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parts availibility
I have noticed that the Chinese are flooding ebay with cheap parts for the VTR. I am guilty of taking advantage of it and buying a set of el cheapo clutch and break levers. Not A+ but they do the job and didn't break the bank. Not as much nifty stuff to fit the VTR as other bikes so they are filling the gap. Why didn't the VTR ever catch on? It's a great bike but near impossible to find a mechanic who knows what is going on with the VTR. They know less than I do, that's pathetic.
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It was never a hit in North America (land of squids and posers). However, it did ok in other markets. For example, it was a top seller in Australia for a few years (granted the Oz market is relatively small). To sell a bike in NA, it has to be a race replica or some chromed up paint mixer that weighs just under a ton and barely has the power to get out of its own way.....
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C'mon Micky, you got ta love a show'n'shine....;);)
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I have a severe allergy to chrome-obsessed, midlife crisis posers, sorry...... sadly, that is about all we see on the roads around here anymore.... I must say that one good thing about winter (apart from sleds) is that the obnoxiously loud paint-mixer boys aren't out and about.....
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"""""I have a severe allergy to chrome-obsessed, midlife crisis posers"""":shock:
HHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA...... to funny... |
Originally Posted by mikstr
(Post 346272)
I have a severe allergy to chrome-obsessed, midlife crisis posers, sorry...... sadly, that is about all we see on the roads around here anymore.... I must say that one good thing about winter (apart from sleds) is that the obnoxiously loud paint-mixer boys aren't out and about.....
The VFR was popular here and still see them around but I never see the VTR out there. I don't get it because it's a kick ass bike. BTW, the reason Harley's have so much chrome is so they can find the parts after they fall off. I think it's absurd that trying to find parts for the carburetors is hard, for example, a air mixture screw that can be adjusted without a special tool. Seen 'em for other bikes but they don't fit the VTR. |
Originally Posted by twist
(Post 346275)
BTW, the reason Harley's have so much chrome is so they can find the parts after they fall off.
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Originally Posted by twist
(Post 346267)
I have noticed that the Chinese are flooding ebay with cheap parts for the VTR. I am guilty of taking advantage of it and buying a set of el cheapo clutch and break levers. Not A+ but they do the job and didn't break the bank. Not as much nifty stuff to fit the VTR as other bikes so they are filling the gap. Why didn't the VTR ever catch on? It's a great bike but near impossible to find a mechanic who knows what is going on with the VTR. They know less than I do, that's pathetic.
Chrysler workers, some of the best paid in the country, filmed gettin stoned and drinkin during break, union got em their jobs back(possibly with back pay too, haha). With workers like this, it really makes you want to pay 30 grand for a Chrysler product huh? Contrast that to chinese workers, dedicated, disciplined, busting their asses, working for a pittance comparatively. The writing's on the wall and you have to be blind not to see what's ahead. Why the VTR didn't take off here? I could write a book about that one because it's complicated. Basically it's a part of a mentality, or should i say the lack thereof, here in cow country. Once you understand that the rugged individualism which previously defined the majority of us has become an anachronism, then it all makes more sense. Most riders start out getting a bike because of their friends. That also means what their friends consider cool is what they need to get. Harleys or in-line 4s primarily, or if they got the bucks, maybe ducatis/other exotics. After a while, when they can't find anyone to ride with because the novelty has worn off or the spouse puts the pressure on, it's all over. Or, for a few of us, the motorcycle has penetrated the blood/brain barrier causing us to become inexorably hooked like junkies on heroin and most likely forcing us to ride until the end. For the addicted, it becomes less important what others have or are doing and more about the personal connections that activate the feelings relative to riding and the preferential horse(s). The VTR is an antiquated, rumbling, albeit visceral riding experience that has become the drug of choice for a chosen few for a plethora of reasons. Does it stir the heart and soul, put a smile on your face, satisfy and satiate the need where the connection is strictly a personal one and mostly separate from external influences? These are some of the essential considerations for many of the few. Is it the best? does it matter? dumb questions. |
Originally Posted by nath981
(Post 346288)
The chinese are flooding the market with everything....... 1.3 billion people, an industrial revolution the likes of which the world has never seen, esp since they have or shortly will have the tech and savy to build anything as good or better and signifcantly cheaper than most of the developed consumer nations who are or goin to have their hands full trying to keep up.
