Author Topic: Mixed Brands....What Are Your Thoughts? (Read 3617 times)

winston · « **on:** August 28, 2006, 06:58:46 PM »

I bought a new HD leather jacket for a great price on eBay last nite...I wouldn't have bought it though if it were readily identifiable with HD logos or had the orange stripes, because I think it would be totally lame to be riding a Honda with a jacket that said HARLEY-DAVIDSON across the back...but they do sell nice jackets, even if their bikes are big pimpin'.

I see mixed brand messaging between apparel and bikes around here all the time...

A guy on a CB900 Custom wearing a Victory shirt.

A guy on a Kawasaki LTD wearing a HARLEY jacket.

etc...

I'm not rushing out to buy a Honda do-rag and matching thong or anything...I'm not a conspicuous brand whore, more a subtle one...but in my town it's like any port in a storm, with mixed brands all over the place...and it makes me afraid. It's too gauche.

Should I care about brand mixers? Do you?

Oh yeah...and if I see the guy that cut me off with his Pontiac Bonneville while laughing at me for having to stand my bike on its nose...is it okay to Ooops, elbow him in the face really hard in the checkout line at the beer store when I reach for my wallet if he's behind me?

Thanks for your help;
W

heffay · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2006, 07:13:37 PM »

what i wear is not the same as what i ride. my ducati shirts that dad brought back from italy i wear with pride... and i ride my honda and kawi with my "motorcycle gear" (often includes a brand mixin tshirt)

oh yeah, jam that elbow... he jammed his bonneville... maybe he'll be as quick as you

Tim. · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2006, 08:06:00 PM »

HARLEY DAVIDSON

HONDA

Yep - there's enough letters. Rip off the letters, rearrange and you're done

More than a little symbolic of the difference between our simple little Honda's and those overdone Holy Doodads. Strip off all the extra #$%*e and you've got a real bike.

pmpski_1 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2006, 10:05:23 PM »

I never wear my Nike hat, Adidas hoodie, and Fila shoes at the same time.

winston · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2006, 06:47:28 AM »

If you did, imagine the gansta mayhem that would surely ensue.

Maybe Ford pickup owners should start wearing Chevy jackets, you know, cats and dogs living together in harmony...

fanaticbr · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2006, 09:07:23 AM »

I don't mix motorcycle manufacture brand name gear when I'm out an about. I don't think my wife would let me out the door.
I can't even get out of the house with white socks and black shoes. I do mix my gear brands, alpinestars, icon, etc... I try to stick with one bike brand per outfit. lol.

siter81 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2006, 09:13:56 AM »

I Will wear my Suzuki shirt when ridimg my kawasaki somtimes.Who cares?

cmorgan47 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 29, 2006, 09:45:45 AM »

my jacket's a yamaha, but it only says so on the inside.

6pkrunner · « **Reply #8 on:** August 29, 2006, 09:49:00 AM »

I could care less. I never look to see what another rider is wearing, only what he's riding.

Gordon · « **Reply #9 on:** August 29, 2006, 09:49:15 AM »

My wife has H-D riding boots, but I still let her on my bike.

Gordon · « **Reply #10 on:** August 29, 2006, 09:52:21 AM »

I have no problem with the different brands, I just don't personally like yellow, bright green, or orange on a leather jacket. Red and blue are fine.

nickjtc · « **Reply #11 on:** August 29, 2006, 10:12:16 AM »

Quote from: 6pkrunner on August 29, 2006, 09:49:00 AM

I could care less. I never look to see what another rider is wearing, only what he's riding.

The safetycrat in me looks at what a rider is wearing from a safety point of view (and if it's a cruiser I know I'm probably wasting my time), but I too am more interested in the bike.

dusterdude · « **Reply #12 on:** August 29, 2006, 11:33:15 AM »

i wear my harley shirts when i ride my 750.

Chris Schneiter · « **Reply #13 on:** August 29, 2006, 01:04:27 PM »

This is my riding buddy Del. Before he even bought his Shadow, he had this jacket. This is when it was brand new, and I saw it and just had to imortalize it!
When he started looking for a bike, he discovered that Hondas were half as much as Harleys, so he put black electrical tape over "Honda" on the back of his seat, wore this, and pretended!

nickjtc · « **Reply #14 on:** August 29, 2006, 01:12:14 PM »

Quote from: ces on August 29, 2006, 01:04:27 PM

When he started looking for a bike, he discovered that Hondas were half as much as Harleys, so he put black electrical tape over "Honda" on the back of his seat, wore this, and pretended!

Changing appearances only matters if you get caught...!!

Chris Schneiter · « **Reply #15 on:** August 29, 2006, 01:32:28 PM »

I think he thought he'd get his ass kicked if people saw him riding a Honda..especially in Sturgis!

Uncle Ernie · « **Reply #16 on:** August 29, 2006, 06:25:42 PM »

Most Harley riders joints are too stiff to throw a punch. Now- they might try to trip you...
One of the joys of gettting to be an old fart- who cares?! When I see a guy with a Honda T-shirt on his '48 Indian, or MotoGuzzi shirt on a Honda, Harley shirt on a Yammi 2-stroke, well I.... Oh, I'm sorry. That was me.
What was the question...?

