"Public Image" is a significant part of what Harley riding is about. It has its pro's and con's.
The average person see's a Harley and thinks of all the "Hells Angels" stories he or she has heard. The first instinctive reaction is to avoid the Harley because it represents "danger". The riders are all painted with the same brush - leather clad, weapon wielding, foul mouthed, drug dealing low-lifes. BUT - they love the sound of the bike. So, this means that when riding, other traffic can hear you, looks for the noise, and probably gets out of your way. That's good, especially if you ride with safety in mind. When they see you are riding a good looking, chrome covered, shiny bit of rolling thunder, they will then remember when they saw a group of the official Harley Clubs riders (HOG - short for Harley Owners Group) doing a breakfast run or a rally where the group did a charitable donation; or arriving en-masse at a shopping centre to support a Christmas Carol evening (yes, the singing is loud and horribly out of tune, but unarguably loudly enthusiastic).
Every HOG rally in South Africa will donate to a local charity wherever the rally is held. I was part of the committee that donated a jet-ski to a life-savers group in Margate.
Not all the bike riders clubs are this charitable, but it is possible to get positive reactions from the public if you behave in a decent way. Is it worth it? I see more people smiling after they see my Harley, than otherwise, so yes, it is very much worth it.
Get a Harley if you don't have one yet - the life-style is awesome.
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