Chrysler workers, some of the best paid in the country, filmed gettin stoned and drinkin during break, union got em their jobs back(possibly with back pay too, haha). With workers like this, it really makes you want to pay 30 grand for a Chrysler product huh? Contrast that to chinese workers, dedicated, disciplined, busting their asses, working for a pittance comparatively. The writing's on the wall and you have to be blind not to see what's ahead. Why the VTR didn't take off here? I could write a book about that one because it's complicated. Basically it's a part of a mentality, or should i say the lack thereof, here in cow country. Once you understand that the rugged individualism which previously defined the majority of us has become an anachronism, then it all makes more sense. Most riders start out getting a bike because of their friends. That also means what their friends consider cool is what they need to get. Harleys or in-line 4s primarily, or if they got the bucks, maybe ducatis/other exotics. After a while, when they can't find anyone to ride with because the novelty has worn off or the spouse puts the pressure on, it's all over. Or, for a few of us, the motorcycle has penetrated the blood/brain barrier causing us to become inexorably hooked like junkies on heroin and most likely forcing us to ride until the end. For the addicted, it becomes less important what others have or are doing and more about the personal connections that activate the feelings relative to riding and the preferential horse(s). The VTR is an antiquated, rumbling, albeit visceral riding experience that has become the drug of choice for a chosen few for a plethora of reasons. Does it stir the heart and soul, put a smile on your face, satisfy and satiate the need where the connection is strictly a personal one and mostly separate from external influences? These are some of the essential considerations for many of the few. Is it the best? does it matter? dumb questions. |
Originally Posted by nath981
(Post 346288)
The chinese are flooding the market with everything....... 1.3 billion people, an industrial revolution the likes of which the world has never seen, esp since they have or shortly will have the tech and savy to build anything as good or better and signifcantly cheaper than most of the developed consumer nations who are or goin to have their hands full trying to keep up.
Chrysler workers, some of the best paid in the country, filmed gettin stoned and drinkin during break, union got em their jobs back(possibly with back pay too, haha). With workers like this, it really makes you want to pay 30 grand for a Chrysler product huh? Contrast that to chinese workers, dedicated, disciplined, busting their asses, working for a pittance comparatively. The writing's on the wall and you have to be blind not to see what's ahead. Why the VTR didn't take off here? I could write a book about that one because it's complicated. Basically it's a part of a mentality, or should i say the lack thereof, here in cow country. Once you understand that the rugged individualism which previously defined the majority of us has become an anachronism, then it all makes more sense. Most riders start out getting a bike because of their friends. That also means what their friends consider cool is what they need to get. Harleys or in-line 4s primarily, or if they got the bucks, maybe ducatis/other exotics. After a while, when they can't find anyone to ride with because the novelty has worn off or the spouse puts the pressure on, it's all over. Or, for a few of us, the motorcycle has penetrated the blood/brain barrier causing us to become inexorably hooked like junkies on heroin and most likely forcing us to ride until the end. For the addicted, it becomes less important what others have or are doing and more about the personal connections that activate the feelings relative to riding and the preferential horse(s). The VTR is an antiquated, rumbling, albeit visceral riding experience that has become the drug of choice for a chosen few for a plethora of reasons. Does it stir the heart and soul, put a smile on your face, satisfy and satiate the need where the connection is strictly a personal one and mostly separate from external influences? These are some of the essential considerations for many of the few. Is it the best? does it matter? dumb questions. Hell, they been printing exact copy of US dollars for years and no one knows how much they flooded the market with these. |
Originally Posted by mikstr
(Post 346269)
It was never a hit in North America (land of squids and posers). However, it did ok in other markets. For example, it was a top seller in Australia for a few years (granted the Oz market is relatively small). To sell a bike in NA, it has to be a race replica or some chromed up paint mixer that weighs just under a ton and barely has the power to get out of its own way.....
I think that's why they been called Hardly Sportster |
Originally Posted by NHSH
(Post 346291)
Well, just to add on to the rant, China already got the techies and alike, they opened recently a full size Apple store, but without Apple consent, in fact the entire store contains knockoffs to match, and talking about knockoffs... You can get any medicine you can imagine that would be a chines knockoff as well, this industry of knockoffs of anything and everything will do great damage to the US and the rest of the world.
