• A few people have been scammed on the site, Only use paypal to pay for items for sale by other members. If they will not use paypal, its likely a scam NEVER SEND E-TRANSFERS OF ANY KIND.

Random thoughts / pics thread

What are these, pictures for ants?
They must be since they get rescaled downward and recompressed from an already downscaled pic on flickr – But even flickr's smaller rescaling for screens that need it (like an ant's computer or ant's phone) looks more accurate than the one the forum here makes.
 
Just a couple images from a large group that interest or inspire me from a couple days ago, not that many with the motorcycle in them which is liberating at times ; } ... Hopefully the suckage differential between viewing them here and on flickr won't be too disappointing because everybody should get to see a better approximation of what it's really like.

2020-07-27 15;40;57 by greenboy, on Flickr

2020-07-27 15;27;07 by greenboy, on Flickr
 
Gotta say, I'm seeing a LOT more Harley riders (maybe some of those are also on metric cruisers) from long distances away as well as more local riding in Glacier NP as well as everywhere else I've been riding this spring and summer – and a lot less of any other bike category. In fact the cruisers outnumber all the other bikes together, with only local dualsports making much of a dent. Never let it be said that the Harley crowd just parks in front of roadhouses – there are some serious lovers of the journey and the sights on cruisers.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Saw a few more Adventure bikes today, mostly BMW. Still, way more cruisers, including a fringie Indian. And there was a couple dualsports, one of them crushing the competition ; }

2020-07-29 15;37;48 by greenboy, on Flickr
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gotta say, I'm seeing a LOT more Harley riders (maybe some of those are also on metric cruisers) from long distances away as well as more local riding in Glacier NP as well as everywhere else I've been riding this spring and summer – and a lot less of any other bike category. In fact the cruisers outnumber all the other bikes together, with only local dualsports making much of a dent. Never let it be said that the Harley crowd just parks in front of roadhouses – there are some serious lovers of the journey and the sights on cruisers.
Last summer we were riding along the north shores of Lake Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario and the majority of the riders were on Harley Davidsons. We ran into a few Indians, and several metric bikes from Europe and Asia. But mostly HD riders. No question they are big comfortable road bikes. I think the reality is that this is North America and H-D simply dominates this market. Despite all the media press saying that HD is shrinking in sales and that the ADV-Touring bikes are gaining share, the reality is that the big HD cruiser style bikes are a huge % of the market and if that market shrinks a little, the other markets can double and still remain unnoticed on the streets.
 
I didn't see many BMWs except for a couple touring models. Maybe they are all in South America, because they weren't in front of Starbucks.

...One thing Harley and Metrics have going for them is low seat heights. I see a lot of competent female riders on cruisers, many of them doing long hauls.
 
Last summer we were riding along the north shores of Lake Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario and the majority of the riders were on Harley Davidsons. We ran into a few Indians, and several metric bikes from Europe and Asia. But mostly HD riders. No question they are big comfortable road bikes. I think the reality is that this is North America and H-D simply dominates this market. Despite all the media press saying that HD is shrinking in sales and that the ADV-Touring bikes are gaining share, the reality is that the big HD cruiser style bikes are a huge % of the market and if that market shrinks a little, the other markets can double and still remain unnoticed on the streets.
Harley, for years, has been responsible for over half of all new motorcycles sold in the USA. They have no business (heh) going bankrupt— a path they charted well before Covid.

They became addicted to debt and dividends, for the sole benefit of stockholders. The saga of HD 'going public' is the quintessential story of the failures of late-stage Capitalism.

Here's Ryan FortNine with a fun video on it:
 
Harley, for years, has been responsible for over half of all new motorcycles sold in the USA. They have no business (heh) going bankrupt— a path they charted well before Covid.

They became addicted to debt and dividends, for the sole benefit of stockholders. The saga of HD 'going public' is the quintessential story of the failures of late-stage Capitalism.

Here's Ryan FortNine with a fun video on it:
I've seen the video and agree with much of it.

Its not that H-D is suffering from 'late-stage Capitalism' its more that they are suffering from the effects of protectionism and stagnation of ideas. That is much more of an effect of Corporatism which tends to kill off Capitalism and leans toward early stage Socialism.

In any case, yesterday I saw a BMW and a HD riding together. The BMW was a GS1200 with a guy in full gear. The HD rider was more typically dressed in a T shirt, jeans and shockingly was actually wearing a helmet. A rare sight indeed. They were obviously talking to each other while waiting at the stop light. Interesting to see the dragon and the dragon slayer. Honestly I hope HD gets their act together.
 
Two Variations
1. This one hasn't looked in a rear view mirror except when backing up since Mount Vesuvius blew. When you get to a short area for passing they speed up from their otherwise excruciatingly slow pace. It's not that they are trying to thwart you – it's just that they feel capable of achieving the speed limit on a straight. Beware if it is a downhill straight. If you get caught in their vortex you will travel back in time.

2. When he does watch a rear view it's usually to judge whether you deserve some passive-aggressive chastening, such as sudden braking or just slowing way down beyond the already dull pace that has been set. And when you signal to pass or begin the maneuver he makes use of the accelerator to either tease you all the way to the end of the passing zone or to ultimately thwart you. Often hand language is also involved, and some form of swerving. Often pretty easy to spot ahead of time, driving an ostentatious 4WD pickup truck with loud pipes or exhibits driving tics well before any passing maneuvers have been predicated.
 
Product Specialization
Evidently there is a SeriusXM station for Harley riders that plays only music that cannot possibly live up to "Born To Be Wild" or "If You Want To Be A Bird", with all tunes compressed to be as loud as the laws of physics allow at 20% THD. And another company that makes Harley fairings with stereos that will only play 8-track tapes with "Born To Be Bad" in the loop. They are especially popular among those cruising through national parks and monuments and in campgrounds.
 
Oil changed in the loser cruiser, ready for 3 days in the mountains around Deal's Gap this weekend with the lady friend for her birthday. First night staying at Tapoco Lodge, 2nd night at Ironhorse Lodge. Going tubing on the Ocoee Sunday too. Gonna be a good time!

20200805_125128.jpg

20200805_130847.jpg
 
Some background: our family fleet of motorcycles and scooters had built up to 8, but this year I sold 2 to trim the fleet down to 6. I very much like the group of varied machines we have now, so I'm content to keep it at 6. But you know how it can be tempting to get that new, "just what you've been waiting for" model that comes out.

So, today I was waiting for a ferry boat to take me and the NC across a lake, and I saw this sign posted about the ferry carrying a limit of 6 bikes. I thought that would be SO perfect to print the photo and hang in the garage as a reminder the THE FLEET LIMIT IS 6!!! The wife would love that.

See photo!

B039C1D6-3CFD-4669-B9E1-941D59F9A0EE.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Some Little River Canyon photos. Nothing on Greenboy's scenery, but lucky to have this place, along with 15ish miles of twisty road that runs along the rim, about 35 minutes from my house.

Oh and new Michelin Power Cup Evo rear race tire came in for the old NC, along with the front Dunlop Q3 to go with the new Q3 rear I already had on hand for the new NC.

20200806_155729.jpg

20200806_155748.jpg

20200806_194718.jpg

20200806_194743.jpg

20200806_194941.jpg

20200806_195123.jpg

20200806_195131.jpg
 
Back
Top