r/BoomersBeingFools 17h ago

What is it with boomers and Harleys?

Some background: I am a lifelong motorcyclist, who likes to do lots of different kinds of riding, so I have a few different bikes. I'm also a bad influence and people who spend much time around me usually end up riding too, so my wife now rides and has a bike of her own. Between us we've got 5 bikes in the garage, all different types, and none of them Harleys because all of them together don't add up to the price of a new Harley and if I wanted that kind of bike I'd rather buy a Royal Enfield for all the 1940's tech without the $25,000 sticker on the gas tank.

The other day my MIL, the boomiest baby boomer to ever boom, upon seeing our garage, comments that she's "never seen so many motorcycles" with disgust almost dripping from the words. I point out that in her own neighborhood, I've seen a few garages with several Harleys that look almost identical except for color and a few accessories and suddenly having multiple bikes seems okay in her mind. I wish that was the only case of boomers being like "motorcycles bad but Harleys good" I've experienced, but it's just one of the more obvious and recent instances. Make it make sense please.

105 Upvotes

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74

u/AlwaysSaysRepost 17h ago

If you’re looking for consistency and logic from boomers, I have some bad news

91

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 17h ago

Harley is a boomer brand, like Jack Daniel’s and Gibson guitars. It’s a symbol of their youth. I think you’d need a time machine to know exactly why, it must have been in some movie. 

29

u/CyanShadow42 17h ago

I enjoy a good Les Paul, or a good strat, but I prefer the copycats that are 90% as good for 10% the price, because I'm never gonna be a pro musician.

14

u/fingers-but-hole 17h ago

Literally this, you can pay 3-4k for a new lp, or spend between 800-2000 for something that plays just as well and sounds just as good

5

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 17h ago

It’s just a status symbol at that point. I have a friend who does marketing in the industry and according to him most of their customers don’t even play guitar, they just collect them. Fender is one of the few big brands that does outreach to current groups. 

7

u/chrispd01 17h ago

Mmmm. I am not so sure - for 4k you can get a Gibson that definitely sounds and plays better than an Epiphone.

I totally agree, though for most of us it’s just not worth the extra money.

8

u/GrimmTidings 16h ago

Epiphones are pretty garbage. You can get an ESP LTD EC1000 for around $1200 and it is better than a Gibson IMHO.

2

u/ChiWhiteSox24 9h ago

Beat me to it. EC 1000 all day over a Gibson

1

u/fingers-but-hole 13h ago

I'm referring mostly to other brands. Tone is subjective to everyone, but there really isn't arguing a brand new LP is going to sound better than a 3-500 dollar epi.

Ibanez, ESP, Jackson, Balaguer all make great sounding guitars in that cheaper price range that are comparable/better than a brand new LP. Use your ears and figure out what you like though bc at the end of the day it's about what you like.

1

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 17h ago

I have epiphone hollow body and it’s pretty phenomenal. But their solid body guitars are not as good. 

2

u/chrispd01 17h ago

My fucking dream guitar is the gold top hollow body Epiphone model that Scotty Morre played …..

1

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 16h ago

They’re great guitars, I honestly don’t know why they aren’t more expensive. I got and Emperor Swingster years ago. I was in a shop comparing it to the Gretsch low end model and it was miles better quality, like even the finish was perfect, while the Gretsch had visible blemishes. I didn’t even replace the pickups, which is usually the worst thing about Ephiphones. I always get compliments on the sound Gibson is a weird fucking company but I understand it’s run by a guy who doesn’t play. 

2

u/chrispd01 16h ago

Thanks for the take on the Emperor and confirming a suspicion I had.

I would love to get a Gretsch but only a high-end one …:

0

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 16h ago

Me too. A beautiful White Falcon. Maybe someday 

1

u/ChiWhiteSox24 9h ago

Throw me a $1200 ESP and call it a day. No need for the super high end stuff

2

u/fingers-but-hole 8h ago

Hell yeah brother

2

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 17h ago

Yeah they’re fine guitars, or at least they were- last I heard the boomer vulture capitalist CEO ordered that every guitar have a robot tuner installed. Which is dumb- I do not want a robot anything in my guitar. 

