Topic: why I bought my SOHC

[rotortiller]

 Honest Harley Davidson Commercial

Honda old tech can still be new compared to these chunks of cast iron or aluminum-they look kinda Russian to me. Is the USA  infiltrated with Hardley-Commie-suns?
You'll laugh you ass off at this!

[flybox1]

haha   

[Damfino]

#$%*. Really? This again? 

[jason41987]

you know.. i dont judge people for what they decide to ride so long as it doesnt effect me... but what i cant stand is these deafening loud v-twins going by, so frickin loud you can actually feel feel it as it shakes your windows and chips your paint as they ride be... that is what i cannot stand most

as for reliability... i found out my CB550F i just purchased hasnt ran since before the year 2000... after replacing the plug caps and cleaning the carbs, then pouring a little gasoline into the carbs and bypassing the ignition, it fired up on the third kick.... a well maintained, often ridden bike usually takes three for a cold start, doesnt get much colder than over a decade of zero usage...

when i got it to fire up on just the third try with the kickstarter.. that struck a cord with me.. i stopped for a moment and had to think... "wow.. really?" thats the biggest testament ive seen to reliability so far in ANY vehicle.

i decided on a honda CB because, by chance, i got a great deal on a CX500 when i was younger, and i sort of got used to the honda tech and the brand, wanted something lighter so i had decided on a CB, but it was actually this forum, the people here, and the support for the SOHC/4 specifically that lead me to get a CB550

[LesterPiglet]

  Hardleys have their place, i.e. long distance stuff. Why oh why are they so popular where I live? FS the island is smaller than most US states.

[bjatwood]

I ride "Too Long and Too Far and Too Fast to ride a Harley"

[Schnell]

Why I bought my sohc 750:

When I was 15 and shopping for my first brand new motorcycle, my dad wouldn't let me buy the cb350, but a cd175 instead. It left a hole/need that needed to be filled/met.

[Bailgang]

I don't make judgmental calls either, it's your money so ride what ever you want. If you're happy with it then I'm cool with it too. However I must say that HD does have a very clever ad campaign, if that jacket or shirt says HD on it then the price of that jacket or shirt just jumped considerably compared to the same without the HD logo. Who would've thought that people would actually pay you to advertise for you? I thought it was supposed to be the other way around? No blame on HD's part, they're just taking advantage of it so all the power to them. Besides they're not the only manufacturer that does it.

[jason41987]

well, i should say one of the reasons i dont want a harley is also one of the reasons i didnt get a CB750... lightest weight harley is what? 550lbs, and thats the sportster, CB750 is close to that weight... and for daily commuting i wanted something much lighter.. my CB550 feels like a bicycle compared to my old CX500

[72 yellow]

I had a new 78 CB750F and liked it.  When I found out about the 72 CB750, I had to go look at it.  Besides, for a $150 price, how could I go wrong ?  I put about $800.00 into it and have fun riding it.

[Magilla]

I've had several Harley's and loved them.  Some were reliable and some were not.  The ones that were not we're highly customized so it makes sense that they would be tepermentle.

I've also owned Honda's, Kawasaki's, Suzuki's and a Victory.  Each had its purpose in life. This year I decided I wanted a project bike to work on with my son.  A Harley would be too expensive for this.  The Honda's that I've owned in the past were rock solid and familiar to me so that was my reason for buying one.  I chose an old SOHC bike because I like the retro English style to them.  Flat seat, low, chrome fenders no frills machine.

Someday I will get to ride it more than 35 miles.  So far that is my longest ride.  Once I finally got it up and running the crank seal blew and filled my points with oil.  The motor is out now and it will be running in October.  Just in time to put it inside for the winter.

[wardenerd]

At work yesterday a Harley owner was looking at my 650 and said I just don't like to ride whimpy bikes.  The guys sitting with us jumped and moved away in a hurry.  I just laughed at the arrogant ahole.

[Magilla]

At work yesterday a Harley owner was looking at my 650 and said I just don't like to ride wimpy bikes.  The guys sitting with us jumped and moved away in a hurry.  I just laughed at the arrogant ahole.

Compared to most Harley's, my CB is wimpy. Harley's are bigger, louder and brawnier. Plus they have a cool factor that can't be beat.  With that said there is still a place for other bikes.  Ride what YOU want and want what YOU ride.  In the end that is all that matters. 

[cb650PK]

[quote author=Magilla Harley's are bigger, louder and brawnier. Plus they have a cool factor that can't be beat.     Loud and overweight they may be, but I do not see any cool factor.

[tango911]

 for the price of one harley you can have 10-20 cool vintage hondas

[bjbuchanan]

Some of the smaller less gaudy harleys are nice. They aren't retarded loud, are a bit smoother and don't have more chrome embellishments than a 50's winged wonder from detroit

I like my 750. rough around the edges but pretty smooth running and not god awful heavy

Did i mention $$$$$ and oh yeah more $$$$$$

[wvshooter]

I live about 200 feet from a large Harley dealership. I've been here long enough to remember when the dealership was in a very small building. Harley was way way down on it's luck. You couldn't give one away. Long story short, a very smart man bought the dealership at that time and I'm sure paid next to nothing for it. Today he is wealthy. They have two large modern buildings and two large lots that take up about half a city block. The place is crawling with customers all the time.

