Why do so many Harley riders hate Japanese bikes and the people that ride them, mainly sportbikes?

ego
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because they dont have a history, and generally have a completely different use. ones for cruising/being cool, ones for racing.

i have no clue why theyd hate them though.
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Guru is right- EGO, most Harley riders (every one Ive come across anyway) think they are much better than everyone. Sure they are well built bikes but they handle like a supermarket trolley, scrape around every corner and vibrate enough to loosen every filling in your mouth, why bother when Jap bikes are beautifully engineered.
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I am gonna preface this by saying, I have been riding since I was 8, obsessed with bikes. I have owned MANY, but I have never owned a Harley, because, I just think they are pretty much all show/vibe.

That being said,I think 2/3′sof Harley riders are POSERS. Yuppies, dropped in, bought a hog, took a class, bought all the gear ( chaps/jackets/skullcaps’ voila, instand biker. I am not a real Harley guy. They are rare, Most of the people I have seen riding Harleys are noob riders. Watch them they are nervous, unsure of turns, awkward. I do not say this to rip on Harleys. They ARE cool in there way, but many of the people riding them today are wanting ot be cool by proxy of OWNING a Harley. Ultimately, it does not matter. Riders ride, whatever they can, as often as they can, as far as they can. If I could have ANY 3 bikes, one would be a Harley for sure (probably a wide glide cause I love the look), the 2nd would be a Yamaha FJR1300, and a BMW K1200LT. Cool, Power/comfort, and engineering/comfort.
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They don’t know why. They’ve been told to be that way by other yuppies who don’t know either. It would make more sense to hate Brit bikes, since so many of us are Irish.
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Why do so many Jap bike riders hate Harleys and their riders?
Think I ‘m wrong? While I’ve been on Yahoo Answer’s since only October, I can not recall a single "question" ask by a Harley rider bad mouthing Jap bikes. BUT, there is a slew of "questions" (actually, more like a rant or a tirade in the guise of a question) by non Harley riders bad mouthing Harleys and the people who ride them. Hmm….This should tell a person of normal intellegence something.
To briefly cover some of the rants poised in the motorcycle section:
First, this is 32 years of riding Harleys talkin’
No, I do not wear leathers in 100 degree weather. My leather wearing is dependent upon the weather, or the predicted weather of where ever I’m headed, which is sometimes 100′s of miles away.
While I do agree (see….I can agree sometimes) that it seems the majority riding Harleys now are "posers" (or RUBS [Rich Urban Bikers] or YUPS, etc), it’s because it’s the "trendy" thing to do.
Because of this, they get bored and move onto the next trendy thing, which explains why there is a lot of Harleys for sale with less than 10,000 miles (even though they usually sell for close to the original price).
While I do not cotton to this "new breed", I tolerate them, trying to help them along as much as I can, until they move on to something else. These are the ones, I feel, that started the trend that by putting on a fancy paint job, and a few bolt on parts, it makes it a "custom" __________ (insert model here).
Back in the late 70′s, I took a lot of crap from Jap bike riders about "That V-Twin engine design is such a dinosaur, they need to get rid of it and get modern". So what’s the story now? Not too many Jap companies do not sell a street cruiser without a V-Twin engine! My, how times change!
As far as hating Jap bikes, I don’t "hate" them, they’re just not my cup of tea. One of my riding buddies rides a Honda (can you get anymore Jap bike than that?) Shadow 1100. If I hated Jap bikes and riders so much, why would I ride with one?
Bottom line, at the end of the day, a used Harley will go for a lot more than a Jap bike of the same year and style. Which I feel really irratates the Jap riders, and is part of the foundation of THEIR hatred, and ensueing rants/tirades.
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Heres my 2 cents