3

u/macrocosm93 13h ago

Gibson went bankrupt in 2019, and is under new management. It's a much better company now. Robot tuners are not a thing anymore.

1

u/EquisOmega 7h ago

Complaining about boomers while simultaneously complaining about robots is pretty ironic. Haha.

1

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 6h ago

Robot tuners are a solution in search of a problem. I don’t know a single musician who thought that was a good idea.

1

u/chrispd01 17h ago

I don’t prefer them. But at least I can afford them.

12

u/DoctorWinchester87 17h ago

This is really all there is to it. Boomers are just super attracted and loyal to certain brands. Among those you mentioned, Levi jeans and John Deere mowers come to mind. It must be all the advertising and brand marketing they were exposed to as children. And to their credit, back in their younger days, certain brands were heavily associated with a high mark of quality. But in the decades since, a lot of these brands are no better than the multitude of cheap knock-offs you can get on Amazon or at Walmart.

Boomers in general are just obsessed with branding. My dad is convinced that the Eggland's Best eggs are the premium egg choice because they advertise so heavily on television.

15

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 17h ago

I actually like Levi’s- they’re one of the few companies that tries to police their factories for abusive practices.  Ironically they’re based in SF and one of the more “woke” brands around.  But yes totally this. It’s the branding. 

2

u/CovidLarry 11h ago

I find their Jeans are pretty good quality for the price as well (although I hate this trend of putting elastic in damn near everything).

5

u/unknownpoltroon 17h ago

I m an, I'm assuming at one time in like 1940 something Harley's were cutting edge or top of the line.

3

u/dogsaresmart 15h ago

Indians were better bikes but Harleys were priced to move for a service member at the time and a Harley could definitely go a little more off the beaten path. Harleys today are way different than Harleys then. A Harley has become a boomer status symbol.

7

u/ButterscotchKey8564 12h ago

Harley-Davidson hired an ad company in the 1990s to save their dying brand which had become associated with biker gangs. The company came up with the "Harley Lifestyle" which tested well with boomers. So, this generation fell for yet another corporate maneuver that played on their desperate need to be seen as freedom-loving rebels, even into their 70's. Gun manufacturers, pickup truck makers, and the prepper-industrial complex all plugged into their mania.

1

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 12h ago

Ah thanks for answering my question! 

1

u/0nlyinAmerika 12h ago

Harley Davidson - a clothing brand that sells motorcycles

1

u/CovidLarry 10h ago

This answer probably gets to the root of it best. This wave has already crested as evidenced by Harley-Davidson's financial performance of late. They had to have made a killing during the early 2000's though. They certainly got a premium for the basic product they were selling, along with all of the branded crap besides motorcycles they were getting stupid money for. Remember the Harley Davidson Edition F150? They should have made an overpriced 1911 Pistol with motorcycles and trucks on it, as an option, for those with an exceptional money to taste ratio. Someone probably did.

7

u/Madrugada2010 Gen X 17h ago

Was it Easy Rider? But those weren't Harleys, were they?

7

u/KombuchaBot 16h ago

I think Harley Davidson made some rather savvy moves during and after WW2 by supplying bikes to servicemen and after the war helping to build social groups of bike enthusiasts. This contributed to their social capital

1

u/Madrugada2010 Gen X 16h ago

Ooooh, this would explain it, some post-war PR campaign gets them very time.

3

u/TheRealSatanicPanic 17h ago edited 16h ago

I don’t think they were but it’s been a long time since I saw that movie. Maybe it’s all the neon signs in dive bars. Who knows 

Edit- ah I stand corrected 

3

u/weemachine 16h ago

They were Harleys that were modified.

21

u/RoiVampire 17h ago

Back in their day Harley meant big and bad. Nobody rode Harley’s unless they were a fucking badass. Then in the early 90s Harley started making shirts and jackets way way more. It became a different kind of thing and Boomers never caught on. My father in law still doesn’t believe that you can buy Harley merch at Target and he refuses to shop there because god knows why.

