tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post9080893920779894181..comments2024-03-22T18:01:20.065-05:00Comments on Geezer with a Grudge: Universally DespisedT.W. Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-33481998184055534052014-03-09T15:38:02.130-05:002014-03-09T15:38:02.130-05:00"One thing that seems to be common between th..."One thing that seems to be common between these two examples is the need to share their incompetence within groups." Rick, I wish I had written that one. Thanks. T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-68456742870192352832014-03-09T15:38:01.664-05:002014-03-09T15:38:01.664-05:00"One thing that seems to be common between th..."One thing that seems to be common between these two examples is the need to share their incompetence within groups." Rick, I wish I had written that one. Thanks. T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-13051648982647969842014-03-02T13:28:00.777-06:002014-03-02T13:28:00.777-06:00Thomas,
Your post struck a nerve. In a quiet camp...Thomas,<br />Your post struck a nerve. In a quiet campsite environment, how can a bunch of similarly outfitted men riding intentionally modified noise-makers be considered anything but an arrogant, anti-social display? What is it that this stereotypical cruiser group that engages them in riding that I cannot relate to? <br /><br />I have enjoyed motorcycling for over forty five years. I am a recently retired northern Wisconsin technical college educator. I’ve enjoyed a couple of decades teaching MSF Rider Courses dating back from the mid-eighties. <br /> <br />I have gone through personal riding periods of youthful exuberance, freedom and exploration, self-doubt, and concern over rider vulnerability. I am forever thankful for my MSF Rider Course teaching experiences. As a result and to this day, I seek out data and research to evolve my knowledge of the skill and art of motorcycling. I attempt to ride with steady focus upon my riding environment and the strategies I am using to continuously improve my riding skills. The unexamined journey is not worth riding…And not very satisfying. Perhaps, this is why I often ride alone these days. <br /> <br />Through the years, I too have watched the evolution of the Harley/Cruiser phenomenon. The past two-plus decades have brought many new riders into the market. Working classers and professionals flocked to the wild side to express their pirate credentials. As I look around me, 90-95% of the working adults I know who do ride, ride Harleys. Too often, these otherwise intelligent members of my community cite looney talking points about loud pipes as safety equipment, ‘advanced’ cruiser technology, the dangerous nature of helmets, ‘silly-looking geek safety gear’, etc. I have been regaled with brave(?) stories of “having to put ‘er down”. <br /> <br />I ride what is often derided as a ‘plastic Asian bike’. I liked to believe that the flood of new well-heeled cruiser riders into the market would bring good will and an appreciation for diverse riding experiences. Instead, it seems to have further factionalized the riding community. <br /> <br />Hooligans are another matter. Whether it is the cruiser with straight pipes next door, the youthful need for the custom exhaust on the sport bike, or the off-roader who tears up private lanes, these riders share something. They are all barking loudly for the attention of others. <br /><br />I admire the well-honed skills of a serious off-road rider. I am aghast at the wobbly cruiser pilot and the abrupt, throttle-junky sport bikers who have little idea how utterly incompetent they appear even to non-riders. One thing that seems to be common between these two examples is the need to share their incompetence within groups. Sadly, the web video evidence of obnoxious anti-social behaviors and awkward riding appears to be driven by group-think. <br /> <br />Upon occasion I find that I can share the joys of motorcycling with an old friend who rides a Harley. Yet as I walk away, I wonder if I may have already been prejudged as another America-hating plastic hooligan. <br /><br />I enjoy your Geezer with a Grudge. <br />Rick FAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06219954205372627882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-57186313418727619422014-03-01T13:27:58.363-06:002014-03-01T13:27:58.363-06:00Andy,
Interesting observations. When we get home ...Andy,<br /><br />Interesting observations. When we get home and I have an internet connection that moves data faster than I can type, I'll see if MA records that sort of data in their crash stats. From MN, it's hard to imagine life on two wheels being anything but 90% Hardly stuff. <br /><br />Hell, I doubt myself probably more than anyone else could manage. I'm good with getting straightened out as often as possible. T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-21303263354993175672014-02-28T07:30:58.244-06:002014-02-28T07:30:58.244-06:00Thomas,