Hell, they been printing exact copy of US dollars for years and no one knows how much they flooded the market with these. Google Image Result for http://www.rtdtrading.com/shop/photos/a/xl/rtd-1102.jpg While intrigued with this type of trinket novelty, it was common for us to arrogantly dismiss Japanese imports as cheap novelty junk. This pretty much characterized our impressions of the country and it's people as well, esp considering that they just had their asses kicked a decade earlier in WW II. Well apparently we didn't do our homework very well because today we are the ones making the junk and the Japanese et al have proven this consistently and convincingly over a substantial period of time period. Today, the cheap Chinese imports and references thereof ring the bell for me and the many who snicker and sneer might want to swallow their tongues awhile until the verdict becomes more apparent cause I already know the drill. In terms of posers, squids, Hardly riders, scooterers, and whoever, I'm glad for them and myself as well because to some degree we all share the experience of two wheels and in that regard, there is a bond of sorts. And at least some of them are riding in borderline freezing temps if the sun even threatens to appear and this is consoling in that it helps to validate that stupidity is not specific to me.....so, the more the merrier. |
Originally Posted by nath981
(Post 346294)
Well apparently we didn't do our homework very well because today we are the ones making the junk and the Japanese et al have proven this consistently and convincingly over a substantial period of time period.
Oh wait, I didn't mean education system, I meant religious patriotism. |
Originally Posted by nath981
(Post 346294)
For sure..........most here are to young to know how the Japanese were perceived early on, but in the 1950s i can remember going downtown to the dept stores mostly on Monday nights(only day they were open until 8:30pm. ha). Looking through the merchandise, generally most was American made but interspersed with Japanese trinkets like the little oriental umbrellas that used to adorn mixed drinks, mostly stuck into an marachino cherry or green olive as in Martinis:
Google Image Result for http://www.rtdtrading.com/shop/photos/a/xl/rtd-1102.jpg While intrigued with this type of trinket novelty, it was common for us to arrogantly dismiss Japanese imports as cheap novelty junk. This pretty much characterized our impressions of the country and it's people as well, esp considering that they just had their asses kicked a decade earlier in WW II. Well apparently we didn't do our homework very well because today we are the ones making the junk and the Japanese et al have proven this consistently and convincingly over a substantial period of time period. Today, the cheap Chinese imports and references thereof ring the bell for me and the many who snicker and sneer might want to swallow their tongues awhile until the verdict becomes more apparent cause I already know the drill. In terms of posers, squids, Hardly riders, scooterers, and whoever, I'm glad for them and myself as well because to some degree we all share the experience of two wheels and in that regard, there is a bond of sorts. And at least some of them are riding in borderline freezing temps if the sun even threatens to appear and this is consoling in that it helps to validate that stupidity is not specific to me.....so, the more the merrier. |
It doesn't matter who makes what quality, its who values that quality. Obviously certain American made products are better, but like on twists case, why pay top dollar or more when you can buy a part that will work just fine for half the dough. America needs to move past greed if we want to see out money stay in this country. American products = paying for the name, knock offs = paying less for essentially the same.
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And on the case of vtrs, I got mine out of San Francisco twist, I see one for sale on the BARF forum once in a while. I have seen two others in my area (San Luis Obispo), but I rarely see them any more. Luckily we don't have many stretched and chromed swing arms and led light kits here, but the racing replica hoopla holds up. It seems eery other person has a redbull cbr
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Originally Posted by nath981
(Post 346288)
Or, for a few of us, the motorcycle has penetrated the blood/brain barrier causing us to become inexorably hooked like junkies on heroin and most likely forcing us to ride until the end. For the addicted, it becomes less important what others have or are doing and more about the personal connections that activate the feelings relative to riding and the preferential horse(s). Nath, I think you've hit the nail with much accuracy. I will not be making any friends with this, however, this also applies to the real HD enthusiast. I've met alot of HD enthusiast over the past years, and you will notice these guys are usually not the ones with the heavy chromed bikes, and not the ones with the full badges saying HD everywhere on them. Their loyalty to the brand comes from years of riding, and not from social pressures exerted from others. They just don't care what others think. And that to me, is just as valid as us with our VTRs, or the others with their Ducs, BMWs and so on. As long as it's two wheels and you get the thrill of riding, I'm not going to condemn or critisize anyone who has the balls to drive with stupid cagers all around us every day....IMHO. |
I have a few friends who are real motorcyclists, and happen to ride Harleys. However, they are the minority in a sea of "flavour of the day" posers who are poster children for the Harley accessory catalogue. I am most assuredly not against anyone having passion for something. What I have a real problem with, however, are weak-minded individuals in search of salvation or acceptance (ie. posers) in response to an unfulfilled need and who, once they have apparently obtained it, take it upon themselves to judge others and look down on them under the perception that they are now "it". I invite anyone not sure of what I speak to join me for a short ride to the local coffee house (ie. Harley owner hang-out) and I can provide as many examples as you can stand.
