Big Bear wrote:
9 pages....really? Moderators have been very nice inside this thread(not delete/locking it). Name calling and brand bashing throughout. Some of you sound as bad as the guys you complain about. If you can't add constructive information to a thread , just don't say anything at all. Is that too hard? If you feel the need to respond to this post , and it's gonna be a smart comment , go ride first and think about it. Thank you, BB
BB.....good call. I'll try to be constructive.
Fascinating thread.
I have a perspective that's either unusual or skewed, whichever, but I started riding on the street when I got hired at a now-closed magazine (Cycle Guide) in 1984. At 19, I went from So.Cal motocrosser to having access to every significant two wheeler produced. I rode every brand and every type of bike within just a few months of getting my license. From GoldWings to GS550's, from BMW (of those, I am not a fan, at least the older ones) to Cagiva (Ducatti product) to V65 Sabers to Interceptors and FJ1100's, Vmax, etc. Moto Guzzi's! Ha! And yes, Harleys: 1000 Sportster, the first modern 883, FXRS, FXRT, '84 Softail (hard mount, 4 speed) FLHTC.... on and on and on it went. For four years.
What this immersion did was to completely wash me of those whimsical feelings we get about bikes. I couldn't really fall "in love" with any one bike, as many on this thread have said about their Roadies. I was, I suppose, a promiscuous biker, a "moto whore," if you will. Motorcycles were tools engineered for my enjoyment, and I was allowed, in fact,
encouraged to ride 'em hard and put 'em away wet. We tested these bikes, although part of that testing was taking them home, running errands....living with them, so for most bikes I got an idea of what it would be like to own 'em. In my early years there, I was also the mechanic, so I changed a lot of oil and tires and made adjustments on all of these machines.
So, all this experience makes you jaded, but it also helps you see clearly the different approaches various manufactures take to solving (or creating) problems. And, everything is a trade off. For example, prior to the belt drives, Harley had enclosed chains on the FXRT. On the plus side, those things would last forever, since they were clean and bathed in oil. But oh-my-god you don't want to have to work on that part of the bike! What a pain. But it all depends on your priorities. Belts seem to be the best compromise for big, non-sport bikes, and we have Harley to thank for the popularity of clean, efficient, quiet belts.
In fact, we owe Harley a huge thanks for saving motorcycling in general in this country. I never thought I'd see a show like American Chopper, and let's face it: we have that and the popularity it indicates due to the ingenious marketing HD has done over the past 25 years or so.
Anyway, now, years later and with a completely different line of work, I'm able to love bikes again. In my view, the Roadie is a great motorcycle in its own right. Yamaha built it to be special, have character, last a long time. Those are good qualities. Harleys have those same qualities, they just go about it differently, as every manufacturer does. One thing Harleys do very, very well is troll......you know, troll through towns very slow while puttering out that great sound. Road Stars, well, not so much. Under the same conditions R* lurch and buck and develop
SVS. Am I bashing the Roadie? No, just pointing out again that everything is a compromise, and Yamaha decided to make the Roadie a certain way. Soooooo, we ride 'em and enjoy them for what they are, just like HD riders do.
Ride on!
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I HAVE HAD ENOUGH PLEASE END THIS THREAD
BB
