Generalizations about specific riding groups and barf

[Cincinnatus]

First, he would have had to get that Sportster to start, then be able to have it make the distance from whatever HD repair shop it lived in, to the office, before he started shooting it up.

Not likely....

[MCSFTGUY]

Originally Posted by High-Side

The Brotherhood of the Road by Shalom Auslander

I love motorcycles, and I love riding. Like many of you, what first drew me to bikes was not just the experience of riding, but the feeling that I'd become part of a special community, a brotherhood, really. Nothing calms me more than a long ride down the interstate, waving to the members of my beloved clan.

Except when I pass Harley guys. I hate Harley guys. Hate, hate, hate. When they pass me on the highway, you know what I do? I don't wave. With their little tassle handlebars and the studded luggage and the half-helmets? God, they drive me crazy.

You know who else I hate? BMW guys. Oh, I do hate those guys. I don't wave at them, either. They think they're so great, sitting all upright, with their 180-degree German engines. God, I hate them.

They're almost as bad as those old bastards on their touring motorcycles. You know what I call those bikes? "Two-wheeled couches!" Get it? Because they're so big. They drive around like they've got all day. Appreciate the scenery somewhere else, Grampa, and while you're at it, I'm not waving to you.

Ducati guys? I don't wave at them either. Why don't they spend a little more money on their bikes? "You can have it in any color you want, as long as it's red." Aren't you cool! Like they even know what a desmo-whatever engine is, anyway. Try finding the battery, you Italian-wannabe racers! I never, ever wave at those guys.

Suzuki guys aren't much better, which is why I never wave at them, either. They always have those stupid helmets sitting on top of their stupid heads, and God forbid they should wear any safety gear. They make me so mad. Sometimes they'll speed by and look over at me and you know what I do? I don't wave. I just keep on going. Please, don't get me started on Kawasaki guys. Ninjas? What are you, twelve years old? Team Green my ass. I never wave at Kawasaki guys.

I ride a Honda, and I'll only wave at Honda guys, but even then, I'll never wave at a guy in full leathers. Never, never, never. Yeah, like you're going to get your knee down on the New York Thruway. Nice crotch, by the way.

Guys in full leathers will never get a wave from me, and by the way, neither will the guys in two-piece leathers. And I'll tell you who else I'm not waving at those guys with the helmets with the loud paint jobs. Four pounds of paint on a two pound helmet? Like I'm going to wave back to that! I'll also never wave at someone with a mirrored visor. Or helmet stickers. Or racing gloves. Or hiking boots.

To me, motorcycling is a like a family, a close-knit brotherhood of people who ride Hondas, wear jeans and a leather jacket (not Vanson) with regular gloves and a solid-color helmet with a clear visor, no stickers, no racing gloves and regular boots (not Timberlands). And isn't that what really makes riding so special?"

Well, I guess we are even cause I wave at everybody except for anybody on a Honda!

[GirlCurves]

Budman -

Excellent post. I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks!

[Bay Arean]

As a Triumph rider, I enjoyed being not mentioned in rant above. I'm not sure what I "am." Just an old dude, staying alive and enjoying the throttle. I had a friend who got funny that I had a Dainese mesh jacket. Oooooh, it's EETALIAN. Hey, it fit my fat body and keeps me cool. Arai helmet? Because it fit my noggin when no others would (just ask the poor kid at Cycle Gear that helped me try on every damn one of 'em). I probably look like a damn water balloon in fishnets, not a svelte Euro hunk as I motor by.

So here's too all the dudes and dudettes on their cool bikes. I don't know what my image is, other than that I bought I bike that I think is cool, even if I'm not.
I think you are all cool (except those scooters with the double wheel in front). I do wish the Harley guys would wave back, tho. Keeps me guessin' about what they're thinking..

[Cincinnatus]

^^ They're thinking about the next hunk of chrome they can ladle onto their bike...

[Bay Arean]

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

^^ They're thinking about the next hunk of chrome they can ladle onto their bike...

'fraid so.

Over at Triumph forum, the sentiment is against too much chrominess, even tho' the products are out there. Chrome choke button? So I can smudge it every time I start the bike? From a standpoint of pure narcissism, tho, it's yet another place you can see yourself with your microfiber rag in hand!

[Loki1000R]

where's the funniest pic thread?

[vought]

Budman is talking about social capital. As motorcyclists, we bank it, or we spend it with our behavior.

You can have your own opinions about how much something "costs" to each cager out there, but the cost is set by the person you impress or piss off.

Keep that in mind; it helps to be a grownup when it comes to the road, since you are quite literally spending social capital another rider may depend on for their life.

[Hairballrm]

Roundboy your poem made me misty. It is worthy of great reprint.
Garage wall, perhaps? Hmmmm

I met my wife when I was working in Brazil. I didn't have a car. We rode my bike everywhere. When I got her to the US, I realized that she had imagined me as a black leather clad, Harley rider who rode with a gang. My long hair fit right into the Hollywood stereotype. Then I gave her the 100mph test on the FJ.

People will always judge what they see first, before they have all the facts