ElCheapo · « **Reply #17 on:** August 29, 2006, 08:24:23 PM »

Mass hysteria....

If just for principle alone I refuse to waste my money on anything that it Harley affiliated, Just say no to mass marketing. So no I would not wear a Norton shirt riding my Honda. But then again I dont have any brand shirts because I refuse to buy them.

winston · « **Reply #18 on:** August 30, 2006, 04:23:07 AM »

Funny stuff...the guy with the Victory shirt on the CB900 Custom...a guy I'd never met before... gave me a long drawn out explanation about how he was going to buy a Victory, but then got divorced so he couldn't afford a Victory so he bought the CB900...and I'm thinking "so why did you buy the shirt?" but figured hey, who cares, he's just some guy who stopped me to ask how many revs I'm running in 5th at 60mph because his CB900 revs higher than he thinks it should.

My new jacket has an American flag patch on the left shoulder, speaking of mixed brand messages...

Peterbylt · « **Reply #19 on:** August 30, 2006, 04:27:07 AM »

A friend of mine owns a Suzuki Boulevard. He has removed all the Suzuki emblems and even ground off the engraved S on the triple tree. The plate with the VIN number on it has been covered with electrical tape. It looks enough like a Harley with modes he has done that even Harley people don't know for sure what it is. He wears a Harley Jacket and enough Harley gear that the illusion is almost complete. I am quite entertained watching people scrutinize the bike trying to figure out what it is. He tells them it is a Road King. I proudly drive my 75 550f and wear my SOHC4 T shirt or an old Honda tee shirt I have that says "No wing no prayer".

winston · « **Reply #20 on:** August 30, 2006, 04:50:53 AM »

Quote from: Peterbylt on August 30, 2006, 04:27:07 AM

A friend of mine owns a Suzuki Boulevard. He has removed all the Suzuki emblems and even ground off the engraved S on the triple tree. The plate with the VIN number on it has been covered with electrical tape. It looks enough like a Harley with modes he has done that even Harley people don't know for sure what it is. He wears a Harley Jacket and enough Harley gear that the illusion is almost complete. I am quite entertained watching people scrutinize the bike trying to figure out what it is. He tells them it is a Road King. I proudly drive my 75 550f and wear my SOHC4 T shirt or an old Honda tee shirt I have that says "No wing no prayer".

Your friend is one sad puppy. He should be proud of his Suzuki (the Boulevard is a very sleek design) instead of passing it off as something else...then again, it is his bike and he can put Cadillac Deville emblems on it if he wants.

I have a BMW 318i that I love for all kinds of reasons and always laugh when I see people in 318's who have taken the 318 badge off the trunk lid in the silly hope people might think it's a 325, 328 or 330.

It is what it is and that's all that it is.

nickjtc · « **Reply #21 on:** August 30, 2006, 08:22:02 AM »

The grass is always greener on the other side of the Harley Davidson fence. Kudos to HD for having created such a great mystique that people who cannot afford their machines try to change the appearance of non-HD bikes to look like HD's.

It's a pity that these people don't realise that their machine, be it Honda, Kawasaki, or whatever, is mechanically more of a bike than a HD will ever be. V-Rod motor excepted, perhaps.

Uncle Ernie · « **Reply #22 on:** August 30, 2006, 08:24:45 AM »

I have a W650 that looks like a BSA. I feel bad when an old guy runs out of a gas station, looks it over and looks at me like I sucker-punched him. At least it has a flying W on the tank, though.

Uncle Ernie · « **Reply #23 on:** August 30, 2006, 08:34:23 AM »

Just had a friend use up 6K miles coming out for a visit from California, and he headed Northeast when he left. All on a Heritage Softail. He can out-ride me in these mountains, too- much to my amazement and chagrin. Harley just is what it is. Some people don't get that and still want one, some people get it and ride the beans out of them. Run what ya brung.

nickjtc · « **Reply #24 on:** August 30, 2006, 08:45:56 AM »

Quote from: Uncle Ernie on August 30, 2006, 08:34:23 AM

Just had a friend use up 6K miles coming out for a visit from California, and he headed Northeast when he left. All on a Heritage Softail. He can out-ride me in these mountains, too- much to my amazement and chagrin. Harley just is what it is. Some people don't get that and still want one, some people get it and ride the beans out of them. Run what ya brung.

Yes, for every HD disaster story there is one a bit more upbeat. One of my instructor colleagues had a Road King. It was his dream bike and he has no intention of ever getting rid of it. He rides it to Sturgis every year, and when I last saw him he had put a total of over 100,000 miles on the original motor and was thinking of replacing it with a big-bore.

And that bike was never dirty!

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Author Topic: Mixed Brands....What Are Your Thoughts? (Read 3617 times)

winston

winston

fanaticbr

ElCheapo

winston

winston