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questions from a new rider.

5K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  Sona71 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone!

Just a quick background, I am 23, M and 5'10 190lbs. I have very limited riding experience and have been trapped on an island in the pacific the last 3 years of my life with little freedom due to being a hospital corpsman attached to U.S. Marines.

I thought it would be exciting to try out the new street 750 and will pay it off with cash very soon.

I am set to rotate back to San Antonio Texas in January 2015 and will have a brand new Street 750 waiting for me.

When I tell people what I am purchasing I have heard some comment about the bike. Hearing things along the line of its not a "real" Harley or it's designed for women. Other things I hear are I will get bored with it after a few months of riding and want to upgrade to a larger bike therefore losing the money I invested on a new Street 750 opposed to a used sportster or softail.


Sorry for the long intro. Anyone else out there get similar feed back?
 
#2 ·
Welcome peckerchecker from an old jarhead FMFPAC...... You will always drink free if I am around Doc...

I have a 750, though my son, 24, rides it all the time I do get limited visitation.

Rule one is I don't give a shitt what some else thinks... Adopt that and you will have no problems. In San Antonio you are going to love that 750.

I speak from experience on this my not a real harley club includes. 03 VRSCA and the XG 750.

But I wore a pocket protector in school and played violin so I am used to going against what the in crowd thinks.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hello Everyone!

Just a quick background, I am 23, M and 5'10 190lbs. I have very limited riding experience and have been trapped on an island in the pacific the last 3 years of my life with little freedom due to being a hospital corpsman attached to U.S. Marines.

I thought it would be exciting to try out the new street 750 and will pay it off with cash very soon.

I am set to rotate back to San Antonio Texas in January 2015 and will have a brand new Street 750 waiting for me.

When I tell people what I am purchasing I have heard some comment about the bike. Hearing things along the line of its not a "real" Harley or it's designed for women. Other things I hear are I will get bored with it after a few months of riding and want to upgrade to a larger bike therefore losing the money I invested on a new Street 750 opposed to a used sportster or softail.

Sorry for the long intro. Anyone else out there get similar feed back?
First of all welcome to the forum. You certainly came to the right place with your questions.

A little quick background so you know where I'm coming from. I'm 5'9", weigh in at about 200 lbs, I'm a Sportster owner that also purchased a Street 750. The Street is obviously smaller but both motorcycles are equal when it comes to how well they fit me.

No, the Street 500/750 were not designed for "women" but were designed for the 18-30 demographic and are suitable for individuals of both genders. It was like the misplaced moniker that Sportsters were a "woman's" motorcycle. It's pure BS in both cases. The motorcycle doesn't really care if you're a man or a woman.

I've been a Harley rider for many years and I purchased the first Street 750 at my local dealer. I've taken it there many, many times as well as riding it extensively (before tearing it down to build a chopper out of it) and not once have I heard any disparaging comments from other Harley riders about it. There was some resistance when the V-Rod was introduced over a decade ago by the old air-cooled Harley crowd but over time that resistance has all but disappeared. Today a "Harley is a Harley is a Harley" and it doesn't matter if it's the air-cooled Harley, the V-Rod or the Street Harley.

The Street 750, and the Street 500, are both excellent motorcycles that have more than enough power and performance to last a lifetime. Don't get sucked into the "displacement inflation" mindset because these are both top of the line motorcycles from a historical perspective. It is a nimble and exceptionally fun large (from a historical perspective) motorcycle to ride. Yes, you can go "bigger" but you do so by sacrificing performance from a riding perspective. My Sportster, while also an excellent motorcycle, doesn't corner as quite as well as the Street (both corner very well of course) and for someone that loves the curves the Street is a pleasure for me to ride.

Someday you might want a larger motorcycle to use for other purposes and that's fine. I like my Sportster for long road trips that I take every year for example. I really preferred the Street 750 for day trips riding the many mountain backroads we have here in the NW (I live near Seattle).

Now comes the "real test" of being a biker (Harley riders are bikers while those that ride other brands are typically "motorcyclists" LOL). If you do want another Harley for other purposes someday in the future you won't sell the Street, you'll just buy another Harley. There is the Harley owners credo.

If you have space in your garage then you need another motorcycle.
If you don't have space in your garage you need another garage.

