Biggest difrence between Bikers of the 70's and these "Bikers" we got now..
#182
01-31-2012, 08:52 PM
My next door neighbor was a biker and in 77 he had bought a new
kz1000. He took me for a ride a couple days after he got it and
literally almost scared the **** out of me it was so fast.
Experiences like that push you one way or the other ...
I got my first bike in 78 while still in HS. I didnt even have a car so
rode that thing alot.
Not sure about the early 70's but at the end I recall a fair number
of bikers. Nothing like now but I was in chicagoland so there were
always bikes out.
What I remember most was dealers were just little shops. Only
carried a few bikes. Went with a friend to the largest Kaw dealer
in chicago at the time to buy new. They had just opened a new
location and had like 30 bikes. Totally blew me away there was
that many on display to choose from.
kz1000. He took me for a ride a couple days after he got it and
literally almost scared the **** out of me it was so fast.
Experiences like that push you one way or the other ...
I got my first bike in 78 while still in HS. I didnt even have a car so
rode that thing alot.
Not sure about the early 70's but at the end I recall a fair number
of bikers. Nothing like now but I was in chicagoland so there were
always bikes out.
What I remember most was dealers were just little shops. Only
carried a few bikes. Went with a friend to the largest Kaw dealer
in chicago at the time to buy new. They had just opened a new
location and had like 30 bikes. Totally blew me away there was
that many on display to choose from.
#183
01-31-2012, 09:00 PM
Just thought of something VERY different! I got a tune up and oil change on my 62' pan in 69' for $13.50 at San Diego Harley.
#184
01-31-2012, 09:06 PM
Club Member
Back in the 1970s we would ride our bikes down rocky roads, thru ditches and up hills. We didn't worry about a rock chip or a ding or dust. Ride hard, hose it off, clean it good once a year.Check Gas, oil, tires and chain, good to go. Carried a siphon hose, never had to pay for gas. No sissy bar, chicks had to hang on tight. Leave the keys in the bike, if you can start it you can steal it. Carried extra plugs, points and oil, always made it home. A do rag was to wipe oil off your hands not wear on your head. Bikers had the best weed and acid and speed. $5. nickle bags. Tripping on your bike did not mean cross country. WOW any one remember doing that. In HIGH School WE were the Bad Boys, Heads,Freaks and Bikers = Lots o Chicks. Man those were great daze. Good thread, Memories of a decade in the last century. Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Motorcycles. We are history. Fist in the air.
#186
01-31-2012, 10:12 PM
A couple things I remember from riding in the late 70's.
-There were a lot fewer of us on the road (but then again there were also a lot fewer cars too).
-People definitely looked down on us more.
-Helmet hair! I'd give anything to experience that again... lol
-We never waived, most did the raised clenched fist thing. (it really did feel more like a brotherhood)
-HD's were much easier to identify coming at you or in the mirror (if you had a mirror). There were no clones.
-Riders were friendlier to each other. Someone was on the side of the road, you stopped, even if all you could do was offer a hit...
-When you ran out of gas you switched to reserve. We didn't keep track of the miles we rode.
-**** weren't as big on average as today but they felt much better on your back when you were 18...
-Purple Haze wasn't 'just' a great song...
-There were a lot fewer of us on the road (but then again there were also a lot fewer cars too).
-People definitely looked down on us more.
-Helmet hair! I'd give anything to experience that again... lol
-We never waived, most did the raised clenched fist thing. (it really did feel more like a brotherhood)
-HD's were much easier to identify coming at you or in the mirror (if you had a mirror). There were no clones.
-Riders were friendlier to each other. Someone was on the side of the road, you stopped, even if all you could do was offer a hit...
-When you ran out of gas you switched to reserve. We didn't keep track of the miles we rode.
-**** weren't as big on average as today but they felt much better on your back when you were 18...
-Purple Haze wasn't 'just' a great song...
Last edited by Red9; 01-31-2012 at 10:22 PM.
#187
01-31-2012, 10:44 PM
Most everything has been covered it seems. One other thing I remember is that Harley dressers, regardless of tin color in the mid-60s to mid 70s, came with white fiberglass accessories. Fairing, bags, rear boot, etc, were unpainted. Add to that that some of those dressers had huge white seats and even white handgrips and footboards...no wonder they weren't cool! (Although they are now; just in retrospect...I'd love to have a H-Fi blue FLH today!)
#188
01-31-2012, 10:59 PM
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Most everything has been covered it seems. One other thing I remember is that Harley dressers, regardless of tin color in the mid-60s to mid 70s, came with white fiberglass accessories. Fairing, bags, rear boot, etc, were unpainted. Add to that that some of those dressers had huge white seats and even white handgrips and footboards...no wonder they weren't cool! (Although they are now; just in retrospect...I'd love to have a H-Fi blue FLH today!)
#189
01-31-2012, 11:00 PM
#190
01-31-2012, 11:02 PM
Club Member
Most everything has been covered it seems. One other thing I remember is that Harley dressers, regardless of tin color in the mid-60s to mid 70s, came with white fiberglass accessories. Fairing, bags, rear boot, etc, were unpainted. Add to that that some of those dressers had huge white seats and even white handgrips and footboards...no wonder they weren't cool! (Although they are now; just in retrospect...I'd love to have a H-Fi blue FLH today!)
73 I did for a friend last year . 