I don't get it

[painman]

If we were all the same the world as we know it would really be a drag. Like mentioned if I had the dough my garage would look like Jay Leno's I guess. I know that I don't ride my HD as much as I use to but when I do I realize more and more how much more comfy the FJR is. But "praise the toad" :lol: that's hilarious. Some of these things ought to be pinned some where. Too funny...PM. <><

 

[JRO]

I just don't get it. Sure, the bike is gorgeous, a museum piece.

Pure aesthetics. In all honesty, those are difficult to judge, because they are both highly individual and extremely faddish. The bustle was once the height of fashion. Then, it wasn't. Choppers came and went, and have came again. Aesthetics change. They're just style.

Form follows function. Appreciating something based, first, on it's functionality, is different. The shaker hood on a '70 Road Runner with six-pack aspiration is functional. That gives it a beauty, beyond some bogus piece of fiberglass stuck on a hood, just for looks. When I was a kid, drag racing my way through youth, if it wasn't functional, it wasn't cool. Functional was the highest compliment to machinery.

If you're looking for functionality within your basis of aesthetics, then you're often going to be disappointed by others' opinions, when they're purely based in style. The bustle, like the chopper, isn't really good for anything.

But can you imagine how awful it would be to ride? Isn't that a basic element of being a motorcycle enthusiast? You like to ride..

Choppers are awful to ride. I like to ride, and when I was young, there used to be a raked-out Harley chopper parked in my Uncle's front yard. I rode it. I rode it, all the time. Nobody else would. It was cool, but it was awful to ride. Still, I liked to ride it. It was awful.

I've rode a few, in the years since. They were awful, too. I'll never buy one, but it was fun to try them. I particularly liked the part where I got off the things, and then cussed them... The paint jobs were sometimes neat, though.

Just because you like to ride, doesn't mean a person wants a highly functional motorcycle, or that they're going to cover a lot of distance with it. There are those, who are going to suffer with whatever failures a machine has, either because they don't know any better, or are so taken with form that they endure the lack of function.

If you just want to look at it and hear the motor rev, you're not a motorcyclist. I don't know what that is, but it's not a motorcyclist.

You're a motorcycle enthusiast. If you were a motocyclist, you'd ride the thing. Even if it were awful.

 

[TCMike]

Looks cool,but......

I know someone with a chopper. He thinks I'm nuts for riding my bike to NC next week, he can only ride his bike in 2 hour stretches at a time before his ass/back are toast. He's younger than me too.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Perhaps this guy is an enthusiast, rather than a motorcyclist. He likes the look, the feel, the image of this particular bike. He may derive as much pleasure from polishing it, showing it off and an occasional 5 mile cruise to Starbucks and back, as we do from actually RIDING our FJR's.

Each to his own.

Jill

 

[Murph]

Choppers are not my thing but I'd have a bobber if money weren't an object.

There are different bikes to fit different preferences. I see nothing wrong with someone owning a chopper if they're only looking to ride short mileage and locally...which, according to motorcycle mileage statistics, is most riders.

I frequently wonder about people's choices about bikes. For example, I cannot figure out why anybody would buy an FJR and put so few miles on it. To me, the FJR is designed to be ridden long-distance and/or by everyday commuters who need comfort and storage capacity...both are riders who log plenty of miles. Yet I constantly see FJRs on sale that have barely been broken in. Why would anyone else purchase an FJR in the first place? But I answered my own question above....there are many different types of bikes and people have a right to change their minds.

 

[RatoneMuerto]

The Barber Museum's collection is more complete than the Gugenheim exhibit was in some ways, but in other ways, the Gugenheim exhibit was better organized, and gave a more coherent picture of the chronological developments. If Barber ever gets a really good curator, it will be even better than it is right now.

MMM Good weekend for a trip to 'Bama.Talledega and Barber..... Cant beat that with a stick! :dribble: :clapping:

 

[JerseyEd]

Does he already ride, or does he think this is how to get into it? Posers like choppers.

