Harley-Davidson: A Division.

Many topics in life bring about division in people.  Politics, for example, is a big divider; left wing vs. right wing, Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative and so on.  One of the biggest dividers, at least among motorcycle riders, is Harley-Davidson.  Mentioning HD in a conversation opens you up to a wide range of opinions, some good and some bad. 

But why?  What is it about Harley-Davidson that gets people so rowdy?

I think it boils down to three things: price, technology and image.

I know I'm not exactly delivering Earth-shattering news here, but Harleys are expensive.  The Softail Fat Boy Lo starts at $16,299.  The Rocker C starts at $19,499.  The Electra-Glide Ultra Limited starts at a wallet crushing $24,699.  For comparison's sake, a Honda Accord sedan starts at $21,055. 

So, what exactly are you paying for?  From what I see, you're paying for some metal bits, some paint and lots of chrome.  How come Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki can offer the same metal bits, paint and chrome for thousands upon thousands less? 

Next we come to technology.  The Harley formula is based on a simple premise: a large-capacity air-cooled V-twin surrounded by chrome.  In fact, the engine in those $16,000-plus bikes (and the cheaper Sportster models) traces its roots back to 1936.  1936.  That's three years before the outbreak of WWII.  That's five years before America entered WWII.  What I'm trying to say is, it's old.  It's so old, it still uses a dry-sump oiling system and push-rod valve actuation.

Another comparison: The Ducati 848 Superbike cost $13,995 and features fully adjustable suspension (compression, rebound and spring pre-load) front and rear, twin front discs each clamped by a four-piston caliper, 370lb dry weight and an 849cc, liquid-cooled V-twin with four valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams, desmondronic valve actuation and 134 horsepower.

The Fat Boy Lo (nearly $3,000 more) features non-adjustable front forks and pre-load adjustable rear shocks, one front disc with a four-piston caliper, a dry weight of 700lbs (!), and a 1,573cc, air-cooled, two valve, push rod V-twin.  Good luck finding a horsepower figure, but I'd guess it's a lot less than the Ducati.

So you're not paying for technology.  What this pricing is akin to, is a pick-up truck costing $100,000 and a Ferrari costing $70,000.  It just doesn't make sense.

But hang on a bit, what about the V-Rod?  Yes, you see, the V-Rod is Harley's go at building a modern musclebike.  The V-Rod casts aside the traditional Harley frame and V-twin and uses instead a modern tube frame and a liquid-cooled, dual overhead cam, four valve V-twin that was designed with assistance from Porsche.  The 1,250cc engine puts out 123 horsepower.  You'd expect the pricing of this modern Harley to be astronomical but it's not.  The V-Rod line starts at $14,999.  So again I ask, why does granddad's Fat Boy cost over $16,000 when junior's high-tech V-Rod is almost $2,000 less?  It boggles the mind.

Image is big thing for any motorcycle manufacturer.  Harley-Davidson is no exception.  In fact, image can arguably be Harley's biggest selling point. 

The image Harley likes to project is one of rugged individualism.  Harleys are about blue-jeans, work boots, tattoos, black t-shirts and bandanas.  Also factored into the Harley image is the intimidation factor.  A black bike with a loud exhaust and a rider covered in black leather can be an intimidating site.  Plus there's the whole outlaw-biker-gang image a lot of people associate with Harley-Davidson.  The flip-side of that is that more than a few biker gangs, such as the Outlaws and the Pagans, started out riding Triumphs.

So what does all of this mean?  Well, it means that understanding the attraction to an expensive, low-tech fashion accessory is difficult.  Many people see through the facade and notice the motorcycle under all of the marketing.  Some don't and pony up the money to live the "Harley lifestyle".  The simple fact is, as long as Harley-Davidson is in business, people will be divided in their opinions.    

