I'm sick of Harley-Davidson stuff...

HillHound · October 4, 2002

First off, I'm not talking about H-D bikes or their owners. So don't take this personal.

What I am sick of is all the H-D "paraphernalia"!

I'm talking about the t-shirts, jackets, the license plates, decals, toys, little stuffed Harley hogs. Coffee mugs, Christmas tree ornaments, belt buckles...today a customer of mine whipped out a Harley billfold! I was looking on ebay and I saw a H-D baby outfit. I collect pocket knives. Every month when I get a new knife catalog....more and more Harley penknives and money clips. The last on had H-D flashlights and HD Zippo lighters. ??? Maybe a nice H-D Zippo lighter holster to put on your Harley belt with it's big Harley buckle?

How about a Harley Ken and Barbie?? My wife said she even saw a set of black leather Harley-Davidson living room furniture. Sunglasses, jewelry out the wazoo and even decks or Harley poker cards. Harley-Davidson Monopoly, anyone? Light-switch covers, lampshades, ladies purses, boots, watches, clocks & (my favorite) dog collars!

Oh man...I'm gonna get flamed but what the heck I can take it! Ten years ago I used to say "Hey there's a Harley guy" when I saw a man with a H-D t-shirt. Now I see teenage girls with Harley decals on their Honda Civics and soccer mommies dressing their babies in H-D onesies. What's the deal? I must be missing something...seems to happen to me alot anymore ??? .

hogger999 · October 4, 2002

Can you say Big $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

My wife's Dad and Stepmom are into that stuff big time. When It comes time for a birthday or Christmas we always give them a gift certificate to their favorite H-D shop. You would think that the would get tired of the same thing all the time but when they get it they act like it was the best gift they ever got and my wife says they wouldn't be happy with anything else. It's very rare to see either of them dressed in anything else. Even in nice dress clothes you can bet there is a Harley logo somewhere.

Oh well I guess everybody has to be into something.

CMNTMXR81 · October 4, 2002

I take offense cause I love all that stuff, but then again, I'm a Harley owner.

Seriously though, I try to get a shirt from a Harley dealer in every city/place I go to. I've probably got close to a 1,000 various Harley shirts

gmcjoe · October 4, 2002

Harleys and Corvettes, the American Way

woyster_00z71 · October 4, 2002

But what about the Harley-Davidson Ford F-150...that is just plain dumb in my opinion.

B.J.

LarryE · October 4, 2002

the bikes are one things I don't really like them either but their tolerable... I like full custom bikes like wcc's and other big builders

All the other s*%t is pretty nasty, it's way over used.. one of our 18 wheeler drivers is a harley owner and we themed one of our trucks on a harley theme for him since he's been with the company since the beginning.. and I'll be damned if he doesn't have at least 20 stickers on the truck.

Only thing I own harley and ever will is a set of harley floormats and only because they are red and black to match my truck

CMNTMXR81 · October 4, 2002

Well think about it this way...

The Harley-Davidson logo, whether you like it or not or whether or not you like the two wheelers themselves are the SECOND most recognizable American icon. Second only behind Coca-Cola. That's why ford was smart to license a truck after it...big $$$$$. The newer Supercharged versions make all that much more tempting and trust me, as much as I dislike ford trucks, I almost splurged on one about a month ago as another "toy".

Anyway, whether you like the bike itself or not, it is an AMERICAN icon. It represents a heritage that few other companies have...even moreso than ford and Chevy. There is a "brotherhood" or mystique you step into when owning a Harley regardless of whether you are a tattoo covered mongrol or a white collared executive. If you own a Harley, you're cool no matter what! There's the biker brotherhood in general where when you ride, you wave to another rider regardless of what they're riding, but when two Harley's pass one another, it's more than just a wave.

There may be more advanced cruiser bikes out there than my Ultra-Classic. There may be butter smooth classics like Indian's. My friend has another buddy who just dropped $35k on a hand built Indian. The guy was bad mouthing Harley's cause they are crude, rough, and high maintance. When my friend told me this, I replied....THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I WANTED A HARLEY!!!! THAT'S IT'S PERSONALITY!!! Kinda like a Big Block Chevy...part of it's charm is leaving puddles of oil all over the ground...same for the Harley.

Sorry to ramble on, but these are the reasons why every trinkett, t-shirt manufacturer, or whatever wants to slap the Harley logo on their products.

In our circle (the Harley owners circle) their is a saying...."If I had to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand!"

hogger999 · October 4, 2002

But what about the Harley-Davidson Ford F-150...that is just plain dumb in my opinion.

B.J.

I kinda like 'em. I don't think they are selling like ford thought, but I'm glad they made them. Of course I couldn't own one, I wouldn't want to look like a Poser

October 4, 2002

Harleys and Corvettes, the American Way

Thats exactly what I was gonna say.. Theres nearly as much Corvette stuff as Harley Davidson stuff, (of course none of us are going to complain about that...)

LarryE · October 4, 2002

I'll stick with my kawasaki

October 4, 2002

#### yeah... Ill take on any Harley as soon as I get my R6....

Import Hater · October 4, 2002

But what about the Harley-Davidson Ford F-150...that is just plain dumb in my opinion.

B.J.

It has almost the same engine as the SVT Lightning and doesn't force you to cram yourself into regular cab. And I think it look nicer. But as for the part of putting the Harley name on it, that wouldn't make me want one any more.

Rob