Rickenbacker=Harley Davidson. Discuss.

[Dankology]

I know nothing about bikes but if Harleys are expensive, idiosyncratic, problematic and make you look cool as fcuk then I'd say you're probably spot on.

[Happy Jack]

3 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Maybe, but the alternative is 2-strokes.

 

Oh well played, sir. 🤣

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Dankology said:

I know nothing about bikes but if Harleys are expensive, idiosyncratic, problematic and make you think you look cool as fcuk then I'd say you're probably spot on.

 

FTFY.

[Boodang]

In terms of antiquated engineering there's definitely a comparison to be made between a Ric bridge and a Harley engine.

Owned a Harley once, spent loads upgrading parts and eventually sold it... suspect I might do the same if I bought a Ric.

PS if Harley made planes would you fly on one?!

[Beedster]

9 hours ago, FinnDave said:

You don't get character building opportunities like that with a Rickenbacker.

 

You've not owned a Ric have you  

[FinnDave]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

 

You've not owned a Ric have you  

No, I haven't had that alleged 'pleasure', but I haven't heard of anyone sleeping on a service station forecourt after their Rickenbacker broke down, nor have I heard anyone ending in intensive care as a result of an accident on one!

 

(Maybe I should ride a ric, after all!)

[stingrayPete1977]

Are Rickenbacker $4.8B in debt like HD? 

Edited January 22, 2023 by stingrayPete1977

[Skybone]

Well, they're still privately owned, so I wouldn't have thought so.

[yorks5stringer]

So let me get this right, you have a midlife crisis and buy a Ricky.......?

[SteveXFR]

Harley have actually been modernising in recent years with such futuristic tech as water cooling and fuel injection and even electric bikes. I still wouldn't want one though.

 

I did see a Harley bagger with the typical leather and denim wearing rider with Adele playing from the built-in cd player. I've never heard anyone play Adele on a Rickenbacker. 

[Bassassin]

On 21/01/2023 at 20:59, tauzero said:

 

Maybe, but the alternative is 2-strokes.

 

You say that like it's a bad thing! The most hilarious (and 100% maddest) bike I had was a Yammy TDR250 - basically a proto-supermoto with a 50bhp TZR twin stuck in a lightweight street trailie chassis. Would have another in a heartbeat. If they didn't go for 7 grand these days.

 

Not sure what the bass equivalent would be - maybe a dayglo Ibby Soundgear, if it had a knife-edge powerband, spent half its time with its nose in the air & would happily chuck you through a hedge if you weren't careful.

[BillyBass]

My only bike was a Honda CB250RS. 4 stroke single.  It thumped along, pretty much like my P basses.  I wonder if there is a correlation between bikes and basses?

 

The last time I rode the Honda we ended up in a mangled heap on the A10 in Enfield.  Hopefully me and my basses will part on better terms.

[Guest]

16 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

 

I did see a Harley bagger with the typical leather and denim wearing rider with Adele playing from the built-in cd player. I've never heard anyone play Adele on a Rickenbacker. 

A story. Somewhat off topic, but I hope I can be forgiven.

 

Back in my Hardly days I looked after a friends full dresser Harley whatever glide while he was on holiday. He had a garage but didn't want to leave it there with the house unattended, so he said I could keep it at mine an and use it so long as I cherished it. Fair enough.

 

This one also had a stereo, and I was blasting along listening  to Bruce Springsteen on the radio and feeling cool as you like when I decided to pull in for some fuel.  At that exact moment, just as I rolled onto the forecourt, Bruce Springsteen made way for Spandau Ballet's True, leaving me panicking trying to quickly figure how to turn it down or off in my chunky Frank Thomas gloves.  By the time I'd managed to shut down the infernal racket everyone on the forecourt had heard and must have thought I was a bit of a berk.

[SteveXFR]

Harley Davidson used to make a model called the Sportster Sport which is the only production motorcycle ever to have sport in its name twice. Its also one of the least sporty motorcycles ever made. Its 1200cc motor made less power than my 10 year old little 250cc Suzuki I owned at the time of its launch and the Harley was nearly 50% heavier.

[Guest]

The 1200 was slow although, bizarrely, when I had mine the 1200 was the fastest of all the air cooled Hardlys. 

