read it and stick with my original point. As the author himself says the trade off between “butt jewelry” of the customizers and the performance constant upgrades of sport bikes riders for more power and speed are at best even.
I largely disagree with his cataloging of the names. An intruder as a chopper…. you kidding me. Maybe its a location thing .
Also his comments read to me as being a victim of the same stereotyping that I mentioned in my first response. Ape hangers…. yea not everyone has them or want them. Those that do ( at least folks I know) go to swap meets to do a trade out. Or….they know many other folks that can and do do fab work and get them extremely low in price but largely better in quality. I will give you the custom paint jobs… but there again… it washes with those of the sport bike world that do the same if not stopping there but going and buying a whole new fairing set. Pipes…both are guilty. Otherwise Yoshimura (sp?) and the likes would not have a business.
oh and some of his “stats ” are out dated. The Kawasaki Vulcan 500 breaks two of his listings. It IS a cruiser and not only does it have a chain drive but it also breaks his theory of being standard 1,000 cc’s. And why no mention of Bobbers? Maybe because it may make his point a tad off base to being as they are core minimalists when it comes to their bikes. Cruiser based with everything non essential taken off for a cleaner, rougher, basic look.
The word excess would imply “big pimpin” types or those from the Hummer world that have the stereotype of go big or go home. Style….. closer….
I would prefer personalization. Though …. .What rider doesn’t do that?