If you follow my answers on Y! Answers, you all should know that I'm not a Harley basher. If I want another motorcycle, I will do my research and if I come to find that Harley provides what I want in the best and most efficient, money-wise option, I will go that way.

However, one thing that really irritates me is that many of the newbies to motorcycles and the baby boomers are all getting Harleys because they believe it promotes a lifestyle or image. Yes, there are Harley groups, but why do they think that because they ride a motorcycle that they now have this particular image?

Are they a bad@$$ because they ride a Harley? Would they still be a bad@$$ if they were on a Suzuki, Kawasaki or Yamaha?

Granted yes, they are riding. But that's not what I'm getting at. We're all the same person when we get off the bike. Why do some think that it's the bike that makes them who they are?
Prime example, why is she attracted to tattoos and piercing? Oh, it's because she rides a Harley.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/w4m/685388639.htm

(sorry this was more of a rant, but I figured that I'd get other people's opinions on it).
Let's try that link again. I forgot the "L" in HTML at the end of the link.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/w4m/685388639.html
To the people who have mentioned or asked where I get my information...I do ride a motorcycle, and used to ride up on a few trips to some biker hangouts. Most of them rode Harleys.

They'd always give me crap about my bike (it's a V-Star Custom), and tell me to get a Harley, because they are "the best". When I'd ask them why it was, they would just say that it was. It was American, or whatnot. They never gave me any specifics or tech specs. They just said that it was the best.

I am one of the only people who ride a motorcycle in my peer range (in my groups of friends). Due to this, when people want to look into getting a motorcycle, or just learn about them, they usually come to me.

Guess what brand they mention, when they talk about cruisers? Harleys. I've asked a few why, and they have all basically told me the same thing. That's all they really know. It's an image.

Heck, some of them don't even know that Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha made cruisers. It's all just an image
Kato, did you even read the details in my additional details section? I think not. I've gotten my information from actual people who ride Harleys and love them. Try rereading first, before answering.

i brought mine just because i wanted a harley.... i like the way it looks and sounds.... and to be a part of the world riders... you get what you want.. the same goes with buying a car or truck.... if you want a ford you dont buy a chevy... they are better bikes and they are not so better bikes .... if you buy a harley you have millions of brothers and sisters you buy a honda you have a honda

Some people do get a harley for the image others because of it made here or at least put together. Like all there are some that have had better luck than others out of them. To me it is like my trucks. I look my 79 k10 and wish i could drive it more but at current prices i would have more time behind the wheel of a vw rail. A little different but fun. I work for yamaha manufacteuring not a dealer. There are more harleys in the lot than yamahas. With our discount if i keep a yamaha a couple years there are only a few bikes that i can get my money back out of easy. If ou do not put a lot of extras on a harley you can get it for about the same price or a little higher. You can tell some people are new to riding no matter what they ride. mpg seem to be better on other models than harley and i think it is due to the tranny and engine being to different units and not in the same case. I know some people that put around 10,000-20,000 a year on there fxdwg and other that have not put 3000 on there heritige classic in 8 years. To you look long and get what you want. I like the looks of a night train or a wide glide but have always rode a standard from the 80's like the kz and gs. I think what i would really like for my next bike is a cheap old xs650 yamaha parrell twin that i can modify and not worry if i mess something up. Make some forward controls, flat bar and a solo seat with a bobbed rear fender to have fun around town. Or maybe just and early 90's night hawk with low miles.

i dont know where you're getting your information from ?
i bought my harley because its what i always wanted,i like the styling,sound,and performance that i get out of it,it doesnt change me as a person,ive always been a tough b@tch
don e .....you're the only one who is "out",pmf

I ride a Harley because I like the feel of all the power the bike provides. Why do people buy a 80/k mercedes benz? or a $600/k house? You buy what you like and can afford. Bad A@@ or not I must say auto drivers seem to give me a wide berth on the road. I also like the fact it is made in America and YES it gets respect. If you like to ride, buy what YOU like.

The truth is,,,, it is a certain image and thats what they like! What makes you official?? I get SO annoyed at those who put the separation between the two types bikers and think you must be one or the other!! I ride a Harley and a Ducati and the one who turned their nose up at me was the Ducati rider!! I got the up and down, up and down... "you ride a DUCATI??!!" But I really don't give a **&#$&!@!! And you shouldn't either!

Don - HD's are not "out" and they never will be....

I bought mine because I wanted a touring bike. It was the best and most efficient, money-wise, option at the time. I'll wear the Harley t-shirt when I'm doing yard work. I sometimes wear a doo-rag when I'm bicycling....it keeps the UV's off of my bald head and the sweat out of my eyes.

You can't say all people that own/buy H-D's do it for the image. Yes, some people are into that whole Harley mystique and H-D marketing is very good at using it to sell bikes but you also must acknowledge that most people buy the bike because they like it. I ride Suzuki because I like the bike I chose for it's looks, price, and size.

Just the same why I can't undertand why the sound of a Harley is a main reason why people buy them.
As if a cheaper Japanese cruisers couldn't be outfitted to sound just like a Harley which many rider do.

I'm a "newbie" I've only been riding Harley's for 37 years. I like the sound, the rider position, and the fact that I can "tinker" with it to my hearts content. My son and several of my grandsons are into jap bikes and I have ridden them. The jap bikes are so well engineered that going 120 to 140 mph isn't as much fun or as exciting as going 80 mph on my Harley. Having a bike that has physical limitations on the same level as my own resonates something in my Psyche.