y2keglide

Jake brakes are a compression release basically, an engine brake not air brakes. They don't have to be loud but some trucks (loggers often) run straight pipes and un-muffled engine brakes. With a good exhaust system they aren't very loud at all, as for being legal in town it depends on the town. Some places have signs posted no engine or exhaust brakes and others do not. Some post no un-muffled exhaust brakes and some at certain hours of the day. I'm a driver, it's part of my job to know these things and pay attention to signage when I roll into a town. The main purpose of the "Jake" brake is to pervert brakes from overheating and failing going down a long steep grade. Brakes can get too hot and completely lose friction or even catch on fire if held on too long holding back a heavy load going down a big hill.

I find it amusing as well,I have friends I've ridden with that ride GoldWings and BMWs. Whatever gets yer knees in the breeze is what I say,it's all good.

I ran 880s a long time and yes poor wear, not so with the new 888s. Much better wear same great handling.

Almost forgot, I like my water hotrod too!

Very nice rides both, sure miss my old FXR. I had it ten years and did well over 100,000 miles on it. It was down all the roads you listed and many more, some of my favorite haunts! West coast rules! Remember the days before helmet laws? <sigh>

I would put those things 2nd & 3rd with the rider being #1, I survived bikes with lousy drum brakes horrible suspensions brick with wheels handling and tires that by todays standards are laughable for quite a few years and many many miles before I got anything even remotely modern by today's standards.

I hear that, a lot of cars I wish I had back but I just wish I could just be retired. lol Almost 63 and see no end of working in sight at this point. Not without selling my home and moving into a cardboard box anyways heh heh.

You simply do not understand and I see in this post the smack of stereotyping. Sure there are those types but as a whole H-D riders are as diverse a group as you'll ever find. In my travels I've meet people touring here and there from around the globe and from all walks of life,doctors,nurses,cops,firefighters,truck drivers,housewives you name it. I don't bar hop or cruise around town dressed like a pirate, I have no use for clubs or group rides much preferring to go alone or with one or two others I know well and trust to ride with. I avoid cities like the plague, I like country roads or long stretches of desert highway and even when I take weeks long multistate tours I tend to stay off the freeways and out of the cities as much as possible. As for the sound it's much more than just the sound it's the whole experience the vibes the feel of the machine connected to me but I wouldn't expect you to understand,I don't believe I stated that the sound puts me in a zen state at least that was not what I was trying to convey. The sound is only part of it and no other engine sounds or feels like a Harley,I hate the sound of even fire engines with loud pipes as there's no cadence that reaches the soul. Again I wouldn't expect you to understand and for the record (again) my bike has mufflers and there are some folks that ride completely stock H-Ds which are as quiet as any other make as they have to build under the same EPA guidelines as any other make. Your perception is based on your little area and what you see and hear there,mine is based on covering most of the country and meeting people along the way. It's been a million mile journey that continues as long as I can throw a leg over, hopefully quite a few years yet!

Gotta love a big block Chevy,I had a '69 Camaro with a 427/4 speed. Originally a 327 small block car but I got my hands on the Corvette 427 and installed it my self in the days of my youth. I kept that car for 14 years, wish I had it back sometimes but my LS powered '01 SS gets a heck of a lot better gas mileage and is plenty fast .lol

You've obviously never ridden an FXR series Harley, they had a hand built frame designed by Erik Buell when he was an engineer at the H-D Motor Company. Very different animal than the typical Harley and I know all about Buell's sportster based engines as well as their Rotax powered machine built towards the end and even the early machines before they used H-D power and the first H-D powered Buells which used the rare Harley XR1000 engines. Buell designed his own frames, they were not Honda Frames that's a myth as is the OHC water cooled V-Rod engine being built by Porsche but that's another story. I've ridden Buells ,very fun but too uncomfortable for my stature and age. I've owned several Sportsters including a later model rubber mounted Evo powered bike, I still have an English shift 1974 Iron in the garage (last year for right side shifting). As you say "The Look" is one of the reasons the FXR series was replaced with the Dyna and the other is the cost to manufacture them. Did you know they even made a sport touring version with a fixed fairing and hard bags?. There's not many around as the also didn't fit the profile sort of like the old Ironhead based café racer they built in the mid 1970's the XLCR.

In total disagreement, most of the time when I ride or drive there's no one there to "Look at me" and I could care less. The bike and car in the garage I don't use for transpo I use them for fun, I have a different daily driver for transpo.

Tires are a big deal, I've been running Metzler 888's on the Hog and my friends get left in the dust and can't figure out why, they have the stock HD Dungflops still on that the stealer sells.

It wasn't about handling characteristics, I have ridden both and as for Harleys there are many different models over the years with many different frame styles. I had an FXRS years ago (Erick Buell deigned frame) and it would run through the corners with those Beemers no problem,it was an early 1984 model and the lightest weight modern big twin Harley ever built . My Electra is a heavy weight touring bike and it handles better that people give it credit for.

Well different strokes for different folks as they say, a saying I've heard comparing a Harley and a Honda Gold Wing (could also be a BMW) They say riding a Gold Wing is like going to a symphony where as riding a Harley is like going to a rock concert. I also like loud fast cars (go figure) and have owned quite a few, Camaros being a particular favorite. Current car is a 2001 Camaro SS with far too many mods to list here, built for canyon carving it's a 6 speed manual with plenty of extra horsepower and nothing left of the stock suspension.

