After 107 years in Milwaukee, Harley could leave

But then is it "the bottom line is all that matters, to hell with the workers?". the more you embrace that dehumanized viewpoint, the more you will have to change your cover story that "whats good for business is good for americans".
 
Southern Man said:
The relatively high price of a Harley is part of its allure, like a Cadillac, Lexus, or Mercedes. They might sell less with a lower price.
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Nothing out there compares to sitting on a Harley and barreling down the road.

Even those that make custom bikes, model their style after Harley.

If I would of had the money, I would have bought a Harley; but my funds were limited, so I made do.
My plan is to add a little custom to my bike, try to raise some more capital, and then sell the bike for the difference.

You don't see Harley's parked in the customer slots, at a Psych's office. :cof1:
 
Socrtease said:
Because if a company doesn't make a profit it goes out of business. Why is it lefties all think the ONLY reason for a company to exist is to take care of workers? To make workers wealthy and to hell with the bottom line? It tough times EVERYONE has to tighten their belts, also the law that makes Harley report all their income from out of state as in state is STUPID. They should relocate for JUST THAT REASON. Hell there are a lot of people here in NM that would gladly work for Harley.
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Companies made their workers wealthy AND enhanced their own bottom lines ALL THE TIME back before the "bottom line" became the measuring stick of success.

Slow, steady growth coupled with modest salary increases kept the employees AND management happy...UNTIL unrestrained greed and the sick need for some CEO's to make more money faster than the other guys created the vicious little circle we see today.

So the 80 year old man with 40+ years under his belt at HD gets tossed under the bus because greedy corporate scum came up with and sold the board of directors an unsustainable business model.

How much "belt tightening" has upper management done?
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
Nothing out there compares to sitting on a Harley and barreling down the road.

Even those that make custom bikes, model their style after Harley.

If I would of had the money, I would have bought a Harley; but my funds were limited, so I made do.
My plan is to add a little custom to my bike, try to raise some more capital, and then sell the bike for the difference.

You don't see Harley's parked in the customer slots, at a Psych's office. :cof1:
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A friend of mine rode from Boston to Burlington VT and back one time, he on a Harley and I had a mid-sized Kawasaki. We traded off a few times and although his was fun to ride I like the smoothness of my four cylinder. You couldn't compare the quality of the two machines though, especially the chrome and finish. To me that's what you pay for.

Here's what I use to ride. I owned that for a long time and put a lot of miles on it.

800px-1977-kawasaki-kz650-c1.jpg
 
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ZappasGuitar said:
Companies made their workers wealthy AND enhanced their own bottom lines ALL THE TIME back before the "bottom line" became the measuring stick of success.

Slow, steady growth coupled with modest salary increases kept the employees AND management happy...UNTIL unrestrained greed and the sick need for some CEO's to make more money faster than the other guys created the vicious little circle we see today.

So the 80 year old man with 40+ years under his belt at HD gets tossed under the bus because greedy corporate scum came up with and sold the board of directors an unsustainable business model.

How much "belt tightening" has upper management done?
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Upper management takes all their money out up front. Then come back later and tell the workers the pensions have to go too. We're sorry the new private/public parnership is taking your pension because you're lazy americans, oh, but the managers who drove this shit into the ground have ironclad personal contracts. Ironclad.

Fuck all this bullshit.

Revolution Now!
 
Southern Man said:
A friend of mine rode from Boston to Burlington VT and back one time, he on a Harley and I had a mid-sized Kawasaki. We traded off a few times and although his was fun to ride I like the smoothness of my four cylinder. You couldn't compare the quality of the two machines though, especially the chrome and finish. To me that's what you pay for.

Here's what I use to ride. I owned that for a long time and put a lot of miles on it.

800px-1977-kawasaki-kz650-c1.jpg
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I just bought a 1988 600cc Honda Shadow.
When I can finally afford my Harley, I'm not going with any chrome.
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
I just bought a 1988 600cc Honda Shadow.
When I can finally afford my Harley, I'm not going with any chrome.
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I used to ride that Kawa in 5th gear around town about 35 mph, just above idle. At that rpm you could barely hear the engine and it was like floating.
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
I just bought a 1988 600cc Honda Shadow.
When I can finally afford my Harley, I'm not going with any chrome.
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I don't know why, but I always thought of you as a Gold Wing man. It is one of the few bikes with a reverse gear.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Gold_Wing"]Honda Gold Wing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Honda_goldwing_1500.JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Honda_goldwing_1500.JPG/300px-Honda_goldwing_1500.JPG"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/3/34/Honda_goldwing_1500.JPG/300px-Honda_goldwing_1500.JPG[/ame]
 
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Southern Man said:
I used to ride that Kawa in 5th gear around town about 35 mph, just above idle. At that rpm you could barely hear the engine and it was like floating.
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I'd rather be heard.
It might just stop some cage driver from coming up with the lame excuse of "I didn't even see him".
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
At least the pipes take away their ability to use the excuse.
They should make it a law that you have to drive a Motorcycle for 1 year, before you can drive a car.
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A better law would be to drive a dirt bike for at least a year before getting on a street bike. That's what I did. You get a lot of experience avoiding stuff riding dirt, and those reflexes helped me out.
 
