I know.......I bought at least one of them. LOL I'm just saying that to compare a 1983 Japanese cruiser of any brand to a HD of the same era is like comparing apples to oranges. - I don't think the two competed for the same buyers given how different they were not to mention the price differential. 86 was about the time the Yen went on the rise and Japanese parts folllowed.

 

The 1984 Yamaha Virago was the closest copy to a HD at the time.
The other's had bolt on cooling fins.
They still had their brand name on them unlike trying to hide it now like on the Star.

I think they were testing the waters slowly copying to see if there would be a consumer backlash.

 

Till Honda dropped the CB750 4cyl on the market in 69 the harley sportster was the bad boy on the block and the 750 was directly targeted at that market for less money . Wasn't about copying in those days it was direct competition trying to draw in a undecided market with cheaper prices .

HD followed a few pages out that same playbook in 1985 when it dropped the evo line on the market with the whole buy a bike be a badboy ad campaigns , they were taking direct shots at the imports and the whole nice guy thing the imports had cultivated .

 

Am I the only one who can not see the photobucket pictures

 

i cant

 

Same here. Too bad, because I'm just chomping at the bit to see them too.

 

Photobucket now charges for additional bandwidth to keep the pictures up. Check back in a day and they may be back.

OP, you can load pictures directly onto this site. Below your post, click on the Go Advanced box, then Manage Attachments, then upload your pictures directly from your computer. They upload as a clickable thumbnail.

Here's a Dale Klee painting called The Junk Collector:

 

Nope, all I see there is the Photobucket ad.

 

I would love to have this bike as yard art.

Yeah I can't see the photobucket pix eaither.

 

I'd love to see the other side , gotta be a knuck or old flathead 80 not to mention one hell of a story behind it .