Talkin' bikes in the bar

[machew01]

Thursday night, I was at home packing the bike and getting ready to meet DSKYZD and wncbmw this weekend. I got hungry, so I decided to take a break. I drive up to the neighborhood bar & grill and grab a table next to two men. While I'm waiting for my beer, I hear the men behind me talking. The words "tankbag" and "motorcycle" get my attention.

I butt in and tell them that if they are going to talk motorcycles, that I just might have to join the conversation. They ask me if I ride, and I tell them yes. One of them tells me that they met there at Ed's (the neighborhood bar & grill) to talk and plan a ride for this weekend, and he pointed out their map. Here is a portion of our conversation.

Me: "Where are you going on your ride this weekend?"
HD1: "Shelton."
Me: "Where is that?"
HD1: "Shelton's Harley Davidson in Durham."
(That would be a 35 mile round trip, at most.)
Me: "Well, that certainly wouldn't be a bad way to spend a Saturday. I'm planning to ride this weekend too."
HD2: "Where are you riding to?"
Me: "I'm meeting a friend of mine at a motorcycle campground in southwest Virginia."
HD1: "What do you ride?"
Me: "A BMW K1200S."
HD1: "How many miles do you have on it?"
Me: "About 2,600."
HD1: "How long have you had it?"
Me: "Oh, 4 or 5 weeks."
HD1: "How many miles were on it when you bought it?"
Me: "11."
HD1: "Damn!! Don't you work!?!?"
Me: "Well, yes, I work."
HD1: (pointing to HD2) "He's had his bike nearly a year, and it's only got 48 miles on it."

But we had a fun conversation and I left having made a couple of new friends - Larry and Rob. Oh yea, their ride to Durham was a warm-up for their upcoming big trip to bike week at Myrtle Beach.


mac
Raleigh, NC USA

[DK]

It's hard to put miles on a bike when it's parked wheel to curb in front of the local bars.

A couple of weekends ago we had a beautiful sunny day and I had my bike out. As I was going thru this little town, there must have been 30+ plus Harleys, wheel to curb, at the local watering hole. I thought, this is the middle of the afternoon, prime riding weather and you guys are inside. I zipped by heading for the twisty road

[yjleesvrr]

Michael - I'm going to have to ride my Harley to one of our get-togethers to prove that Harley riders actually can ride these things several thousand miles a year

Correct that. A BMW rider riding a Harley

[Capt. Blackadder]

I actually had to read it twice: A year and forty-eight miles. That's beyond pathetic... that's a waste of machinery.

[machew01]

Yong, feel free to ride whatever you want with those of us from r1150r.org. After all, we all want to be just like you when we grow up.

mac

[wncbmw]

upcoming big trip to bike week at Myrtle Beach.

Where no doubt, they will cruise around Myrtle Beach in uniform - black tee shirt, no helmet.

And Yong, I am not sure I can room at the Bash with a Harley guy!

I have some friends that do some serious miles on their HDs. They seem to be the exception. They do more cruising on the interstate than I like but at least they ride.

[sjbmw]

The guys that rock the miles on HD's are the old schoolers. They can take their bikes apart and reassemble them from memory also. These are true iron butts and you can catch these guys in the winter with frozen beards. They are to be revered.

The HD marketing dept has created a new class of rider that embarrasses these old schoolers. George Carlin does a bit on these guys that will have you in tears.

[ebiker]

The guys that rock the miles on HD's are the old schoolers. They can take their bikes apart and reassemble them from memory also. These are true iron butts and you can catch these guys in the winter with frozen beards. They are to be revered. The HD marketing dept has created a new class of rider that embarrasses these old schoolers. George Carlin does a bit on these guys that will have you in tears.

I believe the Old Schoolers label this new breed as, "Instant Bikers". Of course, we probably have some in the BMW circles.

Ed..

[wncbmw]

Of course, we probably have some in the BMW circles.

Unfortunately true. But in greatly reduced percentage!

[R4R&R]

My next door neighbors are from Greece and own a couple of those 'family restaurants'. Nice people; anyway I was over at their house one night talking and one of the brothers said he tried buying a bike a few years ago but he 'dropped' it and hasn't ridden it since. It turns out that he has some 'model' Harley. He bought it when the Harley craze was unstoppable (I think it's slowing down since all of the 'custom choppers' have flooded the market) and rode it home, then to the restaurant and dropped it in the parking lot. No real damage other than pride and rode it home - where it's sat for the past five years! I kind of want to find out which model it is and possibly make him an offer - I'd probably be stealing it from him. He said it has less than 250 miles on it. I get the impression it's something along the lines of a softail or Dyna of some model. I don't think it's a dressed tourer.

Neat people; different view on a lot of things. They grew up in Greece riding 'scooters', probably Vespas.

