So..what is the deal b/w Harley v. Ducati riders?

[Popeye the Sailor]

Then one of the 3 riders asked if I had on my "training wheels"...  >:

Just innocently tell him no, you left your Harley at home.....

[rgramjet]

I used to love pulling up behind Harley riders when I had baffle-less Frescos.  Watching them turn around to hear what was drowning out THEIR bikes brought me much pleasure.  They'd hear the noise, see the chrome tank and not know how to react.  Awesome! 

Now Im older, deafer and with baffles.....Oh well at least its fun to buzz vespas....

[mstevens]

they have not been riding long, and most likely don't know to wave back.

I don't buy it.

I started riding on a modern Vespa December 2006. I knew about the wave before I picked it up. These guys certainly know how to wave back.

[Kaveh]

i don't believe the lack of a wave back from most harley riders is due to their attitude ... i believe they are afraid of taking their hand off the handlebar, for fear of crashing ... and most of them could not lift a downed bike (and certainly NOT a hog) by their lonesome self.

seriously ... most harley riders today are RUBs ... they have not been riding long, and most likely don't know to wave back.

I'll bite, what's a RUBs?


ps.  I know that you know that I'm a bitter

[somegirl]

I'll bite, what's a RUBs?

I think it is Rich Urban Biker.

[jimboecv]

If you're on the road, h-d guys wave because they think you're on a buell-shaker.

The two worst passing moments I've ever had were getting around harley-clones.  Both were ass-idiots.  This spring a make the beast with two backs-stick with a pillion, no less, tries to out brake me and runs off the road.  make the beast with two backs-tard got what he deserved. 
Can you figure what I think of MOST clones?
When you're out in the middle of no where and you pass'em, they wave; mutual.  Road trip respect from me everytime.  But, and this is coming from a guy who sold Harleys folks, most of the 'loud' guys are cling-on, 'bucks hopping, 'I'll take a #5' tattoo please, ass-chaped cube-dwellers who take orders from someone else all day.  They're dying for a set of balls but can't find them in the accessory catalog.  Horrah for the H-D/Sears Catalog of individuality! These guys throw down there bonus check on boob jobs and vests while there kids teeth rot.
ugh.

[x136]

They're dying for a set of balls but can't find them in the accessory catalog.

They can't have looked very hard. Two seconds of Googling found this:



Classy!

[johnc]

I think it is Rich Urban Biker.

si ...

misincredible scores three points ... kaveh, zero.   

now on the the lightning round, where points are doubled 

[CharliesAngel]

Where did you eat at in Mendo?

Are you from Mendocino? Duh, should have guessed from your handle! 
Dinner - Mendocino Hotel's bar - they had an awesome view of the ocean
Breakfast - Bay View Cafe, a few buildings down from Mendocino Hotel, towards the Chevron gas station

Just innocently tell him no, you left your Harley at home.....

That's awesome! 

[mostrobelle]

I think HD's and Ducatis are really cut from the same cloth... both are very much about an image.  Didn't Harley or some subsidiary of it own Ducati for a bit? (The irony is/would be funny.) I honestly don't get the whole "I ride a spr0tbile you ride a cr00zer" bit.  I couldn't give two poops what people kind of car a person drives, and I think most people are the same...yet as soon as we see someone throw a leg over a two-wheeler we start to put our gray matter to work wondering why they chose to ride that. 

I'm pretty much blind to what people motor on these days.  I'm generally still excited just to see another bike out on the road.  If it's a cruiser, that generally equates to being a little easier to pass--but not all the time!     Every now and then you'll catch a guy who knows how to make one of those things move, and that's some pretty good stuff.   [moto]

...and just to round out my stream-of-consciousness observations, I think location really affects attitudes when it comes to bike brands.  I ride in the city everyday and will maybe get a passing glance or a comment from a tourist.  Yet one time I rode up to Mt. Diablo (it's just East Bay) and I had people staring at me when I got off the bike as if I'd just landed in a flyer saucer.  Had one guy come up to me and say, "Wow!  Never seen a woman on a Ducati!"  The Harley guys were all givin' me the hairy eyeball, too, like I was on their turf.  It was weird.   I try to stay on my side of the hills now.   

[ROBsS4R]

I think it is Rich Urban Biker.

Oh so like Road Hogs.... Very BAD movie btw

Hey wait a minute. I am a Poor Urban Biker... does that make me a PUB or maybe a Fat Urban Biker FUB

[Kaveh]

If you're on the road, h-d guys wave because they think you're on a buell-shaker.

The two worst passing moments I've ever had were getting around harley-clones.  Both were ass-idiots.  This spring a make the beast with two backs-stick with a pillion, no less, tries to out brake me and runs off the road.  make the beast with two backs-tard got what he deserved. 
Can you figure what I think of MOST clones?
When you're out in the middle of no where and you pass'em, they wave; mutual.  Road trip respect from me everytime.  But, and this is coming from a guy who sold Harleys folks, most of the 'loud' guys are cling-on, 'bucks hopping, 'I'll take a #5' tattoo please, ass-chaped cube-dwellers who take orders from someone else all day.  They're dying for a set of balls but can't find them in the accessory catalog.  Horrah for the H-D/Sears Catalog of individuality! These guys throw down there bonus check on boob jobs and vests while there kids teeth rot.
ugh.

quit sugar coating it, Jim, tell us how you really feel!

[jimboecv]

OK I will.  You're handsome for a hairy man but I liked your old hair cut better.

I fell better, thank you.

[jimboecv]

They can't have looked very hard. Two seconds of Googling found this:



Classy!

Ahh, but that's not from the 5-lbs of factory catalog, that's aftermarket. 

[Desmostro]

HD riders are simply miss-understood. Most individuals can be quite competitive.
We tend to think the one who goes fastest is the winner.

What we don’t get is that Hardleys don’t race, they “cruise.” Its a whole different “sport.” Its about looking cool.
Whoever has the most cool points is the winner.
So you have to pose.
Ride chin out, look only forward and ignore the world as if you were the last man on Earth. Stick your chest out, or simply hunch forward in some impossibly uncomfortable position that says,
“I don’t even care about posture! I’m so cool.” 
You have to invent your own cool to be the winner.

Don’t forget to hit the gas and lurch forward for no apparent reason. Taking turns with a friend in intervals, is even more impressive.
You can also make your bike really shiny with chrome and lights.
You just have to make everyone look at you so you can ignore them.
When this happens, you are the winner.


Taken from the book:
Yanomami Indians, The Fierce People; Celtics and Etruscans, and Harley posers.
Understanding Tribes 101
An Anthropologists field guide.