Motorcyclist Demographics

[Flip]

Jap bikes have:

Inferior build quality.
Inferior dealer network
Inferior parts availability
Eye wateringly expensive parts
Non-existent dealer sponsored owners club
Inferior resale value
Little to no custom parts availability.
Inferior fire resistance
Non-existent brand loyalty.
Built in obsolesce by both design and parts availability.
Inferior pride in ownership.

When I see some body with a "serious" Suzuki/Honda tattoo I will take it all back.

[Mike.Gayner]

When I see some body with a "serious" Suzuki/Honda tattoo I will take it all back.

Anyone who puts a brand name tattoo on their body is an unbelievable tool. Is that your way of saying "I am owned by a multi-million dollar profit-seeking corporation"? Brand loyalty is for fucking idiots and tools to marketing teams.

And Harleys are for fuckwits.

[TheDemonLord]

Jap bikes have:

Inferior build quality.
Inferior dealer network
Inferior parts availability
Eye wateringly expensive parts
Non-existent dealer sponsored owners club
Inferior resale value
Little to no custom parts availability.
Inferior fire resistance
Non-existent brand loyalty.
Built in obsolesce by both design and parts availability.
Inferior pride in ownership.

When I see some body with a "serious" Suzuki/Honda tattoo I will take it all back.

Inferior Build Quality - depends how you define as inferior
Inferior Dealer network - there's 1 HD shop in Auckland and at least 3 for Suzuki?
Inferior Parts Availibility - never had any trouble getting parts for my bikes, except for my 20 year old Hornet. Admitedly haven't tried to get parts for a Harley
Expensive Parts - Genuine Front brake pads for a 'Busa:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-gsxr6...-/281217745246
vs Genuine Front brake pads for a Roadking:
http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...pads-44082-00d
Non existant Dealer sponsored owners club - And thank Fuck for that!
Inferior resale value - Are you talking about just raw Dollar value or adjusted value?
Little to no custom parts availability - there are plenty of Custom parts for my bike - ones that make it go faster, brake harder, turn quicker - Oh, wait you mean 'custom parts' as in useless pieces of chrome that make it look Fugly, Go slower etc.
Inferior fire resistance - lolwut?
Non-existent brand loyalty - How does this make the Bike any better? if anything the HD brand loyalty is responsible for the fact that they virtually never produce a new or original design.
Built in obsolesce by both design and parts availability - In the same way that things like Jet Fighters have this.
Inferior pride in ownership - Speak for yourself and in any case - most of the pride you speak of is just overblown, oversized egos of BAB having their midlife crisis, in which case you may keep your pride.

[Erelyes]

Jap bikes have:

Inferior build quality.

http://www.businessinsider.com/harle...es-2014-2?IR=T

(Edit: original article http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...cles/index.htm)

Yamaha was cited as the most reliable motorcycle brand, BMW the least reliable, and Harley-Davidson next to BMW in reliability issues.

As for the rest of your points:
- A parts network's not hard to run when your bikes all use the same parts and there are few of them (I bet H-D do their own coolant and it sells like hotcakes)
- 'Dealer funded' owner's club - and who funds the dealers? You do.
- 'Little to no custom parts availability'. I think you mean 'aftermarket'. 'Custom' is something just that.

I could go on but why bother.

[baffa]

This morning this thread made me giggle.
Now I'm laughing.

Flip has some valid points about Dealer networks, parts availability (maybe) owners clubs, and resale value.
I think however hes confusing brand loyalty with brand narcissism. Unlike certain marques I dont feel like hot shit simply because I ride a Honda, moreso I love the bike and brand for the build quality, their racing pedigree, and enjoyment factor.

You do realise how ironic it is to bring up Obsolescence (which I beleive was the word you were looking for) when Harley Davidson and their ilk purposely shun modern reliable technology (or hide it in the example of water cooling).

Share a picture of your tattoo, I havn't laughed enough today.

[Banditbandit]

A few years back I saw a list of 8 demographics some study had grouped motorcyclists into.

Cruisers, Born Agains, Mods, Rebels, that sort of thing.

Anyone know where I can find that again?

Or alternately, it'd be interesting to hear anyone's ideas on broad categories of "us".

Just interested.

[rastuscat]

Jap bikes have: Inferior fire resistance

Can't address all the issues, but this has turned into an interesting thread.

I can speak with some degree of authority on the fire retardness of BMWs.

[Flip]

Inferior Build Quality - depends how you define as inferior
Inferior Dealer network - there's 1 HD shop in Auckland and at least 3 for Suzuki?
Inferior Parts Availibility - never had any trouble getting parts for my bikes, except for my 20 year old Hornet. Admitedly haven't tried to get parts for a Harley
Expensive Parts - Genuine Front brake pads for a 'Busa:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-gsxr6...-/281217745246
vs Genuine Front brake pads for a Roadking:
http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...pads-44082-00d
Non existant Dealer sponsored owners club - And thank Fuck for that!
Inferior resale value - Are you talking about just raw Dollar value or adjusted value?
Little to no custom parts availability - there are plenty of Custom parts for my bike - ones that make it go faster, brake harder, turn quicker - Oh, wait you mean 'custom parts' as in useless pieces of chrome that make it look Fugly, Go slower etc.
Inferior fire resistance - lolwut?
Non-existent brand loyalty - How does this make the Bike any better? if anything the HD brand loyalty is responsible for the fact that they virtually never produce a new or original design.
Built in obsolesce by both design and parts availability - In the same way that things like Jet Fighters have this.
Inferior pride in ownership - Speak for yourself and in any case - most of the pride you speak of is just overblown, oversized egos of BAB having their midlife crisis, in which case you may keep your pride.

