Author Topic: Types of Bikers  (Read 19491 times)

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mikenepal

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on: July 18, 2009, 06:54:10 am
There are many types of bikers some have a shiny bike they endlessly polish and matching leathers that race around knee down that is their choice.

There are Harley owners who like the cruising style, for others like me black leather is the colour of choice a pair of old army boots and combat pants, riding an old CBR1000.

Some people just enjoy the freedom of sitting on a machine they can feel not inside a box listening to crap on the radio or the same CD over and over, driving down the same boring roads.

Some people want to escape the rat race just for a short period of time and have control over there lives that is what I think motorcycling is about.

Some kick the A**e out of it like me and live in Nepal riding around through the Himalayan foothills on a old unreliable British bike, with the mentality of if the bike makes it, (which it normally does, I have an excellent mechanic) stopping anywhere knowing I will always be able to get a cup of tea.

My riding style has adapted for the conditions gone is the leather jacket (it’s just too hot) the main safety equipment is sunglasses to keep the dust out of my eyes, within the towns a helmet that’s about it.

Nepal has all the freedom a biker would want

Regards Mike



Chasfield

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Reply #1 on: July 18, 2009, 08:24:04 am
I think there are fulfilled and unfulfilled bikers.

You get the race replica types who spend more on their leathers than I did on my motorcycle, but they still seem bored and uninvolved. Or the the Boss Hoss guy who can't think what else to do with his steed after he has melted his first two back tyres, just like he saw on YouTube.

But Bullet owners, and classic bike owners in general, just have to be enthusiasts to go the way they have gone. Deeper involvement with their machines, and fellow enthusiasts, is inevitable and welcomed.

Some people are concerned solely with the fancy resort where they spend their summer vacation, others are more concerned with how they make the journey and what they see on the way there.
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mikenepal

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Reply #2 on: July 18, 2009, 08:30:07 am
I think I may have started a thread that appeals to the real bikers in all of us, its not getting there is how you get there and why?

I have posted a couple of pics on the trips/ride section so you can understand my reasoning

« Last Edit: July 18, 2009, 02:00:09 pm by mikenepal »


Chasfield

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Reply #3 on: July 18, 2009, 09:07:16 am
Another bike that reveals distinct motorcycle philosophies is the six cylinder Benelli Sei in its 750 and 900cc forms.

Those machines were damned with faint praise when they came out in th 1970s, mainly because they didn't melt the tarmac quite as much as expected. Power and torque outputs were no better than any equivalent displacement, run-of-the-mill, four cylinder Japanese machine. The motorcycle journalists quickly moved on to the next crop of UJMs to get a better all-expenses-paid power kick.

But have a look and listen to some Benelli Sei footage on YouTube. If I had one of those machines I'd be forever starting it up on its center stand just to hear it idle. That straight six sound is so charismatic. The motor makes even sweeter music when it is opened up on the road. And just look at that fabulous church organ array of six silencers.

If you see such a machine as worthless just because it lost the BHP and foot pounds race by a small margin then you are just an appliance user and not a real motorcyclist at all.

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Reply #4 on: July 18, 2009, 04:01:14 pm
I did a bogus survey on facebook and I turned out to be a 'vincent' style motorcyclist. This means I wear durable cloths and have a laid back riding style. I have always thought that riders that fall hook, line and sinker for the 'all-out' accessories and clothing are entertaining in that they are who the companies target. I ride to work on my bike every day, rain or shine, and this means dress casual and no riding gear outside of a helmet. I live in a small town and probably pass the same people day in and day out. On the other hand, on a long ride in unfamilar territory, I add more protective gear, which means leather. Leather also is a must on cold days.
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ace.cafe

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Reply #5 on: July 18, 2009, 04:22:37 pm
Another bike that reveals distinct motorcycle philosophies is the six cylinder Benelli Sei in its 750 and 900cc forms.

