Episode 467 - The Worst Harley Ever Made??

Hello boys and girls, 

This week on the Motorcycle Men Podcast, we’re firing up the mics for a wide‑ranging, slightly unhinged, fully caffeinated conversation that covers everything we’ve been up to since early March. Ted takes you behind the scenes of the interviews he’s recorded over the past month — the riders, builders, storytellers, and characters who’ve rolled through the virtual garage and left their mark on the show.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:27

Um yeah. What's I gonna uh do like the same sort of thing?

SPEAKER_08 0:30

The motorcycle man pushing buttons since 2015.

SPEAKER_04 0:38

With technical difficulties.

SPEAKER_03 0:41

So, okay. So anyway, uh yeah. Um we're here. Oh, it's a where we are? Okay, yeah. Hi, kids, boys, and girls. Uh welcome to the Modus Lycan Men podcast. This is episode 467. Oh. Yeah, and so we are 33 away from Big 500. Uh I am Ted, your host here in the uh V-Twin Cafe in the corner booth. Did you guys hear that scream?

SPEAKER_08 1:10

Yes.

unknown 1:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:11

I I didn't realize it was a scream, but now that I heard something. So we heard something. It wasn't actually a scream when you.

SPEAKER_03 1:18

Okay, well. And uh of course I got uh Tim Buck 2 here in the booth with me. I mean, hold hold on a second. Here we go, Tim. Uh Tim's uh this is Tim on the T. And this is Tim from the Rough. Can't hear anything. Okay, you didn't hear that? And of course we got Chris. And then we got the blue Shut the fuck up! But anyway, hey, welcome guys. How you guys doing? How you been? It's been this is this has been it's been four weeks since our last meeting. So yeah, so uh we're we're closing the gap. Not gonna do that, not gonna do this.

SPEAKER_08 2:06

We don't want to rush into these things.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

Oh man. How you guys doing? Good? Everybody's good? Yes?

SPEAKER_04 2:13

Yep. I'm sick today. Uh huh. What are you sick of now?

SPEAKER_05 2:17

I don't know. First time I got a sore throat. Uh huh. Uh first time it's first time in years.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Wow. You've been screaming a lot or something?

SPEAKER_05 2:26

I've been sleeping all day.

SPEAKER_03 2:27

Oh, really? Oh, you were off today. Oh, sorry, you had off today, did you?

SPEAKER_05 2:29

No, I took a sick day today.

SPEAKER_03 2:31

Oh, good for you. Good for you. Having some rest.

SPEAKER_05 2:33

Do you get do you get allergies and shit like that? Normally well, normally when I get sick, I get like an uh a sinus infection naturally or a lung infection. But this time I got a genuine sore throat. That blows.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Yeah. And you got is the pollen hitting up there yet?

SPEAKER_08 2:46

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_05 2:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 2:47

Everybody, everybody's like really yeah. The eyes water and the nose, the whole, the whole shebang.

SPEAKER_05 2:54

This fucking weather is what I think did it to me. Of course. I haven't had a sore throat and it's gotta be over a decade.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

I mean, because I mean Chris was giving us like daily reports, like that, you know, it's it's 60 degrees. It's 40 degrees, it's 70 degrees, it's 40 degrees.

SPEAKER_08 3:05

You know, they're they're saying there's a chance of snow tonight.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

Get the fuck out of here, really.

unknown 3:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 3:10

You get down into the 30s, that's why.

SPEAKER_08 3:13

Oh man. Well, we haven't gonna be like anything, you know what I'm saying? Like, but yeah, it's supposed to uh yeah, it's going down to 29 degrees tonight.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

Oh my god, really?

SPEAKER_08 3:27

And then um on Friday it's gonna be 70.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

Oh jeez. Yeah, we hit what did we get up to today? We got up to 70.

SPEAKER_08 3:39

It was like 72, maybe. Monday's gonna be 80, Tuesday's gonna be 87.

SPEAKER_03 3:44

Oh no, wait, right right away, no spring, right into summer.

SPEAKER_08 3:48

So it's go it's going from 29 to, let's see, that's Tuesday? Yeah. So within seven days, it's going from 29 to 87.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

Holy crap. Damn, it's gonna be well, I guess you can't go by rain or anything like that, because you don't know when that's gonna happen. But we have uh, yeah, we're pretty much we're over well yesterday was cold for us, cold. You know, we were in the 40s yesterday. But uh we're pretty much in the 70s and low 80s now down here. I don't know, Tim, would you say our pollen season is done?

SPEAKER_04 4:27

It's not as bad as it was, that's for sure. Yeah. Whether it's done or not, I don't know. But but it's a lot less than it was.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

Yeah. My my truck was yellow. It was absolutely yellow a week ago.

SPEAKER_08 4:38

Yeah, and we got the green trucks going on right now.

SPEAKER_03 4:40

Yeah, it's been it's been it's been crazy. But we're glad that is over with. And uh things have been busy. They've been very busy. I've had a bunch of interviews. Um I had uh an interview with uh first of all, you guys got beverages. I see Justin, you're drinking water. Chris, you got a beverage?

SPEAKER_05 4:58

I'm uh I'm gonna make tea shortly.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

Oh, okay. Tim, what do you got?

SPEAKER_04 5:03

I got nothing. What? My wife will bring me something shortly.

SPEAKER_08 5:06

I I have wine.

SPEAKER_03 5:09

Wine podcast with wine.

SPEAKER_08 5:11

A wine podcast, huh? Yeah, do a wine podcast.

SPEAKER_04 5:14

I want some wine.

SPEAKER_08 5:16

Is it is it decaffeinated like usual? Decaffeinated wine.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

Damn. How would that even work? That is show Ted. Decaffeinated wine. I think that's gonna be the title of this podcast. Decaffeinated wine. What are you drinking? Uh it is a yellowtail. Uh no, I'm sorry. It's uh yeah, is it yellowtail? Or no, it's a barefoot. Barefoot Merlot.

