Did Magz inadvertently hit the nail on the head?

In a couple of his recent trolling missions, Magz compared cruisers (especially Harleys) vs. sportbikes to wooden roller coasters vs. steel coasters and WWII vintage airplanes to modern aircraft.





While he's obviously working on an insult, I think he may have gotten it exactly right. While I enjoy steel coasters, I vastly prefer the wooden variety. Steel coasters are faster, higher and have loops and such. But because of the smoothness of the ride they really lack much of the visceral thrill that a creaky rough riding wooden classic provides. Witness the Cyclone at Coney Island, built in 1927, the Cyclone is still ranked as one of the best coasters in the ever.





Riding a Harley is nothing like riding a modern sportbike. The sportbike is faster, handles better and quicker off the line. I have nothing against them at all, they are great machines. But much like a steel coaster, they lack something that I'm looking for.Did Magz inadvertently hit the nail on the head?
Could be.


Thanks, Mark. You found better words than I had to explain some feelings. I also prefer the wooden coasters. Actually, I hate rollercoasters... yet the only ones I'll ride are wood. ';visceral thrill'; - great choice of words.





One thing about Magz's posts - he puts some thought into them. Credit due there.Did Magz inadvertently hit the nail on the head?
Back when everyone and his brother were riding Japanese inline fours and Harleys were the rare duck they seemed like an unique breed apart. Now that everyone and his brother are riding a Harley or Harley clone that whole thing is just gone.





Sorry but V-twins are more the attack of the clones than inline fours ever were. They are just very low performance clones.





If you want the wooder roller coaster or the Lamburgini you are going to have to build a chopper, or buy British or Italian or German. Otherwise you are just riding a generic V-twin no matter how many thousand dollars worth of shiny doo dads you attatch to it.
What do you mean ';quicker off the line';? A 600cc will do around 60mph in first gear, a 1000cc over 100mph in first gear. --- Off the line you're shifting like a madman while we aren't even in our powerband yet.





If I wanted a V-twin I would get a Ducati. Or at the least a Honda RC51 or TL1000R, they don't sound like wet farts.
Do these discussions ever make anyone else feel like you're back in 5th grade debating whose dad can beat up the others dad? Why does everyone feel such a need to knock others rides or to compare how fast your bike is to someone else's? I thought this forum was to help folks out rather than being a catalyst for a pissing contest. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it just seems really childish.
Get real,


They are machines that companies build to make money.


make make different one to try to tap a market.


It all comes down to what you like and afford there are pros and con to every one of them.





I think you need to ask your self, if they only made one type of bike would you stop riding?
Yes I have used Conventional oven verses Microwave before as a comparison of HD and Sportbikes. Ones faster and technologically advanced, but the other makes tastier food.


Hmm?
Talk about wooden roller coasters, I ride a 77 BMW airhead. Jugs sticking out the side and all. I love it. It has a sound like no sport bike can deliver. It's low rumble sets off car alarms as I drive past without being loud and obnoxious
Why would you even concern yourself with what Magz likes or rides? Are you that worried what someone thinks of your choice of rides? Seriously get a life.
Interesting analogy -
you may be right, even a blind pig puts his nose on an acorn occasionally.
and he is cute
LMAO
thats a good point mark, I can't see why anyone would want their eyes shaken out of their head instead of going through a loop, but to each his own.





on the other hand I agree with the guy above me more than you, these days the harley is more like the little swing ride that goes in a circle that every amusement park has.





I went to mile high drags this last weekend at Bandimere speedway here in Colorado, I rode my GSX-R and my buddy rode his R6, we got to the motorcycle parking (which is right next to the gate!) and parked next to four other sport bikes. Other than a hayabusa we were the only sportbikes in there! There must have been close to 300 bikes and with the exception of an occasional victory and even a OC chopper, every single one of them was a harley. HD used to symbolize a rebel, now it just symbolizes the most successful marketing campeign in history and just being one of the flock.
well in the wooden coaster vs steel coaster, I wasn't really working on an insult... That was an actual commentary on the technology, and production of a ';modern antique';...





as for my comparison in airplanes, that was more trying to find the disconnect on the word ';fast'; when applied to motorcycles and while a P series plane is faster than a B series plane from ww2, P's are nothing compared to the modern bomber and absolutely pale in comparison to the newest fighter jets... (comparing a ';sportster'; to a ';sport bike'; heck even a goldwing or ST13 will outrun a sportster)





as for your commentary on ';speed'; being the only thing i focus on, that's not quite true...while it IS an important factor, if i ONLY cared about top speed, i'd be on an unlocked eye abuser, zx-10 or zx-14





truth of the matter is that price is an important factor, and value for the price is important... I challenge you to find a bike that matches mine on all these categories for the price I paid for mine...


good looking (glory red, full fairings, vertical headlights)


reliable (honda)


powerful (160 hp)


nimble (corner angles ARE important)


speedy (hard acceleration well into 160, that's as fast as i've had the guts to take her)


comfortable (8 hours with no discomfort)


you have $5500 to work with
Harley is an American Product...


Unfortunately, until recently, (2004) they were pretty much junk. It was simply an accepted practice to have to tighten bolts and make throttle and carburetor adjustments on the side of the road.


Eventually they figured out how to dampen the vibration caused by those huge v-twins.


Hogs are great icons, but the Asian manufacturers produce much higher quality cruisers... i.e. V-star, Boulevard, Shadow