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June 17, 2005
The HD mind-set
Someone, please, explain something to me, 'cause I just don't get it.
Everyday I get on the ferry with a bunch of other bikes, and invariably some of them are Harley's. You can always tell the Harley's - they're the loud ones that visibly vibrate in place as they idle, and with riders who have "Harley Davidson" plastered all over themselves.
Today coming home I was behind a Road King with two big whip antennas on the back - and they were oscillating like an insects wings - drawing patterns in the air.
The rider seemed fairly oblivious to the fact that her innards were being put through this vibrational assault, so I conclude that it must look worse than it feels.
What's the attraction?
I just don't get the whole Harley "thing" - the cruiser "thing" I get, but the obsession with buying logo'd merchandise, tolerating a machine that's gratuitously noisy and looks like it wants to shake itself apart... That I don't get at all...
Posted by dberger at June 17, 2005 6:40 PM
Comments
Loud things rock. Carbureted engines, Harley motorcycles, Honda Civics with muffler tail pipes, big guns, big explosions, big movies. The "roaring to life" metaphor strikes a nerve with a lot of people. We're all guilty of it in one form or another. (A booming sound system with a great DJ is just one of those things that are hard to beat for me.) I'm willing to bet you've got a sin somewhere in there too. ;-)
Some people have more common sense than others. Riding a Harley is a great way to lose your hearing at that range if you listen to it all the time. A booming sound system is another great way to do it if you don't put some distance between you and the speaker.
It's not a matter of "getting it", it's a matter of "having the common sense to not subject your ears/body to it *all the time*".
Posted by: Steve S. at June 18, 2005 9:36 AM
You don't buy a Harley, you pay a very expensive first installment of the club membership fee. The actual vehicle is a "gift", contingent upon reciept of further club "dues" in the form of payments for further HD-logoed crap. Self-reinforcing cycle.
Posted by: Hendel at June 18, 2005 3:27 PM