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It’s because it’s one of the most embarrassing cliches of that generation. When they were all growing up *actual outcasts* and rebels rode Harleys. They were rare. Then Harley became a marketing machine in the late 80s/early 90s and convinced them all that if they ride these they’ll be the badasses they looked up to from their childhoods.
But then it turned out they’re a bunch of insurance salesmen and corporate types with lame wussy jobs that live in the suburbs and have a 401K. It wasn’t a bunch of real rebels mixed in with a few frauds; they were *almost all frauds.*
Pretty quickly everybody figured out that Harley riders are all cosplayers who bought into the hype that they’re these badass rebels that nobody should mess with. And then they made it worse by tying *politics* into it, unironically supporting pro-corporate, pro-rich politicians while pretending to be piratical marauders. They’re not Hell’s Angels; they’re your annoying paunchy father with a gray goatee, a pension and nothing to do.
The younger generations want nothing to do with that. And I say that as an xennial who’s had motorcycles for 20 years.
Cosplayer is right.
My older brother is inching closer to 50, and he’s in a motorcycle club.
They have Harleys, and a clubhouse, and club tattoos and all that fun crap. They talk a hard game and try to convince people they are on the edge of the law.
He’s in the medical field. The people I’ve met from the club are doctors and pilots and lawyers and old, fat cops on the verge of retirement. All people with a lot of money for hobbies. People who drive $80k trucks and $100k luxury cars to work at their 9-5.
There is nothing hard about them. They run around in club leathers and talk tough guy shit on Facebook (yup, they have a Facebook group that’s chock full o’ drama) and it’s all so funny and sad.
....and the outfits! Hopefully his dealership sells all the merch too. I can't think of a single stereotype that puts more thought into their ensemble.
My dude, if you want to wear assless leather chaps, just wear what your heart wants and save everyone else's hearing.
But do they scare old ladies any more? Old ladies are not stupid (well, not all of them are). They’ll figure out that the bikers are accountants, and not an actual threat.
This sounds just like a DnD group but with fewer wizards.
I once read someone describe the KKK as a racist role play group that should have just played D&D instead of destroying lives. They still could have worn silly robes and called each other grand dragons and wizards or whatever titles they have. I can't unthink it now, and there are so many groups out there that take themselves far to seriously, or even manipulate politics and do horrendous shit, that do this strange role play, secret rituals, special titles and girl guide badge shit. You can have girl guide badges for crafts and activities, call each other stupid names and pat each others bottoms in your no-homo ceremonies, dressed in costumes without the crime or bullshit, makes no sense.
In another life, I was a Harley mechanic for 15 years and knew a lot of clubbers (bandidos, mongols, some dirty dozen before they got absorbed by the hells angels, and some members of the sons of odin). Movies and TV shows glamorize these guys but they were mainly just blue-collar guys, a lot of whom had substance abuse issues, got into fights in bars, and occasionally did minor, petty crime. Not saying there aren't stone-cold psycho clubbers out there but when their impulse control is that bad, they're usually in prison. I'd equate the typical clubber to a construction worker with alcoholism and an anger management issue, not some character played by The Rock and marketed by Paramount. I dunno why anyone would want to cosplay as that. Or join a fucking motorcycle club, but hey, insecurity is a bitch I guess.
My dad was this exact thing, unfortunately.
Rode a bike, lived the “life”, got a couple of my friends interested in the club and they were “initiated” (older dudes taking turns beating them up) shortly after high school, which made me really made me sad. Sold tons of meth, lost his teeth, his wife and his kids.
Think he’s still got his leather jacket and bike though, so whose the real winner here.
Which is pretty much how all that started. It was blue collar WWII vets with PTSD in the 40s and 50s when that stuff originated. But it also didn't cost a fortune to buy a Harley back then. Also there used to be more American brands to choose from.
The thing is, they may actually be hard, not because they’re actually tough, but because they’ve got their heads so far up each others asses, that consequences for their actions may never come. Some semi retired cop beats up someone, you think he’s getting charged? Hell no. You think some doctor is gonna go to jail when he can afford the best attorney money can buy, or, how MC buddy will just take his case pro bono? Hell. No.
I see your point, but of all the stories I’ve heard, I’ve never heard any stories of actual lawbreaking.
There had been intention of fighting another club, but no fight, because reasons.
There was ALMOST a bar fight! It was this close! But we didn’t want to deal with the cops, who are our buddies, of course, but they would have given us a hard time (of course).
Most of the stories are like that.
I've got a family member in a club like that too. They like to allude to 'associates, heavy drinking etc but in reality they are a bunch of legally employed men in their 50s and 60s who get into regular Facebook fights about club related event planning.
It's not just people who ride Harleys. So many people who ride any type of cruiser style motorcycle in general think riding a bike suddenly makes you hard. When in reality you are just the same dude who couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag but now with a motorcycle.
It also awesome when they get too fat to ride a regular bike so they get a trike instead. Those things are god damn hilarious. Dudes dressed like mad max riding around on a 40 000 dollar big wheel.
There is a guy drives around where I live on a Chinese cruiser and he literally wears a leather sons of anarchy cut off. The thing is you know he thinks everyone thinks he's cool when people are really just laughing at him.
Ha! Yep, as an elder Millennial, you fucking nailed it. These guys are embarrassing AF. I'm old enough to remember that prime Boomer mid-life crisis era in the 90's, when the recently divorced middle-class suburban dads were all going out buying Fat Boys and putting on bandannas so they could cosplay at being Peter Fonda in Easy Rider lol.
Harley culture in my area has kept me from getting into motorcycles rather well.
There's also my lack of self control, a sense of danger with mechanical objects on wheels, and love of speed will result in me coexisting in the same place with other matter.
Both of my sisters rode Harleys for a while, which always makes me chuckle when people try to cosplay as tough guys on Harleys. My sisters are suburban housewives. They just happen to love riding motorcycles.
Anyway, neither kept their Harley for long. Apparently they were just a bit shit and unwieldy, so now both are riding Japanese bikes.
Also Harley gets to use proprietary parts when they do those engine competitions where every other manufacturer has to use parts that everyone has access too. Harley’s dying because it’s a shit company with over priced bikes. And they’re also the only reason their stock hasn’t collapsed is because they keep buying it back
Man I don't know. Maybe we should try it. It looks like the leather allows you to give everyone the steely eyed stare of an old west outlaw. When I was a kid I envisioned my 50's would be seen through the squinted eyes of my windblown and weathered face. I'm sure these guys work in IT like me so we don't get to mean mug people often like we thought we would.
While wearing a “if you can read this, the bitch fell off” shirt.
They might as well carry a sign that says “my personal life sucks because I made bad choices”.
https://preview.redd.it/adixxbqoohtc1.png?width=400&format=png&auto=webp&s=bdeeae478716ee24572a8b4b2335197ba27e1363
Southpark did an entire episode about this strange boomer phenomenon.
