[2LZ]

All great point, guys.

My line of thinking is this. I like all bikes, whether they're Japanese, German, Swedish, Chinese or American or take yer pick. Does that mean I'll run out and buy a brand new "anything" other than a cheap Chinese bike online? Nope. Whether it's a Harley, Yamaha, Kawalski, KTM, etc..... I simply don't want to spend that kind of money, especially with dealer markup, fees and whatever else the dealer dreams up to line-item. Heck, even my brick and mortar China dealer here is an average of 500.00 more than buying from a drop-ship website with zero after-sale service. I get it, he has to keep the doors open, but I'd rather assemble it myself.

Now, if we want to broad brush a particular group of riders (a bad idea to begin with), at least here in Nor Cal, I can tell you this for certain. I get far worse attitudes and "noses in the air" out of the wanna-be, super ADV rider on his Beemer, that's had the entire catalog of accessories thrown at the bike and rider, than I get out of any Harley guys I run across at our local haunts. That said, I give every human a chance for a smile and some good conversation, regardless of what they ride or how they're dressed. After all, I just pulled up on my China bike. They're giving me a chance, right?

Back to the thread at hand, I think it's a good idea for HD to try a bunch of other things. They're finally getting involved with other manufacturers (in earnest) and that's probably a good thing. As some may remember, after I sold my last Harley, I became a huge Victory supporter. "The New American Motorcycle" was the saying.....until the closed up shop on me and put all the eggs in the Indian Basket. To me, Victory always needed an entry-level bike. A Sportster, if you will. You have to get people to come in through the door, and an affordable, smaller, shiny bike will do just that.

Speaking of Sportsters, Mrs. 2LZ would love to have another. Her little 883 was a hoot to ride and never gave a lick of trouble. Looking back, I should have got the 1200 kit for that, instead of spending a bunch of money upgrading her to a brand new Kingpin. She barely touches it now because we never highway ride anymore. I bet if she still had her little blue Sporty, she'd probably be on it all the time.