Sorry I didn't see this earlier... bl...Thomas,<br /><br />Sorry I didn't see this earlier... blogger.com seems to have stopped notifying me when people respond to threads I'm watching.<br /><br />It's true, I don't have official numbers, only anecdotal evidence. But I can tell you that in the last four or five years (since I started riding, and paying attention) I've only seen the remnants or reports of a couple significant accidents involving a bike that wasn't a sportbike, and a couple of Harleys that went over in the parking lot while the rider was trying to figure out how to back out of their parking space.<br /><br />On the other hand, during the summer out near Amherst (where I used to live) there was an accident involving a sport bike about every two to three weeks. I think a lot of it may be circumstantial, though: there are five colleges near Amherst, and I've just moved to a similarly college-dense area near Boston. Students buy sport bikes and, by and large, don't get the training they need to ride a big bike safely. There's exactly one repair shop within 15 miles of me that caters to cruisers, and half a dozen that basically won't work on them because their schedule is full of sport bikes. Dealerships are about the same spread, although most of them carry SOME kind of cruiser. I had a heck of a time finding someone to work on my CM450, because most places have a ton of poorly maintained sport bikes that need repairs. At least one told me outright that during the summer they only do crash repair on sport bikes, because that's all they have time for.<br /><br />The other thing that may me skewing my anecdotal statistics is that, in the places I've lived, there was a scarcity of incompetent cruiser riders. They're around, certainly, but the Mass Pike and I-95 tend to keep them limited to small areas. Out near Amherst, there are a lot of overly-loud bikes, but the majority of their riders do more or less know what they're doing, and ride within the limits of their bike and skill. Full face helmets are still rare, but for most of the season they tend towards heavy leather jackets, leather gloves, jeans (a strike against them, granted), and heavy boots. Not perfect, but not terrible either. The other thing to remember is that a lot of the riding season here is pretty chilly: if you're going to ride April through October, you'll likely only want to avoid warm clothes in July and August. Maybe part of June in a hot year.<br /><br />So there is some self-selecting in my data: I've done most of my riding in places where Harley riders are friendly and rare, and sport-bike riders are stupid and plentiful. But it still matches what I see on the regional news, so I'm comfortable taking it as a good a guess, if not absolute truth.<br /><br /><br />As a side note, please, doubt away! I don't mind having my assumptions questioned, and if they are, I'll either back them up or admit they're assumptions.Andy Mckenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11381746284574559808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-78045223185511325562014-02-27T09:05:12.561-06:002014-02-27T09:05:12.561-06:00Ther eis definitely a lot of us vs them when it co...Ther eis definitely a lot of us vs them when it comes to Harley clubs and other riders in these parts. I really wish they'd tone the noise down a bit, but it is part of their image - or so they'd like to think.<br /><br />What does the bumper sticker say - "If loud pipes save lives imagine what learning to ride that thing could do"Trobairitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03453398807198746434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-53642257432581124092014-02-27T08:01:26.718-06:002014-02-27T08:01:26.718-06:00Andy,
I've seen some of the video (YouTube) o...Andy,<br /><br />I've seen some of the video (YouTube) of that growing (but unlikely to survive into adulthood) crowd from the east. I wonder if MA collects enough information to verify your "just about every major motorcycle accident around here involves one or more of these morons" claim? I'm not doubting you, but that would be contrary to general US statistics. Most places I know of that collect that data still show that the majority of deaths are old assholes on cruisers. Here in New Mexico (I don't know about Albuquerque, though), all of the the standard, sportbike, and touring folks seem to be geared up, but the assholes are still wearing pirate outfits, including those idiot masks. T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-5028797524695545102014-02-26T20:22:39.210-06:002014-02-26T20:22:39.210-06:00Around here (Massachusetts, at least the places I&...Around here (Massachusetts, at least the places I've lived) the Harley crowd aren't even the most hated. Yeah, people don't like them, and would only feel bad about their being flattened by a Mack truck because of what it would do to the trucker's schedule, but the ones people REALLY hate are the race bikes. You know the ones... Full face helmet, t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. The ones doing 110 in a 55 zone while everyone else is doing 70, and they're usually not in a lane long enough to turn the blinker off, if they ever turned it on.<br /><br />Almost everyone I talk to about the fact that I ride brings up these idiots, generally as a reason I shouldn't ride. Just about every major motorcycle accident around here involves one or more of these morons. That's the image people around here have of motorcyclists; brain dead morons with no sense of self-preservation. I'd almost rather have the noise-makers. At least when I call the cops, those guys will still be trying to get around the corner to leave my neighborhood when the cops show up.Andy Mckenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11381746284574559808noreply@blogger.com