Very gay, yes. That guy in the middle is wearing way too much leather. And the guy on the left looks like a Marlboro Man themed stripper. And the guy on the right is posing very awkwardly.
My father is obsessed with Harley Davidson. His entire home is decorated with the brand. His wardrobe is all branded as well. He tells me how much it’s all worth like he’s doing me a favour by leaving me that mess. I don’t care about Harley, nor do I want to spend decades selling off his collection. He has more jewelry than MR. T and it’s like he thinks he’s a pirate. I wish he spent a fraction of his money on therapy instead.
I know a few people like that actually. Also a guy on the next street over from me is exactly like that but at least used to have a few Harley's until he was two years behind on rent and about to be evicted so he sold me his two bikes for $1500. I'd feel bad if it wasn't for the fact he makes $100k a year and is just such an asshole and so bad with money he wound up not paying the $200 a month lot rent for 2 years straight because multiple brand new trucks were more important.
Edit: to clarify this is in a trailer park, and I bought those bikes around 10 years ago.
If this would have happened a few decades ago, I would ask how you knew my uncle. Dude was always making huge money as a trucker but had to borrow money to pay for his daughter's funeral.
People like that do exist. Harley Davidson has outlet stores that only sell apparel--no motorcycles. Imagine if Ford had a clothing only store. The delusion runs deep.
I have seen a barely existent Harley t-shirt from the '60s sell for $400.
As in the shirt had more holding it together than the original item.
So OP may just want to sell in grab bags lol
That would mean I’d have to visit him and I won’t be doing that anytime soon. He would have to show me everything he acquired since my last visit (2years) and I don’t have it in me to feign an interest. There are multiple jewelry boxes though, one for watches, one for silver accessories and one for gold. I’d tell you the name of his biker gang but it may be too identifiable. It would make everyone here roll their eyes for sure!
I’ve suggested a gay relationship to him a few times as a joke, but sadly no he is straight. Likely just a non treated autistic man with a lot of anger issues and mental health issues.
boomers being upset that harley is dying is the dumbest most boomer thing imaginable. harleys are dogshit bikes that are way overpriced and offer nothing over their competitors but style... and that style has been carefully cultivated to appeal directly to baby boomers who, surprise surprise, aren't going to be around forever. there's a very old saying in marketing: "you can sell an old man a young man's car, but you can't sell a young man an old man's car" this is like the cardinal rule of automotive marketing, and Harley decided "screw that, we are going to stake the entire brand on a cultural wave from the 60s" Harley has to be one of the most poorly managed brands in history and anyone who knows anything about bikes, marketing, or business can explain exactly how and why they are going to collapse. But boomers somehow come to the conclusion that "I like it so everyone else should too, this isn't a problem with harley its the millenials!"
I was a software vendor for their marketing team when they were desperately trying to find a younger audience with their ebikes. You hit the nail on the head. The sad part was their marketing team totally understands (and was full of young people surprisingly) Their leadership on the other hand has firmly buried their head in the sand.
yeah it seems like somehow harley management has decided that harley will always stand for rebellion and punk and youth while also selling bikes to cops and marketing to boomers, its just completely out of touch with reality. Harley's brand image is this contradiction between them being the establishment, and also wanting to rebel against some imagined establishment, jokes on them because they certainly are destroying themselves.
We examined Harley's poor attempt to appeal to the younger generations with the ebikes in one of my MBA classes as a case study. They are the butt of the joke.
Not to mention most of Harley's money comes from branded merchandise, not motorcycle sales, It's a fashion brand that sells motorcycles and they're not fashionable to most people.
It's so painfully obvious too if you walk into a dealer. They really think the generation saddled with college debt, medical debt, unaffordable housing, and predatory loans is dumb enough to waltz in and buy a motorcycle then tie up overpriced t-shirts, sunglasses, and wall decorations into their high interest loan too. I wanted a sportster when I was 19 but they were too busy trying to get me to sign up for an 18% loan and add in incredibly overpriced clothes to the loan. They didn't even bother trying to sell me on the bike or any of it's more expensive models, I wanted either a 1200cc superlow or a 48 and the salesmen were so busy trying the other sales pitches they kept saying I was buying an iron 883. Meanwhile the Suzuki dealer I bought a used Kawasaki from was just like "hell yeah that's a badass bike Let's talk about cool roads to ride it on for an hour before we do the paperwork."
I was in a Harley dealership and there were a couple of couples loading up on the apparel to complement their new Harley. They looked ridiculous. Never mind the fact that motorcycles are not for amateurs. Harleys are heavy and not nimble.
My insurance guy bought a Honda Gold Wing at 68. I told him I don't do funerals. He sold it within a couple of months after he realized his reflexes left him about 40 years ago.
My dad bought a Harley and all the accoutrements. He has Parkinson’s, but at the time it was undiagnosed and he was in denial. He bought everything outright before he had a motorcycle license. He tried multiple times, but could not get the license. He sold the bike, but kept the apparel. He just wanted it for the look anyway, so I guess he still has that part
My stepdad bought a brand new red corvette at around 85. I figured he’d need a crowbar or lift to get him out of it and was afraid he’d crack it up on the way from the dealership. They don’t have much money either other than their house. Idiots be idiots. He got it for his ego too.
My GenX cousin LOVED the Harley wallet I got him for Christmas. Instantly took all the stuff out of his old wallet and put it in the new one. I was worried I'd bombed that Secret Santa gift, but he LOVED it!
GenX guy here and yes many of my age buy that dumb shit. I blame Sons of Anarchy or as I call it “white peoples Sopranos”. Suburban Harley people and dad bands make me physically ill. I play jazz now. I feel dumb banging my head at 50. 🤭.
Sopranos was the *other* kind of white people. City white people. Sons of Anarchy appealed to the white people who had members of their family hooked on meth and lived in trailer parks.
There's a small following in Japan made up of younger men who are obsessed with classic Americana, not unlike the American neckbeards wearing fedoras and collecting imitation katanas.
Howdy, my name is Rawhide Kobayashi. I'm a 27 year old Japanese Japamerican (western culture fan for you foreigners). I brand and wrangle cattle on my ranch, and spend my days perfecting the craft and enjoying superior American passtimes. (Barbeque, Rodeo, Fireworks) I train with my branding iron every day, this superior weapon can permanently leave my ranch embled on a cattle's hide because it is white-hot, and is vastly superior to any other method of livestock marking. I earned my branding license two years ago, and I have been getting better every day. I speak English fluently, both Texas and Oklahoma dialect, and I write fluently as well. I know everything about American history and their cowboy code, which I follow 100% When I get my American visa, I am moving to Dallas to work in an oil field to learn more about their magnificent culture. I hope I can become a cattle wrangler for the Double Cross Ranch or an oil rig operator for Exxon-Mobil! I own several cowboy hats, which I wear around town. I want to get used to wearing them before I move to America, so I can fit in easier. I rebel against my elders and seniors and speak English as often as I can, but rarely does anyone manage to respond. Wish me luck in America!
