stress relief

 

I'd rather pay HD for the therapy than a doctor! I definitely get more use out of it and it doesn't talk back, it rumbles.

 

?$ !$ $

 

You guys took it hook, line and sinker...

 

I'd rather pay HD for the therapy than a doctor! I definitely get more use out of it and it doesn't talk back, it rumbles.

 

I think just 8 replies into your thread, you can see it means many different things to various individuals depending on their perspectives ...

There are a small handful of common themes that the name evokes regardless of individual perspective ... that are then gradually (or perhaps even not so gradually) either subsumed or reinforced ...

For one thing, I think there is a strong association of the name of the company with an old tradition that predates pretty much everyone ... the company is going on 110 years old ... I don't think anyone is old enough to remember a time when Harley Davidson was not around ... part of the commercial tradition in the American landscape ...

I think pretty much everyone can recall a visceral reaction that they observed the first time they recall an adult family member at the mention of the name Harley Davidson (whether it was pride, revulsion, disgust, longing, etc.) ...

Another commonality is the sound of the V-Twin motor the first time you recall hearing it ... as a young child you heard one approaching in your neighborhood, down the street or country road ... whether it was a stranger, a family friend, a neighbor ... the sound of the rumble and the experience as it approached, the smells, the sight, and the taste of the grit of the gravel dust it kicked up as it passed ... whatever the specifics ... the physical aspects leave a pretty deep impression on a young person ....

I think that for the most part, these factors are probably favorable ... whether the association was of the pride of an uncle or older brother back from WW II ... or the disgust of your mother or grandmother (and the secret longing you had to be a 'bad boy' since you were inwardly a rebel at heart) ...

Then, there is the reality that pretty much everyone on here has experienced (since just about everyone beside visitors / guests to this forum owns or owned a Harley) ... some might have experienced unmitigated disaster ... a hater who bought the lemon and had the bad warranty experience and ended up dumping more money into it ... many, a mixed bag ... a bike that gave them trouble that they were ultimately able to rehab ... or trade for one that was decent ... some have many decades of experience with Knuckleheads, Panheads, Shovelheads, Evo, and Twin Cam ... some not so much, maybe just an EFI Twin Cam ....

Then again, there is the perspective from a 'station in life' ... maybe a young soldier, sailor, marine or airman who bought his first Harley from the military overseas sales ... could be an established professional who finally decided to reward himself with a long supressed desire ... could be a 'regular joe' who has had one on and off and had to buy or sell based on finances at any given moment in time (but, figures he will always own one or be looking to replace it) ... whether the individual considers the price of admission dear or cheap relative to the financial circumstances of his station in life ....

The company has long sought to tailor its marketing message to play to the messages that are out there ... in the popular media and in the culture generally ... and those marketing messages bounce around in the echo chamber ... and in the heads of individuals ...

So, is it Freedom ...? could it be poor value ...? could be all of the above or none ...

I think it is a question that each of us who 'has a dog in the fight' ask ourselves from time to time ... and like to assure ourselves of (even if we don't do it consciously) ...

I think most of your answers on here would be that it is a net positive ... even if we have to 'make it right' by our own initiative and work ... kind of like life, it is what you make of it ... but, because, like a love of country and freedom, that even if not perfect we are doing our part and we want to take satisfaction in what is ours and a pride of ownership ....

 

Wow ... guess I look stupid now ... bothering with more than a one line respone to a troll ....

LoL

 

HD to me is is the hight of motorcylcles. I have rode most, but there is nothing, I mean nothing Like a harley. People can say whatever, but HD is just the mark of the truth for riding motorcycles. When your on one, the very subjective, very relative idea of truth of what is means to be on the road for many becomes very clear. HD is the bike that says, proves and encompasses what it means to ride a bike vs a horse across country. Ride safe and often

 

**** was not needed. Location showing for a user could be anywhere, even an American pretending to be Canadian. IMO

 

My wife summed it up best one day. We had the bike about a month when we took a road trip to see her daughter on her birthday. 1020 miles in two days. She loves to ride, but never really cared what bike she was on. They're all "just motorcycles". But on that trip, every single time we stopped, some stranger would come up and talk to us about it. Whether it was the guy in the pick-up truck that whipped into the gas station off the street, to the two little old ladies that came out of the convenience store. They all wanted to talk about the bike and what we were doing and where we were going.

She finally looked at me and said, "Okay, I get it now. It's not 'just a motorcycle'".