Author Topic: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles  (Read 236264 times)

Offline Lannis

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #300 on: June 03, 2014, 11:12:22 AM »
I pulled into the office parking lot on my 1991 LeMans the other day.  One of our IT guys (a self appointed gear head) was walking out as I was walking in, and had seen me pull in on the bike.

"Nice bike", he says.  "Is that a Two-Fifty?"

 :o

I was almost speechless, but replied, "nah.  One Thousand".

He got a puzzled look on his face and said, "oh...", as he walked away...



Our "vintage" bikes with the skinny tires DO look about like a modern 250 .... These days, if it hasn't got something the size of a Corvette tire on the back, and huge fairings and acres of plastic, it's "not a real motorcycle.   Oughta get you a Harley!"

Lannis
"Hard pounding, this, gentlemen; let's see who pounds the longest".

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I'd hate to think that was true.   To me, WalMart has always been a way to flood people's lives with cheap junk that they've been sold on "having to have".

Maybe it's a people problem rather than a WalMart problem.    I'd never want to thread my way past the apathetic-looking employees smoking on the front sidewalk and flinging their butts where I have to walk ....

But in a "material things" sense, you could be right.   "Lower Income" people below the poverty level today have their houses full of more "stuff" than the doctors and lawyers did when I was growing up.

Lannis

Well said.

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Offline Kiwi_Roy

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #302 on: June 03, 2014, 12:11:50 PM »
 Next time someone tells you to buy a Harley

"I've been riding for XX years, why would i want a beginers bike?"
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Offline rocker59

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #303 on: June 03, 2014, 12:14:56 PM »
Next time someone tells you to buy a Harley

"I've been riding for XX years, why would i want a beginers bike?"

"why would I wan't a beginners bike?"

Classic !!!   ;-T
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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #303 on: June 03, 2014, 12:14:56 PM »

Offline rocker59

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #304 on: June 03, 2014, 12:16:01 PM »
Our "vintage" bikes with the skinny tires DO look about like a modern 250 .... These days, if it hasn't got something the size of a Corvette tire on the back, and huge fairings and acres of plastic, it's "not a real motorcycle.   Oughta get you a Harley!"

Lannis

You know, I didn't think about the rear tire.  I'll bet you're right on that.  I rode past him and that tire is pretty skinny, by modern standards.
Michael T.
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Offline Stormtruck2

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #305 on: June 03, 2014, 12:26:28 PM »

The transition from "Made in Japan" being a joke for horrible quality to being Toyotas and Hondas that set the standard for everyone else's quality caught EVERYONE by surprise, I think ....

Lannis

But who taught them QC? 

Survey SAID!  Dr. W.Edwards Deming  http://www.skymark.com/resources/leaders/deming.asp

A native of my very own Iwega!!  The Japanese listened to this American and took his ideas to heart.  Now much of the world chases the Japanese in SQC or just plain QC.
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Offline Lannis

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #306 on: June 03, 2014, 12:29:30 PM »
But who taught them QC? 

Survey SAID!  Dr. W.Edwards Deming  http://www.skymark.com/resources/leaders/deming.asp

A native of my very own Iwega!!  The Japanese listened to this American and took his ideas to heart.  Now much of the world chases the Japanese in SQC or just plain QC.

Smart people learn from wherever they can.   Nobody is born knowing this stuff ... !

Lannis
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oldbike54

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #307 on: June 03, 2014, 12:58:50 PM »
Yup , Dr Deming went to several US companies , no interest . Boy did we pay for that lack of foresight .
About the 'SIZE' thing , it all depends on who is asking , lots of folks are astounded when they find out my ditch pump is an 1100 . Oh , and does "the store I will not name" sell MCs now , would not surprise me , heck , they wanted in the banking business  :D

Dusty

Offline Stormtruck2

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #308 on: June 03, 2014, 01:02:10 PM »
Smart people learn from wherever they can.   Nobody is born knowing this stuff ... !

Lannis

I was! ::) ;) :D
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Offline raul

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #309 on: June 03, 2014, 03:56:55 PM »
I'd hate to think that was true.   To me, WalMart has always been a way to flood people's lives with cheap junk that they've been sold on "having to have".

Maybe it's a people problem rather than a WalMart problem.    I'd never want to thread my way past the apathetic-looking employees smoking on the front sidewalk and flinging their butts where I have to walk ....