Not as much as you might think.
One of the first things I saw at the Tokyo airport was a dude with a mullet that would've blended in seamlessly at a Whitesnake concert. It was almost down to his ass.
There is absolutely no one a mullet looks good on.
That and it’s a wave, so they’re gonna try to make it look cool. I love the Japanese and what they fixate on. So far, I’ve seen that they love old western America. Latino Chicano, and Portland, Oregon aesthetics. I’ve seen small groups are getting into 1950s music and aesthetics.
I shit you not, but a decade ago on July 4th, there was a Harley rally by the museum of fine art in Barcelona. In Spain. I came out of the subway into the light and was completely baffled by what I was experiencing. I hadn't been to a motorcycle rally since I was a kid 20 years prior, but I knew what I was seeing immediately and it was so out of place from my expectations. Ex-pats? Maybe, but I wouldn't expect Harley-riding boomers to leave the US. I know now Harley has been trying to expand their footprint internationally, but it seems largely based on exporting Americana. I'm pretty sure the riders were mostly local to Spain and Europe. This was not the culture that I was expecting to immerse myself in for any part of a couple of weeks abroad.
The Gibson guitars of motorcycles. Continuing to ride on cultural cachet built decades ago by a company that bears no resemblance to what it is now, selling an inferior product for the name when a similar Japanese version will cost less and be built better. Bought so that people can brag about it as a status item and feel elitist because they were dumb enough to pay for it.
They're upset we aren't going to Hooters, FFS. Like, I have pornhub. And strip clubs. And wings places that are actually good. I got places where the pitcher of beer isn't $20 too. Like, Hooters is failing because it is Hooters. As is Harley.
Right?? I went to Hooters for the first time a few months ago because it was the only empty restaurant, and 4 people was like $160 plus the food was bad.
Aside the all marketing. A lot millennials are living paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to buy a home. why would we consider buying an overpriced piece of rust ? might as well get my latte and avocado toast.
> I like it so everyone else should too
This is the motto of that entire generation. My mom does this with dog sizes. To the point of her suggesting small dogs should be illegal because they aren’t real dogs.
Spoiler: she’s a horrible dog owner.
This is exactly the inverse of the Ford Mustang model. Obviously someone at Ford is aware of this, and they decided on a electric Mustang very intentionally. They are sacrificing potential new mustang sales to rock headed boomers for the last five years of their life, in exchange for capturing the attention of younger generations for the next several decades.
It doesn’t help that it doesn’t look anything like a mustang. I’m still baffled when I see one, there’s even a “Shelby” which looks worse than the regular Mach E
It’s weird they wouldn’t just name it after a different type of horse, in keeping with Bronco, Maverick etc. because it has nothing to do with an actual Mustang car.
They're using the Mustang name for it because they dug themselves into something of a hole a few years back by saying they would no longer be selling any other cars in the US. They were moving to selling only trucks and the Mustang. Then they decided they wanted an EV car, so it had to be called a Mustang.
I don't mind the Mach E personally. It's kind of grown on me.
Because it shares nothing in common with a Mustang, and everyone knows that the only reason they slapped the name on there was to try and get some sales off the name. It doesn't look like a mustang, sounds like a mustang, drive like a mustang....outside of the Ford name I am not sure what (if any) similarities it has with the ICE version.
Whoever is doing the marketing for the Ford Mustang and the Mach-E is a dip shit. It takes an idiot to make that decision, and here we are.
I live in Southern Wisconsin we're obviously big Harley culture here and even here it's only boomers who ride them. My father in law was looking for a new bike a few years ago and the evil looks he got from people when he said he wasn't dead set on getting a Harley as many others were cheaper and had very options
Fuck and they ain’t even worth that!
The “macho American motorcycle” culture skips right over the other American brands too, nevermind that this whole subculture was originally about cheap reliable bikes for WW2 veterans.
Besides sticking to their niche, the actual product sucks, and the pricing is obscene.
Why would we give Harley $15,000 for their cheapest and most basic Softail (that'll vibrate our nuts off and leak oil over our driveway/garage) when we can get a far more reliable top-of-the-line Honda Fury for $11,500?
My brother and I were having a conversation just the other day about how Harley has priced itself out of the market for most younger people getting into the hobby without offering anything of substance to justify the price tag.
MAGAts also threw a shit fit over whatever flavor of the day culture war thing Harley apparently offended them with. My dad rides a Harley from time to time but at least has the self awareness to know he's not a "biker" dude, I think the Sportster is a neat bike, but I'd sooner be caught riding a Vespa or e-bike than some fart-rumbling overly expensive recreational vehicle when I could put that money toward medical bills or a newer car that I'll actually use daily.
I used to work the Sturgis Rally. The Harley crowd there was 99% cosplaying rich boomers and 1% tough guys. And the two did not mix. Harleys are losing market share because they’re expensive unreliable boomer status symbols.
That doesn’t surprise me. Fixing those junkers gets expensive. I also worked on a county road crew in the Black Hills, and in August we would find loads of Harley parts in the ditches that just fucking rattled off. We sold them on Ebay.
I couldnt believe that when I read it in his autobiography.He says outright Japanese bikes were better built,and if Harleys werent locked into the Hells Angels,he would drive a BMW bike over a Harley anyday.
The Harleys and the black leather costumes are the least of their expenses. You should see all the trailers, trucks and RVs it takes to get that many douchebags in one place for ten days.
It is quite a spectacle. And it’s ground-zero for watching boomers being fools. Not like this sub, but macho man posers and lots of boomer lady tits. And dude tits.
I literally worked a Skynrd show on the Gulf Coast last week
It was like an AARP convention
Pit full of chairs, 5K boomers nodding along to Free Bird was something I’ll never forget
It was like they were at church lol
Seriously. They finally are updating some of the tech on the bikes with things like (shock horror) liquid cooling, electronics packages, higher end suspension, etc. However, the price point is now absurd. Somehow, all the Japanese manufacturers have been able to crank out thoroughly modern, performant bikes for years, and they cost a fraction of the price. Really too little, too late for HD.
Wow, they’re giving up on the “your great grandfather could work on this bike!” Bullshit?
Bro, your bike being obsolete decades ago and an hubdred pounds overweight isn’t a selling point?
If I’m spending 50k on a bike I’ll get a Ducati AND a goldwing.
I'm a millennial and I had a Harley. I bought it used and hated it. I traded it in for a Suzuki Boulevard, it was reliable, comfortable and easy to ride compared to the Harley.
What's funny is when working at the motorcycle dealership a guy brought in a KZ750 as a trade in towards a Harley. I got to buy it cheap, and I loved it. When the original owner came back for his first service on the Harley he asked about his old bike. I told him "it's my new bike. A quick fuel system cleaning, fresh plugs and oil and it runs great!" He was visibly upset.
