I don't know. For my wife and I, we just love being physically close and a motorcycle provides that opportunity better than any other hobby (that you can enjoy in public).

We really enjoy being part of the whole "motorcycle" culture... Some joke about it but we enjoy the waves and conversations at gas stations when we stop.

The "Harley" part of it for us is a matter of pride.... My wife, being from a 3rd world country, NEVER thought she'd ever own a Harley Davidson. She had a Vespa in Brasil, but again, a Harley was just a pipe dream. Now that she is a citizen of the United States, she is PROUD to own an American classic, a bike with heritage and she loves the "cool" factor as well. I have to say I'm right there with her. She loves chrome and any chrome she buys, I'm happy to put on the bike. I draw the line at "fringe" and anything pink going on the bike.

So for us, the culture is that of pride and friendship/kinship. Are we better than anyone because we have a Harley? YES! We are better than her brother who still rides that Vespa in Brasil! (Just kidding Luciano!!!)

 

With men, it's all about who swings the biggest hammer. Half of the threads in any social forum end up or evolove into guys comparing dick size. Admit it, most of you are wondering how you stack up right now. Signed...Sigmund Freud.

 

I just like to ride. When I ride with others, I don't care what they ride. As long as they don't act like idiots, it's all good. If I don't fit in to the Harley culture or the biker culture, so be it.

 

No, that isn't what this is supposed to be. Judging from the responses maybe I should clarify.

It seems that "back in the day" (50's-60's) those the rode motorcycles had a common bond because they rode. Period. Most bikes were American but there were European bikes as well and Japanese bikes were coming into the American scene. Regardless of what you rode, there was a community of sorts that you belonged to because, back then, riding in and of itself was something special. It put you outside the social norm and the general public looked at you funny just because you rode. Thus, somewhat ostricised by the public at large riders founded their own culture outside of "normal society" and felt they had more in common with the guys they rode with than perhaps the people they worked with.

As time progressed, riding became less and less "taboo". You were not looked down upon for riding and that bond became less tenous for "Joe Rider" between himself and other riders because society as a whole was more accepting of him regardless if he rode or not.

Moving further along, now owning a bike was not only no longer frowned upon but many saw it as perfectly normal and even something of a status symbol (I.E. the "American Chopper" era).

During this time though there has been a certain "thing" about owning a Harley. Yes, other "bike subcultures" have their things too but you don't see huge rallys of sportbikes or dirtbike riders having huge organizations like HOG. My buddy, who rides a Honda Shadow, says he feels no such "connection" to another Shadow rider but even he admits that there is something about Harley owners that, for some reason, they are all "connected" by what they ride.

My wonder is this. Is that connection that Harley owners seem to have a manifestation of those old days when it was riders against the world or is it more of a byproduct of the change in the way society views Harleys in general? I say this because, after all, most people who buy a Harley (I believe) like the way they look and appricate the "reto" look of the brand. To them, what a bike SHOULD look like is a Harley. The very brand itself, from marketing on down, puts value into the way things USED to be.

Thus if you have someone who buys into the value and that ideal, on some level, does this mean folks who ride Harleys maintain this "connection" because they have an inherant belief that's the way riding should be, like back in the 50's and 60's, or rather than they buy a Harley and then believe that because they own a Harley this is the way things should be?

It's a question of which came first, the owner already has an appreciation for that "connection" between riders, for that "lifestyle" or do you have someone who buys a bike and THEN starts trying to "be another one of these riders" and goes along with it because "that's what a Harley owner does."

 

Screw It! Let's Ride!

 

It'd be hard to build a following with sounds like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86CV7TT71YY

 

can you imagine the roar?

 

Back in the day, I rode metric. I started at about 7 years of age. Abused my Yamaha feircely, an 80cc bored & stroked to 92 and raced it hard. I was a 'racer'. Then as I got older and started high-school, many of my friends had wealthier parents who bought my friends the bikes of their desire, some Nortons, BSA's, Harleys, or what-have-you. Of all the bikes I got to ride, I loved the BSA and was about to get a deal from one of my friends when his Dad stepped in and said that it was his bike, and if my friend wanted to sell it, he would have to buy it from his dad first.
Well, needless to say, I never got the BSA. Instead, I stuck with my Yamaha street bike for a number of years. I think I took every bolt out of that bike and probably rebuilt it a few times. Then I went away to University, without wheels. When I returned home, I was broke, sold the bike, but not my guitar, and after a couple of years, got married. you know where that went....no bike, but a Pinto stationwagon.
Eventually I said screw it and sold some property so I could get back on 2 wheels and bought what I had always ridden, Yamaha. One day a friend of mine suggested I take his FXSTC for a spin to see if I could actually handle a bike of that caliber. Well...love at first ride.
And I loved the way it handled and rode. I was instantly comfortable and 'one with the bike', so I bought an FXSTC, rode it all across Canukistan and the USofA, then after loving that for 11 years, my wife, who previously said she would never get on a bike but resisted for only a few months, decided it was time to upgrade to a more comfortable bike. She already had her own bike by then but thought I should have a 'better' bike. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the FXSTC, but she kinda twisted my arm saying I would be more comfortable on long rides. I gave in and bought the Road King.
So now I'm a Harley guy, I guess. I've ridden other bikes, but for comfort, I chose the Harley. I also love the Aprillia line of bikes. They are awesome kick-*** machines but I'm not sure I could take tours on an Aprillia. It just doesn't seem to have the comfort I find on my RK.
So...I don't consider my choice of a Harley as a cultural thing, or my lifestyle as a culturally bike related thing. I ride a Harley because, so far, it is the comfort and reliability that I like. In 17 years of riding Harley bikes, I have never had a flat, and my FXSTC threw the primary drive hub (at 1AM on a 100 mile stretch of road with no traffic) and was fixed on warranty.
If anyone knows of a more comfortable bike, let me know. I might change, but then again, why change when you like what you have?

 

Others have said it, I like to ride. I love the peculiarities of Harley Davidsons but I like all Motorcycles. I like hanging out with other people who like Motorcycles.

I am a fairly social dude, and although most bikers revel in being anti-social, I like the fact that you can just bullshit with anyone who rides once the kick stand is down.

It's a brotherhood and a bond to be a biker. It's about our machines, cheap good food and beer, the feel of the open road, and the roar of our pipes.