why do i only see harleys riding in groups with harleys

spaceman

Lifer
Dec 4, 2000
17,616
183
106
occasionally i see some retiree on a honda goldwing riding with somehing else..
why such the intolerance in the motorcycle world?


 

deerslayer

Lifer
Jan 15, 2001
10,153
0
76
Different types of people I guess. At least in my area, any guy you would see on a Harley wouldn't be caught dead on a sport bike or anything but a Harley and vice versa.
 

spaceman

Lifer
Dec 4, 2000
17,616
183
106
i mean, back in the dizz hicks freestyle days, you might have caught alot of flack if you were on a huffy but you could still roll with the redlines and haros.
 

jlbenedict

Banned
Jul 10, 2005
3,724
0
0
Harley's are American made. "You ain't gonna catch me ridin one of them stinkin 'Jap bike's!"



That pretty much sums it up.
 

broon

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2002
3,660
1
81
It's not always the case. There is a group of about 20 guys here at work who ride "together". They have a mix of American and Japaneses cruisers, sport cruisers, and sport bikes. They leave in a group and those that ride fast reach each stop first but always wait for the next group. One guy rides his Honda VTX 1800 cruiser like a sport bike and is always one of the first to reach the destination.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,317
14,723
146
Because, the common attitude is: "I'd rather push my Harley, than ride a Jap bike"...
 

Superwormy

Golden Member
Feb 7, 2001
1,637
0
0

Yeah I ride all the time and I don't get this, most of the time the Harley guys won't wave back at me either (I wave to everyone on a motorcycle).

The real riders are the ones who wave to all the other motorcycles, don't care who or what they ride with, and wear gear so they don't end up splattered on the pavement. These are the types that are fun to ride with, they'll ride with anyone.
 

TravisT

Golden Member
Sep 6, 2002
1,427
0
0
A co-worker has a really nice Harley that he drives regularly. I don't think he really cares. He traded bikes with his brother for a day who has one of those little sports bikes. The funny thing about this guy is is that if he is into something he wants everyone else to be into it to. His craze about a year ago was survival and he was like camping in the middle of nowhere under a garbage bag for fun. Now it is bikes, everyone in the office needs to get a bike because he likes to ride so much. Irritating sometimes...
 

ValValline

Senior member
Feb 18, 2005
339
0
76
90% of all Harley Davidsons sold are still on the road.
.
.
.
.
.
The rest made it home.
:D

To answer your question...

Each style of bike has it's own culture. Most people buy into a culture then get the bike to match. True motorcyclists ride to ride and have no problem mixing bike styles in a group ride. Sadly these people/groups are few and far between.
 

sao123

Lifer
May 27, 2002
12,653
205
106
why do ricers hang out together?
why do homies hang out together?
why do religious people hang out?


its a group thing... its called having something in common, and if you aint got it, you aint part of the group
 

cKGunslinger

Lifer
Nov 29, 1999
16,408
57
91
Wait, why don't you see straight-up thug gangstaz hanging out with the chess club? Or the ricers hanging out at the same garage with the guys restoring their classic cars? Or the Bible Club at Jaguar's Adult Entertainment Complex?


Simply different cultures.
 

RagingBITCH

Lifer
Sep 27, 2003
17,618
2
76
Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Wait, why don't you see straight-up thug gangstaz hanging out with the chess club? Or the ricers hanging out at the same garage with the guys restoring their classic cars? Or the Bible Club at Jaguar's Adult Entertainment Complex?


Simply different cultures.

:thumbsup:
 

jlbenedict

Banned
Jul 10, 2005
3,724
0
0
Also: http://investor.harley-davidson.com/demographics.cfm?bmLocale=en_US


The median income of Harley purchasers since 2002 is over $80,000 per year. The median age has now eclipsed 50.

Its safe to assume that a majority of Harley owners are educated and mature adults.


"Jap" bike owners consist a majority of punks that think they are above the law.. Most of them are most likely under 25 years of age.

Now, before all of you start claiming i'm generalizing.. I said a majority..
I'm quite sure there are a few mature people in the "Jap" bike scene.

But the Harley and "Jap" bike groups consist of two totally different demographics.

 

skace

Lifer
Jan 23, 2001
14,488
7
81
While there is logic in people hanging out together based on their activity. But in this example both groups ride bikes, it is the same activity. Therefor, the real reason is elitist attitudes and group exclusivity. It would be the same as not hanging out with someone because their skin color is different or because they use nvidia video cards instead of ati video cards. All of these are actual trivial differences compared to the actual activity, just like the type of bike you are riding. All bikes can drive down a road and unless one of the bikes has a serious performance issue, there is no real differentiating factor. Elitist car drivers do this too, with their little bmw or insert car maker here meetups. But just because these are elitist, it doesn't necessarily make them negative, a lot of people find these groups simply by looking for others who own something similar to them. And while they could just go for a ride with a group of buddies who all own different cars, for some reason they feel a part of something if it is a bunch of people in similar bmws.
 

JDub02

Diamond Member
Sep 27, 2002
6,209
1
0
In my area, we generally split up sport bikes and cruisers.

Although, I have a metric cruiser and I ride with Harleys, other metric cruisers, and sport bikes, because that's what my friends have.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,584
985
126
Originally posted by: The Cornballer
occasionally i see some retiree on a honda goldwing riding with somehing else..
why such the intolerance in the motorcycle world?

I ride an old Honda CB750 and get the wave from pretty much everyone else on a motorcycle, regardless of the manufacturer. I ride with another guy who also has an old CB750 and occasionally with a guy who has a BMW R1150R.

I'll probably buy a BMW F800ST this year and my friend with the CB will be buying a Honda VTX1800 before the end of the summer.

My neighbor has a Harley...I'll have to go ride with him sometime. :)
 
Aug 23, 2000
15,509
1
81
When i rode, the Harley guys didn't want to ride with anyone other than Harley. We would ride our "Jap" bikes, and the Japanese cruiser guys would ride with us.