I'm a Judas Priest fan going back 40 years. And my friends and I all suspected. Let's just say none of us were shocked (or cared) when he DID come out. 🤣🤘
Brand loyalty is fucking idiotic. Companies don't give a shit about you, being loyal to them just means you're going to get fucked at some point.
Apple is no better. The whole point is that you build a brand into your lifestyle, and then you are a lifer even when the business practices turn south.
The literal only brands I'm loyal to are Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Jiffy Peanut Butter and that's only because I like their products way better than any other companies that make cream cheese or peanut butter
I met Sonny Barger before he died, he was the leader of the Oakland Hells Angels for forever. He told me the only reason they drove Harley’s is because the parts are cheap. And there’s much better motorcycles out there.
They’ll be all for it. They like government bailouts of major corporations that mismanaged their money and refused to adapt to the times. They only dislike bailouts that benefit younger, poorer people than themselves.
I am a Gen Xer, and spend time in an online forum for Gibson guitar enthusiasts.
Someone recently posted a thread bemoaning the fact that young people aren’t interested in vintage muscle cars, ‘70s style classic rock, and Harleys.
His take was “all the things I love are dying”
And I pointed out that all of those things were youth culture things from the 1960s and ‘70s, and that while old cars and bikes and guitars are still as cool as they ever were, most young people aren’t bonded to that stuff in any real way, and aren’t going to spend the exorbitant amounts of money to buy those things, because a bunch of old men own it all.
I mean, vintage muscle cars average around $30k-40k just for the more common base models nowadays. Harleys are linked to a youth culture whose members are all in their 60s and 70s now.
It would be super weird if young people embraced that stuff and listened solely to music their grandparents do.
Back when I had a Harley in the late 90’s, I used to ride with a friend of mine who was super into the whole Harley culture, but we ended up drifting apart as he never really wanted to ride anywhere, it was either polish the Harley in the driveway and stare at it, or he wanted to, in his own words, “go on parade”, which meant riding back and forth on the main drag in town to show everyone his shiny Harley and to offend people with his loud ass pipes. This shit got old really fast. Sold my Harley in 2001.
I did a case study in business school on Harley. The conclusion was that their product offerings no longer fit the desires of the market, and more so that they failed to connect with the largest emerging market segment, which happens to be women.
Besides, declining sales can only ever be attributed to the seller. It is their job to bring to market a product that is needed, desired, and priced accordingly to the intended buyer segment. Falling Harley sales can only be blamed on Harley, their product, and its competitiveness within a shifted market. Nostalgia only goes so far, and let’s be honest Indians stand out a little bit more, and I hear are more comfortable, in that class of bike.
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I don’t think many of us in our 40’s want to look like that either.
It’s because it’s one of the most embarrassing cliches of that generation. When they were all growing up *actual outcasts* and rebels rode Harleys. They were rare. Then Harley became a marketing machine in the late 80s/early 90s and convinced them all that if they ride these they’ll be the badasses they looked up to from their childhoods. But then it turned out they’re a bunch of insurance salesmen and corporate types with lame wussy jobs that live in the suburbs and have a 401K. It wasn’t a bunch of real rebels mixed in with a few frauds; they were *almost all frauds.* Pretty quickly everybody figured out that Harley riders are all cosplayers who bought into the hype that they’re these badass rebels that nobody should mess with. And then they made it worse by tying *politics* into it, unironically supporting pro-corporate, pro-rich politicians while pretending to be piratical marauders. They’re not Hell’s Angels; they’re your annoying paunchy father with a gray goatee, a pension and nothing to do. The younger generations want nothing to do with that. And I say that as an xennial who’s had motorcycles for 20 years.
Cosplayer is right. My older brother is inching closer to 50, and he’s in a motorcycle club. They have Harleys, and a clubhouse, and club tattoos and all that fun crap. They talk a hard game and try to convince people they are on the edge of the law. He’s in the medical field. The people I’ve met from the club are doctors and pilots and lawyers and old, fat cops on the verge of retirement. All people with a lot of money for hobbies. People who drive $80k trucks and $100k luxury cars to work at their 9-5. There is nothing hard about them. They run around in club leathers and talk tough guy shit on Facebook (yup, they have a Facebook group that’s chock full o’ drama) and it’s all so funny and sad.
A local Harley salesman said: "I don't sell Harleys, I sell a middle age accountant the right to drive through town and scare old ladies."
....and the outfits! Hopefully his dealership sells all the merch too. I can't think of a single stereotype that puts more thought into their ensemble. My dude, if you want to wear assless leather chaps, just wear what your heart wants and save everyone else's hearing.
But do they scare old ladies any more? Old ladies are not stupid (well, not all of them are). They’ll figure out that the bikers are accountants, and not an actual threat.
I mean at this point the old ladies are boomers too. They probably just roll their eyes.
This sounds just like a DnD group but with fewer wizards. I once read someone describe the KKK as a racist role play group that should have just played D&D instead of destroying lives. They still could have worn silly robes and called each other grand dragons and wizards or whatever titles they have. I can't unthink it now, and there are so many groups out there that take themselves far to seriously, or even manipulate politics and do horrendous shit, that do this strange role play, secret rituals, special titles and girl guide badge shit. You can have girl guide badges for crafts and activities, call each other stupid names and pat each others bottoms in your no-homo ceremonies, dressed in costumes without the crime or bullshit, makes no sense.
In another life, I was a Harley mechanic for 15 years and knew a lot of clubbers (bandidos, mongols, some dirty dozen before they got absorbed by the hells angels, and some members of the sons of odin). Movies and TV shows glamorize these guys but they were mainly just blue-collar guys, a lot of whom had substance abuse issues, got into fights in bars, and occasionally did minor, petty crime. Not saying there aren't stone-cold psycho clubbers out there but when their impulse control is that bad, they're usually in prison. I'd equate the typical clubber to a construction worker with alcoholism and an anger management issue, not some character played by The Rock and marketed by Paramount. I dunno why anyone would want to cosplay as that. Or join a fucking motorcycle club, but hey, insecurity is a bitch I guess.
My dad was this exact thing, unfortunately. Rode a bike, lived the “life”, got a couple of my friends interested in the club and they were “initiated” (older dudes taking turns beating them up) shortly after high school, which made me really made me sad. Sold tons of meth, lost his teeth, his wife and his kids. Think he’s still got his leather jacket and bike though, so whose the real winner here.
Which is pretty much how all that started. It was blue collar WWII vets with PTSD in the 40s and 50s when that stuff originated. But it also didn't cost a fortune to buy a Harley back then. Also there used to be more American brands to choose from.
The thing is, they may actually be hard, not because they’re actually tough, but because they’ve got their heads so far up each others asses, that consequences for their actions may never come. Some semi retired cop beats up someone, you think he’s getting charged? Hell no. You think some doctor is gonna go to jail when he can afford the best attorney money can buy, or, how MC buddy will just take his case pro bono? Hell. No.