But in a "material things" sense, you could be right.   "Lower Income" people below the poverty level today have their houses full of more "stuff" than the doctors and lawyers did when I was growing up.

Lannis

I have a different perspective having lived in a very rural area.  Walmart brings much needed jobs that pay pretty well by local standards and they bring consumer goods that are basically unavailable otherwise.  I know Amazon and Ebay have changed that somewhat, but you can usually find whatever you need at Walmart.  Often, there is simply no other choice.

Offline Lannis

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #310 on: June 03, 2014, 04:34:08 PM »
I have a different perspective having lived in a very rural area.  Walmart brings much needed jobs that pay pretty well by local standards and they bring consumer goods that are basically unavailable otherwise.  I know Amazon and Ebay have changed that somewhat, but you can usually find whatever you need at Walmart.  Often, there is simply no other choice.

Here in what was formerly rural Virginia, we used to be about 20 minutes away from three different WalMarts.   That wasn't good enough, so they built one right in town.   No one in our three-county area is more than 10 or 15 minutes from a WalMart now - and they really did run a half-a-dozen local businesses out of town.

Yeah, I know, it's a tough world and **** any family business that can't keep up with massive Chinese imports, but it was still sad to see a 70-year-old family grocery store fold.   

Consumer goods "basically unavailable" without WalMart?   What, in the United States of America?   Gotta be kidding!

I'll never go in one, for any reason.   Now how am I able to do that and the rest of the 13,000 people in our county can't?   It's because I don't just kick my buddies to the curb to save a nickel.  Other people don't have that weak sensitivity, I guess.

Lannis
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Offline sono

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #311 on: June 03, 2014, 05:58:18 PM »
Butthead: Is that a Jap bike?

Me: Excuse me, but I'm Japanese and "Jap" is a derogatory term.

Butthead: Sorry, so what is it?

Me: It's an Italian bike... a Moto Guzzi.

Butthead: What's a Jap doing on a bike like that?

...So that's how I got into the only fight I've gotten into as an adult.
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oldbike54

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #312 on: June 03, 2014, 06:01:03 PM »
So what you are saying is Lannis , you don't know whether " the store I will not name" sell motorcycles or not  :D
I feel pretty much the same way about Lowe's , they killed all three of our local lumberyards that sold quality material,
so now they are the only game in town  :'(

Dusty

Offline raul

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #313 on: June 03, 2014, 06:36:08 PM »
Where I lived, the closest "store that will not be named" was 40 miles away.  And yes, other than the very basics, they were the only source for a lot of items.

oldbike54

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #314 on: June 03, 2014, 06:39:40 PM »
Where I lived, the closest "store that will not be named" was 40 miles away.  And yes, other than the very basics, they were the only source for a lot of items.

Had to be the high plains , or Alaska , Rodekyll still doesn't believe they exist  :D

Dusty

Offline raul

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #315 on: June 03, 2014, 06:47:56 PM »
North central Missouri.

Offline Lannis

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #316 on: June 03, 2014, 08:07:01 PM »
Where I lived, the closest "store that will not be named" was 40 miles away.  And yes, other than the very basics, they were the only source for a lot of items.

Like what lot of items?  I've neer been in a Walmart; what am I missing out on?

I have to haul my own trash, can't get cable, can't get DSL, got no cell coverage at the house, nearest Guzzi dealer 200 miles away; but I strongly suspect I have always, anywhere, been able to buy whatever is in a Walmart.

Lannis
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Offline rodekyll

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #317 on: June 03, 2014, 09:28:57 PM »
Had to be the high plains , or Alaska , Rodekyll still doesn't believe they exist  :D

Dusty

I've yet to actually enter one and I refuse to believe the advertising.  However, I did finally have to conceed that home depot is real. 

Offline goozy

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #318 on: June 03, 2014, 09:33:07 PM »
Butthead: Is that a Jap bike?

Me: Excuse me, but I'm Japanese and "Jap" is a derogatory term.

Butthead: Sorry, so what is it?

Me: It's an Italian bike... a Moto Guzzi.

Butthead: What's a Jap doing on a bike like that?

...So that's how I got into the only fight I've gotten into as an adult.
 


Thats one of the funniest things I've ever read on the inter-webb! ;D ;D ;D

oldbike54

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #319 on: June 03, 2014, 11:19:22 PM »
I've yet to actually enter one and I refuse to believe the advertising.  However, I did finally have to conceed that home depot is real. 