USFREEDOM911 said:
At least the pipes take away their ability to use the excuse.
They should make it a law that you have to drive a Motorcycle for 1 year, before you can drive a car.
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Just make them ride a bicycle... you think Motorcycles lack respect on the road... try being a cyclist. While it is a bit different in CO due to quantity of cyclists, it is still likely that if you ride a lot you will get clipped at least once every 12 months or so.

I had a cop pull me over on my bicycle for riding on the wrong side of the road. Of course the reason I was on the wrong side is some jack ass clipped me as I was making a left turn (obviously I wasn't going fast enough for him) and forced me into on coming traffic. Cop was sitting right there. When he turned on his lights I thought he was going after the guy that hit me. But alas, no... he came after me.

Bottom line... I feel your pain... literally.
 
I never got pulled for speeding when I rode because I'd obey the laws. On the downside of this I was constantly tailgated by motorists. I had several strategies to deal with this.
1. First, never ride the center of the lane because it has an oil slick. Don't ride the right side because they'll pass you like you're riding a bicycle, and because you're going a lot faster, will cut in fast sometimes pushing you off into the shoulder. So you ride the left side of the lane.
2. When you are behind another car, make sure you have 6 seconds between the car behind you and the one in front. This is the "3 second rule" of following times two, to enforce the rule on Mr. Asshole behind you.
3. Since there is an "open space" in front of you, Asshole will have a hard-on for it. When there is a clear passing space, use your left arm and give him a big, exaggerated wave to pass. He'll accept this as a challenge and pass. He'll then cut in quickly, but you'll anticipate this and pull over to the right side of your lane after his rear bumper passes your front tire.
4. If Asshole tries shit like tapping his brakes, slow down, give him room, flash your high beam just once. If he does it again, follow him home. When he starts doing circles around the block he'll prove to you how much of a pussy he is.

Extra Large Assholes warrant special treatment. Pulling up to him at a stop light and rear ending him at about 5mph usually causes them to piss their pants. Since its your rubber tire it doesn't do any damage to your bike or their car. I've done this several times and only once had a guy enough balls left get out of his car and start to approach. My response then was to put the kick stand down, stand up, take my right glove off and half unzip my jacket, which froze him. The light then turned green, I back-footed the bike away and passed him on the left side, leaving him standing there with wet pants and cars behind me honking.
 
Southern Man said:
A better law would be to drive a dirt bike for at least a year before getting on a street bike. That's what I did. You get a lot of experience avoiding stuff riding dirt, and those reflexes helped me out.
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You do have a point there. The many thousands of miles I loged racing bicycles definately improved my motorcycle handling skills. Particularly when riding in group. It's a lot easier to learn drafting in a bicycle then on a motorcycle.
 
Superfreak said:
Just make them ride a bicycle... you think Motorcycles lack respect on the road... try being a cyclist. While it is a bit different in CO due to quantity of cyclists, it is still likely that if you ride a lot you will get clipped at least once every 12 months or so.

I had a cop pull me over on my bicycle for riding on the wrong side of the road. Of course the reason I was on the wrong side is some jack ass clipped me as I was making a left turn (obviously I wasn't going fast enough for him) and forced me into on coming traffic. Cop was sitting right there. When he turned on his lights I thought he was going after the guy that hit me. But alas, no... he came after me.

Bottom line... I feel your pain... literally.
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No shit man. I've had way to many near death experiences at 20 mph with cars riding my Paramount. It makes you very aware and defensive when you get on a motorcycle.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
No shit man. I've had way to many near death experiences at 20 mph with cars riding my Paramount. It makes you very aware and defensive when you get on a motorcycle.
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I commuted into Boston for three years on a motorcycle and many years tooling around that area. It is home to some of the most aggressive drivers on the planet. In fact, my Dad taught me how to drive just that way in a big Ford hardtop: intimidate, head fake, and assert.

That all goes away when you lose all that sheet metal. Bostonians would just as soon squash you into a guard rail then yield right-of-way to a motorcycle. So I developed a whole new style of maneuvering around metro Boston, not all of it legal but designed to save my ass.

Like at the beginning of Storrow Drive inbound. Its 4 lanes that necks down to 2, then two more lanes come in. In the big Ford I'd just ignore the cars on either side. I had great size, rust and dents and they would yield, always. My first try doing that on the Kawasaki and I was nearly squashed between two cars. So on the bike I'd slow down before the intersection way on the right side, even pulling onto the shoulder if necessary in order to get the red light. Then I'd pull up to the stop bar, between stopped cars if necessary, wait for the green and squirt out of there. I'd be a mile down the road before the traffic caught up with me.
 
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