Has anyone else ever noticed in people, what I like to call HDD, Harley Davidson disorder?... well, I guess it would be best for me to explain the symptoms first, basically, an inordinate amount of belief in the superior quality of a particular product because of its much greater price...such as almost every Harley owner Ive ever met seems to have, Ive maybe met one that wasn't afflicted by this debilitating disorder... here is a scenario to demonstrate the symptoms...
For the sake of this scenario, A.H.O. will stand for "Afflicted Harley Owner."

A.H.O.: "Man, my Harley is so great now, Ive spent 15k making it awesome and now it can beat any bike on the street! (that means the total cost of the bike is around $33,000 minimum now)
Me.:"Wow... whats your quarter mile time?"
A.H.O.: "15 seconds!!!"
Me.Big mistake time.) "really? wow, my friends stock 88 honda Magna with the 1100cc V65 in it gets 11...and it only cost him $2,000...his GSXR thats an 1100cc as well gets 9 (...although that was $4,000 used"
A.H.O.:"THATS IMPOSSIBLE, NO BIKE THAT CHEAP COULD GET THAT GOOD OF A TIME!!!"
Me.bigger mistake) "uh, dude...Harleys are mostly for looks and the sound, they have the worst performance on the market, have never won on any of the official race circuits, in fact they have even been allowed to have twice the displacement of the other bikes in the circuit just so they can even kinda compete, and the best they could pull off was a 3rd place in one race,in which the harley team wasnt even using one of its own bikes! they usually come in last... They exist to look pretty and sound awesome, and thats it... their maintenance is even waaaaay more work and allot more expensive than any other brand on the market... you pay for style, not quality."
A.H.O.:"im 5 seconds away from brutally murdering you."(general gist of his angry screaming outburst which I cant repeat here and the look in his eyes)

Now that is just a small example, and typically I make it very clear that I love harleys, but seriously, one cannot honestly overlook their obvious lack of performance for the price, (they have gotten better in the last year or so, but price has gone up too...) and one cannot overlook the much higher than ANY other manufactures upkeep and maintenance cost... yet every Harley owner Ive met except one, will swear up and down they have the best performance and quality in the world... personally, I LOVE Harleys, but I will NEVER own one, I like bikes that dont take such a huge amount of expensive maintenance, and that last... Like Honda's, which will go on and on and on with almost no work ever needed compared to a harley...and when it IS needed, parts are exponentially cheaper... (performance is waaaay higher too at a fraction of the price.)

I tend to see this allot, in every aspect of peoples lives, and honestly I wouldnt have a problem at all if people could just be like "Oh, I dont mind my harleys lack of performance, I bought it cause I just love harleys." that I can accept,lol...(what the one Harley owner Ive met without this disorder said to me.)

Oh, the harley owner in the scenario posted above, actually challenged my friend to a race on a 10 mile stretch of road with various curvy areas and straight portions... my friend was nearly 5 miles ahead of him when he hit the finish line, the harley owner said his bike was having a problem and thats why he lost, he said he would get it checked out then get a rematch...yeah, he never wanted that rematch...but never stopped insisting his bike had better performance...lol...

Have any of you witnessed this disorder?lol...

I personally dont get close enough to talk to the bikers around here. I'd be hard pressed not to want to punch some eyes and noses to be honest. The sleep they steal from my kids...They seem to think nothing or tearing around the neighbourhood late, late at night, DrUnK, on their super-extra-plus-loud-on-purpose-bikes that wake everyone up for miles around. They seem to be a selfish, self absorbed crowd, I keep my distance.

well, I meant, have you noticed a similar attitude amongst anyone really and their over priced toys, its not always bikes...lol... I dunno why, but I dont really like loud bikes, I prefer to be able to sneak around on my bike, plus allot of the things people do to make their bikes louder, can reduce efficiency, robbing them of performance and MPG...so I just dont get it... thanks for the comment btw

coco Wrote:
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>
>
>
> ...They seem to
> think nothing or tearing around the neighbourhood
> late, late at night, DrUnK, on their
> super-extra-plus-loud-on-purpose-bikes that wake
> everyone up for miles around. They seem to be a
> selfish, self absorbed crowd, I keep my distance.



It is a phenomenon known as "testosterone driven", lol

Yeah, I get those guys coming into my shop. All in all not a bad bunch really, but there are a few bad eggs in every crowd.

Curator Wrote:
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>well, I meant, have you noticed a similar attitude amongst anyone really and >their over priced toys, its not always bikes...lol...

lol...yes, I see it everywhere - even on this forum on a regular basis. Just check out the juicing & smoothie threads!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2010 09:31PM by juicerkatz.

Oh, I think my post had to do with exactly what you're talking about. It's not the particular toy in question, it's the attitude of the self absorbed, self indulgent person who is buying said toy because of it's brand name, prestige, supposed better-than qualities, etc. They are the same sort who think nothing of disturbing other people, in fact for some that is the sole purpose of their purchase, the "Look at ME!" factor.
I am not saying that everyone who buys that sort of thing has that attitude, but a fair amount of them certainly do!

An old BF had a nice Kawasaki we rode all over the place. Fast, really fast, quiet, good on gas. Other bikers always nodded or acknowledged us whenever we were on the road, if we were stopped we often got checked out to see if all was well. There is a motorcycle brotherhood in existance that is quite considerate and kind which just makes the inconsiderate behavior of other bikers all the more baffling to me. I sure do wish that brotherhood extended beyond the realm of those on two wheels.

My husband says to steer clear when someone is in the "testoster-zone".


My favorite raw vegan

ROFLMAO testoster-zone... that is great...lol... Ive never quite believed in the whole testosterone leads to more violent/aggressive behavior thing though, I naturally have abnormally high levels of testosterone, and ive always been a really mellow, un-aggressive person, I think it may play a part, but as a whole, i think there are allot deeper psychological issues that cause people to behave in such a way, rather than their testosterone levels...lol... btw, juicerkatz, your awesome,lol...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I live about 4 miles from the Harley plant in York Pa.
It sure is a big thing around here.You can hear them coming from a mile a way.

Last night was bad here too. They were out in full force rattling windows as the roared by late, late into the night. Hard not to feel hatefully towards those sleep stealers. It's a challenge for me, lying there in bed gritting my teeth...