SPEAKER_08 5:46

The old Merlot, huh?

SPEAKER_03 5:48

I'm a Merlot guy. I like my red wine.

SPEAKER_08 5:50

Yeah.

unknown 5:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 5:51

I like red wine too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:52

I you know, the other ones are, you know, this is your Zinfandels, your white wines, and their your Cabernets. They're kinda they're too little frou-frou for me. You know, they are. They have no body to them. That's the that's the thing.

SPEAKER_04 6:09

Well, during our our golf game today, I had a birdie, so we had to have birdie juice.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

Oh, what kind of birdie juice did you have?

SPEAKER_04 6:16

Vanilla cream vodka. Nice. Vanilla cream vodka. Oh, so good.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Did your pubic hairs curl?

SPEAKER_04 6:25

No, I love that. It's my stuff. I bought it.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_04 6:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:29

Wow, I didn't know you had booze like that in your house.

SPEAKER_04 6:32

No, it's well, yeah, well, it's it's in my bag mostly. I got my flask. I have a flask in my bag.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Chris, our brother is a is a is a wino, man. Look at this. He's got he's walking around. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_04 6:43

I'm a vodka hole.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

He's a business vodka ho. Yeah, he's walking around with a flask. He's gonna be one of those guys on the uh on a public bus soon. Walking around, you know, with the flask in his inside pocket. My birdie juice.

SPEAKER_04 7:01

I used to get birdies a little bit. We're so bad now that if we all get a par in the same ball, we'd take a joke.

SPEAKER_03 7:11

Oh, so now it's par juice.

SPEAKER_04 7:13

Pretty soon it's gonna be bogey juice. We wouldn't make it through to the game.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

We wouldn't make it through. That's pretty funny. Bogey juice. That's what I drink.

SPEAKER_04 7:31

All right, well, Justin, I shot a 39 on one half. Nice.

SPEAKER_03 7:43

Just dead silence there. No response.

SPEAKER_08 7:46

Did you not hear me? Yeah, we hear me. I heard you.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

Just dead silence. Hey, so I had a couple great interviews over the past few weeks. Uh I spoke with uh our good friend from up in America. I spoke with Christian Dutcher, uh, and we talked, we talked America. Uh, you know, we talked, he told us all about what's going on this year. Uh man, oh man, I'll tell you what, uh, they got a lot of new stuff going on, they're doing things a little bit differently this time. And it's really, really cool. I think it's uh it's a it's a shame that uh we're not gonna be able to well, we don't know that we're gonna be able to go there or not, but it's a shame that we're not gonna see that, you know. It's it's awesome. But uh come on, share.

SPEAKER_04 8:31

Tell them some of the story.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

Share them. Uh do it. Oh, Jesus Christ. Why can't I?

SPEAKER_08 8:37

I think it's misleading that they don't show any pictures in the rain.

SPEAKER_03 8:41

You know, that is you know, that that is that that's true. You know, because because anytime they anytime, you know, you we do a marricade, it's we we the two years that we did it, um, it was it rained. It rained the first year a lot. I I don't recall it raining that much the second year.

SPEAKER_04 9:01

Well, he did change it to last week in May.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Yeah, they didn't move it up.

SPEAKER_04 9:09

It seems to be a better time.

SPEAKER_03 9:11

He said that uh, you know, when they moved it during COVID, they didn't have one COVID, but then the following year they were still worried about, so they moved it to September, and they said that uh the attendance was still kind of low. But when then the following year after that, they moved it to the last week of May. And they said since then the weather has been better and their attendance has been really good. Uh but the the town has has actually they're back to loving America, uh, and we know the revenue that it brings into the to the town, of course. And they um they've got a bunch of new rides this year, new guided rides and unguided rides. Uh some of the new the he told me that they've changed the rides around a lot up there. But the one ride continues to be a favorite among attendees, and that's the New York and Vermont covered bridges ride.

SPEAKER_05 10:05

I was just gonna say it's gotta be the covered bridges ride. That's the one I remember the most.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

He said that ride, they've been running that ride for a long time. It's it's been around forever. Um I pointed something out, and I mentioned this to Tim earlier. We the last time I spoke to Christian was 10 years ago. Well, and that was the last time we were at America. You believe it? Ten years ago. So, yeah, it was it was really interesting. But yeah, they're doing the cover bridges tour again. They got a they got a new ride called the Adirondack Experience. It's 240 miles, it's a long tour. Uh, but they go all through the Adirondack Mountains and hit the lakes and all that stuff like that. Uh, they have a bunch of other ones. Amish Country ride they do, and so it's a guided and unguided tour. That one's 120 miles. But uh one of the things that he told me that they're doing this year that they've never done before is that the town of uh Lake George is closing a portion of their main street for the rally. They're gonna have uh uh stunt show, bike show in the center of the street, they're gonna have all the vendors and stuff are gonna be there. So they said, yeah, they're closing the main street for the rally this year, which they've never done before. So it's gonna be pretty cool. Yeah. But uh it's uh May 27th to May 30th is the uh rally dates. And so yeah, it's now two weeks before Laconia.

SPEAKER_04 11:33

That one ride we did around the mountain that one time. Yeah, dude. That was that was scary when we were coming back and the sun was in our eyes on these windy roads. I mean, we're talking blinding sun.

SPEAKER_07 11:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:48

You couldn't see anything in the you would try and you know to stare at the road and the sign.

