Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes What's the deal with Triumph v Harley Davidson?

Well I wouldn't call it "worrying about Harley"....it's just some good natured ribbing most of the time. In fact, I hear more derogatory comments about the modern day "Motor Company" from chopper forums than on this forum. A lot of the old guys riding Panheads and Shovelheads, and even EVOs really dislike the modern Harley RUBS/Yuppies and the way H-D caters to their ilk with everything under the sun sold at the dealer from stuffed bears to jars of pickles being sold by a retail staff of females who would look more at home behind the cash register at the mall than on the seat of a Harley.

I think it must be a brit thing too, I just read the thread about BIR, and they cant even tolerate Triumphs that aint like theirs.

A lot of the newer Triumph owners seemed way concerned about what the Harley riders think. I think its an inferiority complex, always worry about what the Harley riders think. Whether or not the Harley rider will accept me or say hi to me, or gosh, I hope that Harley rider waves to me. I have never had one problem with anyone who rides Harleys. I am too busy enjoying myself to worry about what another rider thinks. I don't look down at any rider but alot of the Harley worriers do the same to the import cruiser crowd.

I think a lot has to do with the fact that these bikes ( In Harley owners minds) are the equivalent to the Sportster. Most riders hold the Sportster in disdain but when asked they usally had owned one in their past. A lot of members deciding factor to buying their SM/BA was price. You receive a lot for the price but its still on the economical side. A lot of members would love to have a harley but would never pay for one. These I find are the ones that make the biggest stink about Harley's. They somehow have to demean the other brands in order to validate their purchase. Deep inside they want to be accepted by the Harley crowd and get their feelings hurt when someone doesn't wave or doesn't park their harley right next to theirs.

I am in no means defending Harley riders(myself included) but you have to admit Harley has cornered the market on the Toughguy biker image. With this in mind too many of the new weekend warriors feel a sense of entitlement when they lay that $20k down to own one.


Fryguy

Ditto FRYGUY's analysis.

I have to say ditto.... the HD's love my Triumph's (2) and in fact put my mildly modified Bonnie-A at the front of most of the toy runs around here.....usually the patches view most of the 1200 mile a year HD riders and Japan bikes as wannabes, however the local Trumpet riders are viewed as true bikers around here and always visible since we usually do not wear all black.....Personally, the tradition of 100+ years ends up with a friendly rivalry and respect between the two marquees......but what ever you choose to ride is fine,,,as long as you really ride ! AND even if you don't ride alot...bless ya, you help keep the motorcycle industry going..........P.S. The reason for most brand specific clubs was for the inter-change-ability of parts when a brothers bike went down.....worked better if everyone road the same make.

I too like HD's just fine. But I LOVE my BA. Better fit, better feel, way better price. And you don't see one on every street corner. All my HD friends give Triumph a big thumbs up. They've been around long enough to know about tradition. I've always like being a bit different than the rest of the crowd. I stiil recall my 7th grade science teacher riding to school on his chopped 650cc Triumph in 1970. Must have made a deeper impression on me than I realized. Thank you, Mr. Keyes, wherever you are!!

Okay my two cents worth. I own a Harley and I also just bought a Triumph Speedmaster. I like both bikes because they are so different. The Speedie was about half the price of my Harley and is just as much fun to ride, just in a different way. As for the people, I know a lot of people who ride Harley's and do not look down at others who ride different bikes. If I had my choice (and a lot more money) I would buy a couple more bikes that are different from my Harley and Triumph. Maybe a sport bike, the Speed Triple would be a good choice, or something else completely different from what I already have. Why, because it would be fun to ride something totally different. My first bike was a Honda in England about 30 years ago. I now own a Harley because I can now afford one and they are cool bikes to ride.

If someone buys a Harley just to be a part of a social crowd, what is wrong with that. Your typical 45 year old male or female is not going to buy a rice rocket and hang out with a bunch of 20 somethings, not because they do not like the 20 somethings, but because they probably don't have a lot in common, and probably don't have the backs to ride an uncomfortable bike for a long period of time. Also they probably have kids at home about the same age and want to get away from them for a while.

Anyway, enjoy riding and socializing with whoever you like and don't worry about who rides what kind of bike. If you see an old guy on a Harley and you think it is a cool looking bike, let him know. You might be surprised when that old guy on the Harley is friendly and tells you what a cool Triumph you have.

Maybe some of the other members of this forum are different than me,but I don't really see much of this "attitude" you refer too. There has been rivalry between Triumph and HD for decades but that doesn't mean they don't respect the other riders and their bikes. If you want to see "attitude" talk to a Chevy or Ford fan. When I bought my Dodge Ram, the only thing positive my brother-in-law could say was "Nice tires". I think most America/Speedmaster riders feel a closer kinship with the HD crowd than with anyone else out there. That is definitely true for me, but it sure won't stop me from giving my riding buddies a good natured slam every chance I get.I almost never bad mouth Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki etc. Why bother? I work with a few guys who bought Harleys for the image and I put them in the same class as the guys on their Honda-Davidsons. I also work with a guy that has over 98,000 miles on his Softail. He doesn't have any tattoos or ponytail and he isn't worried about looking or acting like a biker. I have nothing but respect for him. He has a garage full of other bikes too, mostly Japanese dirt bikes. What's my point? I dunno. Maybe we are Harley bashers because under the surface Triumph riders and Harley riders are not really all that different. If we were we would just ignore them.

A couple of weeks ago a couple passed me in a car and the woman blew me a kiss as they went by. I haven't decided if it was the Triumph or my manly presence, but I grinned the rest of the way home.

Naw, she thought you were on a Harley.

