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Since you brought it up, I've been seeing all of his videos about all the modifications he's made to that bike, and the thought occurred to me....Why does a brand new bike need all of those "improvements"?I'll save the $3500 and buy fuel. At this point in my life, the stock engine has plenty of power for me.
I'm with ya on that retired guy. I grew up and got my license at the beginning of the performance car era. Car's were not called muscle cars back then, they were just the latest from the factory. I had many high performance cars and couldn't wait to make improvements to make them faster. Those who don't get that never had the fever. Some guys were content to ride around in their stock 289 225 horsepower mustang and that was all they wanted. Me, there was never enough power to be had. Street racing was big in those days. Heck the real Hemi cars were just hitting the street in 65 and things really got crazy. (yeah I know, the 426 Hemi came out in 64 but purely for racing) I've been doing the same with my Sportster and I don't need to explain my wants and needs to anybody, it's what I do and what I enjoy, I don't ride for distance, I ride for relief, for a kick in the backside you can't get from a a Goldwing. I am not putting them down, good machine. But just because some are built here doesn't qualify them as American made. Would you call Mercedes or BMW cars that are built here American made? They are German designed, tested and approved by Germans, they just happen to strike a deal here that benefits their bottom line. Same with the Japanese bikes.I can remember many years ago, a guy I worked for was talking to me about the car I owned back then. I had a Chevelle SS. From the factory it came with the 396 big block, I replaced that engine with a 427 I had rebuilt with a few after market parts for even more HP. The suspension was not all stock either. All that power had to get to the ground. So bigger tires, wheels, stiffer shocks, ladder bars, all the stuff I needed to be faster than the next guy from one light to the next. Except living in the country, we had a quarter mile marked off on a nice piece of highway.
This guy was asking me why I would do all that, make it ride rougher, and I still could only do 55 MPH? I don't remember what I told him, but it was what I did and the guys I hung out with did. (Plus a little illegal drag racing with bets on the side.) It was fun.
Point is, that's what I did with cars in my younger days. Other people do it with motorcycles. It don't have to make sense to anyone else.
Not to argue John but I know of no cop car that ever came with a Hemi from the factory. And police never bought the high end model. The Hemi was just to intensive to keep running. Police didn't want to adjust solid lifter and keep the carbs tuned. Maybe your friend installed the hemi himself. Most Hemi cars I came across back in the day never ran as they should. Guys who bought them did not know how to tune them so they took them to the dealer for service and those guys didn't have a clue. But the few I know that were in more than capable hands, screamed like no other.TR - my parents neighbor was a county cop. He got an unmarked 64 Plymouth Fury III Police Interceptor with one of those 426 hemi's in it. We used to go on un-official "ride along's" That thing was freaky fast
My brother had a 1967 Mustang GT with the 390 engine and 4 speed. For a front heavy car it didn't handle that poorly. It looked exactly like the bullet car but was a year prior to that one. Bullet car was a 68. Tires were pretty lame back in those days.I had a Mustang GT that was pretty good on a crooked road, of course it would never go around a corner twice the same way. That was always fun.