Re: Harley Davidson Dyna ride height

You *have* cottoned on that it's a long way from being my only bike?

Actually, I do my own maintenance - although I *do* leave the shimming,
these days, to the experts. I've shimmed a Duke, and to be frank, it's a
PITA if you don't have the shims to hand.

See above. Re-shimming a two-valver is relatively simple and cheap. And
mine's only needed shimming twice in its life.

 

As others have pointed out - the point is that the US *didn't* 'join
in'.

Germany declared war on the US - not one of Adolf's wiser moves.

This often has to be repeated to Americans because so many seem to
believe they came in of their own free will, out of altruism, which is
simply not true.

Had that not happened, it is arguable, maybe even probable, that the US
would not have gone to war against the Nazis at all. Remember, the
Lend-Lease bill, a year or so previously, scraped through Congress by
*one* vote.

And had the Japanese been wise enough not to attack Pearl Harbor but
simply to attack the British, who knows? What reason would the US have
had to prop up the British Empire?

 

Made me grin, too. He has a half-decent SOH, for a Septic.

 

I've ridden both thousands, but not 10s of thousands.

the HD is nice at anything up to 70-80, above which - if it manages - it
gets somewhat out of shape. The Pan will run at 100-110 indefinitely,
and handle and stop far better.

Oh, and it has a 200-300-mile range.

Horses for courses: if I wanted a sedate trundle, I'd take the Harley.
if I wanted to cross europe in a hurry, I'd take the Pan.

 

*yawn* and neither have you.

*yawn* a septic complaining about other peoples ignorance ... and they
say septics don't get irony ... mind you most of them still think that
irony is like bronzey but a different colour.

*big yawn* but we're still a damn sight better than septicland.

 

Pish! I did a 120 mile run on an HD1200 in the US a couple of years
back and it was fine for the first hour or so then the vibration, and
stupid seating position made the rest of the journey intolerable. Glad
to get rid of the thing at the finish up, my Bandit would have done
the job more easily and in more comfort than a Hardly Ableson.

HDs are purely for twats who think that owning one will make them a
little "rebel" in their middle-class, humdrum, 4x4, 2.5 kids, boring,
corporate cubicle lives.

 

Because the Japanese had no quarrel with the British, apart from simple
expansionism. Their anger was primarily focussed on the USA, as in mid-1940
Roosevelt had imposed a trade embargo on iron, steel and oil products,
autorised an assets freeze and closed the Panama Canal to Japanese vessels.
This was in retaliation for Japan's continuing prosecution of the war with
China [Nanking Massacre etc.], the earlier invasion of Manchuria and the
invasion of Indo-China in the summer of 1941. Britain had gone along with
this policy, probably as part of Churchill's strategy of drawing the USA
into the European war.

Japan had/has no natural resources, and the oil boycott was starving it.
The choice was simple, the Japanese could either withdraw from China or go
for broke by capturing oil resources. The had seen the effectiveness of an
air-strike on warships at the Battle of Taranto. Displaying the national
characteristics we have come to know and love [!], they just did it bigger,
better and faster at Pearl Harbor. The US ambassador in Tokyo had warned in
January 1941 that an attack was being planned, but he was such a buffoon
[I've read his memoirs] that Washington simply didn't believe him.

Many in the Japanese government thought it was suicidal, and that the
round-eyes should be left to fight themselves to a standstill. They were
over-ruled. Similarly, many of the top Nazis counselled Hitler against
declaring war on the USA - despite their treaty obligations to support
Japan. Speer, for one, knew that the war was lost from that moment and it
was simply a matter of time.

 

But, we in Euroland have completely different expectations of a bike. We
need agility, manoeuvrability, excitement and economy. They need something
which will lope along for hours, days, weeks at a stretch, on the pilgrimage
to Sturgis and so on - with room to stow a couple of Glocks and a large
styrofoam Starbucks mug, of course. HDs are fine [and fun] in the US, large
land of straight lines, wide roads and huge horizons, but an HD in Lower
Taddlington on the Twinge looks as ridiculous as a Piaggio in the middle of
Denver. With few exceptions, transplanted cars and bikes are more about
making a fashion statement than anything else. You wouldn't, with half a
brain-cell, cross Death Valley on a step-through - although there's a
thought for the next UKRM challenge - and you wouldn't go grocery shopping
in a Hummer.

 

If you had the resources with which to comfortably drive a Hummer, someone
else, an employee, would be doing your grocery shopping and cooking. <G>

I like all motorcycles, but I tend to favor agile, light bikes. Yet, I still
long to own a Harley. In the interim, my Vulcan VN800B will have to do.

Truthfully, if I could buy a brand new Yamaha RD-350, while weighing 170
again, I would prefer that over just about anything else. I don't ride
motorcycles on long trips. That is what automobiles and motorhomes are for.

Ed Cregger

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Stephen! amazed us all with this pearl of wisdom:

<Pops head over parapet>

This thread's fucking great!

 

do you really think so? It's fucking shooting fish in a barrel time,
and to think - some of the participants of this mong-bash are critical
of the attempts to send Tony to the loony bin.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, darsy amazed us all with this pearl of wisdom:

OK I confess; I've not been following it closely and I've not read every
post but the few I do stumble upon, if I don't hit the "mark thread as
read" button have been amusing for me.

In the 10am sense of amusing, obviously..

 

Uh, like a 1971 R75/5 thats got 187K on the odometer?

--
Tony D
1971 R75/5 boxer
2004 R1150 Rockster
Philly Hoodlum©#37
SENS (less) LFS#38 PHS
BS#149 FYYFMFFY

 

Not anymore , I think they stopped that in the late 70's . She also had a
sidecar , which is now hanging on the wall at a restaurant next door to the
local dealer - Oddly enough , they call it the Sidecar Cafe ...

--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
<shamelessly stolen>
none to one to reply

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Snag amazed us all with this pearl of wisdom:

So that'll be none then.

Go on, name them. Just for me.

 

74 CB750 - which right now needs a petcock rebuild
'01 EX250 Ninja , which we got for my wife , but she hasn't learned to lean
yet , and *somebody's* gotta ride it to keep the battery charged
1939 Harley WLDD , which was my dad's ...
78 CB750 , which is destined for choppah-hood and a bigbore kit as soon as I
can scrape up the money .
And the 750-800/month is only on the 76 FLH , I don't keep track of the
rest , cuz this ain't a contest to see who rides the most .
So there ya go , Whining Loser , a list of my "small but growing "
collection .
--
Snag aka OSG #1
'76 FLH "Bag Lady"
BS132 SENS NEWT
"A hand shift is a manly shift ."
<shamelessly stolen>
none to one to reply

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Tony D amazed us all with this pearl of wisdom:

Hey, Loz, Don't you think it's funny that they bastardise your name? I
had one of 'em call me whinging loser!

BWhahahahahahashahahahaha!

We have enough of those cunts coming over here.

Only the other day I had to *prove* I lived in England and at my current
address just so I could register at a doctor!

 

Yes, they certainly do. Also, you can order the three speed tranny,
foot clutch, drum brakes, and bias ply tires if you want. Sadly, EPA
regulations force the MoCo to equip the bikes with fuel injection and
cats, otherwise I'm sure you'd be able to order the bikes with
Tillotson carbs and straight pipes.

They are, after all, in business. One does well in business by giving
ones customers what they demand.

 

Well, at least now we know what all those former Brit auto & motorcycle
workers made redundant by the collapse of their domestic industries are
doing these days...

 

....British automotive and motorcycle industries, like those of the
Germans, would be prospering today.....