Those machines were damned with faint praise when they came out in th 1970s, mainly because they didn't melt the tarmac quite as much as expected. Power and torque outputs were no better than any equivalent displacement, run-of-the-mill, four cylinder Japanese machine. The motorcycle journalists quickly moved on to the next crop of UJMs to get a better all-expenses-paid power kick.

But have a look and listen to some Benelli Sei footage on YouTube. If I had one of those machines I'd be forever starting it up on its center stand just to hear it idle. That straight six sound is so charismatic. The motor makes even sweeter music when it is opened up on the road. And just look at that fabulous church organ array of six silencers.

If you see such a machine as worthless just because it lost the BHP and foot pounds race by a small margin then you are just an appliance user and not a real motorcyclist at all.



Chasfield,
I owned a 1977 Benelli 750 SEI ,which  I acquired around 1984.
It was a red and black one, and it had the 6 chrome megaphones on it, and it also had a spare 6-into-1 black racing pipe in the box of spares.
It was an extraordinarily lovely motorycle, and it was amazingly smooth.
The engine was almost identical design to the Honda 550 four-cylinder, with 2 extra cylinders hung onto it.

Overall, a very nice bike that turned alot of heads. A bit too wide for real sporting performance, but it was a great GT bike or boulevard machine.
Sort of like a motorcycle equivalent of the DeTomaso Pantera, and DeTomaso owned Benelli at the time the SEI was made, so the parallels are evident.

It looked exactly like this one. Same color scheme, and mine was very shiny and in great shape too.


At the same time that I owned the Benelli, I also owned a 1977 Laverda 1000-3c Jarama, which was kitted to 1200cc and had hc pistons, performance cams, and big carbs. It was Laverda orange, with black trim, just like a Jota. It was an  early one with the 180-degree crank throws, and it howled like a banshee.
The exhaust note of that big 180 triple in full song was something to behold.
That was an awesome bike.
A bit top-heavy, and didn't handle as well as my bevel-drive Ducatis, but it was fast as blazes, and very exotic in its own right.
Everybody should get at least one chance to wring-out an old Laverda 3c. It's fun!

My Laverda Jarama was just like this one,except mine was a 77 which had the chrome fenders like the Jota had.




That was one helluva pair of motorcycles to own at the same time!
I was doing pretty good financially at that time, and was living in the Chicago suburbs.
I bought both of those bikes from Buzz Walneck, for $1350 each.
« Last Edit: July 18, 2009, 04:53:36 pm by ace.cafe »
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Chasfield

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Reply #6 on: July 18, 2009, 05:46:56 pm
Great bikes, Ace.

Those motorcycles have soul.

There was a guy in our town who had a Jota and I was always a bit envious.
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Reply #7 on: July 19, 2009, 07:09:40 am
The key to all this, as mentioned in the opening post, is freedom, which is an interesting subject , especially pertaining to bikes.  I consider myself both luckyand unlucky in not having much of a history with bikes and biking in that, really, I only got started a year and some months ago, though having brief forays into bike ownership in the past.  But I was never part of any biking culture, and never been much for putting on a disguise, I guess it could be called.  But I think most people on this forum are that way.  Most of us have our old British-style bikes and are content with them, though liking to look at even older bikes, or unique ones, that come our way.  Are we free?  Well, the passion for old style bikes could be restrictive, I guess, but for most of us the freedom of enjoying the ride, the sound of the ride and messing about with the bikes inners and outers is a pleasure and not a burden - so I guess to that extent we are free. 

There is no biking culture here, of course, only a few bikes and all pretty different, most small, a new Honda and a fairly new Suzuki, and never do we meet up, except to wave in passing.
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Reply #8 on: July 19, 2009, 07:17:10 am
Me I like almost all motorcycles and don't care what a person rides as long as they are cool with me . "Two wheels and your knees in the breeze"  ;D
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Reply #9 on: July 19, 2009, 02:34:31 pm
Well the older I get the more protection I wear year round because I will break if I don't stop going around corners all leaned over.  ;)


