It may also cause a fluid leak at the brake light switch, Harley-Davidson said

Any design that even remotely allows for the chance of leaking brake-light fluid is almost criminally negligent.

I hope they fix the goddamn mufflers while they're at it.

PainInTheASP: I hope they fix the goddamn mufflers while they're at it.

Not a fan of the potatopotatopotatopotato sound?

nekom: PainInTheASP: I hope they fix the goddamn mufflers while they're at it.

Not a fan of the potatopotatopotatopotato sound?

In my book nothing screams "I AM AN ATTENTION WHORE" more than loud pipes.

What do you call 300,000 Harley Davidson motorcycles with defective brake lights?

A good start.

PainInTheASP: In my book nothing screams "I AM AN ATTENTION WHORE" more than loud pipes.

On the right vehicle it makes sense. Race car? Yes. Tricked out pickup truck? Sometimes. Motorbike? Yes. Honda Civic? NO.

nekom: PainInTheASP: In my book nothing screams "I AM AN ATTENTION WHORE" more than loud pipes.

On the right vehicle it makes sense. Race car? Yes. Tricked out pickup truck? Sometimes. Motorbike? Yes. Honda Civic? NO.

Oh, for sure. I'm biatching about the the nightriders who feel the need to rattle the windows at 3:30 a.m.. A painless death is too good for those assholes.

PainInTheASP: In my book nothing screams "I AM AN ATTENTION WHORE" more than loud pipes.

But loud pipes save liv...*SNORT*

Hell, almost made it.

PainInTheASP: Oh, for sure. I'm biatching about the the nightriders who feel the need to rattle the windows at 3:30 a.m.. A painless death is too good for those assholes.

Well a painless death is what many of them will get. These are the same people that weave in and out of traffic on their crotch rockets while not wearing a helmet. I used to call them organ donors, though my friend has a more appropriate term for them: Organ grinders.

Normally, I try not to engage in public neener-neener-ing over brands. It's silly and pointless.

But I won't lie, this one got a smug little 'well there, then' from me. I ride a ridiculous little 250cc scooter. It's twee and ridiculous, sure, but it gets me from point A to point B without breaking down, which is all I was looking for when I bought the damn thing. Well, and the 80 miles or so to the gallon is nice too.

Inevitably, any time I encounter Harley riders while out and about, they want to harass me about the damned thing. I had two guys actually follow me into a gas station to mock my scooter, then pull away without buying gas or anything. They get frustrated when I don't seem to care. I just sort of nod and smile and 'Yeah, yeah' and they get bored and leave. Well, except when they call it 'girly', because then I just point out that since I'm a girl, I'm fine with that.

I finally broke down and started putting the dates of the major motorcycle events in the area on my calendar just so I can try and avoid using my scooter on those weekends so as to minimize my encounters with dickish Harley riders.

ThisIsNotSubtle: Normally, I try not to engage in public neener-neener-ing over brands. It's silly and pointless.

But I won't lie, this one got a smug little 'well there, then' from me. I ride a ridiculous little 250cc scooter. It's twee and ridiculous, sure, but it gets me from point A to point B without breaking down, which is all I was looking for when I bought the damn thing. Well, and the 80 miles or so to the gallon is nice too.

Inevitably, any time I encounter Harley riders while out and about, they want to harass me about the damned thing. I had two guys actually follow me into a gas station to mock my scooter, then pull away without buying gas or anything. They get frustrated when I don't seem to care. I just sort of nod and smile and 'Yeah, yeah' and they get bored and leave. Well, except when they call it 'girly', because then I just point out that since I'm a girl, I'm fine with that.

I finally broke down and started putting the dates of the major motorcycle events in the area on my calendar just so I can try and avoid using my scooter on those weekends so as to minimize my encounters with dickish Harley riders.

They are perhaps the craziest fanboys of all. I have 2 uncles who are Harley guys and my great uncle was as well.

Side note, what kind of little scooter gets 80MPG? Is it street legal? How fast can it go? How much does one cost? Not a good idea here with the coming winter but perhaps next spring I sure wouldn't mind having something like that. Probably won't get one for the same reason I don't want a motorcycle, as fun as it sounds all it takes is some drunk asshole or some schmuck texting and running a stop sign T-boning you and you're done for, and you won't feel better knowing that it wasn't YOUR fault. That said, still it sure does sound fun.

What is it about Harley drivers and their insistance on buying the complete line of all Harley products? I've seen Hello Kitty fangirls with more restraint on their pocketbooks.

Ah, Hardly Ableson. Well done. Well done, indeed.

ThisIsNotSubtle: Inevitably, any time I encounter Harley riders while out and about, they want to harass me about the damned thing. I had two guys actually follow me into a gas station to mock my scooter, then pull away without buying gas or anything.

you want to know how I know you are lying.

A Harley not needing oil or gas?!? What kind of fools do you think we are???