Are you sure , no Home Despot here , never actually spotted one in the wild  :D We did have a Sutherlands here , Lies, er , Lowes finished them off . Sad , they had better stuff . Carpenters have a term for substandard lumber " Wal Mart wood " or " Lowes lumber " , as in , " how do you expect me to build anything with this Wal Mart wood ?" :D

Dusty

oldbike54

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #320 on: July 02, 2014, 11:50:15 PM »
Just this evening ."Why you've got suitcases on that MC , ha ha , how in hell did you do that ?) I explained they were actually Samsonite MC saddlebags , showed him the mounts and all , he just repeated his earlier statement , and added " hell of an idea , suitcases on a MC"  ??? ::) :D
   Dusty

Offline Triple Jim

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #321 on: July 02, 2014, 11:54:12 PM »
You should patent it, Dusty.
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oldbike54

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #322 on: July 03, 2014, 12:12:06 AM »
You should patent it, Dusty.

 :D Of course he also told me he had a really FAST , 1600 Yamaha Silverado . Don't think he knows what "fast" truly means  :D
   Dusty

Offline Don G

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #323 on: July 03, 2014, 01:24:27 AM »
I once had a Silverado type unit. It was a 7400cc version though, it was also astounding! ;D DonG

Offline Waterbottle

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #324 on: July 03, 2014, 02:16:22 AM »
Butthead: Is that a Jap bike?

Me: Excuse me, but I'm Japanese and "Jap" is a derogatory term.

Butthead: Sorry, so what is it?

Me: It's an Italian bike... a Moto Guzzi.

Butthead: What's a Jap doing on a bike like that?

...So that's how I got into the only fight I've gotten into as an adult.
That's the funniest thing I've heard all day  :D
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Offline 1Sourdough

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #325 on: July 03, 2014, 11:20:24 AM »
No, not seriously.  He was joking, but he was seriously disinterested in speed.

Come to think of it, maybe the stupidest thing anyone ever said regarding motorcycles wasn't said to me, since I was pretty young, but to my Dad.  Another customer told my Dad that he didn't think those Honda motorcycles would ever catch on.

A lot of us thought that.  Gear shift and brake levers that would bend if you stomped on them very hard, tinny sounding engines, light and flimsy.  Only thing the early ones had going for them was they were cheap...
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Offline rogeratdserve

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #326 on: July 07, 2014, 04:00:43 PM »
While walking in my office still wearing my padded jacket my female boss noticed the padding and exclaimed, "Wow, does that hurt?"

I replied, "It would hurt a lot more without it."




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Offline Tobit

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #327 on: July 17, 2014, 07:03:43 AM »
Yesterday I parked the LeMans on the loading dock, which is our company's smoking area.  Later in the day, one of our on-air lady hosts stopped me in the hall and said "I didn't know you were such a badass.  That bike is awesome."

Just had to laugh. 

Oh brother.   ::)

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Offline kckershovel

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #328 on: July 17, 2014, 08:02:08 AM »
    Believe it or not Guys on Harley's get dumb comments too. Pull into a bar on my Shovelhead and walk in. Bartender says when are you going to get those brakes fixed? Reply with they work great they don't need fixed. She walks away muttering even I know what grinding brakes sound like.... I guess my dry clutch open belt sounded like grinding brakes to her.

    This was even worse Come out of bar and a hand full of 1% er's "wheels of fortune" guys were standing around my buddies bikes and mine. Biker guy says to his buddies look that one has a blower on it pointing at my magneto. After that and them thinking my other friends Shovelhead was a Sportster 48 I lost all respect for 1% er's. If you ride Harleys and are in a 1% club and don't know what a Shovelhead looks like and think a magneto is a supercharger I don't even know what to say except total fail.

Offline Tobit

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Re: The stupidest thing anyone ever said to you regarding motorcycles
« Reply #329 on: July 17, 2014, 08:22:38 AM »
Last night an acquaintance showed me a picture of the blinged-out used metric cruiser he just bought.  He hasn't ridden in a while and is practicing around his neighborhood since the tag has expired.  Says the manual says it weighs about 1,000 lbs and he wanted a heavy bike because a friend of his was on a light motorcycle that killed him when he hit a pothole, flipped forward and the bike crushed him.  Heavy bike won't do that.  Poor guy has bad hips and can barely hold it up. 

It's hard to protect someone from themselves but I'd hate to see him come to harm.

Tobit

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