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Reply #10 on: July 19, 2009, 05:48:26 pm
Well,  I will step in it a bit and say that the only fellow bikers I don't really get a good vibe from are those baby boomers riding BMWs with all that high vis gear on.    These are the same people that won't even test drive a domestic automobile.  I guess it might be related to my dady issues..
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Reply #11 on: July 19, 2009, 05:52:32 pm
I'm not a biker, I'm a motorcycle enthusiast.
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Reply #12 on: July 19, 2009, 10:39:34 pm
  Since I've rode evrything from H-D to Brit I guess I'm pretty tolerant of all bikers/enthusiasts as long as they leave the attitude at home.  Have rode on long distance rides with gangs (Angels), have rode solo across the U.S. on a Goldwing (road couch).  Can't deal with an attitude..have actually had more rude attitudes from Beemer/Ducati riders than any 1%er.  Have to say the nicest group to run into is a Goldwing Club on the road.  They are way to nice.  Will.
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PhilJ

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Reply #13 on: July 20, 2009, 01:40:46 am
Ya know Will, I'd ridden Beemers for near 40 yrs. till I got my RE. The beemer bunch in the 70's was really good. We were stubbed by other brands. But your right, and one factor for my bailing the Beemers, the new bunch really are snobbish.

Incidentally, the other and most important reason to bail is their not bikes anymore. My last BMW needed 13 screw and 3 panels removed for me to check the battery. Go figure!


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Reply #14 on: July 20, 2009, 01:53:52 am
I don't think it's a bike type... its a rider type.

Its the same with a lot of groups. I just got back from diving, and diving is neatly divided into two types:

1) Really cool people who relax underwater and just want to look at neat stuff.
2) Assholes.

The second group can be further subdivided:

A) Gearheads. They've got every piece of equipment ever devised, and don't know how to use ANY of it.
B) Cash cows. They like to dive because it's an expensive sport and they can spend the evenings telling you how much they spent on everything
C) Egomaniacs (mostly doctors and lawyers). This group ignores everything the divemaster tells them and goes down and will start ripping up the coral if they think it will make a nice decoration at home.

There are other minor subgroupings.

My favorite was one guy, a doctor, who had all the gear, was always first in line to get off the boat, but it took him an hour to put on ALL his crap including extra tanks and video cameras and lights so everyone had to wait for him, and then when he got in the water he would stomp on the coral to make sure he got good footing for a good shot. Once when a divemaster told us we might see hammerhead at about 100 feet down, the divemaster told us that if we saw them, to freeze and let everyone else slowly come down... that way we could all see them. Sure enough, one diver saw a hammerhead and froze... Then ASSHOLE barrelled past with his videocam to get some footage and the sharks all left.

On the boat, he offered to show everyone his great hammerhead footage...

Luckily, I was only on his boat for one day; if I'd had to put up with him longer I would have cut his air at about 80 feet...

It's the same with motorcyclists. There are great ones and there are terrible ones.. and plenty in between.
 


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Reply #15 on: July 20, 2009, 03:50:32 am
Ya know Will, I'd ridden Beemers for near 40 yrs. till I got my RE. The beemer bunch in the 70's was really good. We were stubbed by other brands. But your right, and one factor for my bailing the Beemers, the new bunch really are snobbish.

Incidentally, the other and most important reason to bail is their not bikes anymore. My last BMW needed 13 screw and 3 panels removed for me to check the battery. Go figure!

  Met up with a guy years ago in East Texas on an old airhead we rode to California together.  Ran into a BMW riders group at a rest stop..they resmebled what Goeff described.  and let you know about.  We lasted about 10 minutes and had to go..stopped about a mile further down the road.  But in their defense the new H-D crowd is about the same.  And the new H-D's are the same as the Beemrs, to much mechanical waste to be believed.  Will.
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scoTTy

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Reply #16 on: July 20, 2009, 04:56:39 am
wOw undeRwAteR gEEks :o



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Reply #17 on: July 20, 2009, 07:30:44 am
Most everyone around where I live is pretty nice.  Whenever I pass by another biker, they always give me either that low wave (that I still don't know what it means) or a peace sign/wave above bar combo.  I always reciprocate.  There are always those few that refuse to acknowledge anything but their '83 Harley Sportster with Dual Reverse Megaphone Spinner Exhausts with Blue Flame Paintjobs as real motorcycles, but those people are usually from out of town, and it's safe to ignore them.