[miles'tone]

On 22/01/2023 at 08:15, FinnDave said:

No, I haven't had that alleged 'pleasure', but I haven't heard of anyone sleeping on a service station forecourt after their Rickenbacker broke down, nor have I heard anyone ending in intensive care as a result of an accident on one!

 

(Maybe I should ride a ric, after all!)

I nearly had to sleep rough when I forked out for a Ric. The wife wasn't best pleased.

Spent 2 years trying to like it while the damn thing tried to saw off my forearm everytime I played it. Sold it on before I ended up in IC... 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by miles'tone

[SteveXFR]

48 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

The 1200 was slow although, bizarrely, when I had mine the 1200 was the fastest of all the air cooled Hardlys. 

 

The current 1200 seems pretty reasonable really. They're around 120 hp I think which isn't bad for a cruiser.

[knirirr]

On 21/01/2023 at 21:20, Burns-bass said:

I had a Harley (883 with some crazy pipes on it) and the carb blocked and it leaked an entire tank of fuel on my driveway. Great days (not).

 

 

A Triumph (1990s Trident) did that to me, but chose a the side of the road halfway between home and work as the ideal spot.
I have never tried a Rickenbacker, or even encountered one. They look interesting, but as there doesn't appear to be a fretless option with a blank fingerboard I'd be unlikely to buy one.

[Nicko]

I've never been a fan of traditional HDs - and fail to understand the attraction of riding around on a bike with a huge engine making a huge amount of noise and so very little power.  It's not even as if they are particularly comfortable either.  My Fat Boy owning mate says there is no substitute for the torque but I'm not sure that's really what I want with so little rubber connecting me to the road. Harley has now evolved and caught up with the tech other manufacturers were using in the 70s.  

 

As for Riks - I like the sound but AFAIK I've only ever played one briefly and it felt horrible. The age old tech doesn't bother me - I play a P.  The difference here is that the old tech of a P or Rik does almost everything that non active modern basses do.

[SteveXFR]

I kind of get the appeal of the Harley engine. They do feel incredibly unstressed and effortless. You will never shift down for a hill and they'll pull from pretty low speed in top without bogging down. They do feel more agricultural than most tractors and the vibration does mean bolts regularly come loose.

It's the chassis I found particularly horrible when I rode one. I was conscious that I should take cornering very steady because of the limited ground clearance but I was shocked at just little lean it took to ground the foot boards. It also had to be fully upright before giving it any throttle or it just started weaving and wobbling.

[Bassassin]

4 hours ago, BillyBass said:

My only bike was a Honda CB250RS. 4 stroke single.  It thumped along, pretty much like my P basses.  I wonder if there is a correlation between bikes and basses?

 

I really couldn't say...

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Bassassin

[Boodang]

2 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

The current 1200 seems pretty reasonable really. They're around 120 hp I think which isn't bad for a cruiser.

The trouble is 99% of the power produced by a Harley engine goes into making the seat vibrate (part of the self massaging seat feature built into all HDs).

[Boodang]

4 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

A story. Somewhat off topic, but I hope I can be forgiven.

 

Back in my Hardly days I looked after a friends full dresser Harley whatever glide while he was on holiday. He had a garage but didn't want to leave it there with the house unattended, so he said I could keep it at mine an and use it so long as I cherished it. Fair enough.

 

This one also had a stereo, and I was blasting along listening  to Bruce Springsteen on the radio and feeling cool as you like when I decided to pull in for some fuel.  At that exact moment, just as I rolled onto the forecourt, Bruce Springsteen made way for Spandau Ballet's True, leaving me panicking trying to quickly figure how to turn it down or off in my chunky Frank Thomas gloves.  By the time I'd managed to shut down the infernal racket everyone on the forecourt had heard and must have thought I was a bit of a berk.

Didn't I hear somewhere that Bruce Springsteen was born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA, born in the USA......

[Waddo Soqable]

If the Joker's mad sidekick married the young vet from "all creatures great & small"... 

..... she'd be Harley Davison 

[Lfalex v1.1]

On 21/01/2023 at 20:12, Happy Jack said:

I've ridden Harleys, owned Buells, played and owned Rickenfakers, vintage Ricks and modern Ricks. In truth this 'comparison' is so laboured it hardly seems worth replying to.

 

All they have in common is 50s technology that has stuck around FAR longer than anyone anticipated.

 

Next up ... valves are stinky poo.

 

 

 

If you don't like valves, you could get one of them fancy Nortons with a rotary engine.