"You meet the nicest people on a ...

[Stig / Major Tom]

Kymco at Tim Hortons, at 6am!"

Whatta ya think?
Was it HD in the '60s that started the bike  popularity in this country?
Personally,  I think it was Honda, with their simple and friendly advertising.
Chatting up the night help here at Tim's.....
Stig

[MJR]

The movie industry did that.

[CROSSBOLT]

Movies may have lured some wannabees into choppers and Harleys but Honda lured average folks into the joy of two wheels. The world was and is full of attitudes of Michael Parks and Marlon Brando where the bike was a prop for the movie, a device like a costume, incidental to the story of conflict and bad attitudes. Honda made the bike nearly a centerpiece, a magic machine to take you places outside. They made it fun to run to the grocery store to get that one thing missing for dinner. The motorcycle is an antiquated creation, one of the first powered vehicles to exist. While it has been refined to a great degree, it still is an antique. It is like open cockpits in airplanes: you are exposed to the elements to better judge how to work with them rather than in spite of them. Honda was the genius that returned this to everyone, not just the malcontent in black leather.

Karl

[ole two wheels]

Well put Karl. Of all the motorcycle companies that sprang up at the turn of the century, Harley Davidson is the only true survivor, and it came very near extinction, in the seventies. Indian has made many attempts at a comeback and some had, a Harley designed V-twin produced by S & S. They are currently being produced, with their own engine design, but once again are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Harley on the other hand employed a new concept developed by Charles Dimmings that used computer controlled flow charts to control the manufacturing process, resulting in a much better product. ie: Harley's that did not require drip pans in the showroom. Today's Harley Davidson motorcycle is as dependable as any other motorcycle made, including Honda. Much more could be said, but this speaks to the initial subject.


Mac

[Stig / Major Tom]

Here's my post script :
I started riding motorcycles because of the Honda print advertisements - and absolutely in spite of HD's, and the movie depictions of motorcycles and riders.
Bronson is a singular exception, in my book. No one can dislike the sound of his bike....(is he the only humble HD rider ever to walk the earth?)

Perhaps voting here will follow along with the size of the first bike you owned and loved?

I started with a two small Hondas.
Stig

[Stig / Major Tom]

PPS:
Another thing in favor of Hondas was their sound.
They did not annoy people with that 2 stroke blatt, or hack-sawed-off HD idiocy.
Stig

[TroutBum]

Maybe it was the Kawasaki jingle. "Kawasaki let the good times roll".

[MJR]

Of all the motorcycle companies that sprang up at the turn of the century, Harley Davidson is the only true survivor, and it came very near extinction, in the seventies.

I remember Harley Davidson advocating protectionism and petitioning the Reagan administration in 1982 to raise tariffs which 4 years later they advocated reducing. They did rebuild themselves very much to their credit. They took advantage of government loans during the 2008 financial crisis as did many other companies due to those financial bastards raping the system yet the companies using the loans in some cases were made to pay the price.

[ole two wheels]

It might be interesting to know, that when Charles Demmings presented His SPC programs to American industry, they weren't interested so he took it to Japan. Honda was one of his first customers. Only when Honda began sending small motorcycles to the U.S. in the early sixties and they took off, did U.S. industry take notice of not only the quality but the PR . This coming from a land who up until that time was renown for their cheap junk. If it said "Made in Japan" then,  was like saying, "Made in China" now. As for Hollywood and their out law 1%'er movies.. That does not mean that everyone who rides a Harley is like them. I spent 6 years of my life Riding for the SON, on a Harley! I was with the CMA, the Christian Motorcyclist Assn. Lots of bikes at those rallies. A lot of then were Harleys and for 2 hours every morning and 2 hours every night, singing and praising GOD almighty.
The 1% er's are just. that. The other 99% are good law abiding, hard working folks, Just like every one else. The bike does not a man or woman make. If you want to single out a group or a certain type of two wheel vehicle that's giving motorcycling a bad name, why not turn your attention to the sport bikes and bikers.


Mac

[Stig / Major Tom]

I'm  talking acceptance of motorcycles that seemed to begin in the 60's with Honda's PR and quality.
Of course there remains a % of HD riders who ride motorcycles with no mufflers.....and those kids who ride sport bikes in 1st gear with no muffling.
50 yrs ago Honda changed the way bikes and their riders were perceived. Not to mention the ease of operation and reliability  which were now expected.
(I am the Chaplain of a Vietnam Vet. Of America group....so am familiar with skewed public  perceptions. Wasn't  so long ago that we were all crazed killers with PTSD.)......Now 1% are crazy scooterists.
Stig

[ole two wheels]

Good reply Stig. I half way expected you to come down hard on me for my rant. You are right in saying that Honda played a huge roll in changing the image of motorcycles in America. A sort of balancing of the image that Hollywood had helped create of the bad boys terrorizing small towns and guzzling beer. The 1% er's all ride HD, no doubt about that, because HD best suits the image they want to portray. If memory serves, Brando rode a Triumph in The Wild One, but HD still took the heat. I love Harleys and think that they have a timeless design that borders on a work of art and the potato, potato sound they produce at idle is music to my ears. The only engine made that makes a better sound is an old Stirman at idle.
I thank you for your service as a chaplain of a Vietnam Vets. group. I am especially partial to nam vets, because that was my war also. I served with the 173rd airborne in that era. I don't see scooter folks as 1% er's. They are some of the finest folks I know. Cheers


Mac

[TroutBum]

I remember Harley Davidson advocating protectionism and petitioning the Reagan administration in 1982 to raise tariffs which 4 years later they advocated reducing. They did rebuild themselves very much to their credit. They took advantage of government loans during the 2008 financial crisis as did many other companies due to those financial bastards raping the system yet the companies using the loans in some cases were made to pay the price.

HD needed that to save it's sorry arse under VOIT. Management under VOIT just let HD quality fall to pieces. It was the vocal assembly workers and a new investment group that really put HD back in its graces. Thank goodness dedicated employees came to the rescue and kept an iconic American motorcycle company from extinction.

I agree Honda had and does have a lot to do with MCs being as popular as they are. My favorite Hondas in the 70's were the CB750K and CB750F (which I owned). Great bikes.