The good thing about owning a Harley is it gets you instant membership in a like minded group and there's always people to ride with. The bad thing is... well, the bikes. But that's a personal thing. To each his own.

[Dave K]

When I started riding in the mid '60's there were in my area, 3 different kind of riders. There were the few, but older rider who just grew up in H-D. Then there were the bad a$$ H-D biker types that gave motorcycles a really bad name. Then there were the other riders who just loved motorcycles from anywhere else around the globe. While Honda was promoting you meet the"Nicest people on a Honda", Harley was attempting to tell you that H-D was for real men with poor hygiene and the woman who ride with them had no hygiene. Motorcycling went through a really rough time in this time period. Actually my first motorcycles were Bridgestones, but because of the way I was treated, not because I rode something other than a H-D, but that I rode a motorcycle. I swore then and there, I would never own a H-D. Of course the years have passed, but the feelings that H-D tried so hard to create and they accomplished it in me, I just can't own one. Anyone here remember the fights at motorcycle events at that time? Signs posted at race tracks (No colors allowed". This meant no display of Outlaws, or Warlocks, etc. Or the thugs that would chase girls down the street to act tough in front of their cronies? Some things die hard and this is one of them for me. I do think they make a good product today, I just can't give into H-D.

[JeffSTL]

The good thing about owning a Harley is it gets you instant membership in a like minded group and there's always people to ride with. The bad thing is... well, the bikes. But that's a personal thing. To each his own.

Exactly why I don't want one.  I wouldn't want to be mistaken as part of their club.  Zero cool factor.

An old vintage HD would be different. Cool. Modern Harley, no thanks.

[CycleRanger]

Why I bought my sohc 750:

When I was 15 and shopping for my first brand new motorcycle, my dad wouldn't let me buy the cb350, but a cd175 instead. It left a hole/need that needed to be filled/met.

That side cover is big enough to fill almost any holes....

[Schnell]

Yep.

[bjatwood]

I rode with a heard of H-D last weekend. I was on my Wing. We cross over the river into Iowa, the group pulls over. All the guys but 1 (me) take off there helments. All the ladys left theirs on. One of the wives said to me, look there's one smart guy riding today. (pointing at me) The guys jsut gave me dirty looks.... we have 50 miles to get to our destination, a small ride for a Goldwing. The group stopped twice for beer!
Last time I will try this "group" riding! 

[madScientist]

Last year I had it in my head I wanted a dyna wide and I would sell the Suzuki intruder. I'm glad I didn't end up selling the 'truder since I sold the dyna this spring.

It was heavy, loud, slow, vibrated like crazy, wouldn't corner worth crap, and I just didn't enjoy riding it that much. It's bright point was that i never had to work on it and it would always start. In the year I owned it i put 4k miles on it and 9k on the truder (56k on the engine rebuild).

Now I have my F with me...its going to be rebuilt and then I'll for reals sell the intruder because I love my honda...had it for 14 years and just realized in the past few months how much i missed it...

[Lefty337]

I used to love the ducatis (still do) and love the style of the naked "sports" bike.  A friend offered me an old CB750K model that her mom had in her garage rotting away.  I went and looked at it and saw that it was missing a few parts and the frame was rotting and stupidly passed on it.  She gave it to someone else before I had a chance to do some research and I found out about the cafe racer style.  I instantly fell in love with the style of bike and started looking for one in the area.  I've had my '76 CB750F for a couple of years now and wish I could ride it more than I work on it, but when it runs I absolutely love riding it.  I've run into many people that want to chat about the old bikes that they've had or just ask about it in general.  It feels good having a bike that's this much fun and this easy to fix when it brakes.

[Bailgang]

I live about 200 feet from a large Harley dealership. I've been here long enough to remember when the dealership was in a very small building. Harley was way way down on it's luck. You couldn't give one away. Long story short, a very smart man bought the dealership at that time and I'm sure paid next to nothing for it. Today he is wealthy. They have two large modern buildings and two large lots that take up about half a city block. The place is crawling with customers all the time.

The good thing about owning a Harley is it gets you instant membership in a like minded group and there's always people to ride with. The bad thing is... well, the bikes. But that's a personal thing. To each his own.

That very smart man who is wealthy now most likely bought the HD dealership at the tail end of when AMF owned HD. AMF quite literally almost put HD out of business due to all their penny pinching which resulted in junk bikes that nobody wanted. There is an HD dealership about 30 mins from here called Kerstings HD and they also have a separate shop on their property that sells Kaws and Yamahas. The owners grandson told me that if it wasn't for the Kaw/Yam shop they most likely would've went out of business during those AMF years.