Customarily Minded: September 2004

This Brand vs. That...

I cruise through quite a few motorcycle forums, and while nobody can ever stake a claim at having seen every one of them, I just like to keep an ear to the ground about motorcycling in general. One forum I like to drop in on from time to time is dubbed "MC101: Respect, Truth, Brotherhood". It's a forum based on the various motorcycle clubs and any/all that are interested in reading and learning a bit about this culture and lifestyle, yet it maintains a position of neutrality between the various clubs, meaning they aren't there to recruit or discuss individual club issues but instead exists to be a source of valuable information.

Anyway, one post I saw there before really stood out. One of the regular club guys there made a comment about a new person that dropped in (all guests/visitors are asked to make an introduction) and this new person mentioned something to the tune of "Don't hate me because I don't ride a ________ ." This particular member, whose name and club affiliation won't be made available (even if I did know I wouldn't divulge it, all I have is a forum surname and out of respect I won't divulge that either. Just know I received permission from him to reprint his words), was a bit shocked about why someone would make such a statement. Being a ______ owner himself, he had this to say about certain brand recognitions and loyalties:

"I have owned many different horses over the years of all models (Breeds) some were papered and some were not. For my use I favor quarter horses, color makes little difference, performance, disposition and talent is my only firm criteria.

I've owned quarter, paints (Not a breed but a color) appaloosas, Thorough Bred etc. Like in regards to a Harley, any horse sells better, at higher prices if it is papered (registered) and if you're selling to a woman or a non-horse person with money the color can be important. A horseman could care less about color and unless it is being used for breeding or possible breeding papers don't mean much either.

Once a horse has proven it's worth and ability to perform, papers are moot unless they are performing on Quarter, or Thorough Bred race tracks or some breed specific event.

The very best horse I ever owned was a Grade mare. Grade means simply a mutt in horse jargon and she had a nice head gentle eyes and that was it. She was short to a fault, narrow shouldered, nice flanks and the smartest ol' bitch I ever dealt with. I must add here also that I never have liked mares only owned a couple in my life. For my purpose Geldings are usually better. I paid $150 for her as an 8 year old as a ranch horse. Over about 4 years she won for me $36,000 and change in the roping arena (And I was no great roper), she won for me $11,000 approx. as a Dogging horse (I leased her out for winning percentage as a Dogging Horse), and on weekends kids aged 6 and younger rode her for exercise. I could tell you dozens of stories about her showing her talents and intelligence. She started me in the movie horse stunt business won me several hundred to a couple of thousand in match horse races against track horses that their owners couldn't believe she could be that fast and challenged me to prove it. She never lost one for me. I finally sold her for $18000 to a Champion Calf Roper when she was 15 when Grade horses were selling for $200 tops. I sold her to buy a magnificent papered Quarter Horse Gelding with flaxen mane and tail. AND I still dream and miss her almost everyday. Of course she is dead now and the guy I sold her too made a lot of money with her as I followed her career, he sold her at 25 years old to a little girl learning to barrel race and she got her started in the winning circle, she died still active at 32. The little girl now a woman (Very attractive and an ex-World Champion Barrel Racer) buried her in their pasture with a tomb stone and I went to pay my respects several years when passing through New Mexico

I guess my comparison is this. We bikers like to compare ourselves to the free spirited wandering cowboys of the past. But we fall short when we have some kind of "make" specific infatuation or obsession. Little "Sugar Bit" might have been a Honda to some but she was pure gold to me. Harley Davidson is a name not a performance. You can call a Horse "Silver" or "Magnifico" but only the horse can earn the name. Why don't we as bikers require the same insistence on quality and proven performance and dependability. I have an eye for horses, developed over 45 years of dealing with them, (I am NOT a horse trader, that is not my business) but why can we (Some do, some obnoxiously don't) accept with at least tolerance those that choose a different brand of bike to feel the wind in their faces. Are we the free spirits? Or are THEY the real free spirits? I use Harley as a place of reference, not a make to slam. Many truly believe in Harley Davidson, and to them my complete respect and agreement. I use Harley owners only as a reference because they seem to have the largest faction of "Buy it for the name" owners.

But for those of a true different mind set, If you aren't buying it for the resale value, does it matter what name brand that you ride or just that it is what you are satisfied with. Is name more important than performance? Is color more important than ability? Does what Joe ride mean a tinkers damn to Bill? I like Harley's, but I'm not always crazy about Harley owners. Ride what you like, and like what you ride."

Coming from such a person, I felt this really speaks volumes about the fallacies of certain brand dominance issues. When you stop and consider that these words were uttered by someone whose sole lifestyle is based around his motorcycle, that one item that is the be all/end all topic of a motorcycle club, those words hold far more weight than some yutz who feels the need to berate your ride based on his small minded and often non-motorcycle based lifestyle generated opinions.

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