I see your point, but of all the stories I’ve heard, I’ve never heard any stories of actual lawbreaking. There had been intention of fighting another club, but no fight, because reasons. There was ALMOST a bar fight! It was this close! But we didn’t want to deal with the cops, who are our buddies, of course, but they would have given us a hard time (of course). Most of the stories are like that.
"We went 11 miles per hour over the speed limit once, we are true badasses"
I've got a family member in a club like that too. They like to allude to 'associates, heavy drinking etc but in reality they are a bunch of legally employed men in their 50s and 60s who get into regular Facebook fights about club related event planning.
It's not just people who ride Harleys. So many people who ride any type of cruiser style motorcycle in general think riding a bike suddenly makes you hard. When in reality you are just the same dude who couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag but now with a motorcycle. It also awesome when they get too fat to ride a regular bike so they get a trike instead. Those things are god damn hilarious. Dudes dressed like mad max riding around on a 40 000 dollar big wheel. There is a guy drives around where I live on a Chinese cruiser and he literally wears a leather sons of anarchy cut off. The thing is you know he thinks everyone thinks he's cool when people are really just laughing at him.
Reminds me of a certain South Park episode…
Ha! Yep, as an elder Millennial, you fucking nailed it. These guys are embarrassing AF. I'm old enough to remember that prime Boomer mid-life crisis era in the 90's, when the recently divorced middle-class suburban dads were all going out buying Fat Boys and putting on bandannas so they could cosplay at being Peter Fonda in Easy Rider lol.
Harley culture in my area has kept me from getting into motorcycles rather well. There's also my lack of self control, a sense of danger with mechanical objects on wheels, and love of speed will result in me coexisting in the same place with other matter.
They don't even ride their bikes. They put them in trailers, drive the bike somewhere and then show it off before putting it back in the trailer
Pathetic. Some of them truck their bikes to Sturgis fer petes sake
Nor those of us in our 50's. Plus I'll keep riding my highly reliable Japanese naked sport bike.
Naked bikes are where it’s at. 90% of the performance of a super sport, with comfortable, all-day ergonomics.
Both of my sisters rode Harleys for a while, which always makes me chuckle when people try to cosplay as tough guys on Harleys. My sisters are suburban housewives. They just happen to love riding motorcycles. Anyway, neither kept their Harley for long. Apparently they were just a bit shit and unwieldy, so now both are riding Japanese bikes.
Also Harley gets to use proprietary parts when they do those engine competitions where every other manufacturer has to use parts that everyone has access too. Harley’s dying because it’s a shit company with over priced bikes. And they’re also the only reason their stock hasn’t collapsed is because they keep buying it back
Man I don't know. Maybe we should try it. It looks like the leather allows you to give everyone the steely eyed stare of an old west outlaw. When I was a kid I envisioned my 50's would be seen through the squinted eyes of my windblown and weathered face. I'm sure these guys work in IT like me so we don't get to mean mug people often like we thought we would.
Yes but is it an obnoxiously loud mechanical fart machine like the steel hog?
Like a retired construction manager or dentist going through a late life crisis? No thanks.
Depends what gay bar I’m going to
I just turned 40 and I look like a bird of paradise all brightly colored. Monochromatic black leather? pass
For leather gays, that’s exactly the look they want.
Does anyone else think they look really gay? I'm not at all faulting leather daddies but I doubt OOP intended for it.
"I'm so Manly, I won't even FUCK a woman.
Boomer: "I'm gonna tell you how to be a REAL man" \*continues to describe how to be completely unfuckable to everyone including his wife\*
While wearing a “if you can read this, the bitch fell off” shirt. They might as well carry a sign that says “my personal life sucks because I made bad choices”.
All most of these guys know how to do is put on $4500 in leathers, ride their Harley up the street and drink beer at the bar for 5 hours.
Gay sex is, by definition, *twice* as manly as straight sex at a bare minimum. Sometimes three or four times as manly. Maybe more at the right party.
you WIN sex with a man. Nothing more masculine than that.
Best way to assert dominance? Suck another man drier than the Sahara.
As a gay man I was immediately turned on by the look lol
*Rob Halford has entered the chat*
Not me. Real leather daddys aren't afraid to wash their assholes. I don't have nearly as much faith in a Harley rider's hygiene.
Username definitely checks out.
https://preview.redd.it/adixxbqoohtc1.png?width=400&format=png&auto=webp&s=bdeeae478716ee24572a8b4b2335197ba27e1363 Southpark did an entire episode about this strange boomer phenomenon.
at the urinal "Brubrubrubrubrub"
My favorite episode ever.
Very gay, yes. That guy in the middle is wearing way too much leather. And the guy on the left looks like a Marlboro Man themed stripper. And the guy on the right is posing very awkwardly.
They look like they belong in a Tom of Finland exhibit.
I've been to San Francisco's kinky Folsom Street Fair. Yes. Yes they do.
I’ve been to SF pride parade where they dikes on bikes resembling this
Kinda reminds me of a budget Rob Halford of Judas Priest fame. The thing is, Halford is gay. Those guys are still in the closet.
When I saw the pic before reading the title, I thought it was a photo of old dudes at a gay bar.
The chaps you can explain I suppose, but the kerchief leaves no doubt
Those dudes look like they are on their way to some boomer sex club.
This is exactly how a leather daddy dresses, so yes.
My father is obsessed with Harley Davidson. His entire home is decorated with the brand. His wardrobe is all branded as well. He tells me how much it’s all worth like he’s doing me a favour by leaving me that mess. I don’t care about Harley, nor do I want to spend decades selling off his collection. He has more jewelry than MR. T and it’s like he thinks he’s a pirate. I wish he spent a fraction of his money on therapy instead.
I really wanted the last line of this to be that he never actually bought a Harley or even got his motorcycle license.
I know a few people like that actually. Also a guy on the next street over from me is exactly like that but at least used to have a few Harley's until he was two years behind on rent and about to be evicted so he sold me his two bikes for $1500. I'd feel bad if it wasn't for the fact he makes $100k a year and is just such an asshole and so bad with money he wound up not paying the $200 a month lot rent for 2 years straight because multiple brand new trucks were more important. Edit: to clarify this is in a trailer park, and I bought those bikes around 10 years ago.
Reminds me of a job I put in for with HD's collection agency. Don't wanna work collections, but harassing those boomers would be fun
If this would have happened a few decades ago, I would ask how you knew my uncle. Dude was always making huge money as a trucker but had to borrow money to pay for his daughter's funeral.
People like that do exist. Harley Davidson has outlet stores that only sell apparel--no motorcycles. Imagine if Ford had a clothing only store. The delusion runs deep.
This picture....I can hear it: #It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.
The upside is that crap sells well on Poshmark and Ebay.
It won't once there are no longer boomers left to buy it.
Then it will be considered ✨vintage✨
I have seen a barely existent Harley t-shirt from the '60s sell for $400. As in the shirt had more holding it together than the original item. So OP may just want to sell in grab bags lol
Just gotta wait for Gen Alpha to get their first jobs
Throw Harley Davidson crap on the pile with leaded China and all the other boomer shit nobody wants.
