Perhaps youre right. I havent looked at their recent offerings in years and those are competitively priced certainly. Unfortunately those sportsters are too small for me. Im 6’1 and look kinda silly on one. I think I’ve just grown weary of popular brands of things in general lately. The more I get into something, the more I feel compelled to make my own rather than shell out a premium for a household brand that everyone else has. Thats just me.
The Gibson thing I’ll have to disagree with you there. Sure they had that raid thing happen. But I used to be in guitar sales and some of the crap that came to us with a Gibson name on the headstock and a premium price was unacceptable. They charge an average of $2500-4000 for a guitar that one can find 10 of in virtually every guitar center and sam ash across the country. The production is so streamlined that they bang one of those out in an afternoon.
Dont get me wrong. I love Gibson, I love Harley, I love John Deere etc., but Ive grown tired of people blindly accepting these as the best, when in reality, the best is some lesser known, smaller operation who does right for the customer, not shareholders. Again, my humble opinion.
“The harley in my opinion has become like any good thing that got popular and now only wealthy people can own it.”
I know plenty of people that ride hogs that are not wealthy
Some of them have sacrificed other things in order to ride that hog
And then they always spend thousands more customizing the thing
If somebody’s determined to get that hog, it will happen
Even if it ruins the finances, causes marital strain, causes the kids to miss dentist/doctor visits, etc.
Which is such a shame. I mean hell, how many people are out there with a 70k house and a 70k truck. It certainly exists. But its a real shame in my eyes where we’re brainwashed that ‘xyz’ brand is superior and “authentic.” Or youre less of a man because your bike was made overseas. While Im all for supporting USA made things, the stigma and cool factor sucks the wind out of the sails for me.
Gibson, Fender, and other guitar manufacturers are now having a lot of product produced in other countries, with product quality being all over the place from good to bad. The upside is that there are millions of people who can now afford something playable who would not otherwise have been able to.
I’ve owned a lot of guitars over the years, including Fenders, Ovation, Yamaha, and numerous others. The only one I’ve every really found with the action, sustain, resonance, tone, and just plain downright great feel and deep rich sound was a dreadnaught size high-end Washburn. I loved that guitar. Unfortunately, the bursitis got so bad in my shoulder that I couldn’t play it anymore. I mailed it to my son, a former Berklee student. I now play a telecaster, and while it’s got good action, it ain’t my Washburn. But I can play it without severe shoulder pain.
@Fender1325
No need to apologize. Lots of companies, cars and otherwise still sit on their laurels and names. Among contractors around here, Kubota is the acknowledged leader in tractors in the small to intermediate size. India has long been a supplier for the Green tractors and they have not provided the best bang for the buck. I shopped JD on a couple of tractor purchases but ended up back with Kubota for their strength and durability. Kubota’s don’t have the pretty green and yellow seats and the neat little plastic cup holders but they are simple and very strong. It’s nothing new. JD has been doing this for years. Now, their really big stuff, dozers and excavators. That’s a different story ! The first time I used a Deere dozer it was obvious…the same people didn’t make their tractors.
This is no different then Chrysler, GM or Ford or any other manufacturer who chooses to have dogs made by other companies just to fill a nitch they can’t make “at home.”
Cuz and me decided to call that Mustang thingy ,a Mustang Too ( a Mustang also) its a shame when companies try to ride the laurels,like Dag I watched the India Deere,a good basic tractor,but basic to the nth!-Kevin
Washburn made some great stuff. The beauty of guitars is that, in being made out of wood, no two are exactly alike. Some are more dense than others and every once in a while some magic happens. Id post a pic of a guitar Ive been building from scratch but its not letting me upload the pic.
There we go. Its a maple semi hollow body, mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard. Sorry this has gone so off topic haha
@dagosa a farmer buddy of mine bought a used 4wd kubota with a front loader and its made a world of difference in production for him. A ton of fun to drive too
Since we’re “off the rails,” have you heard of Carvin? The nylon-stringed one is a hybrid with curved fretboard and amplifier pickup (easy on the fingers). The Strat knockoff I built from their kit. I really can’t say how good they are but they serve me fine.
Its interesting hearing about guitars which I know nothing about but don’t come to Southern Minnesota saying John Deere tractors aren’t any good. Don’t see many (any) Kubotas out in the fields plowing but lots of green and some red.
Harley started using hydraulic valve lifters in the late 1940s on their overhead valve models so they were ahead of the curve even way back when.
I’ve owned 2 Sportsters but was never really crazy about that particular model. One of them was an early model with a huge stroker kit, 12:1 pistons, hot cams, and a fixed Fairbanks-Morse magneto. It was a kick-start only and the timing could not be retarded for easy starting.
This wasn’t HD’s fault; it was inflicted upon the bike.
That thing would beat me to death sometimes trying to kick it into life. One time it kicked back hard enough to throw me off, left me limping for 2 days, and even split the bottom of my boot wide open.
Once rolling though, the sheer acceleration would smear my eyeballs back… 
@Fender1325 “Which is such a shame. I mean hell, how many people are out there with a 70k house and a 70k truck”
Since this thread has gone so far off-topic, none out here. 70K won’t buy you a brick schitthouse. I needed more than that as a down payment for my house. There’s so much talk of income inequality but what about cost-of-living inequality? A friend of mine is going through a divorce, he’s staying in the house but she’s moving out. Part of the settlement is that he pays her apartment rent for 2 years. So she’s moving into a 2 bedroom a few miles away for $1800/month.
@Fender1325
On my second Orange tractor in over 20 years of ownership, and the only repair job I have done ? An after marker heater coolant manifold cracked after I had an after market heated cab installed. I guess you can say the Kubota was not to blame. I use it nearly every day in the summer twice a week in the winter. It stays out of doors and never misses a beat.
Yeah carvins are great. A friends Dad bought one of their semi hollow guitars and the fit and finish and playability was excellent.
I think it’s been acknowledged by others before I got here that this thread has drifted pretty far, and in the last couple of pages there’s little mention of connection to broad automotive themes. There were a lot of pretty ridiculous vehicles, though, and I learned a bunch about Hummers and amphibious vehicles. I think it’s time to retire this one, unless someone still has ridiculous vehicles to offer.
Orange tractors? You mean Case or Allis-Chalmers?
I learned to drive on a John Deere model A.
My father once came home from a garage sale with a riding mower he bought for $40. He discovered the hard way that it wasn’t designed with brakes, because our house was on the side of a hill. I would press my feet against the front wheels to bring it to a stop, kind of like Fred Flintstone. The thing was such a basic design that it was propelled by a belt that connected the drivetrain to the blade shaft when you pressed the “gas” pedal, and it went through a lot of belts.
My father was so cheap (a trait I’ve come to admire) he walked away from it at $40, and then returned to buy it.
Yamaha classical guitars are my favorite