12

u/CyanShadow42 17h ago

I have it on good authority (my dad) that nerds also rode them back in the day. Since he had one back when they were actually competitive on tech and price.

7

u/Socialbutterfinger 16h ago

Helping my MIL downsize and she was certain a Harley coffee table book was very valuable because, “anything Harley is very popular.” It doesn’t quite carry without the particular brisk, authoritative tone of certainly she uses, but still.

1

u/SketchSketchy 13h ago

I helped my in laws sell off a lot of motorcycle accessories. The only stuff that sold was the Harley branded stuff. It didn’t sell for as much as they thought it would, but the non Harley stuff didn’t sell at all. N

1

u/BoomerishGenX 16h ago

Kinda like tattoos and beards.

33

u/DW171 17h ago

The best part is when they have $25k in accessories, without understanding that it adds almost zero to the resale value of the bike. "No low-balls! I know what I got!" But at least they think they look tough when they ride 3 miles to cosplay down at their local bar on Sunday.

16

u/CyanShadow42 17h ago

Too bad it doesn't make them tough enough to handle a little cold, I commute year round on my bike in Colorado and I don't really see any Harleys from about October to April. To be fair I rarely see any other riders December through February but if I do they're usually doing the adv dad thing like me.

3

u/Linvaderdespace 13h ago

You’re crazy man; I love you, but you’re crazy.

5

u/CyanShadow42 13h ago

I mean, if there's snow or ice on the roads, I'll take the car. Other than that, I'm happier at -20F on the bike than I'll ever be stuck in a car.

9

u/MyNameIsRay 16h ago

Same thing with cars.

A $5000 Honda with a $10,000 body kit and stereo is still a $5,000 Honda

1

u/dreadpiratemyk 9h ago

As a Jeep owner, nothing grinds me more than A) a $50k brand new wrangler that's never seen the pavement outside a parking lot tricked out with enough high-end gear to tackle Moab; or B) same rig covered in dollar store Amazon doo-dads and rubber ducks with some wacked-out hairspray karen boomer screaming through red lights in a vehicle that weighs 5000lbs. Fucking toddlers with money.

17

u/No-Supermarket2008 16h ago

I think it’s boomer cosplay.

I want to say in the 80s Honda ran an ads with a tag line of “ you meet the nicest people on a Honda”

Harley has always been that “bad boy” brand. They stole the whole Southern California hells angels identity that was the motorcycle scene popular after ww2 when these bikes were “easier to get from military surplus” (this is the story I inherited from my boomer father who grew up on “real” pre AMF Harley’s)

But Harley’s brand has always been that same marlboro man, American exceptionalism, boot straps brand.

Marketing is an amazing science and when a boomer spends 45k on 85 horsepower, they are not a sucker, they are rugged, built tough, etc etc etc.

It’s a costume. They get on that Harley and “own the libs” because loud pipes save lives and ride to Valhalla on an eagle made of cheese..

At least that’s what I think

2

u/SplashingBlumpkin 11h ago

This is 100% spot on. I’ll add to this that once you take a decrepit old man who takes 10+ minutes to roll out of bed and does nothing but bitch about aches and pains and you feed them a few shots of fireball, a Harley t shirt from a dealership far away, and a few minutes of wind in the hair they have left they suddenly become Billy Badass down at the local watering hole. I saw it time and time again as a bartender. They’d spout of to a group of dudes 1/3 their age and not realize 1) how stupid and pathetic it looked and 2) how close they are to easily getting the shit kicked out of them. I had a Harley and loved it but it leaked oil pretty bad and I hated the culture. I’d love a new Indian but I wouldn’t scoff at any Japanese bike. They’re so much more reliable.