This is my bike, its done 100,000 km, this is how I define build quality.



Jap dealers come and go, most of them carry no parts. A HD dealer is required by contract to stock parts, be trained, also provide service and there is a MRP on all parts to prevent dealer price gouging.

Price wise, you have compared an E bay $50 special with full dealer price and there is only $5 in it. Do a search on roadking pads and you will find them for $8.

Not everbody is interested in HoG but saying that the club is bigger than Auckland.

After market, yea right, get a copy of the HD after market bits, both custom and performance, it's the size of a phone book. The custom chrome one is bigger.

BAB, not in my case, been riding for at least 40 years and still going strong. Jap bikes are for SQUIDs - Acronym for Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Imminantly DeadSquids.

In this world the two most common tattoos are Mum followed by HD.

Your comment about Jet fighters and planned obsolesce sounds about right to me. What would you rather own/fly in a F16 or a Spitfire? What would you rather drive DB4 or a WRX?

Quality gets better with age, cheap plastic disposeable vehicles are just that, disposeable.

[baffa]

I sold my CBR900RR with 140 kms on the clock, still going strong.
Therefore better than your Harley.

This is why people get HD tats. The ink lasts a lot longer than the bike.

[TheDemonLord]

This is my bike, its done 100,000 km, this is how I define build quality.

My gsx650FU did around 30,000/40,000 KM in under a year, till I traded it in, with only needed replacement tyres and a new Chain/Sprocket - everything works and was in very good condition (as proof of this, I got a tradein value of 6.5K, for a 3 year old bike with 50-60,000 Km - a brand new one is $10.5k)

So that is how I define build quality.

Jap dealers come and go, most of them carry no parts. A HD dealer is required by contract to stock parts, be trained, also provide service and there is a MRP on all parts to prevent dealer price gouging.

If your dealers are mandated to have parts, be trained and also set a certain price - tends to suggest that historically your dealers have been asshats engaging in dodgy business practices/sub standard practices - really selling me on the Harley Dream here. Pretty sure the big 3 Suzuki Dealers in Akl have lasted 10+ years.

Price wise, you have compared an E bay $50 special with full dealer price and there is only $5 in it. Do a search on roadking pads and you will find them for $8.

I compared Genuine parts (from a shop, albeit listen on Ebay) with Genuine parts - I also found Busa pads for cheaper - my point being that they are not excessively expensive as claimed.

Not everbody is interested in HoG but saying that the club is bigger than Auckland.

Somalia is bigger than Auckland, but it is still a shit hole filled with illiterate peasants who think that a witch doctors herbs will stop an AK47 bullet - Size is no indication of whether it is any good.

After market, yea right, get a copy of the HD after market bits, both custom and performance, it's the size of a phone book. The custom chrome one is bigger.

You use that word 'Performance' - it does not mean what you think it means.....

As I implied earlier- most of the aftermarket parts for Harley can be described with 'Overpriced Chrome Tat' IMO

BAB, not in my case, been riding for at least 40 years and still going strong. Jap bikes are for SQUIDs - Acronym for Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Imminantly DeadSquids.

Then why is the biggest market for HDs among the 50 year old Male population? (source: http://static.cdn-seekingalpha.com/u...---Prosper.jpg)

Sure Squids in the US buy Japanese (because allowing someone to buy a GSX-R1000 after completing the equivalent of a BSH test is a good idea.) however the rest of the world has cottoned on to the fact that learners should be limited in what they can ride till they have built up the experience to handle a more powerful machine. As an aside - I have found that a lot of Harley riders tend to favour the less-is-more strategy when it comes to wearing correct safety gear (Just like their SQUID brethren).

In this world the two most common tattoos are Mum followed by HD.

I think Mike summed it up better than I can about Tattoos of Corporate brands.

Your comment about Jet fighters and planned obsolesce sounds about right to me. What would you rather own/fly in a F16 or a Spitfire? What would you rather drive DB4 or a WRX?

I never liked the F16 anyway.... however if it was a choice between an F35 or an F22 then yes, I would take that over a Spitfire, just like I'd take a DB9 over a DB4

Quality gets better with age, cheap plastic disposeable vehicles are just that, disposeable.

I don't I would use the word Quality - instead I would use:

'Nostalgia for a teenage dream gets more expensive with middle age'

[Banditbandit]

'Nostalgia for a teenage dream gets more expensive with middle age'

True ...

[Pontiac_Tonz]

Born again (could also be covered as Harley Riders...)


Hmm good question as the old school 1%ers appear to have gone - yeah they still wear patches but they own more expensive bikes than I can and when it is wet toodle off in their HSV's or Mercs .....

Hey that's me... but a Calais V.

neighbor was watering his lawn the other day, I was going to ride to work, but had to ride pass the sprinkler.... took the car instead. Can't be too careful eh?

[Banditbandit]

Not everbody is interested in HoG but saying that the club is bigger than Auckland.

Are you sugegsting a '1.5million blowflies can't be wrong' type of argument ???

In this world the two most common tattoos are Mum followed by HD.

Ummm .. shallow gene pool ???

[rambaldi]

I sold my CBR900RR with 140 kms on the clock, still going strong.
Therefore better than your Harley.

This is why people get HD tats. The ink lasts a lot longer than the bike.

I think you mean 140 kkms (or 140 Mega metres) either that or you barely got it off the lot before selling it.

I have seen photos of that million mile harley. Not sure how much left of the bike is stock but that is impressive. Not what I would expect out of every bike though...

[Gremlin]

Is there category for... I don't care if you ride something else because the world would be a boring place if everyone rode the same thing?

Got a Jap and a German, both brilliant for their respective uses. And... guess what? That's the key, you buy what suits you

Now get out and ride some more!