I've bought all my bikes to ride. I didn't care for the "Harley Community", mostly because I don't drink & ride, and I hate country music.

 

I bought the first one to satisfy the wish I had for a long long time to just know what it was like to own and ride one.. There's a completely different feeling of having 750 pounds of chrome and metal under you. So I did infact buy it to ride it.. It's a very personal thing.. and brand was important because it was a sense of "riding the real thing, the genuine article.. not a copy". It's the product itself that sold me.. with maybe a little brand recognition like Rolex or Ferrari, but it's the design of the bike itself and the slow-changing heritage of the short number of engines all through history that evolved through history to the bikes we ride today. That's what I liked.. Rather than a product that drastically changes every year. Flat-head, knuckle-head, pan-head, shovel-head, evo (evolution), and twin-cam. The technology has changed a great deal, but the foundation is still the same.. single crank, 45 degree v-twin. Kind of like Rolex maybe for brand comparison.. An oyster, yachtmaster or submariner is still the same rolex it was years ago. A classic. Interestingly enough, I must be a brand-oholic of sorts.. own a yachtmaster. [sm=bling.gif]

The community was a nice icing on the cake I really didn't expect.. To meet so many other folks that had the same obsession. Many in the community still like the other bikes, but there is many things special about a sure enough Harley Davidson. The things about these bikes that appeal are as individual as the people that ride them.. As different as a Fatboy is from a Heritage, from an Electroglide to a Sportster, to a custom chopper. Though they're all very similar, they're all very unique to their owners. Hopped-up, low-slung, chromed-out, blacked-out, ape hangers or drag bars, pro-street or retro. They all share that common riding experience.. Two cylinders.. single pin crank.. etc. It's the fact that I'd meet some of the best folks I ever met, in this community, that was the biggest pleasant surprise.

Hope that helps.[sm=americanasmiley.gif]

Scott

 

A 2007 Softail Deluxe (Skunk Edition).

 

Damn squishface, talk about profilin. I don't like country music either but certainly feel more of a community type atmosphere with the Harley crowd, than I did with the metric crowd when I had my suzyuki 750.

 

I bought mine for 2 reasons, 1 is to ride and feel the freedom it gives me from most of the distracting parts of my life and 2 is that I have always been what some would call a gear head, love anything with a motor, the older or more classic the better, deep and rumbling, raw and uncivilized/unrefined in appearance. Even looking at, cleaning, working on etc. I get the same relaxed escape feeling as riding it, coming home from a business trip it still makes me smile when I pull in the garage and see it sitting there.

I was and still am very surprised at the "community(ies) that are out there for these machines on top of that the raw emotion they bring out in folks. Just read a little of this forum or spend some time around "bikers", "riders", "enthusists", "RUBs" etc... you will see bottom line most of them own and ride them for how it makes the feel in their soul.....

 

Bought the bike and later found out a fukin' family came with it.[:@]

It was almost enough to make me sell it.[:@][:@]

Now I just ignore the MOCO hardcore "family" marketing.

 

I bought mine just to show off....




<J/K> Just bought mine to ride. Now the community is mad because it's to loud.[:@]

 

I bought mine to ride. I could have just as easily bought anything to ride and to ride with the friends I have met. I liked the Harley style, class and ride. I knew that motorcycling was more social than most other communities (I had hot rods and Porsche's). That there is a more extended Harley only community? They're cool. It's kind of a nice to have. But 90% of the time, we ride with many other bikes, so not sure I differentiate that much between my riding brothers and my Harley-Riding brothers...

 

I bought mine to ride. I have had about every other type of bike over the years including other Harleys and the Harley seems just right for me now. I more than often ride alone, hate riding in large groups, never do poker runs or bar rides. I do one charity run a year. I am more of a loner and love riding by myself as much as possible.

Now you tell me, am I part of the community?

 

I can relate. I have a small group of friends that I regularly ride with, (4), but very often prefer to ride alone. No one or nothing to worry about but myself.