12

u/CountScotchula 17h ago edited 17h ago

And is having a super loud exhaust on a Harley a mod or is that standard? Generally if one drives by me (pedestrian), my ears will ring for the rest of the day. Not exactly a relaxing ride, and the hearing decline will only accelerate their looming dotage

9

u/CyanShadow42 17h ago

It's a mod, but one I understand dealers will push before it drives off the showroom floor. All my bikes are stock and I wish a couple of them were quieter anyway so I don't get it, and even those are well under the 80db limit.

-14

u/Mendacity531 17h ago

I used to love my straight drags on my old Shovelhead. Nothing like giving an idiot driver 100+ Db of what for when they do something stupid.

10

u/Winterpa1957 17h ago

Potato, potato, potato.

5

u/CyanShadow42 17h ago

I swear if it can all be explained by Harley and Davidson being too broke to afford a double wristpin crank and actual ignition timing I'll have an aneurysm.

9

u/ChloeGranola 17h ago

"Easy Rider" syndrome. The media they grew up with tended to portray Harley riders as countercultural badasses.

3

u/SketchSketchy 13h ago

Yeah, but it’s weird. Those guys were absolutely counter culture. Drop outs. Hippies. Drug users. Somewhere along the line the conservatives wanted to do co-opt this.

9

u/Xifihas Millennial 16h ago

Harleys are outdated; expensive; fat; loud; obnoxious; and associated with neo-nazis, just like Boomers.

17

u/Armantien 17h ago edited 14h ago

This past summer, I went with my buddy and his family to our local Ren Faire. He wore a harley t-shirt. Anyways, we sat down at one of the show's that was pretty packed. There was a boomer sitting behind where we sat down so I asked if we were in his way. His response was to point at my friend's shirt and say "I'd never mess with a guy in a Harley shirt". Like... that isn't what I asked. I asked calmly, and politely if he could see the stage and he drops immediately into some weird pissing contest B.S. And, what the hell does buying a shirt have anything to do with it? I swear, people worship brands like they're gods.

12

u/Socialbutterfinger 17h ago

Aww. Sounds like the guy was just trying to put a cute/personalized spin on “no, you’re fine.” Of all the annoying things a boomer might boom about, referencing a shirt someone’s wearing seems so harmless.

1

u/Armantien 14h ago

That could be the case. I'm still put off by how brand recognition played any part in the interaction. Maybe I was being too judgmental.

1

u/Kooky_Improvement_38 6h ago

That’s like saying “never mess with a retired orthodontist,” the core HD demographic

6

u/cptlwstlnd 16h ago

I've been riding most of my life and my rule has been if you get a Harley you better know a good mechanic

3

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

I do most of my own work, about the only things I don't do are full rebuilds or anything that requires machining because I don't have the tools, but I'd rather spend my time riding than wrenching, which is why the garage is filled with Japanese bikes and one modern Triumph.

5

u/GodHatesColdplay 16h ago

Harley went all-in for the boomer murica lifestyle thing and it’s going to be the end of them. Nobody cares if they make a good bike or not now. It’s all bluster and fringed jackets and boots and an aging, dying demographic. The used market is so saturated because the Vietnam-era riders are dying off and selling their bikes.

4

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

Yeah, why would I buy a Pan America when I can get a better GS for a little less, or if I'm a cheapskate (I am) get a V-Strom and take it anywhere those bikes can go, just a little slower? Not sure Harley will ever recover the R&D on that engine.

3

u/Low-Carob9772 14h ago

One of their favorite presidents made it basically law that Harley has permanent government subsidies because it's an American brand American pride! Blah blah. Truth of the matter is they were failing because Japanese bikes came into the country, reliable affordable fixable motorcycles. Unfortunately what happened is indian and a few other smaller American motorcycle manufacturers that made decent machines went out of business because Harley could produce cheap trash and sell it and get paid by the government.... Made in China... Junk. Straight junk

3

u/Ericginpa 16h ago

It’s also another symptom of their brainwashed mentality, they’ve convinced themselves that a more expensive inferior product is better because someone told them so.

3

u/Maanzacorian 14h ago

Harley-Davidson has become synonymous with classic American values. When you own a Harley, you're a Good Ol' Boy who loves God, guns, and country above all else. How else will your quiet neighborhood know how awesome you are unless you're roaring down the street without baffled pipes?

