Cobras and Harleys

[rattlesnakepete]

It has been my observation that one of the few cars Harley riders will acknowledge on the road with a thumbs up or wave are Cobras. I have driven some pretty nice cars and the only one that gets postive attention from the Hogs is my Cobra.

They do a have fair number of things in common:

1) open air driving / riding experience

2) the noise they make is loud and of the proper note

3) most people driving or riding are out for the fun and joy of the drive/ride

4) Both are American icons of performance and freedom.


Fun stuff!

[BDR538]

I getthe same responce when I dribe my Viper GTS

[BMK]

Yes, I agree that the Harley riders are keen on the Cobras and we jointly appreciate the marque.

I considered buying a Harley and my daughter who does not take prisoners stated that I was in the middle of a mid life crisis.

Then to make matters worse she told me to appropriately buy a Harley FATBOY.

... left me standing looking in the mirror side on

Is it really a mid life crisis or a mid life realisation that you have the money to buy what you want as the kids are gone and the cash drain slows...

My wife still draws on my accounts..

Anyway love those Harleys

[392cobra]

Originally Posted by rattlesnakepete

It has been my observation that one of the few cars Harley riders will acknowledge on the road with a thumbs up or wave are Cobras.
Fun stuff!

Know what you mean.

Bought a XL1200C last month.

Now I give myself a thumbs up when I pull into the garage.

[Power Surge]

It's not just HD riders, I get the biker wave from riders of all brands of bikes when driving in my Cobra. Catches me off guard sometimes, I wave back and then I think to myself, "hey, I'm not on my bike" LOL.

[Yetiman]

I live in Milwaukee and the funny thing is, during the week of the 100th anniversary thing I was driving my very heavily modified (It's been on magazine covers) 84' VW Rabbit GTI around and bikers all over the place were giving me the thumbs up when I drove it around town. At first I thought they were giving me the finger as almost nobody around here looks much at that car.

When I started paying attention, I noticed most of the bikers looking at it had West coast plates.

The Cobra got all kinds of attention when I drove it that week also of course.

[CobraDan]

http://www.ruckerperformance.com/2/b...motorcycle.php

CARROLL SHELBY AND RUCKER PERFORMANCE CREATE THE ULTIMATE AMERICAN PERFORMANCE MOTORCYCLE

[marcocsx3121]

Sorry to disagree, but as a former (real) Cobra owner and biker for 40-plus years, the basic message of the two vehicles is clearly dissimilar. The Cobra was all about performance; the noise was clearly secondary. Since the glory days when a stroker Sportster was king of the street (BTW, I still have one of those), Harleys have been flash and image. If you've spent any time at all around motorcycles or motorcycle mags recently, you must have come across the fact that a typical 600cc Jap sportbike is around 3 seconds quicker in the quarter mile than a Harley with three times the displacement, and as for braking and handling, fuggedaboutit.

Most of my riding these days is on sport bikes, and I could not care less if the H-D people acknowledge my presence.

[Excaliber]

It has also been my experience that Harley riders acknowledge the Cobra with a wave or even pull up to talk story about the car. Not so with other bikes. I was surprised at this, but now take it in stride, there are similarities between the Harleys and the Cobras.

No question sport bikes in general are way faster, handle better, stop quicker etc. than most Harleys. There are also a number of modern cars that can give a Cobra a run for it's money, but they don't have the 'soul' of a Cobra, as sport bikes simply don't have the soul of a Harley. You go with what you like. I'm not crazy about Harleys myself and prefer my Cobra over a modern car, to each his own. I ride a modern Suzuki Burgman, currently the worlds largest and fastest 'mega scotter' at 650 cc with auto trans. That bike has 'zero' soul, but it's practical, reliable and fast, gets the job done nicely for my daily commute. Harley riders have never acknowleged the mega scooter, and I don't blame them!