Used to ride a Sportster back in the 70s. Nothing since. And he's from Georgia.

I had the first AMF model. Ride two days, rebuild the tans one day,on and on. Hope you had a later model. If you did have that model, I will tell you that they make bikes that run smooth, do not vibrate your eyes and ass off at fifty mph. It is amazing when you pull on the front brake the bikes really do slow down. They also have electric start now. You should get back out and try a new bike.

 

[lnewlf]

Who wantsa ride that chrome three wheeler?

 

[madmike2]

In the grand scheme of things, what does it really matter?

Some will ride 2 miles to have pizza.

Some will ride 15 miles to work.

Some will ride 200 miles and have lunch with friends.

Some will ride 300-400 a day for a week or two on vacation.

Some will ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours.

Some will ride 1,000 miles a day in Iron Butt rallies.

Some will ride because it's their only vehicle.

Some will ride first and cage when they have must.

Some will ride scooters.

Some will ride side hacks or trikes.

Some will ride cruisers.

Some will ride naked bikes.

Some will ride sport bikes.

Some will ride cruisers bikes.

Some will ride touring bikes.

The important thing to me is that they ride and enjoy themselves on whatever motorcycle they choose.

 

[dcarver]

In the grand scheme of things, what does it really matter?
Some will ride 2 miles to have pizza.

Some will ride 15 miles to work.

Some will ride 200 miles and have lunch with friends.

Some will ride 300-400 a day for a week or two on vacation.

Some will ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours.

Some will ride 1,000 miles a day in Iron Butt rallies.

Some will ride because it's their only vehicle.

Some will ride first and cage when they have must.

Some will ride scooters.

Some will ride side hacks or trikes.

Some will ride cruisers.

Some will ride naked bikes.

Some will ride sport bikes.

Some will ride cruisers bikes.

Some will ride touring bikes.

The important thing to me is that they ride and enjoy themselves on whatever motorcycle they choose.

MadMike, you rock, you get it.

My local mc club's motto is 'Just Ride'.

That's what MM is saying..

As far as the chopper thing...

I've never ridden one; maybe I should. I mean, why the hell not?

I've ridden dirt bikes in the street.

Street bikes in the dirt.

Dual sport bikes in full blown MX races.

MX bikes in trials events.

Enduro bikes on track days.

Rode a full dress Harley with a MX helmet for 120k miles.

So...

Why not try a chopper?

Yeah,

why not!

ps - I need someone to let me borrow your chopper..

The closest thing I ever had was a pre-unit Triumph in a custom hard tail frame.

Never made more than 40 miles in one trip, but I loved the ride.

Yeah, I get it.

Challenge yourself and ride something different - you may just like it.

 

[Old Michael]

Challenge yourself and ride something different - you may just like it.

Agreed Don. If I could just CONVINCE her.

 

[Mooseonagoose]

Perhaps his translation of Motorcyclist differs from ours, I imagine many of us would come up with the word Rider whilst others [possibly your friend] might give Biker as their response, & aside from each having five letters the similarity of the two defined frequently ends right there?

The point made by MM and seconded by DC is eloquently stated & well taken, ...whatever fires your rockets! Nevertheless I've always had an inkling that there exists a connection between "extended stancions/tall apes" and the old adage regarding jacked-up trucks, ..."the taller the truck, the shorter the _ _ _ _!"

 

[Mooseonagoose]

Challenge yourself and ride something different - you may just like it.

Agreed Don. If I could just CONVINCE her.

I was just about to give OM shout for "Thinkin' outside the Box", 'til I took a moment to reflect...

 

[Old Michael]

a shout for "Thinkin' outside the Box", 'til I took a moment to reflect...

:lol:

2-shay!

 

[luvtoride]

I don't know what that is, but it's not a motorcyclist.

I do believe that it's called a poser... or for the genteel amongst us... a poseur

 

[Elwood]

I own a rigid chopper and a FJR.

It takes a lot of talent and practice to ride a chopper.

When I go out for a ride 90% of the time I pick the FJR.