SPEAKER_05 11:53

Yeah, I was holding my hand up to my face. Yeah. That's right. It was bad.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

It's funny you mentioned that because Christian says uh they have he goes, so we got this new ride that we're doing now. We call it the Queen's Ride, the Queen's Loop, and it basically goes around Lake George. And I said, which is the ride that we did. Okay, but we didn't do it with anybody, we just did it on our own. And I said, Which direction do you go? He goes, Well, we go clockwise. I said, Good. I said, You don't want to go counterclockwise like we did because we had the sun in our eyes. In fact, I think it was on that ride that we that uh Tim had uh we had the headsets on, and Tim said, Hey Ted, what's that noise? And that's when the squeak first made its appearance. That's when the squeak first made its appearance.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Oh no, yeah, really.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

And I'm like, what the hell is it? Oh my god. That's funny. That was the beginning of it right there. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:55

The old squeak.

SPEAKER_03 12:56

The squeak. It persisted for years.

SPEAKER_04 12:59

What was that squeak again?

SPEAKER_03 13:00

It was what it the squeak ended up being was uh the belt was rubbing on the belt guard on the bottom, and it was slowly wearing a hole in the belt guard. And when the hole finally appeared, the squeak went away. Because I had nothing to rub through anymore. Wow. Yeah. So, but uh yeah, that was uh so that that was a that was a great interview chatting with him. Uh after that I had a talk with uh Court Butler from Butler Maps, and uh he's been on the show before, but it's been probably six or seven years since he's been on, and we talked about the the brand new uh map that they have out is Route 66 map, with which they have now. Why does this do this to me? Anyway, it's the uh yeah, it's the it's the Route 66 map that they have out, uh, which uh details everything about Route 66, even some of the old sections that uh used to for former alignments of the uh of the route. So this is a if you're so if you're you want to do Route 66 on your own, you could easily do it with this map. So it's it was that was really cool to talk to them about that. And of course they got some.

SPEAKER_05 14:17

They closed down certain parts of Route 66, didn't they?

SPEAKER_03 14:20

Well, yes, there there is one specific section they they absolutely closed because of the mining that was that's being done on either side of the road. In fact, many are wondering how it hasn't collapsed yet. But uh yeah, there are a few sections that uh that well they've some of the older alignments are are no longer because they're actually dirt roads that go through farm fields now. Uh there's some sections in the desert that are if you don't have a four-wheel drive vehicle or an ATV ADV bike, you're not going there. But uh there are still many, many, many paved sections. Like they said, there's 85% of the original routes still available to ride. So very cool though. It's really, really cool. Um then uh I had an I I I spoke which which actually coincides with this. I spoke with Jerry McClanahan, and that in uh that interview will be available next week. Uh Jerry McClanahan, he wrote a book called Easy66 Guide for Travelers. And this book is if you wanted to ride uh or drive Route 66 from Chicago to you know the very end in Santa Monica, or go the other way, whichever, or any portion you wanted to do, this book details absolutely every single little thing about Route 66, far more detailed than the Butler maps Route 66 um maps.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

Is uh Radiator Springs in there?

SPEAKER_03 15:50

I don't know that Radiator Springs is in here, and for people who don't know, Radiator Springs, uh I I don't want to talk to you anymore. So by the way, this is the hundredth anniversary of Route 66. Did you guys know that? Did you guys know that?

SPEAKER_08 16:06

I didn't.

SPEAKER_03 16:06

It is the 100th anniversary of Route 66. So in fact, uh Orange and Black Tours has said that their Route 66 100th anniversary tours are are already sold out for this year. So if you were thinking of doing it with a tour company, I'm sure other tour companies have it, but Orange and Black is sold out. And I'm pretty sure that probably most of the other tour companies that were doing Route 66 rides are probably sold out also. But uh yeah, so that's uh I've been busy doing that, and uh and and here we are. And here we are. So uh like I said, the Jerry McClanahan interview will be available next week. And uh that was uh really nice to talk to him.

SPEAKER_07 16:44

And uh that's it.

SPEAKER_03 16:45

Hey, listen, if you want to support the podcast, why don't you go to Buy Us a Coffee? A coffee.

SPEAKER_08 16:53

C-A-W-F-E-E.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

That's right, C-A-W- Coffee Coffee. You can buy us a coffee and or a pizza, however you want to do it. But we'll take whatever you want. And uh don't forget to sign up on our mailing list because if you do, you'll get information. In fact, I'll tell you what, here's here's what I'm gonna do right now if you sign up on our mailing list, I will send you a motorcycleman sticker and the brand new brand spankin' new South Sandwich Islands Moto Club Gritfikan chapter sticker. Everybody will get one. If you sign up on our email list, that's what you'll get.

SPEAKER_08 17:36

From when to when.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

From when to when you know when to when to when. There's no when to when. You just sign up. That's it. You sign up. So there's the sticker. If you haven't seen a sticker yet, there it is. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:53

Isn't that a big whaling place? Isn't that a big whaling place though?

SPEAKER_03 17:56

It is. You shouldn't have a whaler. No, well, it was a whaling place, but this is a this is a toothfish on one side and a walrus on the other side.

SPEAKER_08 18:06

And if you look closely in the background, you can see the pizza hut.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

Oh, see, dude, you know, you said that, and now I'm thinking I should have cropped a um uh a Pizza Hut in there. That's where I should I should have put a Pizza Hut in there. Oh, that would have been awesome. All right, well, it doesn't have a pizza hut in it, but it's the South Sandwich Islands Moto Club, the Gritviken chapter, and uh the stickers are available. So if you sign up on our mailing list, uh I will send you one. In fact, you know, fuck it. If you want a sticker, just let me know on the mail you want. How's that? Wow.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

That went quick.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

Yeah, you know what? But you know what? Hey, it doesn't matter. Just do it that way. And we got the new motorcycle men stickers available also.

SPEAKER_08 18:49

Um are they the same as the old?