It's all about attitude.  If they're nice, be nice.  If they're smug, act nicely, but subtly smugger, so they'll begin to doubt themselves on the ride off.  At least that's what I hope.  Kind of like those guys who rob banks by pretending to work there - it's all about attitude and how you present yourself.
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Reply #18 on: July 22, 2009, 09:41:04 pm
   Well, I've been a biker seance I was born 49 years ago. Both my folks rode. Motorcycles are my passion in life. Not a life style. I rode 1000's of miles in the dirt from age 6 to 15, and over 250.000 miles on the street seance. I've rid en in the rain, snow, fog, wind storms, etc. I've had some bad spills, and broken many bones. My first streetbike was a 1964 H-D Panhead I bought as a basket case, and had her going with the help of my dad and his brothers when I got my learners permit at age 15 1/2.
 To me you have to pay your dues to be a biker. Getting out a credit card, and buying a motorcycle DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BIKER....PERIOD ! It is an insult to all real bikers for these weenies to call themselves bikers. They are posers. They might go on a 30 mile ride, and then hang out at a bar trying to impress eachother.
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Reply #19 on: July 23, 2009, 01:27:38 am
  You hit that one on the head, learned from pop, J, G, Knuckles, first real bike was a basket 750 Triumph chopper.  Many miles and good and bad days since.  Just in it for the ride..Will.
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Reply #20 on: July 23, 2009, 02:27:15 am
The word 'poser' says a lot, doesn't it?  One can be a complete newbie to biking and take to it like a fish to water and, in a sense be considered a true biker (bike enthusiast) and one can be a groupie type, just posing for effect and never really understand what it is really all about. But this will be true with whatever they do.  Experience helps a lot, but it is more to do with attitude, at whatever stage is reached.  Some are born 'posers' some lead real lives no matter what they are involved in.

There is a Zen expression "cat catching rat" which, when you think about it puts it all in perspective.
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1Blackwolf1

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Reply #21 on: July 23, 2009, 03:20:51 am
  LJ you nailed it..got to love the Buddhist thought process.  Thanks, Will.
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Reply #22 on: July 23, 2009, 05:28:55 am
"If you have to explain it they won't understand it"


No matter where you go, there, you are.


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Reply #23 on: July 23, 2009, 06:21:49 am
Well, things like I wouldn't say I"m a "biker" if your definition of a biker is someone who devotes their life to it.  Nothing wrong with that, but that's just not me.  I see the bike as a tool for me to use, not a key into a social world.  Other people see it as the opposite.  If people put you down or look down upon you for not devoting your life to something you HAPPEN to own, then that's their prerogative, but it's wrong.  On the flipside, don't try to fit in to a social group if you're not willing to play by the rules of the social group; if one of their rules is devotion and you can't give that, then it's probably not for you.  The coin has two sides.

In short, give mutual respect, and expect nothing more in return.
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ace.cafe

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Reply #24 on: July 23, 2009, 04:40:06 pm
Ridden bikes all my life, so I suppose that makes me a "biker".

Around here, most everybody waves, even the Harley dudes.
I'm usually the first to wave, because it's a habit I got into a long time ago. Some new bikers don't even know what the waving thing is all about. It doesn't bother me at all if somebody doesn't wave back.

Anyway, it's all fun.
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Reply #25 on: July 23, 2009, 05:18:36 pm
Well, my fellow enthusiasts, I developed a wave that invariably produces a friendly response and goes like this:

I raise my arm a foot or two above my shoulder with my hand simulating a gripped revolver with the hammer cocked.  I never point the "gun" to the oncoming rider as I drop the hammer and "fire the revolver" in the air.  It's sort of like the image of a cowboy firing his six shooter in the air in those old black and white, B western movies.   ;) 
Long live the Bullets and those who ride them!