If you want my opinion (and too bad if you don't), I like Harleys.  I like their history, I like their products and I don't like their prices.  I hate to use a cliche, but they are what they are and they don't apologize.  I have been lusting after a 70's FX shovelhead and a 60's Sportster to go alongside the classic British and Italian bikes in my dream garage.  I like unique motorcycles and Harley-Davidson makes unique motorcycles, period. 

16 Reasons to Stay Home.

It's a good thing I don't live in England; for numerous reasons. One, I don't like rain. Garbage may only be happy when it rains but I'm not. Secondly, cost-of-living is astronomical. The third reason is a limited access to hockey. I must have hockey.

The fourth and best reason is companies like Venture Classics and Made in Italy Motorcycles. Venture Classics sells only classic motorcycles and Made In Italy Motorcycles sells only Italian motorcycles. Talk about heaven on Earth! If I lived close to these places I would be totally broke, no lie.

Here is Venture Classics' website: http://www.ventureclassics.com/. I'd like to point out some of their stock:

'56 BSA A7SS scrambler. This is a serious, race-ready scrambles (motocross to us Yanks) machine with some real race history. Alloy tank, alloy fenders, alloy wheels and high pipes. Gorgeous.

'56 BSA Goldstar. In the 50's, this was THE machine to have. It was as close to a pure-bred race bike as you could get. It has a 500cc single cylinder engine making around 34 horsepower. That was heady stuff back then. This one has been modified extensively and don't think that will bring its value down. This particular machine is around $22,000. Wow.

'71 BSA Rocket 3. The triple cylinder bikes from BSA and Triumph are some of my favorite bikes and this one here is just stunning. Everything is perfect on it. These bikes got to enjoy a scant six month reign as the leading superbike before the Honda CB750 debuted and made them, and everything else from Britain, obsolete overnight.

'59 Matchless G12CSR. Matchless is one of the unsung British brands. It's not for lack of an interesting product. The CSR models were Matchless' way of offering high-performance machines that would compete with the Triumphs and the Nortons of the day. Real CSRs like this one can be quite expensive.

'53 Norton Manx. Before the Goldstar, the bike to have if you were serious about performance was the Norton Manx. This machine combined the stiff Featherbed frame with a 350cc overhead cam engine. It was even named for the most grueling motorcycle race in the world, the Isle of Man TT. Oh yeah, price? $35,867.

'73 Norton Commando Roadster 750. I will confess, Commandos are my favorite motorcycles. Not only are they bigger and faster than their contemporaries, but they also had a primitive rubber mounting system for the drivetrain, which meant next-to-no vibration. This one here is perfect. It's a roadster, which means small tank and lower handlebars, and it's black with gold pinstriping. It just looks the business!

'56 Triumph Thunderbird 650. This was Triumph's first machine that was designed to cater to American tastes, since America was its biggest market. The T-bird was designed as touring bike that could blitz through America's highways. It also happened to be really fast for its time. Marlon Brando rode a T-bird in the movie "The Wild One".

'66 Triumph Bonneville. Here it is, the holy grail of classic Triumphs. In the 60's, Triumphs were everywhere and if you wanted to go fast, you bought a Bonneville. Nothing else at the time combined looks, performance and practicality like the Bonneville. This model here is white with an orange stripe running down the fenders and the tank and I can't help but gush over it.

'66 Velocette Thruxton. Like the Goldstar and the Manx, the Thruxton was a race bike for the street. Velocette took the already potent Venom and worked over its 500cc single to create the Thruxton. It has all of the standard 60's sport bike items: clip-on handlebars, rear set pegs and a big honkin' carb to suck in lots of un-filtered air.

Here is some of the stock on http://www.madeinitalymotorcycles.com/.

Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. This is Guzzi's first true sport bike and showcases everything that is right about Italian design. This machine is long, low, lean and if you stare at the picture long enough, you can almost hear the booming sounds from those two big cylinders.

Ducati 750GT. This was Ducati's first twin cylinder machine and it basically saved the company. This machine formed the basis of the famous 750SS and 900SS machines of the late 70's and it's L-twin engine design has become a Ducati trademark.