A loser/poser is and will always remain such, no matter what he/she rides. It just seems these days they mostly ride Hogs, as it`s the flavour of the day...... The squids who do the stretching to GSX-Rs and Hayabusas (and the infamous knife-edge levers..... the epitome of stupidity) are the other end of the spectrum, alas just as annoying and useless IMO...... Am I being judgemental? You betcha. Just tired of weak-minded conformist morons...... |
ughnph!
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Originally Posted by twist
(Post 346310)
ughnph!
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Originally Posted by mikstr
(Post 346309)
I have a few friends who are real motorcyclists, and happen to ride Harleys. However, they are the minority in a sea of "flavour of the day" posers who are poster children for the Harley accessory catalogue. I am most assuredly not against anyone having passion for something. What I have a real problem with, however, are weak-minded individuals in search of salvation or acceptance (ie. posers) in response to an unfulfilled need and who, once they have apparently obtained it, take it upon themselves to judge others and look down on them under the perception that they are now "it". I invite anyone not sure of what I speak to join me for a short ride to the local coffee house (ie. Harley owner hang-out) and I can provide as many examples as you can stand.
A loser/poser is and will always remain such, no matter what he/she rides. It just seems these days they mostly ride Hogs, as it`s the flavour of the day...... The squids who do the stretching to GSX-Rs and Hayabusas (and the infamous knife-edge levers..... the epitome of stupidity) are the other end of the spectrum, alas just as annoying and useless IMO...... Am I being judgemental? You betcha. Just tired of weak-minded conformist morons...... |
Micky, we have to ride next spring to that coffee house, and
we'll look at this whole thing together....while trying to be nice. ;) I know a few myself, if we want to visit more then one. But I'd rather ride. |
Me too! I sense the opposite is true for most of "them"......
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:lol: I know exactly what you mean.
J'ai ta pièce... |
HD has too much profit built into their business model for my taste...why fatten the wallet of fat slovenly assholes who killed Buell?
If they were reasonably priced (MAYBE 2-3k for sportsters, 4-5k for customized other models) then why not ride around on one if they're comfortable? There is no excuse to charge current prices for what is essentially the same pieces of shit they've been making since the 60s. If you make something for that long you should be able to do it considerably cheaper than originally. |
Originally Posted by blamecanada
(Post 346316)
HD has too much profit built into their business model for my taste...why fatten the wallet of fat slovenly assholes who killed Buell?
If they were reasonably priced (MAYBE 2-3k for sportsters, 4-5k for customized other models) then why not ride around on one if they're comfortable? There is no excuse to charge current prices for what is essentially the same pieces of shit they've been making since the 60s. If you make something for that long you should be able to do it considerably cheaper than originally. P.S. Jocelyn: merci! |
Originally Posted by blamecanada
(Post 346316)
HD has too much profit built into their business model for my taste...why fatten the wallet of fat slovenly assholes who killed Buell?
If they were reasonably priced (MAYBE 2-3k for sportsters, 4-5k for customized other models) then why not ride around on one if they're comfortable? There is no excuse to charge current prices for what is essentially the same pieces of shit they've been making since the 60s. If you make something for that long you should be able to do it considerably cheaper than originally. While it may have changed with the recent recession Harley was selling out their entire production run by mid year. I have not and probably never will own a Harley but you have to give them credit for some great marketing. Years ago my buddy had a bet with a fellow mechanic with a large capacty sportster, he had a CB550K. They had a drag race. The terms were if the Harley won my buddy had to put "put your hynie on something shiny" on his toolbox. If the other guy won had to put "if it don't go chrome it" on his. To this day that guy has it on his box! |
Originally Posted by mikstr
(Post 346309)
I have a few friends who are real motorcyclists, and happen to ride Harleys. However, they are the minority in a sea of "flavour of the day" posers who are poster children for the Harley accessory catalogue. I am most assuredly not against anyone having passion for something. What I have a real problem with, however, are weak-minded individuals in search of salvation or acceptance (ie. posers) in response to an unfulfilled need and who, once they have apparently obtained it, take it upon themselves to judge others and look down on them under the perception that they are now "it". I invite anyone not sure of what I speak to join me for a short ride to the local coffee house (ie. Harley owner hang-out) and I can provide as many examples as you can stand.
A loser/poser is and will always remain such, no matter what he/she rides. It just seems these days they mostly ride Hogs, as it`s the flavour of the day...... The squids who do the stretching to GSX-Rs and Hayabusas (and the infamous knife-edge levers..... the epitome of stupidity) are the other end of the spectrum, alas just as annoying and useless IMO...... Am I being judgemental? You betcha. Just tired of weak-minded conformist morons...... |
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I hated seeing how HD shove his bikes to the back of the store, the only reason why I would walk in there in there first place! |
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