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Reply #26 on: July 23, 2009, 05:24:16 pm
that would'nt work here on a sat or sun. you would be riding with one hand in the air almost all the time . i even get tired waving the regular way. the wave started back when there were few bikes on the road.
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Reply #27 on: July 23, 2009, 05:26:05 pm
Br. Bob, those are excellent points!
Long live the Bullets and those who ride them!

Keep the shiny side up, the boots on the pegs and best REgards,

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Reply #28 on: July 26, 2009, 06:33:16 am
 You see it all on the road. RUBs,posers,1 percenters,bikers,motorcycle enthuisist, etc,etc...
 I spent my early years with my first real bike (cb750)learning to fix it or cussing while pushing it home. Had a 75 HD XLCH as my only transportation for years when I first joined the Army. It was work on it for 10 hrs to ride it 2 hrs. This was when the HD dealer was not a botique. I'd spend hrs there picking the mechanics brain and meeting 2 types of people. Hardcore bikers and blue collar guys that used it to go back and forth to work. Bikes were not socialy acepted, you were seen as a trouble maker or "white trash".
 Now jump forward to today. They are seen as toys to alot of "bikers". Some own them to say "look at me,mine cost 50 thousand so I'm cooler than you"
 Then you have the "lifestyle" bikers. Bike being rebuilt in the kitchen,MC club member,tats, the whole nine yards. It's a way of life.
 Me? I give less than a damn that you spent 10 thousand on a gayass paintjob or had a billet alu. asslicker installed. You're a RUB, a "credit card biker".  You're very low on the food chain. Usually an A**hole.
 Some buy a bike to ride once a month on sunday and spend the rest of the month cleaning it. Anal?
 Others just want to ride. Feel the wind and enjoy riding their bike. More or less likes doing their own maint. Yep' your a biker.
 
 
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Reply #29 on: July 27, 2009, 05:21:45 pm
I was Harley, when Harley wasn't cool.

Motor


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Reply #30 on: July 27, 2009, 06:42:23 pm
  Probably back in the day when you could buy a running H-D (like my first panhead) for under $1k, I remember those days.  Will.
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Reply #31 on: July 28, 2009, 01:32:16 am
Biker, motorcycle enthusiast, I'm just a dude on a bike.


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Reply #32 on: July 28, 2009, 02:23:36 am
From what has been said, I don't think I qualify as a true enthusiast in that biking is only a portion of my life, which I enjoy but to which I am limited by having too many other interests and things to do.  It has always been that way with other things as well.  I sure enjoy it and there is really no one else here to enjoy it with or for whom to show off, so I just ride when I get a chance and have to leave it at that.
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Reply #33 on: July 28, 2009, 06:51:56 am
  Enjoying motorcycling makes you a biker/enthusiast, not necessarily how much seat time you get.  And it doesn't mean you have to ride with a group or be seen by anyone.  It's the freedom of the road, and the wind in your face.  I've met guys that ride 450 Honda's from the late 70's who are more a biker/rider/enthusiast than those who spend 25k on whatever and know not what it means to be free on a bike, or why they really got one.  Those are the posers.  Just blend with the road LJ, that's all it is/what it's about.  Will.
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Reply #34 on: July 28, 2009, 07:16:49 am
  Enjoying motorcycling makes you a biker/enthusiast, not necessarily how much seat time you get.  And it doesn't mean you have to ride with a group or be seen by anyone.  It's the freedom of the road, and the wind in your face.  I've met guys that ride 450 Honda's from the late 70's who are more a biker/rider/enthusiast than those who spend 25k on whatever and know not what it means to be free on a bike, or why they really got one.  Those are the posers.  Just blend with the road LJ, that's all it is/what it's about.  Will.