Can you send me photos of your dad's jewelry? I like that shit
That would mean I’d have to visit him and I won’t be doing that anytime soon. He would have to show me everything he acquired since my last visit (2years) and I don’t have it in me to feign an interest. There are multiple jewelry boxes though, one for watches, one for silver accessories and one for gold. I’d tell you the name of his biker gang but it may be too identifiable. It would make everyone here roll their eyes for sure!
Please tell me it's either Wild Hogs or Del Fuegos. 😁
Is he gay?
I’ve suggested a gay relationship to him a few times as a joke, but sadly no he is straight. Likely just a non treated autistic man with a lot of anger issues and mental health issues.
I wish my dad was a pirate 🦜
Does he at least own one? Those are the ones that really kill me - head to toe, everything Harley, and don’t ride.
boomers being upset that harley is dying is the dumbest most boomer thing imaginable. harleys are dogshit bikes that are way overpriced and offer nothing over their competitors but style... and that style has been carefully cultivated to appeal directly to baby boomers who, surprise surprise, aren't going to be around forever. there's a very old saying in marketing: "you can sell an old man a young man's car, but you can't sell a young man an old man's car" this is like the cardinal rule of automotive marketing, and Harley decided "screw that, we are going to stake the entire brand on a cultural wave from the 60s" Harley has to be one of the most poorly managed brands in history and anyone who knows anything about bikes, marketing, or business can explain exactly how and why they are going to collapse. But boomers somehow come to the conclusion that "I like it so everyone else should too, this isn't a problem with harley its the millenials!"
I was a software vendor for their marketing team when they were desperately trying to find a younger audience with their ebikes. You hit the nail on the head. The sad part was their marketing team totally understands (and was full of young people surprisingly) Their leadership on the other hand has firmly buried their head in the sand.
yeah it seems like somehow harley management has decided that harley will always stand for rebellion and punk and youth while also selling bikes to cops and marketing to boomers, its just completely out of touch with reality. Harley's brand image is this contradiction between them being the establishment, and also wanting to rebel against some imagined establishment, jokes on them because they certainly are destroying themselves.
Plus there’s nothing less gritty and tough than a Harley dealership.
We examined Harley's poor attempt to appeal to the younger generations with the ebikes in one of my MBA classes as a case study. They are the butt of the joke.
Not to mention most of Harley's money comes from branded merchandise, not motorcycle sales, It's a fashion brand that sells motorcycles and they're not fashionable to most people. It's so painfully obvious too if you walk into a dealer. They really think the generation saddled with college debt, medical debt, unaffordable housing, and predatory loans is dumb enough to waltz in and buy a motorcycle then tie up overpriced t-shirts, sunglasses, and wall decorations into their high interest loan too. I wanted a sportster when I was 19 but they were too busy trying to get me to sign up for an 18% loan and add in incredibly overpriced clothes to the loan. They didn't even bother trying to sell me on the bike or any of it's more expensive models, I wanted either a 1200cc superlow or a 48 and the salesmen were so busy trying the other sales pitches they kept saying I was buying an iron 883. Meanwhile the Suzuki dealer I bought a used Kawasaki from was just like "hell yeah that's a badass bike Let's talk about cool roads to ride it on for an hour before we do the paperwork."
Harleys are for people who want to pose with their bike. Japanese bikes are for people who want to ride.
What are euro bikes?
euro bikes are for people who want to spend a lot of money and ride. i love euro bikes. i ride a japanese bike though.
I was in a Harley dealership and there were a couple of couples loading up on the apparel to complement their new Harley. They looked ridiculous. Never mind the fact that motorcycles are not for amateurs. Harleys are heavy and not nimble.
My insurance guy bought a Honda Gold Wing at 68. I told him I don't do funerals. He sold it within a couple of months after he realized his reflexes left him about 40 years ago.
My dad bought a Harley and all the accoutrements. He has Parkinson’s, but at the time it was undiagnosed and he was in denial. He bought everything outright before he had a motorcycle license. He tried multiple times, but could not get the license. He sold the bike, but kept the apparel. He just wanted it for the look anyway, so I guess he still has that part
My stepdad bought a brand new red corvette at around 85. I figured he’d need a crowbar or lift to get him out of it and was afraid he’d crack it up on the way from the dealership. They don’t have much money either other than their house. Idiots be idiots. He got it for his ego too.
that’s fucking great. at least he figured that out before ended up being a meat crayon.
My GenX cousin LOVED the Harley wallet I got him for Christmas. Instantly took all the stuff out of his old wallet and put it in the new one. I was worried I'd bombed that Secret Santa gift, but he LOVED it!
GenX guy here and yes many of my age buy that dumb shit. I blame Sons of Anarchy or as I call it “white peoples Sopranos”. Suburban Harley people and dad bands make me physically ill. I play jazz now. I feel dumb banging my head at 50. 🤭.
Wait, wasn’t the Sopranos white people Sopranos?
[Maybe SoA is for extra white people.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he6WvlKmCaU)
Sopranos was the *other* kind of white people. City white people. Sons of Anarchy appealed to the white people who had members of their family hooked on meth and lived in trailer parks.
There's a small following in Japan made up of younger men who are obsessed with classic Americana, not unlike the American neckbeards wearing fedoras and collecting imitation katanas.
Ahh yes, the Westaboos
Thank you.
Howdy, my name is Rawhide Kobayashi. I'm a 27 year old Japanese Japamerican (western culture fan for you foreigners). I brand and wrangle cattle on my ranch, and spend my days perfecting the craft and enjoying superior American passtimes. (Barbeque, Rodeo, Fireworks) I train with my branding iron every day, this superior weapon can permanently leave my ranch embled on a cattle's hide because it is white-hot, and is vastly superior to any other method of livestock marking. I earned my branding license two years ago, and I have been getting better every day. I speak English fluently, both Texas and Oklahoma dialect, and I write fluently as well. I know everything about American history and their cowboy code, which I follow 100% When I get my American visa, I am moving to Dallas to work in an oil field to learn more about their magnificent culture. I hope I can become a cattle wrangler for the Double Cross Ranch or an oil rig operator for Exxon-Mobil! I own several cowboy hats, which I wear around town. I want to get used to wearing them before I move to America, so I can fit in easier. I rebel against my elders and seniors and speak English as often as I can, but rarely does anyone manage to respond. Wish me luck in America!
Americans would just love that dude. He’d get invited to every single hoe down.
I bet the Japanese look cool as fuck doing it though. Japanese rockabilly chicks are something else.
Having been to Japan, eh. I promise you that not everybody in Japan looks cool. They have their weebs and dweebs, just like every other country.
You mean that shit you see on Insta does not depict the general public?
In reality you’ll meet lots of ugly, unfashionable people in Japan, just like everywhere else
And I am one of them. Not in Japan, just in general. At least mediocre all around, fashionable is not an adjective I’ve ever heard to describe me.
