I've ridden and owned sport bikes and now currently have a Harley (VROD). The sport bikes served a particular purpose at a specific point in my life and world. When I was riding a sport, I would get shit from HD riders and other cruiser riders all the time. Some people are just assholes and shouldn't be allowed to breed. You did the right thing by taking the high road and ignoring those fucktards. Hell, I get shit from HD owners because I have a VROD. "That ain't a real Harley, it's water cooled" My standard response: "thank God for small favors. If it was a real Harley it would leak all types of fluids everytime and everywhere I parked, would be in the shop more than on the road, and I wouldn't be able to ride more than 10 minutes without having to locktite every frick'n thing". As far as HD making more money off of merch sales than bike sales, do you think any less of Playboy for making more money on their merch than on their subscriptions? Just good business. Let's face it, if HD had to depend on sales of their over priced, under engineered, under performing bikes, they would have been out of business years ago.