[ERA2188]

It's all in what you like. To me the Harley's have a retro appeal, look cool, sound cool and are fun to ride. The ricer's sound like a blender on steroids, and outside of a track, I can see no attraction to riding one. Rickd

[GlynMeek]

While being loathe to leap onto the unimaginative "me too" bandwagon, I HAVE to agree with Excaliber. I have a Porsche Turbo as my daily driver, "sensible" car, and it is faster, better handling and much more comfortable than my Cobra...BUT...who cares? The COBRA has soul, it has panache, it has character, it has MAGIC about it, and the same is true of Harleys. While the ricer motorcycles are perhaps faster, more powerful and better handling...I ask again "who cares?". Harleys have soul.

I think it all comes down to "If you have to ask what makes Harleys AND Cobras different, then you will NEVER understand the answer. Move on...buy a Suzuki, buy a Corvette Z06, buy a Porsche Turbo...because you are not one of those fortunate individuals that 'gets it'"

LOL

Glyn

[Alex Donghi]

there are some classics around but ricers don't seem to fit. 2 or 4 wheel ah with maybe the exception of an old toyota land crusher

[marcocsx3121]

You guys continue to miss the point. Let's rewind to 1962 when Road and Track et al tested the first 260 Cobra: the headline wasn't about loud pipes or fancy bodywork. It was about 0-60 in 4.2 seconds and a quarter mile in the low 12s (yes, I know the car was a ringer but Carroll was a sly one even then), and it was about good brakes and handling.

Remember that only around 6% of the original Cobras had those showy side pipes.

The Cobra legend was based on performance, not crowd appeal.

[Dangerous Doug]

I tend to put Harley's and Cobras in the same mental bucket: in a word, "visceral". It's about the sensation and the experience of handling something most people are afraid of. Same reason "nice girls" go after "bad boys".

Dangerous Doug

[Excaliber]

There was a time when the Harleys reputation was also based on 'performance', that was a LONG time ago.

Sheesssh, everything is based on 'style' and 'looks' these days, with performance being secondary in most cases. Any modern car show will verify that. DVD players, neon lights and mega speakers woo the crowd. Same goes for Harleys, it's more about style, flash and a mix of history than it is about performance in these modern times. It's all good, in my opinion.

Cobra owners do stand out from the crowd in one important (to me) area. As a group 'we' like to DRIVE our cars, and drive them hard. Real performance IS a big part of Cobra ownership, and 'flash' and 'show car' are secondary, in most cases. While many Harley owners strive to improve performance thats secondary to getting more 'chrome' in most cases, again, thats cool.

A friend of mine with a V Rod noted concerning his Harley engine: "All the low hanging fruit from the tree of horse power has been plucked all ready. To improve the performance of a stock V Rod, come with a tall ladder (a big check book)." Which pretty much leaves your options mainly to 'more chrome'.

Cobra replicas continue to emulate the original cars in that they ARE primarily performance first. It's why I own one! My car could definitly benefit from more 'flash', it's hardly a 'show' car, but my emphasis continues to be 'performance first'.

[Jamo]

I have noticed that skateboarders appreciate and acknowledge Cobras...

1. Both are American icons of performance and freedom.

2. They both run on four fat wheels and are extremely light versus the torque produced (depends on the operator).

3. They both can crash rather easily if operated in a stupid manner.

4. And a comparison of the two is similar to other such comparisons where one might wonder who gives a flying phuk.

But that's just me.

[Excaliber]

Good point counselor!

[Dangerous Doug]

My skateboard is designed for performance. The wheels I use are harder than "stock" and I ride a long board (as opposed to the kicked up ends the kids ride) as this is more appropriate for carving the bowls---it's also "classic" or "old school".

No, I am not kidding. I was riding just last Wednesday night.

I think you're stretching the comparison thing there, though Jamo!

[Jamo]

You haven't seen me on a skateboard.

[392cobra]

Originally Posted by Jamo

You haven't seen me on a skateboard.

Humm....Is that good or bad ??