I have the only Triumph in a large group of friends that all have HDs. Every where we go HDs account for 98% of the bikes. I've never sensed any true negative attitude toward my bike. I do take a lot of crap, but it's all in fun. HD riders, by far, have more respect for Triumph than any other non-English brand riders.

One of my favorite responses:
"Well yeah, I don't have as much torque as you do, but I don't need it because I never have to start off on the side of the road except when I stop to help one of you guys."

In my humble opinion I think the Triumph is a 'classy' looking bike. The HD's tend to be a bit 'vulgar'. There are a lot of HD 'clones' out there and I don't think a BA/Speedy can be accused of being one of them.

I like the Street Rod though.

but each to his own......

You have to give Harley credit for selling so many engines with that p*** poor / ancient engine design.

I was at the East Coast Sturgis event today. My son and I stopped at a gas station near the event where there were at least two to three hundred bikes...99.9% of them were HD's. While sitting there checking out the scene I had numerous folks come over and comment on my America. All in all I would say there were really nice guys (and gals). One guy even took a picture with his phone camera... said, "damn, I just can't get over how different that bike is... it looks like a custom".

Who cares? If you have two wheels, ride on them.

I looked at both Harley Davidson and Suzuki when I bought my TBA. I liked the idea of riding a bike that was different than the rest. The parallel twin motor and the mystique that comes with the name Triumph sold me over the rest. (That and the fact that I could get the bike at a considerably lower cost than the Harley!) I haven't regretted my decision. I love the bike and the way it rides. I have had one problem, (the airbox blew up!) but with that aside, I couldn't be happier. Now I'm entering the phase where I am ready to take the bike away from complete stock and start some performance mods. The more time I spend on this forum, the more I learn and the more I want to make some of these fun changes!

Having grown up in the '50's and '60's, I remember well the competition between Triumph and Harley and to a lesser extent Indian.

The rivalry between Triumph and Harley is indeed ancient, but I'd say much less so these days.


For the life of me, I can't undestand why anyone would want an engine that fires -

tic tic ----- tic tic ----- tic tic ----- tic tic

when for half the price, you can have an engine that fires

tic - tic - tic - tic - tic - tic - tic - tic

The power of media hype and myth has proved extremely lucrative to the Harley Stock holders. I wouldn't own one due to the powerplant engineering antiquities, but I do wish I had bought their stock when it was in the sh**house.

I pull into a Quicky Mart next to a full dress Harley Road King and some 13 yr old kids come out of the store and and start looking at my bike, ignoring the Harley. One kid says "hay mister, how much did you pay for that bike?" I say's 8 grand. The kid turns to the Harley guy and asks the same question. No answer - so I say probably 30 or 40 thousand dollars sitting there. The guy says, "no, all told with the custom paint it's $50,000. Dead silence. As I start my bike to pull away I look at the guys face and I think he was starting to face the reality thay he had been screwed.

Not only are both Triumphs and Harleys good bikes, both are amazing companies to have come back from the dead like they have-especially with the Japanese domination of the industry. Indian has proven how hard it is to bring a brand back onto the market. Maybe this time they will make it.

Even though HD never officially died, before they were bought out by management from AMF(the bowling ball people) they weren't very high quality machines.

And the old Triumphs weren't exactly trouble or drip free either. Both of these companies have come light years. Congratulations to them both and long may they prosper.

I picked up a book at Half-Price books called the Illustrated Directory of Motorcycles. It's like walking through a grave yard and reading tombstones. BSA, Matchless, Ariel, AJS, Velocette and those are just some English bikes I remember from the '50'and '60's that are no longer around.

Well, I have both a Harley Softail and a Triumph SM... plan on keeping both of them, my Ymaaha and Suzuki, I'll just ride till they wear out and then trash...

Two things about both marks.. you can keep rebuilding the when they wear out..try that with a Jap bike...except for a few models, you cant' get parts...
although the Harley design is antiquated, you can get/make parts...and isnt' that true of Triumph also?
And you can sure believe that the real Harley bikers and riders cut down the RUB and trailer queens just as badly as anyone else...if not worse...
Talked to one guy that rode to Sturgis... he picke up his 07 Harley at 4pm one day and took off for Sturgis the next morning... from Los Angeles, then was going to Pennsylvania to see his folks and then back to LA...
Said he saw a minivan pull up and park at the curb on a side street in Sturgis... out climbs 6 peeps, all dressed to the t's in Harley leather everything... not a single bike, or a single wrinkle in their brand new very shiny leathers...
Have heard lots of other stories like that as well...
I do have friends that trailer their bikes... but they live in places like Wyoming... if it wasnt' for the Toybox, they'd have about a 2 week riding season...
I like all my bikes... they're all different and fun to ride in different ways.
Now I have to find an old Triumph for my brother to rebuild..sheese...it never ends...
Mary aka Snapdragon

Bike riders are diverse in their characters just like other groups. You have the people who don't care what you ride or say, as long as you don't bash their family and the ones that think they and their machines are superior for some unknown reasons. Expect the people who think their's is best and your's sucks also to think that their poop doesn't stink. It's not as much about Harleys vs. Triumph as it is about people who feel strongly that it's their way or the highway. I'm a rider and think that if a person isn't a butthead or a dangerious idiot, they are more than welcome to hang with me. In every group (bikers included) there will be some buttheads and some idiots. It is just my preference to avoid those people as much as possible.
Two Harley riders (man & woman in HD dress) saw me in Target last night (carrying my helmet) and asked if that was my beautiful Triumph outside. I said yes, and thanked them. While walking away the man said "keep the rubber side down and ride safe". Those are my kind of people. A little friendly picking is cool, but since I live in a glass house, I'll never start throwing rocks.

It's not the bikes. It's (some of) the people.