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Rickenbacker=Harley Davidson. Discuss.


mowf

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43 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

 

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

 

They're brilliant if you want a tiny engine with the performance of a medium size engine and the fuel consumption of an absolutely massive engine. 

Their biggest advantage is their simplicity which makes the regular rebuild to replace rotor tips much easier.

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Harleys are great bikes if you realise their limitations and that they are built down to a budget and to make a profit when they sell and that the accountants have the final say on what gets included in the build not the designers. 
The new ones are a lot better. 
Apart from the last line, could the same be said of Rics?

Interestingly or not depending your perspective Harleys to non biker types attract The most attention than any other bike. Especially females. “Wow a Harley, I bet it’s really fast!”

Err no actually, for a bike it’s quite slow. 
Bit like Rolling Stones to muggles (non musical folk). Best band in the world!

Well if you consider very simple song structure and easy to play simple guitar parts and solos to be the best, yes. 
Sorry it’s almost 3 am and I can’t sleep…….

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I don't buy the Harley angle at all - Harleys are big, heavy, bloated machines, whereas Rics are lean and mean.

I think a more appropriate simile for Rics is a Lotus: a bit of a bumpy ride, the odd squeak and rattle, a bit of a reputation for having issues which need fixing, but a great piece of kit and by crikey they are fun!

(I am a Ric and Lotus owner...)

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42 minutes ago, prowla said:

I don't buy the Harley angle at all - Harleys are big, heavy, bloated machines, whereas Rics are lean and mean.

I think a more appropriate simile for Rics is a Lotus: a bit of a bumpy ride, the odd squeak and rattle, a bit of a reputation for having issues which need fixing, but a great piece of kit and by crikey they are fun!

(I am a Ric and Lotus owner...)


I think there are two elements: build quality and iconic status.

 

Are Ricks and Harleys iconic? Without a doubt.

 

Do they suffer from dubious build quality? In my experience, yes.

 

Did I thoroughly enjoy owning them? Yes!


 

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5 hours ago, prowla said:

I don't buy the Harley angle at all - Harleys are big, heavy, bloated machines, whereas Rics are lean and mean.

I think a more appropriate simile for Rics is a Lotus: a bit of a bumpy ride, the odd squeak and rattle, a bit of a reputation for having issues which need fixing, but a great piece of kit and by crikey they are fun!

(I am a Ric and Lotus owner...)

Not sure about a comparison with Lotus. I mean, Lotus might actually have some 20th century technology in it, whereas Rics, like Harley engines, where designed in the Jurassic period.

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I misfired with my first Ric, back in 2009. I felt I couldn't justify the purchase and sold it on. Kinda missed it so bought my Ruby Red one in 2016 and it's my main bass. There is a fair bit of Ric bashing (not helped by some of the comments on the Ric FB pages and the previous owner, Mr. Hall) but they are great basses. 

 

IMG_0045.jpg.21df7d00fb6f7122b0a2a44fd63e6fc7.jpg

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It wasn't my intention for this to be a Ric bashing thread, sorry if it's gone that way slightly! I was just making a lighthearted comparison as it seems to me that Ric owners will, like HD owners, willingly overlook flaws and build quality that perhaps they wouldn't accept in other makes (especially at similar prices) just because it's such an iconic product.

 

Of course the big question is, do Harley owners leave the "Made in America" sticker on or not?

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On 20/01/2023 at 20:17, Waddo Soqable said:

As I understand it they don't make these anymore as they had the j. Hall threats too.. 


 

John Hall has been retired for some years now.

I picked up a nice used 4001 about twenty five years ago for a good price , I bypassed the .0047 cap and put on flatwounds. A Ric can do a very nice old school thump , they’re very versatile basses if you give them a chance. It quickly became my main bass and remained so for some years. It’s been retired and these days I mostly pick up shortscales , but when I pick up that old Ric it feels like home. 
I’ve been reading how people bash Rics for ages now and sometimes think the most vocal Ric haters have never actually spent any time playing them. I’m quite familiar with their quirks. And I love a nice Ric.
Some say the current basses are among the best they’ve ever made. 

I have played a number of Fakinbackers over the years and they have not remotely resembled the real thing.

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54 minutes ago, msb said:


 

John Hall has been retired for some years now.

I picked up a nice used 4001 about twenty five years ago for a good price , I bypassed the .0047 cap and put on flatwounds. A Ric can do a very nice old school thump , they’re very versatile basses if you give them a chance. It quickly became my main bass and remained so for some years. It’s been retired and these days I mostly pick up shortscales , but when I pick up that old Ric it feels like home. 
I’ve been reading how people bash Rics for ages now and sometimes think the most vocal Ric haters have never actually spent any time playing them. I’m quite familiar with their quirks. And I love a nice Ric.
Some say the current basses are among the best they’ve ever made. 

I have played a number of Fakinbackers over the years and they have not remotely resembled the real thing.

No Rick hate from me, I think they're great.. I've had pukka Rickenbacker basses at different times in the past and used them for gigs blah blah...

I do think the JH bloke is a douche for persecuting even ordinary private individuals, selling a second hand single lookalike bass, privately, on ebay for instance, absurd. 

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16 minutes ago, DTB said:

Only the domestic market Harleys are made in America. The ones destined for Europe are made in India. 
BMW 1200GS Wheels are made in China. £20k for a motorcycle with Chinese rattly spoke wheels!!

Off topic again 🙄

 

Every single mass produced vehicle has loads of Chinese made parts and these days Chinese manufacturing is perfectly decent. Nothing wrong with Indian built bikes, the latest Royal Enfields are competing with the very best. I've got a Triumph at the moment but if I was buying new now I'd have the Royal Enfield Interceptor over a new Triumph Bonneville 

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3 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

No Rick hate from me, I think they're great.. I've had pukka Rickenbacker basses at different times in the past and used them for gigs blah blah...

I do think the JH bloke is a douche for persecuting even ordinary private individuals, selling a second hand single lookalike bass, privately, on ebay for instance, absurd. 


John Hall has been retired for several years and is living in England. 

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