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Uh uh no, they're they're just slightly different, slightly different um in that whoop yeah, stop sharing that. And just so you guys can see. It's it's a slight it's ever so slightly different, you know. Not a whole lot, but ever so slightly. Slanted. Yeah, a little slanted. It's just motorcycle men since 2015. And then it's got the uh correct uh website address on it. Because before it just had what I had, I think it had Motomen. I think it had the G the uh I think it oh yeah, I think it was Moto Motorcyclemen.us, but now it's correct. So motormenpc.com. So that's the end of that. And that's that. Uh what else is going on? Yeah, so yeah, so the new stickers are available if you want one, just let me know and I'll say just sign up on our mailing list and you'll get one. Uh those stickers, uh, there's uh by the way, oh, the resort that we stayed at when we went to um Americaid? You remember that? The second one, Chris. Do you remember the second one we went to? Yes. The one on the hill, the one where Tim's bike almost rolled into the lake.

SPEAKER_05 19:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 19:57

Oh my god. Why am I gonna be the birth and you pick out?

SPEAKER_03 20:02

Well, no, no, I mean it's changed hands. It's now called the Stonegate Resort. And they've uh they you know it didn't look like this when we went. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_08 20:14

That place looks fucking fancy.

SPEAKER_03 20:17

Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Right? You know, they don't show you.

SPEAKER_04 20:19

Wait, wait until you try to try to drive your motorcycle there.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Yeah, they got the they still got the cabins. Now they've improved the cabins. Uh yeah, and we stayed in I believe it was yeah, it was this one here. We stayed in one that looked like that. Um it's it was it was nice. Nice little cabin. It was a nice little cabin, you know. We we liked it. It was nice, but it wasn't this nice. They've also obviously improved things since we were there. But uh yeah, it was uh good stuff. Uh yeah, they don't what they don't show you is the uh 45 degree driveway to get into the place. Uh yeah, but they don't show it raining at all, which is a shame, but they should show that.

SPEAKER_08 21:03

It looks nice though.

SPEAKER_03 21:04

It is it's very nice now. I I yeah, I'm sure we could is it even how's it what's the price to stay there? Accommodations. I say cabin, so I'll say, you know, how much does it cost to stay there? Well, let's say let's let's put a let's put a marricade in there and just see how much it would cost to stay there. This is the place we went to. Yeah, this is the place we went to. Uh-huh. Yeah, they changed hands, so let's see.

SPEAKER_05 21:27

Uh they made the rooms nicer.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

Yeah, they did. They absolutely did. Uh, here we go. The cabin. There we go. The cabin would be$927 for four nights.

SPEAKER_05 21:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 21:40

Sleep six people.

SPEAKER_05 21:41

So I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 21:43

I can't I can't I can't I can't remember how much we paid when we went. That's not bad. That's really not how much we had.

SPEAKER_05 21:50

And the fact that they updated everything, because I remember when we went, they were not updated at all.

SPEAKER_03 21:53

Oh, no, okay. Everything in there was like like 1960s, I think.

SPEAKER_05 21:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:57

Yeah. And and the fact the restaurant up front wasn't even. It was we did eat in there once, right?

SPEAKER_05 22:02

No, we never ate there once.

SPEAKER_03 22:03

Yeah, we only worked there once, yeah. So Oh yeah. Uh that's pretty much it with that. So yeah, but they was pretty it was nice.

SPEAKER_06 22:13

What's in there?

SPEAKER_03 22:14

Going back. Anyway, uh where were we? So there's uh there's a there's a a new thing out. What's that?

SPEAKER_08 22:22

He's gonna be he'll be back in a second.

SPEAKER_03 22:24

Oh okay. But there is a new article out on HD Forums about the worst Harley Davidson ever made. You know, the uh the ten what I'm sorry, the ten worst Harley Davidson's and of course this is all relative to everybody's opinion. This is true. I and I think that really you have to use that and set the tone that way. You know, this is all it's all relative. And uh what's it's very suspect even for that matter. All right, so the according to this, the uh the article goes on to say the most legendary manufacturers have their low points, and even for Harley Davidson has built some motorcycles that not only shaped the motorcycle industry, but also pieces of fabric of Americana. With that said, not every model lived up to the brand's reputation. So, here we go. Starting with the Harley Davidson Shovel Head, late 60s to early 90s. What do you think? Of course, this is a custom bike, but wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_08 23:34

They're just saying the shovel head as a whole.

SPEAKER_03 23:37

Yeah, from the late 60s to the early 80s.

SPEAKER_08 23:39

One of the worst most that's fucking crazy.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

Yeah, and it is crazy. That's fucking stupid. Right, because you know what? That was the AMF. That was the AMF years, mostly. Mostly the AMF years. The shovel head.

SPEAKER_08 23:52

That's the number one.

SPEAKER_03 23:53

Yep.

SPEAKER_08 23:54

That's bananas.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

It is number two. They said the Iron Head Sportster. Especially the late 70s.

SPEAKER_08 24:02

Who wrote this?

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Exactly.

SPEAKER_08 24:04

What does that say? John Q Indian?

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Yeah, really. But they're saying that uh Harley Davidson Ironhead Sportster from 57 to 85, especially the late 70s. I don't know. They said the Ironhead Sportster was Harley's entry-level performance bike, but by the time the late 70s rolled around, it had become terribly outdated, like many bikes from the AMF era. The machine suffered from weak electricity.

SPEAKER_04 24:28

Everything at some point becomes outdated.

SPEAKER_03 24:31

Everything. Yeah. So that's the day saying number three, the Harley Davidson FXRT Sport Glide.

SPEAKER_08 24:54

Dude, those are so sought after.