It's part of the Boomer Ethos to label something as American and then overpay for it while it's manufactured in another country.

7

u/Rare-Peak2697 17h ago

Millennials have done so much damage to Harley they’ve had to offshore their factories bc no one wants to work anymore.

7

u/Horror-Layer-8178 17h ago

Someone we can't afford to buy expensive shitty bikes. offshoring is done because it makes the company more money, no other reason. Also COVID killed and injured so many Boomers there is a surplus of Harleys

3

u/Rare-Peak2697 17h ago

It was a joke. Obviously they’re super expensive and demand is down.

8

u/Horror-Layer-8178 17h ago

You need to put a /s because there are Boomers who blame Millennials for killing things like Harley, golf, and boating

3

u/Rare-Peak2697 17h ago

I figured this sub would get it

2

u/SirPoopaLotTheThird 17h ago

It ain’t gay. /s(but not really)

2

u/OblivionGuardsman 16h ago

Following WWII and Korea guys came back and had GI pay money burning a hole in their pocket and the advancement of motorcycles and the expansive construction of the interstate highway system under Eisenhower made them popular. Soldiers that had been through the shit saw motorcycles as a way to travel freely and fast and became a symbol of American individualism and rebellion against the settling down and just accepting you're a 9-5 lunch pail guy that ignores his past. Harleys were basically a PTSD coping mechanism that became seen as this symbol of machismo. Boomers saw their dad's were into it and it became a thing they carried on. Remember, everything boomers like is a twisted projection of the things their parents valued, they tried to be good little sheep but their warped minds and hearts lost the essence of it but kept the bullshit.

1

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

That explains the Harley side of the equation (and I've heard similar in a few documentaries so I have no reason to doubt it) but it doesn't explain why all other bikes are "bad" in their minds. Seems like every argument I've heard would apply equally to Harleys as well, and the really old guys I met on Harleys thought my Triumph was cool.

1

u/OblivionGuardsman 14h ago

Because most other bikes were produced by the former Axis nations, BMW, Honda, etc.

2

u/CyanShadow42 14h ago

I wish that didn't make sense because I can see them saying that while unironically driving a Toyota...

2

u/OblivionGuardsman 14h ago edited 14h ago

They used to say it. It took a long time before japanese cars were accepted in the market. My WWII gen grandpa told me as a kid to never buy Mitsubishi cars because they made the engines for the Japanese Zero. I can't really blame the generation that was actually shot at and bombed by Zero's, and German fighters powered by Mercedes-Benz predecessors. The boomers carried on the tradition of anti-axis products but softened on the German stuff and eventually the Japanese stuff after everyone realized it was actually better quality than U.S. vehicles. But a lot of that has still carried over into motorcycles, which culture has a large segment of white nationalism that parade around as "clubs". But they are really just cells of hate groups.

2

u/CyanShadow42 14h ago

I mean... I don't want a Mitsubishi but that's more because I'm a subie guy and the WRC rivalry.

2

u/New-Sky-9867 13h ago

BMW rider here. Harley riders are the worst skilled riders, all of them are fat and old, dressed up like they're so very tough, with enough leather on to win 1st place at the YMCA lookalike contest.

How is Harley still in business? They've made the same goddamned bike with very little variation for decades. Ugh.

1

u/CyanShadow42 13h ago

Profit margin. From a technical aspect, I don't see a lot of difference between HD and RE, except RE seems to have better quality control and cleaner factories and charges more reasonable prices. The rest is money in Harley's pockets, near as I can tell.

2

u/thatsunshinegal 13h ago

I think part of it is the fact that Boomers have ingrained brand loyalty into their identities. My grandmother, who grew up during the Depression, had zero brand loyalty and just bought whatever was on sale or had a coupon. A lot of Boomers grew up seeing name-brand loyalty as something aspirational because their parents had that same scarcity mindset. Like, my Boomer mother sees it as a point of pride that she doesn't coupon or shop sales. Literally, she will brag about it with her whole chest.

