res308

Trading used to be one of my favorite hobbies. Nothing wrong with selling one to get another, if you really want the other one and your funds are already allocated elsewhere. The last several years the trading has been mostly among friends and we always made sure we both came out even on the deal. In the last couple of years I haven't really done any real trading at all. I don't guess I've really done any actual flipping.

Happy 4th to all you critters on here! Heavy price paid for us to be able to celebrate this day.

Very nice man! Wish I was doing that today.

I guess the only thing better is laying on one!

Yeah I never got the "Sportster is a girl's bike" propaganda. I've even had people try to tell me the same thing about the Dyna series. It's usually the people who either don't ride at all, or who ride the biggest road sofa they can find. They're full of it. There is but one commandment, and 'tis thus: Thou shalt ride what thou liketh.

The dyed-in-the-wool Harley devout are the people I mentioned in my first post. It's like a religion to them, or a cult. Harley has dared to make something different, such as the Vrod and the Street Rods, and Harley has had the audacity to try to reach a market segment other than this same group of people, all without clearing it with them first. To me, the fact that they have gotten all bent out of shape over this just displays the elitist mentality that I've always seen in them. Yes, I do know a lot of them. "I'm better than you, therefore I ride this, and you can't have one, but if you wish to be counted among the worthy, you must ride one of these." Or something along those lines. A lot of them seem to think Harley should only make whatever model these people ride and cater only to their group. But it's impossible for a company to stay in business that way. Honestly it's what has always turned me off to Harley. I never wanted to be a part of that since I'm more of an independent old coot and I believe that no one is better than anyone else. It's why I've always loved seeing a big group of riders on a widely varied mix of brands. I'm glad Harley is trying to reach different segments of the market. I just hope their "loyal fans" don't sink them in the process.

I don't know if Harley itself will get their act together, but I did see where Smokey Mountain Harley has been building their version of the Sportster Scrambler. Looks promising.

Machines like that are why I'm torn.

Or a Jeep Starting to get tempted to add Indian to my list of possibilities

I've always been curious about the trikes. I see a lot of people on them nowadays. I'm sure they have to be ridden differently than a standard bike. I'd probably wind up going straight into the ditch right off the bat.

That reminds me, and I'm just being nosy here: I notice you do have forward controls on your Sportster, but with you being 6' tall, are you able to get comfortable on the sporty?

Fat Bob's pretty cool in it's own right, but maybe not as much as the Fat Boy Lo. I really do like the Street Glide, but one of the most appealing bikes out there that would fit my style almost to a "T" is that Low Rider S, with a few modifications. Like the rest, just depends on how 'spensive it is when the time comes.

True. I should have clarified by adding that it'll all depend on how much I can fork out when the time comes. That may limit me to the Dyna series. But one thing's for sure: just like when I step into the woods, I can already tell that this hunt is going to be a whole lot of fun!

The look of Murgatroy's ride is exactly what I want to achieve, no matter which model it's on. And those wheels are pure and certain perfection. I'd love to have one of the touring models, but I think I'm still leaning toward a later Dyna for the handling, clearance, and more ability to carry luggage or passenger. It's just going to be tough to find something that's all blacked out to start with.

For my personal taste, the fact that it has just a few semi-shiny bits and it's not completely slathered in chrome really appeals to the old school in me.

This has been an interesting read for me so far. Ugly, I agree with you on the dream bike. The BMW GS has been a dream for me for a long time, because something like that would really fit my personality. To me, to be able to have a machine capable of being on a long road trip and suddenly deciding to venture off into a somewhat wilderness area would be just perfect. Something capable of doing everything I want to do. BUT, I've always heard nothing but bad service stories about people having to deal with the BMW dealership service if they have a problem. Maybe some negative things about the BMW reliability. I'm not sure if that's all true or not. Otherwise, that GS would be the perfect platform. The thought of having a much more versatile platform than just a dedicated cruiser or touring machine really appeals to me. I know the "adventure bike" platform seems to be pretty popular. I'm also curious as to what you found out about the Africa Twin. I agree on doing the advance homework too. I have several months of planning ahead of me anyhow. Are you saying that you're looking at getting another Sporty and converting it into a dual sport? I've been watching some very interesting videos on that subject right there and seeing some pretty good results. By the way, when you spoke of inherent problems in the twin cam, are you referring to the 88, or the 96, or both?

By the way, what all have you done to the engine? If you don't mind me asking.

I haven't really wanted a Sportster because I've been wanting more room, especially for two-up. BUT, even though my wife loved to go on rides, I"m not sure that she is going to ride any more. I know the Sportster engine has a very good reputation, and they handle better. So a souped up 1200 won't be out of the question if I can make it comfortable (I'm the type that likes to get on the bike in the morning and stay on it the whole day), but retain that old-school rat rod look just like you have there. That's a good looking machine.

No, not those who blindly worship at the altar of whatever their chosen brand is and sneers at everyone else. I mean motorcycle enthusiasts. The enthusiasts will know what I mean. I haven't seen a thread on this in quite a while, and I'm making preparations to get back into riding late this year or early next. I have some very important reasons: I love it and I miss it. I have owned bikes off and on throughout my life, from sport bikes to cruisers, as well as trying out other people's machines. Needless to say, that ride on a Hyabusa was, well, NO! My last two were a Yamaha Vstar 1100 and a Yamaha Road Star 1700, so I'll be skipping Yamaha this time. This one will be used as somewhat daily transportation, plus the occasional road trip. I'm looking at buying one of the Harley models since that's one brand I've skipped over all these years and I've wanted one for a good while. I'll be looking at older models of course, since the wife wants a new car first and I'll have to keep this cost down. I was offered a good deal on a nice 2002 Deuce the other day, but I'm not prepared yet. People do trips on every kind of scooter imaginable, so I'm just wanting to hear from folks who still enjoy riding as to what their preferences are in a good all around bike. Something you would enjoy riding on a daily basis, plus be able to hop on it and take a nice road trip.

Savage-Stevens 20 GA single, full choke. I think I was 12 or 13, so that puts it back a ways before written history. Still one of my favorite things to carry in the woods

You have very good taste, Bob. Very good taste. And one of my favorite things about both of those is the fact that I can see that turn ring. Meaning those are guns that are meant to be used and not just looked at. My complements on the photography too.

Think I might have had to charter just one more ride with that same captain!

Well Sarge, now you ain't gonna believe this but, ya see, what happened was.........

To me it's always a very sad thing when someone passes in this way. It goes to show, among other things, that we really don't know what is going on inside of someone, despite what we may see on the outside. I really don't know how many of these scenes I've been called to over the years. I don't even want to know how many. Those scenes haunt. Like others have said here, reach out if you're feeling this way. Reach out to someone who is willing to help, and we are.

Well said. And that is what it takes. Those who are willing to give of themselves to help and possibly pull back from the brink those who feel as if they have nothing of themselves left.