Why do Harley riders always wanna drag my Xs650?

[kassrocket]

Does anyone have any insight as to why blokes that pull up to me at a set of lights that are on Harleys tend to ask me for a drag? Was sitting at the lights last week minding my own business on my Xs650 . Nice sunny day. A fella pulled up next to me on his brand new 1200 Harley Forty eight and was eyeing my bike off. He eventually built up the courage to ask me for a drag so i obliged. Seemed like a nice enough fella. Used to ride a Harley iron myself so was curious as to what the outcome would be . So the lights hit green and off we went. Well i gotta tell ya. I honestly thought he would move ahead of me buy a couple of metres because he obviously had a little more horsepower. I was wrong. My Xs650 smoked HIS ass by about three metres ;D. And believe me he was struggling to keep up. I have cafe modded my bike with custom pipes etc and have stripped certain weight from it so im guessing this may have played a part. So proud of my Xs. Just funny to me that Harley riders ask me for drags. Its happened to me once before but i turned him down cause the road was wet due to rain.

[headcase]

Maybe they think an old ricer bike is easy prey. You can be pretty sure of one thing though...he probably didn't tell anyone about it.
Quite a few of the Harleys I see (and HEAR) out this way have owners that just want to make a cool noise and look badass doing it. What my off-kilter ears hear is mainly serious out-of-tune-ness. Timing cranked so far back the thing barely runs, grenades out the exhaust, misfires and bogs galore. But hey, it sounds cool, right? I prefer the sleeper approach myself. Fine tuned as far as reasonably possible, quite a bit quieter, and quicker than expected. Less weight always helps too. I haven't raced one yet, they don't give me a second look probably because I don't wear a black leather vest and open-faced helmet.

[grizld1]

Yeah kass, I also owned a Hardly Ableson once (forty-odd years ago, when I was too young and dumb to know better). Why did you even wonder about the outcome?

Headcase, it's not just your neighborhood that's full of slow, loud, mistuned HD's, and in that respect the Hardly boys aren't the only offenders. I'm with you-- I like a motorcycle that moves faster than it looks. There are motorcycles and there are fashion accessories, there are riders who've paid their dues and there are guys who've paid money for style so they can posture at meets and bars. At the bottom line, he who wants to look like a badass should either know how to ride accordingly or keep a low profile if he wants to avoid embarrassment.

[XS Rod]

Back in the 70's to mid 80's... I used to destroy shovelheads... I was "slightly" modified, but at about half the displacement the word "destroy" fit quite well.

[prmurat]

I had a XLCH in -76 and remember vividly being smoked by a XS... I had to mumble that I was in the break-in period... what an humiliation!
Philippe

[headcase]

Grizld - as far as paying dues, I've owned a street bike for only 3 years, so that probably barely qualifies. A hinged neck has kept me off them for almost 2 decades. I did however spend a lot of my teen years on a snotty low-tech torque beast Kawi enduro that converted itself to full-dirt status by kissing a curb at an obscene speed. I eventually ate the chrome off the bar after an unexpected airborne maneuver. Spitting teeth automatically gains club membership, right? I digress, sorry.
I wouldn't mind owning an H-D someday, but it would be quiet, comfortable, sorted-out and strong. Low tech isn't always a bad thing, if it's done right. Still...a big-bore 2 valve pushrod motor may not rev like a smaller OHC, but it is going to make some lowdown torque (if it's not tinkered to death)which is where I would think a Harley would leave most in the dirt. I've seen them wicked quick, but those are few and far between and cost a mint to do it right. I truly think a lot of the bad rap Hogs get is due to the incompetent wrench surfing on it more than bad design. Then again, I'm no expert on them.
I shall now stifle.