Girls bike? I think not!

The following i found on s nother site snd wanted to shsre it, i didnt write it and not taking credit.

I'll never understand is why some Harley riders discriminate against other riders especially in light of the way society has stereotyped the Harley community and discriminated against it over the years.

You've heard the disparaging comments like "Half a Harley" or "Girl's Bike" along with many others levied against the Sportster bysome in the Big Twin crowd. If so. How come it's faster than the BigTwin is? How come it's been the Factory racer in differing events for forty years now? What about the Buell, Harley's answer to Japanese super bikes, being based on the Sportster It has always had superior technology and Been more nimble than its brother, the Big Twin.

Back in the Sixties, The Sporty led the charge when an Englishike-dominated sport converted first to the "Milwaukee Limey." Speaking of the old days, when watching early biker movies, you see the "real deal" riding their beloved "CH's" that today have become living legends? Nobody I know laughs at or puts down these guys. Yes, the "CH" is short for the brutal, knee-busting, kick start Sportster. Don't look like no half-Harley to me even though that's what some call it. Please take this last statement from where it's coming from…not me. But it's a comment I hear time and again from those in Harleydom who wish to pick on their own instead of fighting those who attack from the outside. Yeah, so they call it a Girl's bike in a derisive manner. This connotes frailty that inhibits them from handling "a man's bike."

Well if you think about it, a smaller, physically weaker person would be better suited to a Softail with a lower seat height, a lower center of gravity and a set of front forks that pivot more easily on a smaller contact patch, skinny 21" wheel. That's if you think. Sportsters feel as if they have a higher center of gravity, making them seemingly more awkward to the uninitiated and you need long legs to touch the ground They'll pop a wheelie without even thinking about it. And light to light, try to beat one, with a "bigger" Harley, like a Softail for instance. A customer of mine is a seemingly mild mannered pharmacist. He wins about $500 bucks a month racing Big Twins on his 883 converted to a 1200. He hasn't even reached for the big gun yet….the 1200S with a hundred ponies at the rear wheel. I guess everybody's mad at me by now, but it needs to be said.

So why on earth does Harley make this bike, its entry-level model? It's harder to learn on and it's the prototype for its factory racers-in order to prove it has a superior product in terms of speed. I don't understand it. As what should be isn't, and what isn't should be. I know, I know.

The real reason the Sportster is the entry-level bike is that it's cheaper than the Big Twin models. Just wait until feminism gets a firmer grip in the last bastion of chauvinism, Harleydom and deals with "the Girl's Bike syndrome" and its connotations of weakness. It'll be fun to watch for those who love a good winnable fight. Now how about the men who ride and must put up with this reverse discrimination? Maybe feminism will wipe the slate clean. Or maybe, those who are free thinkers and strong of mind already know that the Girl's Bike has dominated Flat Track racing…you know, where you go full speed around corners with no brakes….and hill climbing…a brutal sport for the brave where Sportsters go up hills not suited for motorcycles.

Now, how about the wheelie kings. You know, in a man's world, anyone who can do the block long wheelie, shifting gears as they pose dangerously on one wheel, scraping the rear fender on the asphalt, shooting up sparks as they roar by, are more Often than not on the Sportster. Motor builders have long recognized the superior technology used by Harley in the Sportster, some examples of which are:
a. Pushrods that go straight up and down instead of wild angles like in the Big Twin; or
b. Did you ever wonder where the three-hole crankpin you buy aftermarket to replace the single oiling hole factory one in your Big Twin came from? You got it, standard factory issue since the beginning in the Sportster; or
c. The trochoid (rotor) oil pump, standard issue since 1977 on the Sportster, produces both high pressure and high volume while the lowly Big Twin still has a gear-driven pump that only produces moderate pressure and volume. Straighter pushrods along with the 3 hole oiling crankpin and the trochoid oil pump have all been adapted into the new Fathead Twin Cam 88's.

Here's another one. What other Harley, or motorcycle for that matter, has crippled more people than the legendary Sportster kickstart? If rebounding compression isn't dislocating the knee or throwing the rider over the handlebars then the slip-through kick start gears extend the leg past where its supposed to go….snapping the kneecap. "Sportster knee", the tell tale limp, familiar with riders of the era is a badge of honor. The electric start has saved a whole generation from this mind numbing pain. Even the mass media glorified the Sportster a long time before it recognized the "old man's" bike, the Big Twin.

Oops, I have to watch the reverse discrimination. Then Came Bronson" was the first and only TV Harley hero who traversed America, meeting every challenge society could throw at him
on his Sportster XLCH. In the late seventies and early eighties, some bank robber gangs even used the Sportster as a get away vehicle…faster than the Big Twin police bikes and more nimble through traffic.

Last but not least…..Evil Knieval. I never saw him riding a Big Twin. He is a Sportster man….all the way to the hospital and right back on them again The much maligned Sportster doesn't look like a bike for the frail or weak of mind to me.

Nice write up.

Like I said up top I didn't write it I found it on another forum and found it informative, I I copied and re posted it here

Still a good read. Thanks for posting it.