Bbally goes one step beyond this believing if he has space in his living room he needs another motorcycle but that goes beyond the standard Harley owners credo and there is nothing wrong with that. LOL
 
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#4 ·
First, thank you for your service. With your family, all of us look forward to welcoming you home in January. Before I purchased a motorcycle, the salesman I worked with asked me a lot of questions about how and where I intended to ride and about the accessories I wanted. When I went to the dealership to test ride a Sportster they had a new Sportster 883 with every accessory I said I wanted and a stock Street 750 for me to ride back-to-back. If I had preferred the Sportster the dealer had a number of other Sportsters both new and used for me to try. When I said I liked the Street, they offered to let me ride the 500 and the 750 back-to-back. Try everything you're interested in before you make your final decision. Pick the bike that you will be comfortable riding. StoneFree makes a good point. Not every motorcycle will be perfect for every type of riding. I have three bicycles because I do different kinds of riding. I believe in the the N+1 approach: N being the number of motorcycles (or bicycles or guitars) you currently own and N+1 being the perfect number.
 
#5 ·
Not a real Harley... and a girl's bike... yeah, typical response from the close-minded diehard traditionalist geezer glide riding bandanaheads.
I have one of each; a VRSCR Street Rod which is "not a real Harley", and a 1200C Sportster aka the "girl's bike".
To each, their own... some of us choose to ride more refined bikes, that will actually corner and handle well. Some choose to ride a behemoth, overweight road couch for comfort. Some ride both.
Bottom line is that YOU need to decide what style riding YOU want to do. If you want max comfort and don't mind dragging hard parts in mild corners, get a big twin. If you want a non-traditional styled bike that handles better, and has a more refined engine, you have VRods and Streets to choose from within the world of Harley Davidson. HD is after a new riding crowd with the Street, as they were with the VRod.

I disagree with StoneFree in that the "resistance" to the VRod has disappeared. It is still still quite strong along with "resistance" to the Street, just go over to other HD forums and read. The hatred is alive and thriving. It is both entertaining and irritating at the same time.
Fortunately, I think the majority of HD owners are respectful of bikes outside the HD Big Twin world.
Personally, after riding my "R", I don't ever see myself buying another air cooled HD. Heck, I loved my Sportster and never ride it anymore. I plan to test ride a Street 750 next spring, maybe the Sporty will be the down payment.
 
#8 ·
I disagree with StoneFree in that the "resistance" to the VRod has disappeared. It is still still quite strong along with "resistance" to the Street, just go over to other HD forums and read. The hatred is alive and thriving. It is both entertaining and irritating at the same time.
Fortunately, I think the majority of HD owners are respectful of bikes outside the HD Big Twin world.


I would say that the vast majority of HD owners are very respectful of all motorcycles but admit there is a very small and annoying group of HD owners that are highly vocal in condemning the V-Rod and Street. They are easily ignored.
 
#6 ·
When I test drove my Street 750 back in the middle of July, I had one of the mechs ride his 03 night train with a stage one on it and I asked him to race me up the road to the light that was about 3/4 of mile away, When I put the hammer down on the street, the mech couldn't catch me. I was told by the sales guy that I was the first owner of a street 750 in Wisconsin. Not sure if that is true or not but I was happy just the same. Of all the Thursday night rally's at the Harley Davidson Museum I attended, I was the only Street 750 or 500 there even though there where all sorts of other brand name bikes there. I'm averaging 50 to 55 miles to the gallon. The bike is now parked in the garage full of non alcohol gas with fuel stable with black queen size fitted sheet over it and a trickle charger attached to the battery until spring time next year.
 
#7 ·
Great feedback.

I really appreciate the responses so far.


Glad I came across this forum so I can pick the brains outside some of the close minded testosterone fueled coworkers of mine. 95% of them don't even ride or don't know much about it themselves.

I could tell them I won the Nobel peace prize and they would find a way to tease me about it still. Got to love the comradery associated with the Navy/Marine Corps team sometimes.

I am so excited to finally get on this bike in two months.
 
#11 ·
I really appreciate the responses so far.

Got to love the comradery associated with the Navy/Marine Corps team sometimes.

I am so excited to finally get on this bike in two months.
You Guam or Diego Garcia? Or some other unable to name island.
 
#9 ·
Don't worry too much on what others say. Women ride all kinds of motorcycles including Boss Hoss, there is no exclusive motorcycle for MEN. I would any day pick street 750 over 883s. There are decent customization options and many more will be available over time.
Buy it without any worry and have fun
 
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