I am a Mercedes Benz Factory Trained Technician. I can tell you all about precision engineering. And I can also tell you for a fact that the HD product is about the mickey mouse lame excuse for a machine point blank. Where you see an intricate machined casting on a German, Brit or Jap bike, you see a barn door hinge held on with stove bolts on HDs Its throughout the entire line, they seriously are about the poorest designed hunk of junk ever unleashed on americans, and yet, we love them. Not I , but the other americans. Nothing burns my axx more then to see a 20 yr old wearing a black leather with 40 patches, a bandana, carrying a skull cap. My god imagine going to the boy scout lodge wearing every merit badge, and an eagle scout patch? NOBODY WOULD. I see it every time there is a bike meet. Some young guy walks into the leather section towing an equally clueless gal, and 15 min and $500 later out walks 2 more wannabe posers. they change like the weather. soon he is talking tough and hanging large, like he has done something. And sooner or later, they hop into their $350 car and drive home, where if they are lucky, sets a Japanese motorcycle, that will safely and reliably transport them to anywhere they want. We KNOW there isnt any HD there, the market is held way beyond the real value of those road clods. You know i was born in 1960. The HDs in the 60s were such crud you have to own one to bewleive it, and your uncles stories dont cut it. Imagine a bike that is so underpowered, its 1st gear wont get you across a 2 lane road? Shift before your across the center line of the road your crossing, and about 8 mph. A bike that wound to its explosion point and dumped wont lift the tire an inch. The simple fact is America has spoken loud and clear to HD 3 times now… NO they were bankrupt in 68 and AMF was the ONLY bidder! Yell all you want about AMF, they tripled the quality of all the alloy castings, and kept the dinosaur alive. Then in the McCarthy style, when they were about to sink again, they taxed the better bike to keep the turd afloat. finally, as they were about to puke for the last time, the current owners took over, and by SELLING HATS, VESTS AND TSHIRTS ONLY, made the company live again. Anyone that hasnt been to a Harley Dealer lately, you need to go see this. 5 million dollars in wannabe wear, and 10 bikes. they sell calendars, posters clothing, all kinds of nauseating garb, to people that cannot afford the stupid bike. I mean lets get real here, the things arent american made, they arent from Milwaukee, and above all, if you take all the Jap parts off it, you will need a wheelbarrow, and some pails, cause you aint gonna have much. And SO, Why do they hate Jap bikes? you tell me, they are RIDING ONE. Honda Goldwings are made in USA. there is more american labor paid, and more american parts on a GOLDWING then any Harley made. In fact if you take all the Jap parts off a goldwing, you can ride it home.
Heres whats happening. Idiots with their head scarfs way too tight are passing on imagined stories of HD greatness and complete ignorance to precision engineering to their tattoed leathered up young audiences. the fact is HD has escaped history 3 times now. And every time its from low quality compared to the daily market. Will there be a 4th? Honda, in contrast has never lost a dime in its history. If it wasnt for the so called harley legend, and the bikes were sold by their own merits, HD wouldnt sell another bike ever. I defy anyone to go ride a new honda Touring bike, and then drive any darn HD you want. and then tell me you really want that shaking 1912 designed catastrophe, assembled in cleveland from mexican and jap parts? I hardly think so. Ask the dealer to show you an HD with 150,000 miles on it. then go ask a Honda Dealer. What more can be said?
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Hate is much to strong a word. No hate. Jap bikes have got somewhat of a ‘young and dumb’ appeal. They’ve got a bad rap for younger people dying/crashing on them. That and depends where your from. In Ohio nobody cares. A uniquley west coast thing. Ride happy!
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In response to Gary M’s post. Have you ever seen a jap bike with a 150,000 miles on it?? Answer is probably no.
Jap bikes are good in their own merit but are quite disposable and get outdated fairly quickly not mentionning the gastly paint schemes and colors.
A harley is indeed a poorly designed motorcycle. Changes and improvements are few and far in between. Thing is you still see to this day harleys dating back to the late 40′s on the road cause it’s mechanic, as unrefined as it is, goes on forever. It is also the only motorcycle that will put a smile on my face when I throw my leg over it. I am 23 and own a Harley Davidson Electra Glide ’96. All the stories I have heard never detered me from getting what I really want. I don’t hate jap bike riders. I see them everyday drop me at the lights, take off as if the devil is behind them. 100 k up the road they’re on the side of the road with sore backs as I ride past comfortable as.
As it has been said, two ends of the spectrum.
I believe in the harley moto: Live to ride, Ride to live. No matter what you’re riding it’s all about the pleasure you get from doing so.