Posted by saddlebag on April 9, 2011, 8:51 am
> On 4/7/2011 11:41 AM, sean_q wrote:
> > To me, riding a chopper is an act of defiance. A statement
> > against conventional values and the norm. Like Dewey Finn says
> > in _School of Rock_, a way to "stick it to the Man".
> But as Richard Feynman so famously said - or actually, I think this
> quote came from his wife - "What do YOU care what other people think?"
> Picking what you ride, wear, eat, etc., to "make a statement" - as
> opposed to those choices being based on what YOU like, and who cares
> what it supposedly "says" to others - always struck me as an indication
> of some pretty deep insecurities. As a good friend once said when asked
> about a particularly ugly bike he was riding at the time: "Hey, when I'm
> riding it, *I* can't see it, and if anyone else doesn't like it that's
> their problem."
That may be true for those who have some experience to know what it is
they want. Most don't, but are fed images of big tough bikers on laid
back machines, irreverent youth on high horsepower, sporting machines,
elderly types on baggers and touring bikes riding off to the early
bird special, and geeks on standards who spend their time comparing
mileage stats.
Of the bunch, the first two groups are perceived as the most likely to
get laid. Being living beings with a genetic disposition toward
spreading our seed, they act accordingly. Once the urge to spread the
seeds subsides a little and the experience grows, the tendency toward
riding practical bikes and becoming a fuddy duddy becomes more
palatable. In the mean time, Marketing depts have their hands full
selling sexy images to the masses...
Posted by Great White Buffalo on April 10, 2011, 3:41 pm
> There's something sterile and contrived about a factory chopper:http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/honda/honda_fury.htm
> To me, riding a chopper is an act of defiance. A statement
> against conventional values and the norm. Like Dewey Finn says
> in _School of Rock_, a way to "stick it to the Man".
> At least, that's what the chopper originally was, back in
> Eisenhower's time, the era of Conformity. That's when some
> restless American war vets drifted out to California and
> began chopping all the non-essentials off their Harley Davidsons
> and forming motorcycle clubs.
> Fast forward to 2006, when the MoCo wrote in its sales brochure,
> "Dyna (R) Wide Glide (tm). Does the chopper tradition proud,
> with factory ape-hanger handlebar and new flames on the stretched
> Fab Bob (tm) tank."
> The blurb goes on to say:
> "The Dyna (R) family lives at the crossroads of style
> and raw-boned performance. Descended from the original factory
> customs. Born of an undying urge to chase far-flung horizons.
> True to the restless spirit of the family, every model is new
> for 2006. Restyled. Reengineered... [blah] [blah]"
> Geesh. There's something that sounds just plain wrong with the phrase
> "factory stock chopper". Imagine Dwight D. Eisenhower founding
> a School of Rock. Just think how the music would sound. And he
> even thought the Twist was too radical. A decade later another
> conservative President would say, without a hint of embarrassment:
> "If the music is square, it's because I *like* it square."
> SQ
Everything is becoming contrived... "town centers" in the US conjure
ideas of European living where necessities are within walking
distance, only in the US, we pack in chain restaurants and clothing
stores instead of locally-owned businesses and hire musicians to
stroll around the man-made lake with streaming fountains to simulate
the busking that takes place in real European town centers.
So it should come as no surprise that factory choppers should be
offered next to sport bikes and cruisers on the showroom floor; Big
Dog and others have been doing it for some time. And look at those
helmets you can buy with stickers from everywhere and sayings that
scream poseur anarchist. Everything is a style from gansta to hard
core biker.
Posted by Road Glidin' Don on April 10, 2011, 4:39 pm
> So it should come as no surprise that factory choppers should be
> offered next to sport bikes and cruisers on the showroom floor; Big
> Dog and others have been doing it for some time. And look at those
> helmets you can buy with stickers from everywhere and sayings that
> scream poseur anarchist. Everything is a style from gansta to hard
> core biker.- Hide quoted text -
Big Dog just went bankrupt a few days ago.
Posted by Great White Buffalo on April 18, 2011, 12:00 pm
> > So it should come as no surprise that factory choppers should be
> > offered next to sport bikes and cruisers on the showroom floor; Big
> > Dog and others have been doing it for some time. And look at those
> > helmets you can buy with stickers from everywhere and sayings that
> > scream poseur anarchist. Everything is a style from gansta to hard
> > core biker.- Hide quoted text -
> Big Dog just went bankrupt a few days ago.
I just heard about that. Sad. They were sold at my local Vic dealer -
10-12 Vics and 6 or 7 Big Dogs. My local Vic dealer went out of biz
year before last. Double sad.
Posted by Jared on April 20, 2011, 2:04 am
> distance, only in the US, we pack in chain restaurants and clothing
> stores instead of locally-owned businesses
How are chain restaurants not locally owned? Aren't most chain
restaurants franchises, and therefore locally owned?
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> > To me, riding a chopper is an act of defiance. A statement
> > against conventional values and the norm. Like Dewey Finn says
> > in _School of Rock_, a way to "stick it to the Man".
> But as Richard Feynman so famously said - or actually, I think this
> quote came from his wife - "What do YOU care what other people think?"
> Picking what you ride, wear, eat, etc., to "make a statement" - as
> opposed to those choices being based on what YOU like, and who cares
> what it supposedly "says" to others - always struck me as an indication
> of some pretty deep insecurities. As a good friend once said when asked
> about a particularly ugly bike he was riding at the time: "Hey, when I'm
> riding it, *I* can't see it, and if anyone else doesn't like it that's
> their problem."