The Stealth Hippopotamus: you want to know how I know you are lying.

A Harley not needing oil or gas?!? What kind of fools do you think we are???

Almost like saying a Harley rider stopped at a bar to harass you but didn't even buy any beer.

nekom: Side note, what kind of little scooter gets 80MPG? Is it street legal? How fast can it go? How much does one cost? Not a good idea here with the coming winter but perhaps next spring I sure wouldn't mind having something like that. Probably won't get one for the same reason I don't want a motorcycle, as fun as it sounds all it takes is some drunk asshole or some schmuck texting and running a stop sign T-boning you and you're done for, and you won't feel better knowing that it wasn't YOUR fault. That said, still it sure does sound fun.

Mine's a Vespa GT, although I gather there are a lot more scooters on the market these days than there were when I bought mine. I paid about 6k with taxes/tag/title/license/helmet/etc. It's street legal, and will sit quite comfortably at about 74mph or so, much to the occasional shock of other drivers. I think it's the little tires at speed that freak people out. I've done 1000+ mile trips on it on the freeways without any real trouble other than a very numb butt. And though I bought mine more from a need for reliable transit at the time, I have to say that in even marginally decent weather it is a heck of a lot of fun.

The Stealth Hippopotamus: you want to know how I know you are lying.

A Harley not needing oil or gas?!? What kind of fools do you think we are???

Well, in fairness, there are a heck of a lot of gas stations on that stretch of road. Maybe they'd already hit one up. ;) Or maybe they had just buried some sort of other bike underneath all those cheesy Harley branded saddle bags and bandannas and crap. ;)

ThisIsNotSubtle: Mine's a Vespa GT, although I gather there are a lot more scooters on the market these days than there were when I bought mine. I paid about 6k with taxes/tag/title/license/helmet/etc. It's street legal, and will sit quite comfortably at about 74mph or so, much to the occasional shock of other drivers. I think it's the little tires at speed that freak people out. I've done 1000+ mile trips on it on the freeways without any real trouble other than a very numb butt. And though I bought mine more from a need for reliable transit at the time, I have to say that in even marginally decent weather it is a heck of a lot of fun.

Thanks, going to have to see if there's a dealer around here or more likely if I can get one used. Do you need a class M license to drive one?

nekom: Thanks, going to have to see if there's a dealer around here or more likely if I can get one used. Do you need a class M license to drive one?

There may also be some less expensive alternatives these days. Alas, Vespa charges for the name, much like Harley does. I was dealing with a limited market at the time. Yamaha and Honda also have nice scooters, and most Vespa dealers also carry Piaggio bikes now. Same company, different badge, much lower price. They also have the MP3, which might be the coolest damned thing ever. Licensing requirements vary from state to state. My state requires a class M for anything over 49cc.

nekom: PainInTheASP: Oh, for sure. I'm biatching about the the nightriders who feel the need to rattle the windows at 3:30 a.m.. A painless death is too good for those assholes.

Well a painless death is what many of them will get. These are the same people that weave in and out of traffic on their crotch rockets while not wearing a helmet. I used to call them organ donors, though my friend has a more appropriate term for them: Organ grinders.

In my experience, the ratio of "annoyingly loud pipes on crotch rockets" vs. "annoyingly loud pipes on cruisers" on neighborhood roads is about 1:9

timujin: In my experience, the ratio of "annoyingly loud pipes on crotch rockets" vs. "annoyingly loud pipes on cruisers" on neighborhood roads is about 1:9

Must be regional variance. Here crotch rockets are the #1 cause of unwanted noise.

JonBuck: You can get a scooter anywhere from 50cc all the way to 650cc (Suzuki Burgman 650). Until recently I owned a scooter for about six years. The last three years I had a 400cc Suzuki Burgman. Huge under-seat storage, enough for two full face helmets. I routinely got 60-65mpg. Best machine I've ever owned, but I simply stopped riding so got rid of it about two months ago. It could go about 100 top speed, easily keep up with freeway traffic. Very practical.

The more I read up on scooters, the more I want one. It can never be a practical vehicle for me (wife and kid, etc), but just for something fun to go ride around in the mountains on a sunny day, do some geocaching, etc. I'm seriously considering this now. Even just for riding to work, my commute is back country roads, this would be absolutely prefect. I'm hard pressed to find a reason to talk myself out of buying one. Oh, right, the winter. Yeah, there's that.

nekom: timujin: In my experience, the ratio of "annoyingly loud pipes on crotch rockets" vs. "annoyingly loud pipes on cruisers" on neighborhood roads is about 1:9

Must be regional variance. Here crotch rockets are the #1 cause of unwanted noise.

Probably. Here the crotch rockets are all in the canyons and it's the poseur stockbrokers and actors with too much money riding West Coast Choppers custom jobs with shorty drag pipes racing through residential streets.

JonBuck: Wear. Your. Gear.

This



*disclaimer: Puppy ears optional*