Combine that with the fact that Harley was a "cool" brand during peak Boomer years, and you have a perfect storm of extreme brand loyalty, filtered through nostalgia goggles, with a side of disdain for "youths" who are youthing wrong by not exactly replicating the Boomer experience.

2

u/Daleaturner 13h ago

They think they are being rebellious, but in a conformist sense.

1

u/CyanShadow42 13h ago

These days rebellious is more the opposite of whatever the boomers are doing.

4

u/Commercial_Wind8212 Boomer 17h ago

with today's drivers there's no way I would be out on the road on any kind of motorcycle

3

u/CyanShadow42 17h ago

K. Nobody's telling you to. Ain't gonna get me to stop riding though. My safety record speaks for itself.

6

u/Commercial_Wind8212 Boomer 17h ago

it would be nice if it was all up to the skill of the motorcycle driver.

3

u/LongConsideration380 15h ago

Go Boom, Boomer.

0

u/Commercial_Wind8212 Boomer 15h ago

go play in traffic.

4

u/LongConsideration380 15h ago

I do, all the time, on two wheels. Go Boom, Boomer.

1

u/Commercial_Wind8212 Boomer 15h ago

play stupid games win big prizes

3

u/LongConsideration380 15h ago

Sounds like something I’d say after the road rager in the jacked up Boomer truck misses hitting me.

2

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

More than you realize, it is. Don't be where the danger is. Nobody is telling you to ride, you don't have to. But you're not gonna get me off two wheels and if you try all you'll get is an "ok, boomer" for your efforts.

1

u/Madrugada2010 Gen X 17h ago

Something about the brand? I could never figure it out myself.

1

u/JMLKO 16h ago

It goes hand in hand with the buy American movement of the 70s and 80s. While they were voting for the trickle down, break up companies to raid the pension fund, off shore good union jobs politicians, they were subsequently blaming their economic difficulties on people who bought foreign cars. Especially Japanese.

1

u/SetterOfTrends 16h ago

My wife’s grandmother dated Davidson. She thought he was too crass and married a clothing manufacturer instead. (those times, those social circles)

Ever since I traveled in India and saw them everywhere and learned you could buy parts and find a mechanic in every tiny village who could fix them — and then when I learned the history of why they’re even there in the first place, my dream bike has been an Enfield bullet.

1

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

I don't know if they still make the bullet, or if they export it if they do build it, as they modernized a few years ago, but retro bikes are still their bread and butter. On a study that looked at factory cleanliness (by way of foreign particles in the engine at first oil change) as a predictor of reliability, Royal Enfield came out on top, Harley was near the bottom, only slightly better than a couple Italian makes and a Chinese bike that was so bad the instrument couldn't produce a reading. They're not really my kind of bike but they seem well made, and priced very competitively.

1

u/SetterOfTrends 16h ago

1

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

Neat, glad to see it's still around! I'm mostly only familiar with the interceptor and Himalayan.

1

u/billy_goatboi 15h ago

They are expensive, stupid snd useless. Just like their owners

1

u/Background_Award_878 14h ago

It's clever marketing

1

u/MangoSalsa89 13h ago

They associate certain products and brands with certain types of people. Harleys have been carrying around a lot of greasy boomers for decades. They don't like any other brand associated with people considered undesirable in their minds.

1

u/CyanShadow42 13h ago

The irony is the stereotype of my main bike is (frugal/cheap) suburban dad.

1

u/Neardeadboomer 13h ago

I think it came from the movie Easy Rider

1

u/Tomwhyte 12h ago

I always laugh at the way they prove how rebellious and independent they are by all dressing the same and worshipping one corporation to the point of tattooing it's logo on their bodies!

1

u/ExcitedMonkeyBrains 12h ago

Easy Rider

Hollywood told them it was cool and the epitome of American Freedom

Harley has always leaned into the built in America by Americans shtick. Even though it's parts are made in other countries and only assembled in two factories of America

They made it through the great depression and supplied the US Army with bikes in both world wars. They had a contract with the US for making Police bikes and the like.

