Perpetrating a steriotype

[earlfor]

Before anyone starts accusing Earl of being a prude, remember that he lives in Florida and that 95% of his mileage is from searching out a curve.:razz:

Brad bt

A year ago, that would have been true. However, there is one area in Fl that is predominately hills, sharp curves and winding roads. I moved to THAT area intentionally. LOL Its only about 60 miles wide and 100 miles long, but there are no straight roads. :-)

E.

[beby99]

LOL Its only about 60 miles wide and 100 miles long, but there are no straight roads. :-)

E.

Soooo, thats like what....a 30 minute ride for you. :-D

[earlfor]

Soooo, thats like what....a 30 minute ride for you. :-D

Not a chance. There is one 12 mile run that if you're really on top of your game, and scraping the handlebars, you might average 30 mph. :-) Thats assuming you dont lose it on the sand and gravel in the turns or run off into a canal to become gator snacks. LOL

E.

[bradleymaynar]

A year ago, that would have been true. However, there is one area in Fl that is predominately hills, sharp curves and winding roads. I moved to THAT area intentionally. LOL Its only about 60 miles wide and 100 miles long, but there are no straight roads. :-)

E.

You've gotta be running those roads dozens of times a day then!:razz:

Brad bt

[gsracer]

Everytime I get annoyed by the "Harley crowd" and the down-the-nose treatment I get from them for riding a "ricer" or whatever term is being used, I just think back to every instance this past race season when I saw the Harley XBRR "race bike" do any one of the following:

1. Handgrenade the engine
2. Spew oil all over the track
3. Spontaneously burst into flames
4. Not finish a race
5. Not start a race
6. Have delivery of a $35,000 prepaid racebike delayed "due to development issues"


then I chuckle and move on....and realize the world is full of silly people.

[earlfor]

You've gotta be running those roads dozens of times a day then!:razz:

Brad bt

:-) :-) Nah, the roads around here are like a bowl of spaghetti. Everytime I pass a tree, there's another road branching off to who knows where. I'm not even close to having been on them all yet, but I have covered about 11K miles of them this past four months. eh eh

E.

[Cassius086]

FYI - I carry a spare clutch cable & necessary tools to change it most of the time now. Of course, I do have saddle bags on my big, old, clunky GK to accomodate carrying stuff.

Me too. Extra cable and tools to change it. I pay no attention to the idiots who think they are better than I based on their ability to purchase a certain type of bike. I bought my GS cause I like the look of the early 80's superbikes, and because I love riding motorcycles, and because I could afford it...and its bulletproof.\\/ 75,000+ miles and still going strong.

[paperclip]

It's all good, most of the time...

I like to ride to work whenever I can and when my GS550L broke I rode my Honda CT70 clone as its only a few miles to work. Boy does everybody at work tease me! Well, the annual Strugis Rally was coming up and everyone at work was saying that if I rode it during the rally the Harley riders would beat me up. The first day of the rally I went into the local store to get smokes and when I came out there were so many Harleys surrounding my little ride that I couldn't even see it. I asked the guys where my bike was and they didn't seem to get the joke. I don't know if everyone could even see the thing its so small compaired... When I got through all the bikes I sat down and got ready to make a fast (relativley) get-away when 3 of the guys ask me what kind of bike I had? Then three more said that they had learned how to ride on those. We talked about bikes so much I was almost late to work! As I remember Harley didn't make anything even close to those minibikes, and if you really want to trip up a poser ask them what they learned to ride on. I'll bet it was a Jap "POS". As soon as I get everyone in the office to pony up $100 I'm riding it to the rally in a black minishirt and a hot pink tube top (its funny because I'm a guy... And I don't usually cross-dress)!

[UncleMike]

(its funny because I'm a guy... And I don't usually cross-dress)!

The subtle nuance of the English language is what attracted me to a life of writing in the first place.