Yea the sportster has had a pretty amazing history

I though "girl's bike" only applied to the 883 -- but then I don't know squat about Harleys.

a lot of ppl refer to any sportster as a girls bike or even half a Harley, because of the phycial size of the bike the frames are small and light weight, mine is a 1200cc and might weigh about 500 pouds

Wheelies: My ex-brother-in-law, Michael Brundage, set a world record wheelie, leading the Rose Bowl parade one year. But before he was cleared for the Guiness Book, someone outdid him but with an electric motor spinning the front wheel for gyroscopic effect, that that guy got into Guiness. Maybe it was Domokos. 70s was Mike's era.

Mike, a former Air Force combat pilot instructor, flew one of Coor's Silver Bullets -- Bede jets. He had his own and was killed prepping for an air show in Canada. Fuel problem, flamed out, forced landing, hit a power wire and slammed into the ground upside down from about 30 feet up. The guy had lived on the edge since I met him in college.

For what that's all worth.

yep domokos had the idea of the gyro on the front wheel

And I'm 6'0" 230 and I hav no problem with my 1200 or riding it

And yes the xr750 was not called a sportster but it was what the sportster is based from, and I don't think anyone can argue that the sportster are more pormormance orientated bikes compared to the "big twins".

Sportster is a great bike with great performance. I personally prefer a bigger bike just because I feel they are more comfortable and I do alot of 2 up riding with the old lady.

I hate haveing a passenger the last personi rode didn't know how to sit still kept moving around

I ran into this years ago when I was shopping for a Harley. Found a sportster I could afford and was told by my Harley owning friend -" ya goin from a rice burner to a bitch bike, well I guess it's a step up." So I held off hoping to get the big twin, got into financial trouble and it never happened.

Thanks for the education on the subject. It is an undeserved rep on the bike.

I love my sportster it's fun and lots of power beats being the guy with the Harley t-s*it, that has no Harley

jhughe... Sounds to me like you care way too much what other people think about your bike. I could give a rats a$$ what anyone thinks about my bike. I am not a Harley guy but I have no problem with someone else being one. The thing is .... you are on two wheels . Just enjoy the ride brother and let the snobs be snobs.

well opinions are like assholes everone has one, but I don't really care what ppl think about my bike it's mine, not theirs, but I do think it's unfair that the bike and guys that ride sportster get ridiculed for it, it's no less a Harley then any other Harley. so as I said your opinion of what you think I think is just that an opinion nothing more

jhughe1200 wrote:well opinions are like assholes everone has one,

That is what I was trying to get across to you. Not sure where the hostility came from? As I said before. You are on two wheels... who cares what someone else thinks.

I have waited to chime in on this...and PLEAAAAASSEEEE do not take this as more than just a few words from another perspective...

how do you FEEL about the bike... ?

I only ask because, from this side of the screen, all I can read is that YOU are having doubts about the validity of your choice in bike....

if you are happy with it, than ride the dang thing... lol
this forum is not a proving ground, this is a society of riders.


I currently ride a sport bike, one that most straight line asphalt cowboys deem a less than able bike at that. know what? IDGAF!

what matters to me is that I enjoy riding it. sure, there are FASTER versions of my bike out there, but if all I wanted to do was go fast, I would be flying jets...

my bike serves my needs, and fulfills my 2 wheeled desires just fine.
I have owned cruisers, japanese, metrics, UJM's, brits, and american bikes...

so take it with a grain of salt man, but if all you want to do is ride a bike that you think other people will respect you for, then that is..... well, that is just silly.

and no offense to those who are a BRAND SPECIFIC type of rider, but I have rode just about all of them out there over 30 years of riding, and not one single type of bike has made me who I am... nor has it given me a reason to prove to anyone else who I am...

I'm fine with the bike great ride, like I said earlier its just I feel the bike and the guys like me that ride them get a bum wrap I don't sit and jump on guys that ride metric bikes like some do, cause I use to ride them myself, so I think the discrimination against the sportster is wrong for other Harley owners,

Like the guy that posted earlier he said he has a chance to get a sportster but didn't because his Harley buddy told him it was a "bitch bike"

if I bought a bike to enjoy the same thing like my friends who do RIDE experience , then they said that to me, I would reconsider my friends.

Riding is not about what I ride, it is about what I get from riding.
it is not about an image, or a brand, a club, or a style. it is about ME and nothing more.

if along the way, I happen to meet the type of riders who share the same perspective, then that is just a bonus

[quote="jhughe1200 but I don't really care what ppl think about my bike it's mine,

You need to learn this simple statement, If you don't like what I ride, buy me what you want me to ride. Stops them in their tracks. I say the same about my lawnmower, my cage, and anything else I choose to use or ride or ride in. When you buy it, you can tell me what to ride.
Exceptions of course... M/C's tend to be brand specific and that is ok. You know ahead of time to belong, you have to ride the right brand.

JMHO

You either ride for the scene, .. or ride because you enjoy it.

I do not understand the ride for the scene thing, but I dress like a highlighter marker and drive a plastic bike, and I'm sure the folks in the scene are just as puzzled by me