Harley Sees The Light

Phil Tarman

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There's no such thing as Harley riders; only Harley owners. :p
I beg to differ. There are Harley riders. They may be outnumbered, but there are a significant number who ride enough to put most of us on this Forum to shame.
 

DirtFlier

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I agree about the existence of long distance Harley riders but the vast majority prefer to polish their motorcycles and only ride them on 70-degree, sunny days. If you go back several decades, the percentage of H-D riders vs H-D polishers was reversed. :)
 
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Warren

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I think you are all being to hard on Harley riders. I don't think low annual motorcycle mileage just pertains to Harley riders. How many miles a year do you think most sport bike or dual purpose riders put on their motorcycles ?
In general motorcycles in the US are used primarily for recreational purposes. The automobile is the primary choice of transportation in the US. Most Americans are so busy with job and family that they don't have much more than a few hours on the weekend for riding and many of them also have other interests to take up their limited free time Those on this forum that are passionate about motorcycles and are no longer raising children and might be retired have a lot more time to spend on two wheels as well as other hobbies they may have.
 
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While raising a family 99.99% of my time on bikes was commuting and running errands. It was our 'second car'. Most of my commutes were less than 10miles. I didn't have time to take even a weekend ride by myself. If I had free time it was with the family. I did take an afternoon ride two or three times a year, probably 100-200 miles each. I rode for almost 20 years and had fewer than 30k miles on my motorcycle (yes, just one bike in all that time). No, I was not a great rider, and I knew it.

So, in the last 5 years I have put almost 100k miles on my two bikes. My commute is 30mi each way as well as many solo jaunts and some week or 2 week trips. I am still not a great rider.

For those who say riding in traffic is so much harder, I say it is not really using any more skills than anyone else does. And most of those skills can be accumulated in a cage in traffic (it is awareness, not riding skills). I can ride through any traffic, any time. It may not be enjoyable, but, it is 'easy'.
 

Phil Tarman

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I think you are all being to hard on Harley riders. I don't think low annual motorcycle mileage just pertains to Harley riders. How many miles a year do you think most sport bike or dual purpose riders put on their motorcycles ?
Plus One to what Warren and Charlie say. There are even some low-mileage NT700Vs out there. :)

And there are lots of us with high-mileage who aren't great riders. One lives at my house.
 
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Phil Tarman

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Oh, spare us. You're fine once you get on the thing.

Well, I'll concede that I'm OK, but surely not even you, with your heart overflowing with generosity and grace, would argue that I'm great.
 
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