SPEAKER_03 24:57

I know you're not kidding. From 83 to 94, FXRT attempted something Harley rarely pursued at the time, a sport touring model. It featured a frame-mounted fairing and an external chain drive, which both uh unusual for Harley. Unfortunately, the chain enclosure often leaked oil, and riders complained about vibration and awkward maintenance. While the FXRT has gained a cult following among enthusiasts, today its original reception was mixed at best. Yeah, I kind of think that um I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 25:28

Who wrote this article? God damn it.

SPEAKER_03 25:29

Uh some some some Porria Sadega Vagudi, wee wee. Yeah, fuck him. He doesn't he worked for India. Yeah, probably retarded. Uh the 1984 Harley Davidson Electroglide. I don't know. They say touring models are usually Harley's strong suit, but the mid-1980s transition period created some problems. The 84 Electroglide struggled with transmission durability and persistent oil leaks. Electrical issues and heavy and its heavy, cumbersome handling also drew criticism from riders. The model arrived as Harley was recovering from the AMF years, and quality control was still inconsistent. I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 26:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

I don't know. Uh number five, the Harley Davidson Softtail, mid-1980s.

SPEAKER_04 26:18

That's kind of cool looking, if you didn't.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

Yeah, I don't know which one that is. Uh Justin? What does that look like to you? I don't know. When the soft tail debuted, it was just a soft tail classic. Yeah, it was visually revolutionary. Its hidden rear suspension created a look of a rigid frame chopper while retaining modern comfort. Early versions.

SPEAKER_04 26:38

It almost looks like a sportster with extra with a bigger rake on it.

SPEAKER_05 26:42

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:43

Yeah, in a way. Uh early versions, however, were far from perfect. Some owners reported frame and weld problems, overheating engines, and unreliable carburetors. Later self-tailed generations improved dramatically, but the first few years were rough. Number six, the Harley Sportster 883 Hugger. Late 90s to early 2000s. I call bullshit on this one because I had a 94 and that thing was flawless in my experience. There was nothing wrong with that bike.

SPEAKER_08 27:18

So far, I'm not on I'm on I'm not on board with anything this guy said. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Yeah, exactly. I mean, uh the Sportster 83 hugger was designed for shorter riders with a lower seat height and compact layout. Unfortunately, the tight riding position made long trips uncomfortable for many riders. Some owners also reported clutch and electrical problems over time. The bike served its niche but didn't win widespread praise for comfort or performance. I don't know. I I had I had this exact model, it wasn't red, but I had this bike and I loved it, and I'm still kicking myself for selling it. It was a great bike. Great bike. That evolution engine was kick ass, man. Awesome. Uh number seven, the Harley Davidson V-Rod early 2000s. Again, uh, if I may use these words, fuck you, man, um, I totally disagree. Again, this shouldn't even be on the list. The V-Rod was definitely not a mechanical failure. In fact, its liquid-cooled engine developed with Porsche was powerful and reliable. The problem was its identity. Traditional Harley riders disliked the futuristic styling and high-revving engine, while sport bike fans preferred lighter machines with sharper handling. Despite impressive performance, the V-Rod struggled to find a consistent audience. As such, it has since become one of Harley's most polarizing motorcycles. I don't know. Comments?

SPEAKER_04 28:45

Yeah, if you look at it, by looking at it, it looks like something out of not out of uh a Harley. If you were to say, is this a Harley and you didn't know?

SPEAKER_03 28:55

Right, yeah. Well, that's that's the that's the debate.

SPEAKER_08 28:59

There's a huge again, I would say even I would even use the word cult, but there's like a huge cult following for these. Uh there's definitely I mean, was it everybody's cup of team? No, but I wouldn't say that it's anywhere near the degree that this guy's trying to make it seem like it is. I will say that the earlier models did have some downsides that they corrected in the later models. Downside suggests fuel capacity, they went to a bigger motor, uh just overall. Um but uh again, I I feel like there's only three motorcycles left. And I can already think of more than three motorcycles that I would have on this list. Already.

SPEAKER_07 30:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 30:10

You know what I'm saying? It's like I I just this wouldn't have been my list.

SPEAKER_03 30:14

No, no, you know, and the thing is what's interesting is I I follow uh probably three or four V Rod groups on Facebook, and there are a shit ton of people in these groups that just love V Rods, and everybody know there's so many of them out there. And I'll even go on record as saying if I could afford it, I would get a V-ROD. You know, to round out my 2003 collection. I would definitely get a V-ROD. No question about it.

SPEAKER_08 30:43

Well, so far you're working on having the the 10 worst bikes in your collection. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 30:53

Yeah, hey, and funny, in fact, is ready for this. I this I had found out that there is a V Rod rally happening in Michigan, right? And I looked into this, yes, there's a V-ROD rally happening, and I contacted the company that's running it, and but these guys are so cavalier and very Yeah, yeah, yeah, about it. The guys who are running it, you know, and what they and their focus, believe it or not, and they're in their it's they do custom bikes, but the majority of the custom bikes they do are all V-rods. Now you would think that if they're gonna do this rally, which I'm sure there is massive amounts of people interested in, uh, that you'd show more enthusiasm towards it. But I contacted the guy. He says, Yeah, okay, okay, sure, we can do that. Um, all right, when can we do it? Crickets. Contact him again. When can we do this rally? Uh let's let's do it, let's do it this day. And uh and then I contacted him and said, I said, I can't do that day because I already have an interview that particular day at that time, so when can we do it? Crickets. Contact him again. When can we do this crickets? So I contacted him like four or five times. He never responded. So my general rule is if I contact you for an interview and you blow me off, you're done. That's it. You're not on the show. So, but anyway, there yeah, there's a V Rod rally happening in Michigan somewhere. I'm sure you could find it very easily enough. But yeah, so the V Rod's on the list, number seven. So number eight is the 2000 Harley Davidson Dyna Superglide. Yeah. The Dyna Line was generally well regarded, but the 2004 Superglide developed a reputation for design flaws. Owners reported vibration issues, inconsistent build quality, and rebile reliability complaints relating to cost-cutting measures. Some riders also criticized the bike's handling compared with other cruisers in the same price range. Later Dynah models, however, improved the formula significantly. Yeah, don't you don't want to hear the Dynah boys say that, because I think well, the Dinah is just a big sportster. And probably they don't want to hear you say that either.