[vintagecycle]

It almost goes with the territory when you own a beemer that you must ride it...a lot!
When I bought my beemer, I bought it with the intention of riding the hell out of it.
Since my son was born last summer I haven't rode is much as I'd like to, but I've still ridden it more than any other bike I've owned

[RiftonRoadster]

On a summer night in '05 I stopped for a bite to eat at popular restaurant in a Wurstboro, NY. The place was very busy and the only seat was at the bar. So I ask the two guys there if it's taken and they say go ahead. I quickly learn they have the two Harleys outside. I mention my BMW and one of the guys launches into a story about how he pulled up next to a beamer at a light and started giving this guy some crap (by now I'm thinking I picked the wrong place to stop). He continues with his story and is getting a little...agitated then he goes on to say that then the guy rolled his window down .....
I say " I have a BMW motorcycle - not a car". Well that changed everything and we all had a good laugh. They were members of a club in the Bronx - or the Bronx chapter, something like the Kings? can't remember but I do believe they lived that life. Their one girlfriend was with them and they were quite loud at the bar. Can't say I felt relaxed in this situation but it was comfortable. The common thing was talking about riding and they even went outside to check out my bike.
I've found that most Harley guys have a soft spot for BMW bikes (not cars). In the end we wished each other well and I went chuckling all the way home. It takes all kinds.

Peter

[JCsman]

I was stalking bikes to an Alabama DOT guy a few weeks ago and he mentioned a recent retiree that bought a brand new 1200 Sportster for his retirement gift to himself. According to my friend, the guy was widowed a few years ago and often spoke of the "open road". Supposedly he also bought many hundreds of dollars on H-D gear, both for the bike and for himself. He, apparently never goes anywhere without H-D shirt, hat or jacket.

When it was purchased, the retiree got my friend to ride it to the ALDOT parking lot for him on a Saturday. There he got his "lesson" in motorcycle riding. He rode it around the parking lot once. Then my buddy said he rode it home. He parked it in his front yard with all of 28 miles on the bike and it has sat there for months. When his friend asked about riding it he said, "I have found it is better to OWN a Harley than to RIDE a Harley".

[single650]

I just purchased a new BMW Rock as my old one, a K75s is getting a bit tired at 85000. The new (to me) one has only done 4000m since '03 so its not just HD riders that don't ride, at least here in the UK.

My mileage is 200 a week plus trips, say 14000 a year. That was a chain and sprockets a year before I got shafted

[Capt. Blackadder]

When his friend asked about riding it he said, "I have found it is better to OWN a Harley than to RIDE a Harley".

That was certainly true of the '86 883 Sportster I tried once, but definitely not of either the late-model Dyna or the brand-new Fat Boy with Screaming Eagle goodies that I tried a few years ago... at least when the road wasn't too challenging.

[yjleesvrr]

The thing about the R1150R is that it spoils us like very few bikes can. For a bike that weighs 550lbs. with the tank full, it handles extremely well. Does it flick like my SV650? Well, no. But it's not too different.

My Dyna Glide Sport, which weighs 650 lbs. with the tank full, has a more standard fork rake compared to most Harleys and thus handles transitions well. But it feels distinctly heavier than the Roadster. And the clearance isn't quite as good. Of course, I could cure that rather cheaply if I wanted. But I bought my Dyna as a cruiser that rode a little more like a traditional standard. In this mode, it's great. It's nice not having to go 20 over the speed limit to entertain myself.

[JCsman]

I didn't write the little tale of the H-D guy who parked his bike as yard art to slam H-D's as bikes. But to reflect upon some that have bought H-D's as lifestyle objects more than bikes.

I've got a brother-in-law that looks to be a H-D poster boy. Benny's ridden bikes (and of course that is exclusively H-D's) for over 40 years. He's a long haul trucker. So his bike time is limited. He probably ONLY puts 15-20,000 per year on his bike!

Me, I rode a 2004 H-D Sportster 1200R before I got my BMW. Other than the reversing course to find the parts that vibrated off, I loved that thing.

It was beautiful (women certainly thought so). It had ample power. It even handled the road well enough for my limited skills. And it had a raw, elemental appeal.

My R1150R does almost everything "better". But that's better from the perspective of what I want in a bike. Others may think anything less than a GSX100R is for wimps. OR, if it doesn't have a microwave and you do less than 30,000 miles per year, you ain't a real biker.

Feel free. I'll just continue to enjoy mine and the way I ride her.

[ebiker]

When it was purchased, the retiree got my friend to ride it to the ALDOT parking lot for him on a Saturday. There he got his "lesson" in motorcycle riding. He rode it around the parking lot once. Then my buddy said he rode it home. He parked it in his front yard with all of 28 miles on the bike and it has sat there for months. When his friend asked about riding it he said, "I have found it is better to OWN a Harley than to RIDE a Harley".

Sad and so often true. I had co-workers proudly explain in detail how they rode all of 1,000 miles in one year on their Harley.

Reminds me of a hard core Harley rider in Pennsylvania who had the following inscription printed on a tee shirt:"Ride the damn thing or sell it to someone who will".


Ed..