I find the ride home is usually therapy enough  

Hay Buster , one of my ridding group ask " Why would you ride something like "THAT" when ya got a Sportster to ride ?   I laughed at him and replied very quickly "Couse that is one FUN machine"    Then I ask him if he wanted to go do some twisties with me ? and Laughed at him some more .          I haven't had to embarrass him any more since then , But next time we passed some "Twisties" , I motioned for him to follow me --- but he wouldn't/Couldn't and he knew it.    We're still friends and I wait-up for him when he falls behind !  

Hay ya gota catch your Fun where ya can sometimes , ya know !  

Ya probably guessed it by now --- he has Trike-ed  his HOG and now he is not so much afraid of it.    

Dave wrote on 03/28/17 at 04:34:28:


I have to agree with that. I do have a Harley along with the S40. When ever I ride the S40 on group rides, some do give me trouble (with a smile) but also comment on how cool it is to see a 1 lunger. People that do know bikes will and do appreciate seeing some one ride a big single.

I've gotten a few ignorant comments such as - it sure is small, I didn't know they made bikes that small for adults and nice scooter etc.
whatever. I couldn't care less.

Conversely one of my neighbors who owns a big hog came by recently to learn all he could about my bike and decided he's going to sell his hog and buy a S40 instead. He's 64 now and planning a summer long tour where he'll be living and working out of his truck. He wants to bring a bike along so he can cruise around locally at each destination without taking the truck off the campground but his hog is too much of a beast for him to load and unload at his age. I let him pick up the rear of my bike so he could feel the weight of it and he's sold. I need to remember to tell him when I see any good deals in the area.

Other than a mechanic friend of mine who keeps prodding me to get a bike with "multiple cylinders",  I've never had anybody "diss" it.  I have had a few bikers surprised that it was a 650.

The funniest thing is when I get clueless customers at work telling me what a pretty "Harley" it is!

Buster, You need the sticker I have on my tool box at work for your fender!

It says "I don't give a f___ what you think "

I got a ? For you , Are you grinning when you get off it after a good ride ?

Cause that's all that matters !

I've stopped worrying about what other riders think. If they ask I say it's a 650 which is plenty big enough for me and is a lot of fun to work on. If they give me a hard time about what I ride I tell them nicely it's none of their business.
My '02 is starting to look a little rat with a couple dents in the tank, modified sporty engine guards and beat up saddle bags and my brain bucket has a big "BITE ME" on it. I like my look and if it offends well that's too bad.