SPEAKER_05 33:12

Yeah, I I've heard people in the past call the Dynah the uh big girl sportster.

SPEAKER_03 33:19

I can't say I've heard that. Uh number nine, the Harley Davidson Street 500 from 2015 to 2020. This I agree with 100%. God, you know, Harley introduced the Street 500 to attract new riders and compete in emerging markets. Instead of expanding the brand's audience, the bike was a disappointment to many customers.

SPEAKER_05 33:42

Riders criticized the only bike on his list that I'll agree with. Yeah, exactly. I thought this bike was total dog shit.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

Yep. Riders criticized the budget suspension, weak braking performance, and cheap fit and finish. With just 33 horsepower from its 494cc engine, it also struggled on highways compared to that uh to rival beginner bikes.

SPEAKER_05 34:04

I see what they tried to do with this bike, and Harley should have never designed this bike ever. No.

SPEAKER_03 34:09

They they tried to appeal to the you know the European market a little bit with this, but I was never a fan of this bike.

SPEAKER_08 34:16

I will just to play devil's advocate for a second.

SPEAKER_03 34:20

Please do.

SPEAKER_08 34:22

Harley's big on having the riding academy where they teach riders, new riders, how to ride.

SPEAKER_03 34:32

Yes, and they use these bikes.

SPEAKER_08 34:34

They did, and I think that from that standpoint, I think it absolutely made sense because the reality was to be able to open up the doors to anybody who's branded riding, to be teaching that class on sportsters would have been intimidating to most. You know what I mean? I feel like you'd be limiting to the people that would be comfortable taking that class.

SPEAKER_07 35:06

Right.

SPEAKER_08 35:07

Uh so by you you open the doors to more people by offering a smaller, framed, lighter bike. The reality was if Harley didn't have that, now they have to teach their riding academy on other brand bikes. And so what's the first thing that happens is if you go out and you spend the weekend and you've never ridden before on a bike, and you fall in love with it, and you're so excited, and you're like, dude, I want to go do this. Mentally, you're like, Well, I already know that I can ride that bike, so maybe I'll go get that bike.

SPEAKER_07 35:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 35:48

So if they're teaching a class on, say, like Honda Rebels, and then you get these people that are all hot to try now, now they're like, hey, I'm gonna go buy Honda Rebel. You think you have a dealership to teach people how to ride, and then they're sending them to a different brand.

SPEAKER_07 36:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 36:04

So in theory, you almost need to have your version of the other brand's cheap bike.

SPEAKER_03 36:16

Yeah. I wonder what are they teaching on now? Uh either the Knightster or the Sportster S, probably.

SPEAKER_08 36:24

I have no idea. But the reality is is I I I think from like I think just from like a logistical standpoint, yeah, like I think it made sense.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 36:36

I I I can I can see that in-house at least.

SPEAKER_07 36:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:40

I think they actually still may have these for the classes. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_08 36:44

They may produce them just for the riding academy. They don't pr they may not produce them necessarily for sales, but they may be producing them for the riding academy.

SPEAKER_03 36:54

Maybe they're using because that's all they were good for.

SPEAKER_08 36:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:56

Maybe maybe they're using that uh that the Chinese-made uh Harley now, the uh what's it called? The X V 500 or something like that.

SPEAKER_05 37:05

I mean a tiny bike like that would be good over there.

SPEAKER_03 37:08

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I I don't know how it sold overseas or if it even did. I have no idea. Uh the number 10 is the Harley Street 750.

SPEAKER_05 37:18

Another shit one.

SPEAKER_03 37:19

Yeah, yeah. The Street 750 is the same bike, just a bigger engine. And this is what actually the the bike that they were using in the flat track series. And getting their ass kicked. So fucking dummies. The Street 750 is usually a larger version of the same liquid-cooled Revolution X engine. Despite the added power, it suffered many of the same criticisms of the Street 500, cheap materials, vague braking feel, and limited coring cornering clearance. The entire street lineup was eventually discontinued, making one of Harley's most short-lived modern platforms. Yep, five years gone. So that was that.

unknown 37:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:55

I would have told them before it even made that. Yeah, yeah, no, it was gonna sell.

SPEAKER_03 38:01

I I don't I'll I knew that was a bad idea from the moment they started doing it.

unknown 38:06

Right.

SPEAKER_03 38:07

Anyway, uh, and other other silly news. Harley Davidson, well, Wall Street has been uh beating uh beating up Harley Davidson because they dropped Harley Davidson's value uh amid recent struggles. So it's not exactly uh a secret that Harley has been facing their share of public struggles for years.

SPEAKER_08 38:28

Of course What is the share of Harley Davidson right now?

SPEAKER_03 38:30

Uh the shares recently trimmed from$23.50 to$22. Now I know that uh a few years, many years back, I think it was like around$28 or$30. Or I can't, I don't recall exactly, but um, they were hoping for$27. But uh yeah, they they're right now at uh$22, which uh you know they said because of weakening demand and price target and target cuts and all that. Um yeah, but you're saying that they're with the they have a price target now of$19 a share, which is pretty crappy when you think about it. But uh yeah, there I I think that's what happens when you hire a pizza guy to run your company. You know, maybe that's that's maybe that's not good. So but yeah, I mean they got all these layoffs happening. You've already had two rounds of layoffs with all of them, you know.