Yes, you have nailed it! Simply said and quite right, Blackwolf.
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Blue Ridge Wheeltor

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Reply #35 on: July 28, 2009, 08:14:31 pm
I think I am getting together with Uncle Louie and forming "Sons of Malarkey" MC
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DNash

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Reply #36 on: July 31, 2009, 04:38:17 am
  Enjoying motorcycling makes you a biker/enthusiast, not necessarily how much seat time you get.  And it doesn't mean you have to ride with a group or be seen by anyone.  It's the freedom of the road, and the wind in your face.  I've met guys that ride 450 Honda's from the late 70's who are more a biker/rider/enthusiast than those who spend 25k on whatever and know not what it means to be free on a bike, or why they really got one.  Those are the posers.  Just blend with the road LJ, that's all it is/what it's about.  Will.

Nail, head, etc.

Very well said, sir.


luoma

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Reply #37 on: July 31, 2009, 05:05:30 pm
I love threads like this. No right or wrong answers. I grew up on minibikes with lawnmower engines, the graduated to small dual-purpose bikes (learn in the dirt, stay alive on the road). I've ridden a variety of bikes over the years and stopped riding aor awile because they go too sophisticated (no personality).

I think the two types I can most easily pick out are those who rode for the journey and those who ride for the destination.

Roads are the same. You can look at some roads and immediately see they were made for the destination. They flatten hills and bridge rivers. They run straight, true and boring. Other roads rise and fall, twist and turn, and generally cooperate with their environment. These roads are made for the journey.

I was attracted to RE because it is a bike made for the journey, the riding experience. They could have easily followed the current trends of bigger, faster quieter, smoother, etc. But they purposely attempted to retain character.

I still get to my destinations, but I am in no hurry. Once I get there, the ride is over. That makes me sad.


LJRead

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Reply #38 on: July 31, 2009, 07:50:46 pm
Nice post, luoma.  I get the feeling that a 'biker' could be anyone who enjoys bikes, from maybe one who polishes but rarely rides, just enjoying the beauty of the beast to those like our iron butted Jim who cruises throughout the western states with miles and miles of road time.  The social aspect was mentioned as well and I can't see anything really wrong with that.  If someone wants to pay big bucks for a chrome harley and wears all the correct paraphernalia, if it gives enjoyment, that's fine too.  Not for others to judge.
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csbdr

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Reply #39 on: August 01, 2009, 12:48:31 pm
Don't know what I am, but I started riding about 10 yrs ago.  Started like alot of folks, with a cruiser, watching all those lame Discovery Channel shows, dreaming of a BIG CHOPPER....then I got my Ural.  That thing changed everything.  I HAD to learn how to wrench, and now do most of my own work. I commute on a bike every chance I get, have had an old Suzuki and 2 RE's since, and dream of getting an older triumph to tinker on and get running as a project.  It's become a part of me instead of just something I do.  I dress how it makes sense to me, not how someone tells me the lifestyle "should" look. AND...the cruiser tends to sit in the garage.  Probably the only reason it stays is it's the most comfortable ride for my wife.  Whatever this makes me I don't know...enthusiest definately....I'm just HAVIN" FUN!!


geoffbaker

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Reply #40 on: August 01, 2009, 04:01:10 pm
csbdr,

That's what its all about, and I feel the same way.

I dress like I ride, what seems comfortable and makes sense. No gay pirate rig for me...

I do wish that I could safely have fun riding in shorts and no helmet....

instead I put on my armor mesh jacket and the Nolan full face and head out into the 100 degree Tucson sun...

oh well each to his own


1Blackwolf1

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Reply #41 on: August 01, 2009, 11:47:33 pm
csbdr,

I dress like I ride, what seems comfortable and makes sense. No gay pirate rig for me...



  Thanks for the mental image Geoff..now you got me thinking sailor from Village People.  Man....yuck.  Will.
Will Morrison
2007 500 Military
2000 Kawasaki Drifter 1500
2000 Victory V92SC
1976 Suzuki GT185 Rebuilder Special..AKA (Junkyard Dog)
Many, many other toys.
The garage is full.