Subject: RE: A mini - rant from a Guzzi rider
Author: Lannis
Date: Jan 30, 2005, 3:03 PM
Post ID: 1718302352
Ray Hale wrote:
I've seen this sort of diatribe for decades now, on and off. It really ought to stop but of course it won't. |
I don't know why it ought to stop. If you mean that everyone that has
an opinion different from yours ought to keep it to himself, and
everyone should only write things that you agree with, I don't go along
with that.
Harley is easy to pick on because they are so successful. Are they promoting an image any less disgusting than the one Guzzi promoted when our beloved loops were new and shiny and the company actually spent money on ads? Hell no. It was all about sex and supposed "class" then. Look at the old ads. Get real boys. It's marketing. Will always be stupid, every brand, every product, always. Doesn't have a damn thing to do with the bike. |
I like Harleys. I like the way they look, ride, go, stop. I like that
they're a successful American company with stock shares I wish I'd
bought 20 years ago. I think the management are marketing geniuses.
Guzzi should do so well selling bikes.
| If you don't like posers, don't ride with them. I've met them on Guzzis, Beemers, Japanese, as well as on Harleys. They are individuals, not brand specific. Come on. Cut the shit and be real. |
I am being real. It's my real, genuine opinion that if I pull up at a
Guzzi rally, I will meet, on the average, a completely different sort of
person than I will at Myrtle Beach or Laconia or Sturgis.
Matter of fact, I didn't know a Guzzi from a hole in the ground till
Jack Arnold met me on my BSA at the 2000 OVBSAOC rally and invited me to
the Guzzi National. I rode the BSA to the National and was welcomed by
a host of Guzzi riders, offered rides on their personal Guzzis, and made
to feel right at home. NEVER happen at a Harley gathering. It might be
my own attitude doing it, but I don't think so; I've owned and ridden
Harleys and wish I could do it again.
Read a good book like "One Man Caravan" or "Longrider" instead. |
One Man Caravan is my kind of book. Just finished it.
Lannis, to almost quote you "I have found that there is a very high density of genuine motorcycle riders and genuine people among Harley riders". Really. You simply have to look past the first row you encounter. |
I've tried, really I have. I either have a different opinion of or
different level of tolerance for poseurs than you have, but I see a big
difference between the two. That shouldn't bother you; it literally
might mean that you're a better man than I am. I'm just telling you how
I live.
| Please, let's end this crap soon. Please. |
Hey, I HAD ended it. I was done. Heck, the whole thread wasn't 6 hours
old yet, you couldn't be tired of it THAT soon....!
| This is a great list. One of the best. I can't wait to get my Goose running someday and have a choice every time I ride. I love them both. I've been inside both with the wrenches. I'll ride the Hog to Guzzi rallies and vice versa, if I feel like it. The Guzzi is well respected among my Harley friends. I would hope the opposite is true, also. I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can, even if I drive my old VW bus to get there. Bob and Lannis, I do not mean this as a personal slam to the two of you. I have enjoyed and learned from you both of your posts here. |
Same here!
| Just asking for a reality check. We have better things to talk about. |
Takes two to talk. We're both doing it, far as I can tell.
| Hell, I'll probably regret sending this by tomorrow, won't I? Ray in Gainesville |
I regret stuff I say in the morning all the time. You've got nothing to
regret in what you said here; big advantage of these lists is that we
can say what we think, how we're thinking it, and hopefully we
understand where the other guy's coming from. Doesn't mean we have to
agree, or even try......! But given the range of these darn Guzzis,
we'll all have the opportunity to discuss it face to face at some point,
which is the best reason I can think of as to why we keep it civil....
Lannis