Veterans loved them because of using them in combat. Hells Angles were a group of WW2 veterans that banded together to stay alive because the government gave no help when coming home.

They've been around forever and have a strangle hold on the Boomer generation because of all the avenues of interest in the zeitgeist

It's just commercialism and programming

1

u/SpicelessKimChi 11h ago

I have friends who are teachers, factory workers, lawyers, accountants and one is a university professor, and they all ride Harleys. The funny part is they all wear "cuts" that say different things on them. So a couple are veterans so they wear `USMC VETERAN' cuts and such but the others have, like, RIDE FREE and LIVE TO RIDE and other common sayings on them.

Ive asked and they say `well you wear your jacket when you ride' (I had a Triumph cafe racer style bike and a Yamaha sport bike when we lived in the states) and I'm like "yeah because that jacket has padding in certain spots to keep me from dying if I get into an accident!"

I wear protective gear and they wear a leather vest and think it's the same.

BUt I guess to them it's kind of a uniform?

2

u/CyanShadow42 11h ago

Oh man, I remember an older guy suddenly grabbing my shoulder from behind while I was in the checkout line running some errands on my bike and then being surprised that it was "padded" as he put it. No duh, it's armor because I don't want to break bones that don't have to break if something goes wrong.

And they base their entire view of the danger on their leather cosplay and maybe a skull cap if lucky, and have no idea how good gear is these days. Geared riders are just walking away from crashes that would have hospitalized or killed someone a few decades ago.

1

u/SpicelessKimChi 10h ago

I lowsided on my Triumoh once whilst wearing protective gear and once on an XR150 I had when we live on a small Caribbean island while wearing shorts and a tank top. I didn't het hurt going ~40 mph but I sure did going like 15 without even jeans on.

1

u/dreadpiratemyk 9h ago

"Is it loud and uncomfortable af, annoys everyone and costs 4x as much as my first house? I'll take two!" cried the boomers.

Meanwhile, free school lunch is communist. Or something.

1

u/MyInnerCostanza 7h ago

It's just another Boomer flex. Harley is the most recognizable name in motorcycles to the point where even if someone knows nothing about motorcycles, they still know a Harley is a motorcycle (kind of like how in the 80s, Hulk Hogan became a household name even if nobody in that household ever watched wrestling). Thus to Boomers, it's about brand recognition. If they buy a bike and want to be able to brag to their other Boomer friends, "I got a bike" doesn't hold as much weight as "I got a HARLEY!"

1

u/IwouldpickJeanluc 2h ago

Easy Rider and Freeeedumb

They came of age with Harleys so they love them forever.

1

u/Mimbletonian 16h ago edited 16h ago

Practically nobody who works in an ER rides a motorcycle.

Edit: Okay there are a few nuts out there. Very few.

2

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

Verifiably false.

-2

u/Mimbletonian 16h ago

Okay. Have at it.

0

u/CyanShadow42 16h ago

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u/Mimbletonian 16h ago

Good article. He accepts the fact that it's really dangerous, no matter how "safe" you try to be, and chooses to be reckless anyway. I will edit my post now.

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u/Low-Medical 16h ago

I know a doctor who refers to motorcycles as "donor-mobiles"

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u/sinisteraxillary 16h ago

I don't ride but do work in an ED, and offhand I can think of an RN, an MD, and an NP that ride.

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u/Mr_Smith_411 2h ago

A Triumph Rocket 3 is 25k+. A Honda Goldwing is 25k+.A kawasaki voyager 21k .... A hyabusa is 20k.

Not sure i see the flex in having 5 used bikes that don't cost what a new Goldwing costs. And the reference to 1940s tech tells me you have no idea what tech comes on a new harley and I'm going to assume you've never even ridden one.

I had a motorcycle license the year after the gsxr debuted. And while I'm an older genXer, you can thank boomers for making sport bikes popular. That's who was buying them back then. Yes, now I ride a Harley, but that wasn't always true.