Swichtomac, I agree with just about everything said here. One thing you can relate to as a Mac user, you know you have a great computer no matter what anyone else has or says. I feel exactly the same about my America.
ALL my friends (14) have Harleys. My favorite bike in my past was my Triumph Daytona in '71 (picture of me on it 36 years ago in my gallery). I owned an number of different bikes but went 15 years without one. I finally told my friends I wanted to get a bike and ride with them. Their response: "Which Harley are you interested in buying?" My response: "Triumph has been making some great bikes recently and I want to check them out".
I went to a dealer to look (40 miles away), fell in love, and drove my new bike home. This puzzled my friends who thought for sure that once we were out riding and got around all the other bikers, I'd be sorry and I'd have a Harley soon. Well, as you've probably gathered reading here, from day 1, everywhere we went my bike got attention and praise. They quit bothering me after a while, but they still don't understand.
I love being an individual and different, but I certainly didn't buy the bike for that reason. I'm in love all over again, feel thirty years younger, and am now riding my most favorite bike. It's been almost two years, my friends invite me to ride all the time even knowing my bike will be noticed first. We go to Harley stores and I don't lust after anything there. I've just come to realize they just don't get it. You can call me: SwichtoTriumph - although I don't expect any of my friends to change.
