I borrowed my Ex's brothers Harley whilst out in Maine? No helmets, blistering sunshine, no roundabouts - at all! No corners as such, just traffic-light stops at every junction? A 55mph speed limit and a very relaxed way of driving from everyone for everything? No rush... in their natural environment quite enjoyable! :biggrin: Fkd if I want to ride one over here?? Every road is far from straight & full of potholes?? Cleaning that thing after a rainstorm must take HOURS? All the handlebar tassles & chaps?? "The only thing you can do to a Harley is add yet more chrome and some loud pipes that make it sound like a farting elephant" :biggrin: The fun part in owning a motorcycle is that is fast and manouverable - which again, Harleys lack.
seen as idiots with to much money? i don't see much crossover... this year in scotland only contact with the GS and heavy tourer crowd... prob bec&use of the Trekkers! not much waving from the others grtz
But havent Ducati become the new Harley?.. bought by middle aged, middle class tossers as a life style accessory:wink: Then again I've owned Harleys and Ducatis so what do I know lol, and not a tassle or chap in sight. In defence of HD, they do last well, the bottom end of an Evo BT will go for around 500,000 miles before it needs to be rebuilt, while the top end will go for around 180,000 miles, and the cylinders can be rebored three times over. They keep their value too, far far better than a modern Ducati, I wonder how much a Panigale will be worth in ten years time, when all those clever electronics start to play up? My mate rebuilt a 58 Glide from the ground up, and every single part he needed was still available at a reasonable cost, again no other make has that sort of backup. They dont handle as well as a Ducati, but they aint that bad, and the aftermarket is huge, performance shocks, forks, wheels, brakes, even frames and engines are just a click away. There are plenty of Harleys that make well over 100 bhp, after a bit of tweaking, I've got one Oh and Harley have a long racing history too, XR750s are cool ... oh and this old thing I built weighed 428 lbs and made 180 bhp at the rear wheel, with a wiff of NOS ..
Apart from the usual Jap stuff and a couple of old Brit bikes I've had 5 Harleys and 4 Beemers. Now there's an Evo Monster in the garage. I've enjoyed owning and riding all the bikes I've had in 42 years of biking. And I could'nt give a f-ck what anyone else rides or what they might think of me/my bike. Have a lovely day.
I hadn't considered how other people might regard me solely on my choice of motorbike, can't say it really bothers me. I like it and that's what matters :biggrin: But having said that it gets a lot of positive attention wherever it goes.
i got a lot of stick for getting a duc from my jap bike mates,, then we all went for a ride together, i spend most my time hanging back waiting for them to catch up!! that soon shut them up :smile:,,,,, dont get me wrong i know its 70% rider 30% bike, but still. plus nothing sounds like a duc or looks like one, soon as u park up its like bees round honey :tongue:
Good comment. Have to admit that I've never been over-worried what anyone thinks. If people dislike you or form preconceived opinions about you depending on your ride, it's just another example of small-minded bigotry. Still, we should all be used to it. Most of the time small-minded opinions are formed about you the moment you open your mouth. You're either posh, not posh enough or come from the wrong bit of the country. I think the bike community is more cohesive on the continent. it's less factional. Not to say that factionalism doesn't exist, but less so. And the French car drivers are so tolerant of bikes in the main it never ceases to amaze me. I ride a Ducati because it's the bike I like the best and have done for the past 27 years. Like it or lump it - it's no real concern of mine.
Just spent 10mins replying to this post and lost it. Who cares what we ride, we are all bikers at the end of the day, just because we ride ducatis we have to have some order and being god, like ducs are better so others have to ride less better bikes, it's nature. Thanks the busa
"How do you think owners of other bikes view Ducati owners?" ....from behind mostly, fading into the distance
When you're 20 you worry about what people think of you, but by the time you reach 40 you don't care what people think. Then when you reach 60 you realise nobody was thinking about you anyway.
I've just come back from Italy I was staying in a hotel in Rimini and there were a number of other bikers in there. Four of them Brits came in to Breakfast all wearing Ducati T shirts but mine was the only Duc there. We later got chatting and they were amazed at the fact that I rode down on my own and secondly that I rode a Ducati. They all expressed a desire to own a Ducati but had this outdated view that they were unreliable one even owned an Aprillia cos he wanted a V twin and thought they were more reliable. So it appears people are scared of us because they think we are Brave
A lot of Jap bike owners I know, would love to own a Duke, but are put off by service costs, and the initial purchase price...without exception they all admire the styling and attention to detail....
