. Added to that is the total lack of performance. I'd say don't take it personally, but along with most Harley fans you probably will. Unfortunately I'm just stating facts that I have found out for myself.

As soon as an American company builds a bike that is competitve with the Japanese in quality, reliability, performance and price I will buy one. Unfortunately that hasn't happened, and I don't see it happening any time soon. The V-rod has come the closest. It's got the power(thank you Porche), and one of the slickest gearboxes out there. Handling is okay for a cruiser, and the brakes actually work fairly well. I don't know about reliability yet. Give it some more time. The big problem is price. It's way overpriced for what it is.

I'll give HD credit for this though. They've got the best marketing department in the motorcycle industry. They've done miracles when you consider that most Harleys are sold on nothing more than an image.

 

Very true. That was the other difference. My R1 is setup for my weight and riding style. The Hawk I rode was box stock. It seemed a little mushy. Adjustment, or even replacement ot the forks and shock would be a huge improvement.

 

lol. well thats funny firend just bought a 283 harley what 60 hp at the wheels stock. added hyper-charger(basicly a extrabutterfly that acts as a ram air. k&n air filter. and when we wen to the track he ran low 12's so how are they slow.???

 

there slow if your running 11's. LOL

Not really slow at all. Alot of bikes are 12-13 second rides but launching them is hard. Thats why cars usually can holeshot them good. But bikes superior top end and light weight takes over from there. A 13 second bike runing a 13 second car wont be as even as it sounds. On a shorter race, if the car gets the hole shot, then bike is playing catch up.

 

this is true but harleys are the best 1/4 mile bike out thier. thier the only ones with tq. my friend raced a hyabusa(spelling) and kicked the shyt out of him but the other guy was gaing alot at the end. it all matters how big your tire is and how hard you feel safe lunching. but my friends down in MMI know learning to become a mechanic for bikes. he's doing alot to his bike for school down thier it's gonna be a quick SOB. o well you'll find a halrey one day that will kick you but and then youll know

 

I have been on some hyabusa forums and they run anywhere from low 9's to high 10's. Depends on driver. some guys that have more experience riding and are performance oriented will launch quicker and run harder.

All I know is that the guy I work with has a harley will all harley parts and its putting 100hp at the wheels. Its loud and fast as hell. But looks stock like a cruiser bike with dual saddlebags, and rear seat. Just painted up nice and lots of chrome. LOL

 

Don't forget that bikes run into an aerodynamic brick wall right around 120 mph.

 

whys that stu? i seen bikes over 120 all the time and they are flying. Think every bike runs over 120 easy. Sportbikes are more aerodynamic than harleys tho.

 

wow Stu your on PROBATION.

Anyways i went on my Uncs Harley today, I mean its pretty fast. Sounds great tho

 

There is a local Harley shop, they used to be in Stoneham,MA and they recently moved to Pelham,NH. Some of you N.E bikers probably know who they are.

These guys can build some pretty crazy bikes. They had a built up dragster, very light, very fast...probably not street legal at that point.

They've been doing some off-road stuff just for fun, I'm not sure if they still have the drag bike.

I don't remember the exact numbers, but I doubt any thirdgen or mustang would be able to keep up with it without some serious mods. To find someone crazy enough to ride it on the street, well that's another story.

Again, maybee nothing you'll ever see on the street, but here is a good example of what a harley can do:

http://www.iamw.com/bikes/ahdra.htm

 

well i got something for you. the most aerodynamic bike is a 196? somethign halrey i belvie. i'll ask my freind he's got a huge article about it. not even the new crotch rockets are better. nore any bike scnince. it's been tested and proven correct. it might not be the bastest bike but it is the more aerodynamic.
edit: and if harleys make chicks put a bear in thier bra thats always a good sign

 

The vibration is all a part of it. I havent ever rode a new, or well maintained harley that had Godawful suspension, or scary brakes.

A harley isnt a race bike. It isnt made to handle the corners. It isnt made for racing. Thats why the foreign companies sell those little **** burners. So young kids can ride an uncomfortable sport bike. A harley is made to cruise, plain and simple.

Also, if you dont like to work on your motorcycle than a harley isnt right for you. They almost all leak somewhere, and they constantly need something. Its all part of it. Some people own harleys because the love of the motorcycle, everyone else calls them pieces of crap.

 

"the things I don't like are the stupid amounts of vibration, mushy gearboxes, godawful suspension, frankly dangerous brakes, and the absolutely ridiculous pricing for a substandard product."

Sort of reminds me of a thirdgen!

....if you consider those clowns trying to get blue book 'excellent' for some old POS 155k mile junker....then the ridiculous pricing does come into play too!

 

Harleys are awesome the image and every thing is part of it and like the others said they arent meant to go super fast they are meant to be fun to ride If speed is your only concern get a crotch rocket and Ill probably be seeing you smeered all over the side of the interstate



And also If we dont get back to something about thirdgens this is gonna get locked

zero tolerance

 

Yeah, I bet I'm the only one too.

Anyway, I know that bikes can accelerate well past 120mph, but talking to bike guys that I know, they say that wind resistence really starts to be an issue right around then.

On another note, why can't Harley build a bike that rumbles and shakes but doesn't break? If it's all about image, can't you just pretend that it's unreliable? All you are doing is pretending anyway.

 

You do understand that this is flame bait, yes? Here's a nice axiom for you to post by: "If I don't have anything nice to post I shouldn't post anything at all."

This thread is off track so I'm going to lock it.