SPEAKER_08 39:23

So I on January on February 3rd, yeah, 2023, it was fifty-one dollars and sixteen cents.

SPEAKER_03 39:35

Yeah, man. See? Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 39:37

Because I was looking at his back then$21.18.

SPEAKER_03 39:41

Uh what was it back it was like 2000, right around 2001. What was it back then? I wonder what it was back then. Because I because that's when I was thinking about buying, but I just couldn't afford it.

SPEAKER_08 39:53

My uh my my thing only goes back five years.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

Okay. Uh oh, you're are you a stock guy, you investor guy?

SPEAKER_08 40:01

I dabble.

SPEAKER_03 40:03

You dabble, do you? Oh, you're not dabbling in uh golf clubs and golf bowls, are you?

SPEAKER_08 40:13

Uh I I well not not in my stock, uh not in my stock.

SPEAKER_03 40:19

Uh in uh 2001, yeah. Uh Harley's stock price was 37.63 a share. And in the end of that year it went up to$54.31. So and right now it's at$22.

SPEAKER_08 40:43

It's$21.80. It closed today at$21.18.

SPEAKER_03 40:46

Yeah, even lowered. So yeah, so now's the time. If you're interested, get into it. The only thing that's gonna save Harley Davis is if they lower their prices. But their investors are on the lower.

SPEAKER_06 40:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 40:58

What is it? It was in uh March 19th, it was$17 a share.

SPEAKER_03 41:06

March 19th of this year?

SPEAKER_08 41:08

Yeah. Wow, Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 41:14

Well, you know, it I I think that's what happens when you have$25,000 motorcycles.

SPEAKER_02 41:20

You know.

SPEAKER_03 41:20

But again, you know, premium brand kind of a thing. And that's good, that's gonna happen. I don't know. Um, that's it. Hey, let's I mean, let's do Bennet real quick. All right, we'll do Binnett. There we go.

unknown 41:33

There we go.

SPEAKER_03 41:34

Uh Scorpion helmets. Now look, they're offering high-quality innovative motorcycle helmets and Telico Power add an incredible value. So to learn more, get on over to scorpionusa.com. Protect your skull. You know, because you don't want to bang your head on the ground and get dopey. That'd be bad. And uh Wild Ass Seats. You can improve your comfort and ability to stay in the saddle longer with a cushion from Wild Dash Seats. So if you're tired of those painful pressure points and fatigue, get on over to wild-ass.com and you tell the real Craig Johnson that your ass hurts and you'll get a cushion. All right, well, you have to buy it. He won't give you one, but you have to buy it. And Viking Bags, a world leader in motorcycle luggage and one of the fastest growing motorcycle parts companies out there. Luggage for whatever you need, whatever you ride, and wherever you go. Viking bags. Viking! Viking bugs. And of course, as always, Tobacco Motorware. For the best in casual. Yeah. You know, it's funny because I was talking to Dave. I've been talking to Dave a lot over the past few days because he's buying motorcycles like a madman. In fact, he's gonna be on the podcast in a couple weeks. So, um, but yeah, um he's for the best in casual riding gear for men and women. There's one place you should be going, and that's tobacco motorware, and he loves it when we say get in Dave's pants. He loves that. Uh visit them at tobaccomotorware.com. That's tobaccomotorware.com. And our listeners will get 10% off your order when you use the code Motomen. Your safety is worth it. So get into Dave's pants. Use the coupa code, right?

unknown 43:13

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 43:14

Use everybody dance.

unknown 43:17

All right.

SPEAKER_03 43:18

So that's bit that's been it. And uh that's uh pretty much uh everything that I had on on on tap, unless if you wanted to talk about how many farts is too many farts. Uh we don't want to talk about that, I guess. But um that's it. Yeah, it's kind of it is kind of like that. No, actually I actually have an article here in front of me. It's it's about farting. Too many farts. You know what's funny about that? The let me tell you about the Chrome pole. Now, here's the thing. Now uh uh when I was originally had the Chrome pole up there with all the different survey things, I went to this website that had, you know, you can do make up these these polls, right? You do that. So you make up these polls things. So and And it was free. There's no problem. And I would make up all these polls into it. So I I decided to change it out and I cleared it all out. And then I went to go add new ones. Now it's like$24 a month if I wanted to do that. And I said, no freaking way. So I have to find another way to create these polls and put them on the website.

SPEAKER_08 44:19

Can't you just post a question on our Facebook page and let people answer?

SPEAKER_03 44:22

Yeah, I can. Yeah, but I wanted to put something on the website. Something a little, you know.

SPEAKER_04 44:26

Yeah, what numbers that are auto-generated.

SPEAKER_03 44:30

Yeah, exactly. You know, a little more official, if you will. But uh yeah, I was a little disappointed with that. So I'm gonna find something another site that can generate.

SPEAKER_04 44:38

Well, why don't you ask uh the winch to do it for you?

SPEAKER_03 44:41

I could. I could, but uh I'd have to run up some code on that. Okay, well I'll gotta let the winch do that. Have the winch to make up some code for me. I've been using AI a lot. Have you guys been using AI at all?

SPEAKER_08 44:53

Uh I mean, I don't use it for anything important. I haven't used it at all, believe it or not. Usually if I go on to like ChatGPT, it's because I like want to make a stupid picture of something that I can't find.

SPEAKER_03 45:05

Oh.

SPEAKER_08 45:06

I use it for nothing productive. I'll put it that way.

SPEAKER_03 45:10

Okay, well. That's how I did the the the you know the caricature of the four of us. That's how I did that.

SPEAKER_08 45:18

But I I use perfect example is that's how I made the uh the the you as the motorcycle man muffler man. That was pretty like that's the kind of shit that I use it for.

