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Becoming a Biker, Part 3: Instant acceptance to the club
Union Leader ^ | June 16 2002 | JEANNE MORRIS

Posted on 06/16/2002 7:10:48 AM PDT by 2Trievers

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To: sneakypete
I've cited this before - but my favorite result of this RUBbie craze is watching when someone rides up/past on a truely ratted mix of past and recent mostly harley parts and the onlookers thank him on general principles.

"Look ma, a real one!"

Still miss the Commando.

41 posted on 06/16/2002 5:10:42 PM PDT by norton
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To: KirklandJunction
(Snicker)

It IS kind of difficult to kick start anything in tennies without injuring yourself.

42 posted on 06/16/2002 5:12:47 PM PDT by norton
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To: norton
Heck, kicking an early 70's XLCH even with engineering boots was still iffy. Was alot happier when I graduated to a kick FX (Superglide).
43 posted on 06/16/2002 7:00:28 PM PDT by A Navy Vet
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To: uglybiker
nice Guzzi, UB. I've always wanted to ride one of those things . . .

I'm ever so slowly replacing the polished aluminuminumnum bits with chrome on my scooter. Got tired of losing knuckle skin rubbing in all the nooks & crannys, trying to keep the alum, alumum, er, non-chromey bits looking good.

Now I only lose knuckle skin when I drag them on the ground . . .

44 posted on 06/17/2002 1:01:40 AM PDT by BraveMan
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
How many miles per year do you ride?
Many thousands. I am a rider, not a poser.

If you ride an occasional few hours once or twice a month in good weather in non-city traffic, I can see you lasting a thousand years.
I ride on all kinds of roads in all kinds of traffic, including big city traffic such as Boston, Chicago, etc. In a previous life, I spent quite a few years commuting into Boston, which may arguably have the worst drivers in the U.S. It's a place where motorists regard traffic signals as mere recommendations (often ignored :-) and the smaller size and maneuverability of the motorcycle allowed me to avoid more than a few rear-enders that would have otherwise resulted in a dented car or truck.

May the Good Lord keep you safe on your bike all the days that you ride
Thank you! Stay safe yourself, friend.
45 posted on 06/17/2002 1:12:40 AM PDT by pt17
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To: uglybiker
our Arizona Guzzi Rally. We take a 10 gallon stewpot, fill it with water, throw in some coffee and set it on a burner 'til it's done'. We do keep a strainer handy for the bigger chunks.

Bwahaha... Throw some JD in there and I'll be over directly, bud... ;)

46 posted on 06/17/2002 5:46:34 AM PDT by maxwell
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To: pt17
Been riding for almost 50 years and I haven't gone down. IMHO, it is not a given if you're very alert, careful and assume nobody sees you.

That, FRiend, gives me hope of seeing my 30th birthday...

47 posted on 06/17/2002 6:00:01 AM PDT by maxwell
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To: pt17
You are a better, braver man than I. I am not going to wish you luck, because that would be bad luck. :^)
48 posted on 06/17/2002 6:47:35 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: pt17
I ride on all kinds of roads in all kinds of traffic, including big city traffic such as Boston, Chicago, etc.

It must have been a challenge surviving on two wheels in Boston. The few times I've driven there (never ridden) was a real eye opener; aggressive drivers that would take no quarter from the likes found in NYC, LA or Chicago. Speed limit signs there are just so much wasted sheetmetal . . .

Chicago has some of the greasiest city streets I've had the pleasure of sliding on; beware if you get caught there in a light rain. I slid downhill right smack into the middle of an intersection on the south side, against the light. Both tires locked, 1/2 mph, feet on the pegs, sideways right into oncoming traffic. Luckily for me the intersection was a tee that pretty muched forced everyone to drive through slowly. Cagers were looking at me like WTF? A humbling and embarrassing experience, though thankfully not a painful one . . .

That was the day I learned I could do full lock powerslides, feet up, at less than one mph . . .

49 posted on 06/17/2002 6:50:25 AM PDT by BraveMan
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To: BraveMan
It must have been a challenge surviving on two wheels in Boston.

Excluding really nasty weather, it's actually more of a challenge to drive Boston in a car. I was rear-ended twice in the car, which wouldn't have happened if I'd had the bike. When drivers decide they want your lane space at the same time you're occupying it, the bike gives you a good opportunity to cohabit the lane or get out of the way while a car can only collide. When traffic's gridlocked, the bike can usually get thru. As for grease on the road - well, you just have to always be on the lookout for it and remember not to drive in the middle of a lane. MA toolbooths are very greasy in the middle and should be avoided like the plague. Glad you made it through the intersection.
50 posted on 06/17/2002 7:12:25 AM PDT by pt17
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
"Motorcycles are great until that fateful day when a harried soccer mom makes a left turn out of a side street right in front of you. If you ride long enough, you WILL go down."

Interesting, this is exactly what ended my use of a motorcycle as daily transportation. It was an elderly lady who made that left turn out of a side street onto a busy highway right in front of me. I was always very attentive for this sort of thing but the street she came out of was hidden by trees and I couldn't see her till she pulled out. Needless to say I laid it down going about 50. I wasn't very hurt because it had rained the previous day and I bounced on the soft muddy spongey ground. The bike was totalled. While in the ER getting my leg stitched up the Doc said I was very lucky and that in the ER they referred to two wheel transportation as "killcycles" becase they often just bag up the victims who come in. Well, the experience greatly reduced my amount of bike riding and I eventually quit altogether after my first child was born. I have to admit, though, I do miss it.