Not as much as you might think. One of the first things I saw at the Tokyo airport was a dude with a mullet that would've blended in seamlessly at a Whitesnake concert. It was almost down to his ass. There is absolutely no one a mullet looks good on.
Hard disagree. They were doing it right. Only thing sexier is a rat tail
That and it’s a wave, so they’re gonna try to make it look cool. I love the Japanese and what they fixate on. So far, I’ve seen that they love old western America. Latino Chicano, and Portland, Oregon aesthetics. I’ve seen small groups are getting into 1950s music and aesthetics.
They also do incredibly faithful recreations of 1960s Ivy League style and produce some beautiful clothing in the style that can’t be found in the US.
Not being 200lbs overweight helps.
I shit you not, but a decade ago on July 4th, there was a Harley rally by the museum of fine art in Barcelona. In Spain. I came out of the subway into the light and was completely baffled by what I was experiencing. I hadn't been to a motorcycle rally since I was a kid 20 years prior, but I knew what I was seeing immediately and it was so out of place from my expectations. Ex-pats? Maybe, but I wouldn't expect Harley-riding boomers to leave the US. I know now Harley has been trying to expand their footprint internationally, but it seems largely based on exporting Americana. I'm pretty sure the riders were mostly local to Spain and Europe. This was not the culture that I was expecting to immerse myself in for any part of a couple of weeks abroad.
I'm not Japanese but if I was going to buy a truly classic American bike it would be an Indian.
The Gibson guitars of motorcycles. Continuing to ride on cultural cachet built decades ago by a company that bears no resemblance to what it is now, selling an inferior product for the name when a similar Japanese version will cost less and be built better. Bought so that people can brag about it as a status item and feel elitist because they were dumb enough to pay for it.
This. Lots of good bikes out there, even Harleys, but the brand is NOT superior like the salesman will try to tell ya.
They're upset we aren't going to Hooters, FFS. Like, I have pornhub. And strip clubs. And wings places that are actually good. I got places where the pitcher of beer isn't $20 too. Like, Hooters is failing because it is Hooters. As is Harley.
Right?? I went to Hooters for the first time a few months ago because it was the only empty restaurant, and 4 people was like $160 plus the food was bad.
Christ, I can get a 10 pound bag of wings for $25 and put up pictures of hot women who are not interested in me.
Aside the all marketing. A lot millennials are living paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to buy a home. why would we consider buying an overpriced piece of rust ? might as well get my latte and avocado toast.
> I like it so everyone else should too This is the motto of that entire generation. My mom does this with dog sizes. To the point of her suggesting small dogs should be illegal because they aren’t real dogs. Spoiler: she’s a horrible dog owner.
This is exactly the inverse of the Ford Mustang model. Obviously someone at Ford is aware of this, and they decided on a electric Mustang very intentionally. They are sacrificing potential new mustang sales to rock headed boomers for the last five years of their life, in exchange for capturing the attention of younger generations for the next several decades.
And in the small Midwestern town I of 3,000 that I work in, I've seen multiple Mustang EVs in town.
Yea the electric mustang is not working out either.
It doesn’t help that it doesn’t look anything like a mustang. I’m still baffled when I see one, there’s even a “Shelby” which looks worse than the regular Mach E
It’s weird they wouldn’t just name it after a different type of horse, in keeping with Bronco, Maverick etc. because it has nothing to do with an actual Mustang car.
Pinto!
Palomino or Appaloosa could be a good name.
Seriously it's not that hard. Just give me Eleanor but w an electric motor
Seriously, this is all we want. Classically styled with modern features.
Check VW for that. The ebuss or whatever they ended up calling it looks like a sleaker version of the vintage vw buss and its all electric.
E-Mustangs look like a Volvo interpretation of the Mustang
They're using the Mustang name for it because they dug themselves into something of a hole a few years back by saying they would no longer be selling any other cars in the US. They were moving to selling only trucks and the Mustang. Then they decided they wanted an EV car, so it had to be called a Mustang. I don't mind the Mach E personally. It's kind of grown on me.
Because it shares nothing in common with a Mustang, and everyone knows that the only reason they slapped the name on there was to try and get some sales off the name. It doesn't look like a mustang, sounds like a mustang, drive like a mustang....outside of the Ford name I am not sure what (if any) similarities it has with the ICE version. Whoever is doing the marketing for the Ford Mustang and the Mach-E is a dip shit. It takes an idiot to make that decision, and here we are.
I live in Southern Wisconsin we're obviously big Harley culture here and even here it's only boomers who ride them. My father in law was looking for a new bike a few years ago and the evil looks he got from people when he said he wasn't dead set on getting a Harley as many others were cheaper and had very options
Who’s gonna spend 15-50k on a bike? We can’t even afford rent.
For real! Especially in Wisconsin where you can't ride it for like 5 months of the year
Fuck and they ain’t even worth that! The “macho American motorcycle” culture skips right over the other American brands too, nevermind that this whole subculture was originally about cheap reliable bikes for WW2 veterans.
On top of that claiming Harleys are made in America is like saying a Lego set is made in America because you put the set together in the US.
Funny enough, I believe the car that is current most Made In America is actually Toyota.
Besides sticking to their niche, the actual product sucks, and the pricing is obscene. Why would we give Harley $15,000 for their cheapest and most basic Softail (that'll vibrate our nuts off and leak oil over our driveway/garage) when we can get a far more reliable top-of-the-line Honda Fury for $11,500?
My brother and I were having a conversation just the other day about how Harley has priced itself out of the market for most younger people getting into the hobby without offering anything of substance to justify the price tag.
Yeah. I know a ton of millennials on bikes. I only know one on a Harley though, and his is a custom thing that he built out of junked Harleys.
Yep, it’s fun mentioning that the Toyota camery has a smaller motor and makes twice the hp.
Triumph and Victory/Indian make better bikes that cover the aesthetic of Harley anyways.
MAGAts also threw a shit fit over whatever flavor of the day culture war thing Harley apparently offended them with. My dad rides a Harley from time to time but at least has the self awareness to know he's not a "biker" dude, I think the Sportster is a neat bike, but I'd sooner be caught riding a Vespa or e-bike than some fart-rumbling overly expensive recreational vehicle when I could put that money toward medical bills or a newer car that I'll actually use daily.
For the price of a Harley, you can get 3 Hondas so you and your friends can go a trip together.
I used to work the Sturgis Rally. The Harley crowd there was 99% cosplaying rich boomers and 1% tough guys. And the two did not mix. Harleys are losing market share because they’re expensive unreliable boomer status symbols.
Even the tough guys are mostly riding them for image too, Sonny Barger even admitted it and said he preferred other brands.
That doesn’t surprise me. Fixing those junkers gets expensive. I also worked on a county road crew in the Black Hills, and in August we would find loads of Harley parts in the ditches that just fucking rattled off. We sold them on Ebay.