Not a chance, my Harley makes it's own kind of music and it's got a primal beat to it like no other make has. Mind you it has mufflers not straight pipes like many (been there done that in my younger daze). I become one with the machine and get into a kind of Zen thing where nothing else maters. I would liken riding a sterile electric motorcycle verses a Harley to riding a carrousel horse rather than a real live flesh and blood horse that stomps and snorts and can even be unruly at times. I too live in the PAC NW up in the foothills of the Cascades where some of the best riding to be had on planet Earth resides and believe me I've been around (somewhere near 1,000,000 miles worth on 2 wheels over 50+ years). My view from home and one of my bikes (2000 Electraglide Classic -196,000 one owner miles)

What a great story! My uncle Joe (Mom's closest brother) was Army, he died in the Philippines in 1943 and is buried in Manila. I wish I knew more about him, unfortunately Mom is 94 as of today (yup it's her birthday 4/19) and has Alzheimer's. She was the youngest of 6 children and the only still surviving. She's late stage now and unable to communicate, hindsight is 20/20 but if only I had learned more when I was younger. <sigh>

This is why socialism fails every time. No incentive to excel in anything, why bother when there is nothing to gain. With capitalism the sky is the limit, it breeds creativity because there are rewards for one's hard work and invention.

I'm mostly white, a little injun blood in me (more than Elizabeth Warren but I don't claim to be a native American). I'm not particularly angry but it does wear thin being bashed all the time and told I should hold my head in shame for being white. I must have missed the day in school when they handed out the "white privilege cards" because nothing ever came easy for me. I had ADHD before they had a name for it, dropped out of high school and struggled for years trying to make my way in life. Had the rug yanked out from under me more times than I can count but clawed my way back surviving the Carter era recession and later the Obama era recession. Now I'm pushing 63 years of age, making good money driving truck and have a pretty nice home in the country but it wasn't white privilege that got me here it was perseverance and a lot of hard work, I've worked with blacks and Hispanics and never got any preferential treatment because I'm white. At this point I don't see an opportunity to retire any time soon if at all, SSI isn't even beer money at 62 and I still have a mortgage. I'm not angry but a little disappointed that after 50+ years working (started at 10 picking berries by the flat) and paying into the system what they offer is way below what's considered poverty income. My Dad survived the Great Depression, he turned 18 just before the crash in 1929 and had been on his own since he was 13, I was raised by a man that expected self reliance. He came from poverty and made his way on his own through the worst of times and expected the same from me. Am I angry? Well no not really but I do get tired of all the PC BS and being called out for being a white male when I made my own way in life through the school of hard knocks. Here's a pic of my Dad in his last year of school (8th grade) in the 1920's before he ran away from home due to stepdad issues, no white privilege there, half the class were Indians. (lol) He's the ornery looking cuss in the lower right corner in the overalls ,no school bus for him he rode a plow horse to school and worked on the farmstead when he got home until dark. No white privilege there either but he was never bitter or angry about where he came from, he became a home building contractor and did pretty well.

Thanks,I pretty much came to that conclusion myself so it's not likely going to happen. I just don't have time for it and I live out in the sticks 30 miles from the city. Too bad ,had a guy that really wanted my Speakerlab Super K's but he's in Ohio and I'm in Washington (state).

I think he's horny.

I'm no spring chicken either at 62,when I was in my early 20s I knocked around in a '69 Camaro with a big block 427/4speed. Sure miss that one.

Ahh yes, I love LS power, I have a 2001 SS Camaro LS1 6 speed manual with just 89K on the clock.It's loaded with leather and all the caddy stuff as well as a kick azz stereo. It's got LS6 heads with a lumpy cam and associated parts, long tubes and no cats (400rwhp), aluminum flywheel and LS7 clutch with a Tick Perf. adjustable master,lowered on Sam Strano springs with Strano sway bars,UMI tube K-member and A arms and all tube torque arm panhard rod and lower control arms with subframe connectors and a driveline loop and riding on Koni shocks. It's set up as a canyon carver riding on sticky 18" Michelin Pilot Sports,275's up front and 315's in the back. Fun little car that can run with cars that are a lot more expensive.

Has anyone here ever shipped a set of K-horns? I posted my Speakerlab Klipschorn clones for sale on craigslist and got a call from a guy in Ohio who wants them really bad but I'm out on the West coast in Washington state. Is it crazy to even think of shipping these beasts out there? I tied UPS and FedEx shipping calculators but didn't have much luck trying to get a price. I can palletize them but I don't have a forklift to put them in my pickup so I guess I'd need to have a carrier with a liftgate and pallet jack pick them up. I was a little surprised to get a call from someone that far away but after a chat I'm sure he is genuine and not a scammer. I'm thinking shipping costs may well be a deal breaker but if someone has found a way and done it before I'm all ears.

I sure don't miss the 55 mph days but I can still get into trouble if not careful, the T-800 I spend most of my time in is a 70 mph truck, we have a couple that will run 80+. I'm pretty careful where I let it all hang out, there's places out here in the far west where you can really haul especially if you know where the speed traps are. I haven't had a ticket in 10 years (knock on wood).

Nope not an owner I just drive the same truck most of the time ('07 KW T-800/CAT twin turbo c15 Acert/18 speed) and I'm paid hourly which is another thing I like about this job. I don't sweat it when I get caught in traffic or have other delays, that said I'm not one of those lazy hourly guys I bust *** and run hard,61.75 hours this week and 69 hours last week. The boss appreciates my work ethic and treats me pretty well not to mention I'm one of if not the highest paid driver he has. Most weeks are somewhere in the 50-60 hour range, weekends are usually optional but I work quite a few Saturdays to support my hobbies like Harleys hotrods and buying stereo gear such as the Klipschorns I just picked up. lol I get in other trucks once in a while depending on what needs to be done and who else is working what job etc.etc..