 

[CHRIS_D]

A guy in my dept (older gentleman, from South Carolina I think) just told me he has his heart set on this bike.
I just don't get it. Sure, the bike is gorgeous, a museum piece. But can you imagine how awful it would be to ride? Isn't that a basic element of being a motorcycle enthusiast? You like to ride. If you just want to look at it and hear the motor rev, you're not a motorcyclist. I don't know what that is, but it's not a motorcyclist.

[SIZE=12pt]Yes, this would be fun to ride!!!![/SIZE]

Challenge yourself and ride something different - you may just like it.

Agreed Don. If I could just CONVINCE her.

[SIZE=14pt]Oh yes, this would be really really fun to ride!!! [/SIZE] :yahoo: :yahoo:

Does he already ride, or does he think this is how to get into it? Posers like choppers.

Used to ride a Sportster back in the 70s. Nothing since. And he's from Georgia.

That's is not good.

[SIZE=18pt]Wait!!!! What are you alllllll saying, us here people in GA can't ride. [/SIZE] :dribble: :lol:

 

[Toecutter]

Hopefully, once I wear out my '04, there will be another low-mile one that has been languishing in somebody's garage for me to adopt. I can go from the speed limit to jail in about four seconds, so why want for the latest greatest until I need it to do something more than it already does?

I just wish the (highway pat)troll would leave me alone. It's hard to focus when I have to keep from getting pulled over.

 

[Sully1300]

In an effort to stay close to the topic at hand, here it goes...

To me, motorcycles are a lot like coffee - I mean some like it bold, some like it smooth. Some like a tall, a grande or supersize to a venti. Some spit it out the first time they ever try it, while still others acquire a passion for it daily and become quite a connoisseur of the bean.

Motorcycling is a progression. You start out with a motorcycle you think you'll ride until the tires fall off and realize it just doesn't do what you want it to do or your riding preference changes. If you can afford it you purchase another style to ride for awhile, then another, then another - for some this madness never stops. For others we trade in/up to something we think we prefer at the time. In my progression over the years, I've gone from dirt racing to sport touring (leaning more toward the sport side). I have no desire to go back to the dirt, probably because I want to keep the bike upright these days (getting old, I guess). I love a sport bike, but my knees, neck and wrists can't handle a long day in the saddle. I have actually talked to previous motorcylists who now prefer sports cars for carving up canyon/back roads. I talked to others who just simply have given up motorcycling altogether for another hobby or lifestyle. Yea, I don't get it but to all his/her own. I've taken cruiser/chopper buddies on rides through the twisties at a pace I thought they would enjoy but realized at the next rest stop that they prefer straight country roads or subtle sweepers. Even though I respected their preference, the look I probably gave them said it all. Likewise, I've been on rides with others that seemed like the tour would never come to an end, you know those who prefer interstates over anything else. Especially frustrating when you can see all the squigly lines on your gps that run along side the interstate. I mean I enjoy watching my facial hair grow more than this.

For me, after the dirt scene of my youth, my first street bike was a cruiser, then another, then I almost flipped for a Big Dog chopper, then a standard, then finally an FJR. I love the way a chopper looks, but I just can't justify the purchase and I am not blessed with the mechanical knowledge to build one (nor would I want to ride something I built at speeds I prefer). For years I tried to make my cruiser a canyon carver then finally realized I needed a sport bike or a sport tour to really fulfill my desire. Today, I believe the FJR fits me best with the riding I love to do and suits me very well for the daily commute, as well. Lately though, I've been lusting over the new VFR V5. VFR - arguably the most ergonomically styled machine purpose built for the true sport touring motorcyclist in mind with a lean toward the sport side. Now at 1000cc, it's got the grunt to boot. Hum, this sounds very familiar. Of course, I would have to go to Europe to ride one (disgruntled topic for another time).

I just felt like elaborating on what MadMike so simply and excellently put. The bottom line is just choose the ride that fulfills the style of riding you like to do then go out and do it.