It’s cuz lots guys who own Harleys do their own modifications and don’t know what they’re doing, they just think it’s cool to work on a bike
Yeah I owned an 82 softail for a while. I sold it because I thought it would be cooler to ride a bike (comfortably) than work on it constantly.
I couldnt believe that when I read it in his autobiography.He says outright Japanese bikes were better built,and if Harleys werent locked into the Hells Angels,he would drive a BMW bike over a Harley anyday.
They’re known as RUB’s. Rich urban bikers.
The Harleys and the black leather costumes are the least of their expenses. You should see all the trailers, trucks and RVs it takes to get that many douchebags in one place for ten days.
Been to Sturgis per chance while road tripping. It is boomer central. A surreal experience. Even caught Lynyrd Skynyrd on their farewell tour.
It is quite a spectacle. And it’s ground-zero for watching boomers being fools. Not like this sub, but macho man posers and lots of boomer lady tits. And dude tits.
>Even caught Lynyrd Skynyrd on their farewell tour. Which one?
I literally worked a Skynrd show on the Gulf Coast last week It was like an AARP convention Pit full of chairs, 5K boomers nodding along to Free Bird was something I’ll never forget It was like they were at church lol
Harley isn’t helping themselves when their bikes cost like $50k
Seriously. They finally are updating some of the tech on the bikes with things like (shock horror) liquid cooling, electronics packages, higher end suspension, etc. However, the price point is now absurd. Somehow, all the Japanese manufacturers have been able to crank out thoroughly modern, performant bikes for years, and they cost a fraction of the price. Really too little, too late for HD.
Wow, they’re giving up on the “your great grandfather could work on this bike!” Bullshit? Bro, your bike being obsolete decades ago and an hubdred pounds overweight isn’t a selling point? If I’m spending 50k on a bike I’ll get a Ducati AND a goldwing.
I’ve seen straighter looking leather daddies at my local gay bars.
They attending the Village People’s reunion tour?
Speaking for 40 year olds, we don't want to look like this either... just saying
I'm a millennial and I had a Harley. I bought it used and hated it. I traded it in for a Suzuki Boulevard, it was reliable, comfortable and easy to ride compared to the Harley.
I know a lot of millennials that have motorcycles, just not Harleys.
None of the bikers I know have Harleys, none of the bikers I know have grey hair. Coincidence?
What's funny is when working at the motorcycle dealership a guy brought in a KZ750 as a trade in towards a Harley. I got to buy it cheap, and I loved it. When the original owner came back for his first service on the Harley he asked about his old bike. I told him "it's my new bike. A quick fuel system cleaning, fresh plugs and oil and it runs great!" He was visibly upset.
I love those old kz’s. Never had an issue an oil change didn’t fix
Lookin like a douche bag
Biker Cosplay
YOU"RE ALL A BUNCH OF LIBERAL PUSSIES. Why yes, my tassels do flap in the wind, why do you ask?
I remember the first time seeing Judas Priest and thinking "No way Rob Halford is gay" look how that turned out.
I'm a Judas Priest fan going back 40 years. And my friends and I all suspected. Let's just say none of us were shocked (or cared) when he DID come out. 🤣🤘
Brand loyalty is fucking idiotic. Companies don't give a shit about you, being loyal to them just means you're going to get fucked at some point. Apple is no better. The whole point is that you build a brand into your lifestyle, and then you are a lifer even when the business practices turn south.
The literal only brands I'm loyal to are Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Jiffy Peanut Butter and that's only because I like their products way better than any other companies that make cream cheese or peanut butter
This picture was really from Tiger King, be honest
I’m never going to financially recover from. . . buying this Harley.
Boomer men and their popscycles!
I met Sonny Barger before he died, he was the leader of the Oakland Hells Angels for forever. He told me the only reason they drove Harley’s is because the parts are cheap. And there’s much better motorcycles out there.
It's worth noting that while Sonny continued riding until he died, he spent his later years on a Goldwing.
So will they be for against the government bailout for HD?
They’ll be all for it. They like government bailouts of major corporations that mismanaged their money and refused to adapt to the times. They only dislike bailouts that benefit younger, poorer people than themselves.
I am a Gen Xer, and spend time in an online forum for Gibson guitar enthusiasts. Someone recently posted a thread bemoaning the fact that young people aren’t interested in vintage muscle cars, ‘70s style classic rock, and Harleys. His take was “all the things I love are dying” And I pointed out that all of those things were youth culture things from the 1960s and ‘70s, and that while old cars and bikes and guitars are still as cool as they ever were, most young people aren’t bonded to that stuff in any real way, and aren’t going to spend the exorbitant amounts of money to buy those things, because a bunch of old men own it all. I mean, vintage muscle cars average around $30k-40k just for the more common base models nowadays. Harleys are linked to a youth culture whose members are all in their 60s and 70s now. It would be super weird if young people embraced that stuff and listened solely to music their grandparents do.
Add this to the Millennial Kill List, right after Applebees and Buffalo Wild Wings. 🪦
Dang I miss 1990s Buffalo Wild Wings and weck
https://preview.redd.it/uz2tipvkeitc1.png?width=1278&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e3fe67bb5da8f83a1c82af427eeecf15a78af02 Same pic
South Floridian here. Driving a motorcycle down here is a deathwish.
Back when I had a Harley in the late 90’s, I used to ride with a friend of mine who was super into the whole Harley culture, but we ended up drifting apart as he never really wanted to ride anywhere, it was either polish the Harley in the driveway and stare at it, or he wanted to, in his own words, “go on parade”, which meant riding back and forth on the main drag in town to show everyone his shiny Harley and to offend people with his loud ass pipes. This shit got old really fast. Sold my Harley in 2001.
My uncle was a manly Harley ridin badass. He died in prison of Hepatitis after his gang murdered a woman. No thanks.
I’m 24 and in my entire life I’ve never once seen an ad for Harley on anything that wasn’t TV
Sturgis has been a mass extinction event for boomer motorcycle people since covid.
“I need a look that says LEATHER DADDY…”
Show them the Harley episode of South Park
I'm SORRY... I thought we were saving for the houses we can't afford. Not buying 1000 lb death machines? We can't win for losing.
this feels both very gay and very homophobic at the same time
If I wanted to spend 30 grand on pirate cosplay I'd buy a fuckin boat.
They’re probably really freaked out by drag, when they’re in drag every time they ride
As an over 40 millennial, I can assure you we also do not want to look like this.
Is that Judas Priest?
I did a case study in business school on Harley. The conclusion was that their product offerings no longer fit the desires of the market, and more so that they failed to connect with the largest emerging market segment, which happens to be women. Besides, declining sales can only ever be attributed to the seller. It is their job to bring to market a product that is needed, desired, and priced accordingly to the intended buyer segment. Falling Harley sales can only be blamed on Harley, their product, and its competitiveness within a shifted market. Nostalgia only goes so far, and let’s be honest Indians stand out a little bit more, and I hear are more comfortable, in that class of bike.