Moto Guzzi 850T3 California. This was the most American bike never made by an American company. They were so solid and reliable that the California Highway Patrol used them as police bikes for years, hence the "California" name. Guzzi still makes a California model and it's designed to look exactly like this one. It's just so elegant.

Ducati 900SSD. The SS Darmah models were the final evolution of the 750 twin. They finally added an electric start mechanism and a kck-stand on some models but by the time the Darmah debuted (late 70's), they were obsolete. They were mostly a stop-gap until the Pantah models could be built.

Ducati 500SL Pantah. The Pantah was the first new Ducati twin. They retained the overhead cam design of their predecessors but used a belt to drive the cam instead of a bevel gear. While an improvement, the Pantah models still suffered many of the ills of past Italian bikes such as no kick-stand, high seat height, awkward riding position and a stiff clutch.

Laverda 1200 Mirage. Not quite as famous as the 1,000cc Jota but it's a more comfortable ride. These three cylinder Laverdas are amazing machines. They are fast and well built and definitely the premier multi-cylinder Italian superbike.

'80 Moto Morini 3 1/2 Sport. I love these bikes and would love to own one someday. They are stripped down, lightweight sport bikes built for cheap speed. They are very simple machines and there is very little to go wrong. It sure beats owning a Ducati desmo single and adjusting the valves every 1,500 miles.

So there ya go, 16 reasons why I should stay right here in the good ol' USA. My wallet sure is thankful.

Embracing the Past.

After years of trying to hide one of my worst-kept secrets, I am beginning to embrace this part of myself. I am a luddite. I don't like change and I am skeptical of technology. I have no iPod and no iPhone. My cell phone is around four years old and I only bought a new computer because my old died one too many times.

I am the same way with motorcycles. Sport motorcycles in particular.

I look at the motorcycles in the monthly issues of Cycle World magazine with all of their new technology and massive amounts of horsepower and I am not moved by a single one. Basically, they all look the same.

Cutting edge motorcycles like the new Aprilia RSV4 or the Ducati 1198S with its traction control are pushing the envelope of what's possible with a motorcycle and bringing street motorcycles closer to their race track counter-parts than ever before. But to me, it's all superfluous. Like the Kawasaki ZX-14. Why would I need a motorcycle with a 197mph top speed? Even most race tracks don't have a straight long enough to go that fast. Plus, the ZX-14 is a porky 566lbs; a little too heavy for a track bike.

I'm not averse to technology. I think electronic fuel injection is one of the best things to ever happen to cars and motorcycles. I just think a lot of it is wasted on machines that will spend 90% of their lives on the street going the speed limit. Not only that, but it drives the price of new motorcycles up.

Style also plays a big part in why I'm a motorcycle luddite. It's hard to distinguish between brands because every motorcycle looks the same. The sport bikes all have similar fairing and headlight set-ups and all the cruisers try to look like Harleys.

I think the perfect motorcycles on the market today are the ones that best combine the styling of the past and the reliability of a modern powertrain. To me, motorcycles like Triumph's Bonneville range, Harley-Davidson's Sportster range, Ducati Sportclassics, Moto Guzzi's V7 Classic and even motorcycles from Ural and Royal Enfield are where it's at. They all combine classic motorcycle styling with modern running gear. They all look like motorcycles!

I appreciate what the manufacturers are doing with their new sport motorcycles, but at what point does the motorcycle pass the limits and abilities of its rider? I have a feeling that motorcycles of the future are going to become like the F-22 Raptor. If an F-22 was flown at its limit it would kill its pilot. The F-22 was designed to handle g-forces the human body can't handle. Most of the time an F-22 is being flown it is miles away from its limits. The technology developed to enable this aircraft to have such high limits is being wasted.

I just have that feeling that the modern sport motorcycle has passed the threshold of practical use.