[steely]

Oops. I´m sure I meant ´perpetuate.´ Whatever. Glad so many of you guys commiserate. I do find a certain amount of snobbery in the world on two wheels, but I think that owning a historic bike of this era brings me just about the most respect I could ask for. A lot of cruiser guys appreciate the GS because it is pre-crotch, old, and still naked, a lot of the sport bike guys like it because it is a Suzuki with a relatively decent sized engine. I even get waves from guys riding in historic cars, just cause its cool to be a dude with your own super fast historic ride that you maintain yourself.

Exceptions aside, I found that when I got my first bike, a huge proportition of the commuting community became pretty friendly to me. Its almost like no matter where I go I can relate to or have a better chance of relying upon a fellow biker. My brother put it best, he feels like the motorcycling community is his own free AAA service, and that totally put the wind at my back. I really only started this thread because I was cold, grumpy, p1ssed off and really just disgusted. My view of every motorcycle rider is still pretty rosy,,, till next time my cable snaps.

Until then!

No matter what you ride/drive you get the snobbery. I have a '58 Bel-air and I get crap from the Tri-five ('55-'57) guys who bought their cars because they were the cool thing. When I pull up to the cruise-in in my old beat ass '58, I can always tell the "car guys" from the *******s. The car guys will come over to talk to me with no snobbery. Same with my old GS. One of my co-workers has been riding Harleys since before I was born. He is one of the first to go out and admire whatever new modification I have made to my bike, even if it is just something as simple as painting something else black. Then there are the guys who will not even wave on the road when they pass because I ride "rice". Screw 'em.

[cloudbreakmd]

I understand about attitude. I get it from all sides. When riding the Harley I get no respect from kids on their sport bikes. I was at a poker run with one of the Gs11s and there was a guy on a ZX12 that absolutely refused to talk to me because I was some old guy on a dinosaur bike, (I asked one of his riding buddies what his deal was and that is what he told me).
As for myself, I'll ride with anybody. All I care about is that you want to ride, even if you just want a ride. As long as you refer to me as a motorcyclist and not a biker we'll get along just fine.

I have had the same experience with some riders and can relate.

[mark]

Went to a superbowl party over the weekend. Somehow the discussion turned to motorcycles. No one liked Harley's all that much. Lots of guys interested in 70's era motorcycles, especially Kawasaki triples.

Hang on to your GS for a while longer. They're gettin' cooler by the minute from what I can tell.

[GScruiser]

No matter what you ride/drive you get the snobbery. I have a '58 Bel-air and I get crap from the Tri-five ('55-'57) guys who bought their cars because they were the cool thing. When I pull up to the cruise-in in my old beat ass '58, I can always tell the "car guys" from the *******s. The car guys will come over to talk to me with no snobbery. Same with my old GS. One of my co-workers has been riding Harleys since before I was born. He is one of the first to go out and admire whatever new modification I have made to my bike, even if it is just something as simple as painting something else black. Then there are the guys who will not even wave on the road when they pass because I ride "rice". Screw 'em.

Exactly, Ive seen and experienced this so many times, Im both a car and motorcycle guy. Its very ridiculous that someone will completley put off another guy for just having something that they do not llike. Its purely snobbery and selfishness.

[MissFabulous]

Last night I was getting ready to tattoo (an eagle on) this guy who looked like many stereotypical old-school bikers around here. We stepped out for a smoke and he started telling me about how his cousin just bought an '00 Harley Sportster and how it was killing him that it's too cold to ride it. I started telling him about my GS project, fully expecting to get attitude from him, then he started telling me about his 82 Yamaha Maxim 750 and how much he likes it and how well it runs. We talked about inline fours and whatnot.

I was the one being judgmental this time!!

[Billyboy]

Last night I was getting ready to tattoo (an eagle on) this guy who looked like many stereotypical old-school bikers around here. We stepped out for a smoke and he started telling me about how his cousin just bought an '00 Harley Sportster and how it was killing him that it's too cold to ride it. I started telling him about my GS project, fully expecting to get attitude from him, then he started telling me about his 82 Yamaha Maxim 750 and how much he likes it and how well it runs. We talked about inline fours and whatnot.

I was the one being judgmental this time!!

Come to think of it. I'm pretty judgmental about HD riders. Automatically I think they're going to be a dick. I better stop that.