Topic: why I bought my SOHC

[cb650PK]

AMF also payed for the development of the EVO engine, without which I doubt Harley would have survived. It is practise to blame every Harley trouble on AMF.

[Magilla]

Saying that a Harley is not cool usually comes from someone that has never owned a Harley.  Most people that own or have owned one would tell you that there is a cool factor to them.  Its part Hollywood, part mythology and part exclusivity.  In Easy Rider they rode Harleys.  Marlon Brando and Elvis rode Harleys.  Steve McQueen even owned a few Harleys.  Are you going to tell me that Steve McQueen was not cool?  Don’t even try.
I am not going to try to tell anyone that Harleys are the most technologically advanced bike on the market.  They are not the most nimble or the most powerful but they are cool.  Thinking so does not undermine the SOHC4 world.  You can like both.  It’s OK.  Most (but not all) Harley guys would say that all Jap bikes are $hit.  Are they right?  Nope.  Just like any Rider-of-Rice would not be correct is saying that all Harleys are $hit.  Both have a place in the world.  Both have strengths and weaknesses.  Why does everyone think they need to choose one or the other?  Coke or Pepsi?  Ginger or MaryAnn?  Wilma or Betty?  Coors or Budweiser?  Why can’t you like both?  Why can’t you prefer one over the other without hating one?

I don’t care for crotch rocket bikes.  They just aint my bag.  I don’t have any desire to ever own one.  Yet I don’t hate people for buying them or hate the bike itself.  It’s just not for me.  What’s my point?  I trying to tell you that it’s OK not to want to own one without hating them or the people that do want to own one.

Ride what you like and like what you ride.

[madScientist]

But...i thought it was cool to hate...

[754]

 Well said.. I can't even spend the time to look at most Japan models built after 1980.
 And I liked the fact that we got my buddies Sporty into the 12,s easier and cheaper than doing it to a CB 750.
 It's hard to explain to people hat have only ridden Japanbikes, but consider this;
 The main reason BMW and HD core products has enured so long, is there is an ongoing demand for what they...aether you like it or not..

[JeffSTL]

My problem with HD's are not the bikes, although they are not my sttyle.  It's that probably 9 of 10 bikes are newish Harleys around here. If you go to a bike night event the lot will be filled with virtually all pretty much identical machines. Everyone ridden by apparently the same guy with a flat black half helmet, goatte, and head to toe harley gear. Again, no cool factor.

One event is an exception. Went to the monthly vintage bike night last night and out of 75 or so bikes thete were 4 harleys. A flathead, knuckllehead and two ironhead sportsters and they were  cool.

[JeffSTL]

Let me clarify. It's not that I look down my nose at Harleys, it's just that they are as common as strip malls in this town. For example, while I'm sure  Ford  Explorers are nice vehicles, I never catch myself saying "Cool! An Explorer!" because they are everywhere.

[splitt]

I don't really care what people ride, as long as they ride, I own both. I'd just rather ride my imports.

[750K]

I saw a pic of a pin the other day, it said "I'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse, than a brother on a Honda". It's not the Harley itself I think is lame, it's 90's of the idiots that ride them. I'd prefer not. To be lumped in with that group. I would however love to own an xr1200, for the most part that's the only Harley I will check out if I see one.

[Bailgang]

I saw a pic of a pin the other day, it said "I'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse, than a brother on a Honda". It's not the Harley itself I think is lame, it's 90's of the idiots that ride them. I'd prefer not. To be lumped in with that group. I would however love to own an xr1200, for the most part that's the only Harley I will check out if I see one.

+1
It's not so much the HD bike itself that bothers me but the attitude many of their riders bring with them and in a way the same goes for many crotch rocket riders. My brother inlaws stepson has a sharp Hyabusa and he has an attitude like he's king of the road. I once mentioned to him that I was kicking the idea around of getting a Vmax but my wife nixxed the idea when she found out how fast they are and he said "oh they're not that fast". Say what?! A Vmax might not be able to outrun a Busa but they definitely aren't slow.

[Magilla]

Let me clarify. It's not that I look down my nose at Harley's, it's just that they are as common as strip malls in this town. For example, while I'm sure  Ford  Explorers are nice vehicles, I never catch myself saying "Cool! An Explorer!" because they are everywhere.

Harley's aren't cool because they are everywhere, they are everywhere because they are cool.  And so is my CB750.  Also to say they are all the same is insane.  HD has to be the most customized piece of transportation on the planet.  That or a close second behind the 32 Ford.  Because they still make new HDs, unlike 32 Fords, you tend to see many stock appearing bikes.  Look closely and you will see that they have already begun the change.  A friend of mine bout a new FLHX on Monday.  When he rode it to work the next day it was already modified.  Small changes but still changes.  He has big plans for it too.

I'm sure he does not think my bike is anything special and that is HIS mistake.  Any bike or car that still runs and looks good and is 30+ years old is something special.  Hell I saw a Pinto at a car show this summer and it had a cool factor.  I would never have thought that but it was cool to see one on the road.  But I guess I'm quirky like that.  I own a 72 Ford Maverick with a 400hp 351 bolted to a 4 speed.  Quirky and cool. . . . To me.

[dhall57]

I bought my 750K6 in 2009 and my 750KO in 2011. And has nothing what's so ever to do with trashing Harleys or any other type of bike or rider. I went to a estate auction sale in 2008 and one of the items up for sale was a CB750. I hadn't seen or even thought about these bikes for 35 years. But right than and there I was transported back to the early 70's as a teenager when these bikes were sitting in dealers showrooms and I fell in love with them. I didn't get the 750 at the auction, but it put the excitement back in my soul for them and I knew I had to get me one. Lo and behold I ended up with two. By the way the bike at the auction in 2008 was a all original 2/70 CB750KO with 5000 miles. It had been parked in a garage 20 years earlier and forgot about. Not until I found this forum after the fact did I find out what these KO's were and what they were worth. Oh well
Here's some pics: the auction KO and the KO I got several years later strapped down on the trailer to bring it home.