SPEAKER_03 45:28

Yeah, yeah, that's fine. That's it's it's that's that's semi-productive, you know. But I use I use it a lot, I use AI a lot more than I thought I would. I use a lot, I use it, I help it helps me with a lot of things.

SPEAKER_08 45:40

Well, keep using it because you're keeping me in business.

SPEAKER_03 45:43

I'm keeping you in business, all right. Oh man, but uh yeah, that's that's about it. I I don't have anything else to get into the shallow because this is the point where we where we usually start talking about something.

SPEAKER_08 45:55

Yeah, so the reason I was asking about the Chrome pole is because motorcycle helmets, right?

SPEAKER_07 46:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 46:07

I feel like when when I first started riding, it was like largely amongst Harley riders, it was largely half helmets, like that was like what you saw like ninety, ninety-five percent of Harley Riders wearing. Right? And I feel like now you see a whole lot more either three-quarter full face helmets and a lot less of the half helmets. So I you know, it's just it seems like that has kind of shifted. Um and so uh the reason I was asking about the chrome pole is because I'd be curious to see like as far as like people our listeners, like what they're what they're wearing.

SPEAKER_03 47:05

Yeah. No, I totally agree. I totally agree. You know, it's funny thing, isn't it? The reason why there's been this shift from the half helmet and to to the three-quarter helmet, even from the brain buckets, you know, all the way up, is because you have more people now who are doing YouTube and video stuff from their motorcycle. They're documenting more, so more people are are doing it that and and I think the people don't give a shit are the people who uh don't, you know. I don't know. I I I like wearing a full face full face helmet. Uh I realize it's it's tad warmer when it comes to the summer months, and I take my head uh helmet off and I'm sweating like a pig. But uh yeah, no, I think uh that's it's it's personal preference. And I I I would have to say that even on the hog rides that I've been going on, I've been going on a lot of hog rides lately. And I would say, like for example, we did a ride on Saturday, and there was we had sixteen bikes. Uh and of the sixteen and on that sixteen, but now there was also a couple bikes were and there was three trikes. They were of course two up. Uh we had roughly twenty-two twenty people at least. And I would say half of them were wearing full-face helmets, maybe more. And only a couple were wearing just the uh half helmet. Nobody nobody was wearing a brain bucket. And nobody was wearing a three-quarter helmet. You know, I have a three-quarter helmet that I wear occasionally. I don't wear it all the time, but I do wear it occasionally.

SPEAKER_08 48:42

With or without a shield.

SPEAKER_03 48:43

With a shield. With a shield. Yeah. And if I'm getting a little hot, I'll lift the shield up, you know. But uh it's a scorpion three-quarter helmet. Yeah. Yeah, but yeah, I'll I I don't I I have a half helmet. I haven't worn that half helmet in Oh, the last time I wore the half helmet was Sturgis 2024. That's the last time I wore it. Yeah. Yeah. So alright. Well, uh, do you guys have anything else?

SPEAKER_04 49:15

No. Nope. I alright, I don't think so. I gotta go get medicine.

SPEAKER_03 49:21

Alright, cool.

SPEAKER_08 49:22

We can uh we can then then there That's the end of the the end of the show, Alarm. All right.

SPEAKER_03 49:29

Uh we'll just we'll just pull the plug on as a so anyway. This has been episode 467. Um I'm Ted, your host, and of course, Tim Buck2 is here. Yep. And uh Chris the Joker Nipples 14-year-old guy. Yeah. All right, kids.

SPEAKER_00 49:55

Well Betty bottom, button butter, but she said this butter's bitter. If I hear that, you do hear that. So she went and bought a bit of better butter, but I didn't hear the other butter.

SPEAKER_03 50:04

That's very bizarre. I don't know why you didn't hear those. I have to check the output. Oh, it's so and then uh I'll check the outputs. Maybe I can figure out what else. That'd be cool. Anyway, anyway, so that's it, boys and girls. Uh, Tim. What's up?

SPEAKER_04 50:17

Ride like nobody sees you.

SPEAKER_03 50:20

Chris.

SPEAKER_04 50:21

Don't get sick.

SPEAKER_03 50:23

Right. Justin.

SPEAKER_08 50:25

Ride like Tim can't see you.

SPEAKER_03 50:29

Ride like Tim can't see you. Wow. All right. That's it, boys and girls. Thank you very much for listening, coming back to the show and checking us out. I really appreciate it. And uh, we will be back again in a few weeks. In the meantime, uh, we got an interview coming up next week. You're gonna hear that the interview with uh uh Mr. McClanahan, talking about the Easy66 Guide for Travelers. And I've got a couple other ones coming up. Got some great interviews going to be coming up soon, and special guests coming back to the podcast. All right, so that's it, boys and girls.

SPEAKER_04 51:00

And don't hesitate to email us.

SPEAKER_03 51:01

Yes, email us, tell us if you want us to talk about something, or if you want our opinions on something, or if you don't give a shit, just tell us. Um either way, just uh let us know. And if you want a sticker, let me know. I'll send you a sticker.

SPEAKER_08 51:12

And if you want to book a tea time with Tim, email emailcycle.

SPEAKER_03 51:23

Yeah. That's what that's what I'll do. I'll put a link to emailing Tim uh about playing golf with him. I'll put it on the website. That's it, boys and girls, back for listening. And remember, kid, you still speak the crap so you don't have to. Bye.

SPEAKER_01 51:50

Who is your dad? What does it do? Stop being such a bitch, stop being such a fucking asshole, stop being such a fuck whining.

SPEAKER_04 52:00

You live on the course that you play, right? What's that? Head lives on the course that I played. I played it every time. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:09

My my backyard is a good thing.