51 posted on 06/17/2002 7:14:59 AM PDT by joebuck
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To: sneakypete
Damn things kill a HELL of a lot more people than they have ever saved.

Nobody on a cruiser would be caught dead in a real helmet, so how would you collect statistics?

Helmets save lives, the better the helmet the more likely you are to survive a crash. GP and superbike racers wear leather, kevlar and $600 full face helmets because they offer the best protection against injury, not because they give you more space for stickers. I'm not a helmet nazi though- I don't support helmet laws, despite the fact that crashing helmetless is often lethal. Ride however you're comfy.

dissing the Japanese sport bikes

Whatever. The build quality, power output, suspension and brakes on the average new sportbike far exceeds anything the US motorcycle industry can hope to produce, so keep on "dissin" since you won't be able to keep up.

Enjoy the ride.

52 posted on 06/17/2002 7:38:40 AM PDT by xsrdx
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To: 2Trievers
Why do Harley riders always sneer whenever I wave? Is it the khakis and yellow golf shirt? Is it the red bike-colored helmet? The goofy "goin'-too-fast" grin on my face? What?

Why won't the free-spirit individualists accept me into their club? Should I get a bandana and a black vest?

53 posted on 06/17/2002 7:39:14 AM PDT by Wm Bach
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To: uglybiker
Like the old sayin' sez: "Chrome don't git ya home".

Ah...bella, bella... chrome side Eldo - as seen on TV! (or at least in that 1980's Roy Orbison music video)

54 posted on 06/17/2002 7:43:37 AM PDT by Wm Bach
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To: Wm Bach
You can be whomever, whatever you want ... and to heck with the rest ... exude confidence ... it's makes them crazy! You will turn heads ... trust me! LOL &;-)
55 posted on 06/17/2002 8:18:07 AM PDT by 2Trievers
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To: joebuck
Interesting, this is exactly what ended my use of a motorcycle as daily transportation.

Statistically, a car making a left-turn out of a side street in front of you is the most likely way you will die on a motorcycle. There are other ways, of course.

I miss motorcycling too, but I like not being a quadraplegic more.

As you get older and have more invested in your future survival, the enjoyment/risk ratio starts going down. That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

Glad you survived your close encounter and learned from it. I gave it up just before I had mine, I figure.

56 posted on 06/17/2002 8:32:24 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: 2Trievers
Just kidding! Never was a joiner, but I'll keep on waiving just the same.
57 posted on 06/17/2002 8:43:57 AM PDT by Wm Bach
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To: Wm Bach
Great! I like the independent sort! &;-)
58 posted on 06/17/2002 9:21:46 AM PDT by 2Trievers
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To: sneakypete
Buy a double tall latte from Cafe Brioche and enjoy the biker crowd.

holy cow.....

It's just a different world out there. That right there kinda sums up my stereotype of the modern Harley rider.

Seeing stuff like that, and all the wankers hanging out at 'Easy Riders Bar and Grill'--I gotta give my 'outlaw biker' props to the dopey kids drunk on kamikazes doing front wheel stands on their anime jap bikes in the crosswalk

59 posted on 06/17/2002 9:33:21 AM PDT by Cogadh na Sith
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To: xsrdx
Nobody on a cruiser would be caught dead in a real helmet, so how would you collect statistics?

By "cruiser",I assume you mean a actual motorcycle that people ride? It's easy to collect stastics. The NHTSA under Joan Claybrook mandated helmet laws for all 50 states in in the 70's,so the statistics ARE there to see. In fact,they were used as evidence to overturn the mandatory helmet laws in several states. Helmets save lives, the better the helmet the more likely you are to survive a crash.

Who told you this? Claybrook? Giddy Dolt? Your local Honda dealer who wants to sell you a big-buck helmet? The ONLY crashes a helmet MIGHT save you from are the ones where your head hits a glancing blow! If your melon smacks a telephone pole a solid blow at 60MPH,I don't give a damn what kind of cage you built around it,your brain is now jelly and your neck is broken. Ever seen the jelly inside one of these full-face helmets when it is pulled off the broken neck? I have. There is also the undisputable fact that you are more likely to HAVE a accident if you wear a helmet. They restrict your vision,impair your hearing,and are hot and cause fatigue. I know you might have a hard time believing this. So did I until I took a friend up on his dare and started to ride without one. Try it and see for yourself.

GP and superbike racers wear leather, kevlar and $600 full face helmets because they offer the best protection against injury, not because they give you more space for stickers.

They wear them because they DO make sense under those specialized conditions. Nobody is pulling out from a side street,there are no telephone poles or curbs,no horns blaring or other noises they need to hear,and in any accident they are likely to have they are usually able to "tuck and roll" so their head only hits a glancing blow. Their leathers are their real safety devices. What I wrote about smacking your melon at 60MPH is even truer when running at 120+ MPH. You ain't gonna survive a direct hit,and nobody is insane enough to even pretend you will.

60 posted on 06/17/2002 10:10:58 AM PDT by sneakypete
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