I think I owe Salamander an apology. He’s right. It’s a free country and people can and should ride what they want.
I have my strong opinions. I ride ATGATT on a R1150R and my favorite thing is being leaned hard over (peg scraping if I’m ballsy enough) in a corner. Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face. I’m a motorcyclist, not a biker. If I were a rich man, I would fill my garage with marques like Triumph, Aprilia, Ducati, BMW, and KTM.
Melas, you’re right about one thing, a Sportster isn’t a girl’s bike. But I don’t get the H-D thing. It just seems heavy, overly chromed, poor handling, styling that’s a throwback to the 40s. I shake my head at choppers, especially the ones with ginormous rear tires. I don’t understand why anyone would ride a motorcycle to a bar. I don’t understand why anyone would ride bare shouldered, handed, etc. or with just a do-rag to protect the noggin.
I guess I would classify as RUB, but I ride because I like to ride not for any other reason. I’m learning to wrench on my own bike because it’s fun and satisfying to do my own repairs. I don’t do it for any image. I have enough man points in the bank to drive a pink miata to work and not give a hoot.
But I don’t want to be snob either. And I think I crossed the line with Salamander and should’ve kept my comments to myself. Life is too short to be an a-hole. If I ever change my mind and find myself in the market for a trike, I’ll have to look him up. Since I get a discount :)
Salamander is a she. She’s right. Silly internets.
I had one other critical requirement. I like to take a bike to San Diego as my "sanity break". The others are in the garage at home in Idaho. The bike must be in a size range that permits me to load/unload unassisted. I don't have any helpers on either end of the trip. My Harley and Versys fit this specific requirement. The Roadliner has never been packed up. Not certain if I could get it off the trailer.
No grudge, here.
Keep it shiny side up, bro.....;)
Different strokes for different folks. I confess, I had to look up ATGATT, because I had no idea what it meant. I ride NGMOTT, No Gear Most Of The Time.
Funny, but in a way you do get HD thing, but you don't know it. They're throwbacks to the 1940's, that's the reason right there, and you said it. I take great pride in riding HD's very last bike that isn't counter balanced or rubber mounted. I can live with electronics and fuel injection, as they're transparent to the rider. Anything that I can feel, that takes away from the nostalgia, I'm against.
As for the bar, hell, you gotta get there somehow. I'd rather ride my bike to the bar than drive my Explorer. The Explorer exists primarily as a way to get my other passion, mountain bikes, to the trails.
I guess I would classify as RUB, but I ride because I like to ride not for any other reason. I’m learning to wrench on my own bike because it’s fun and satisfying to do my own repairs. I don’t do it for any image. I have enough man points in the bank to drive a pink miata to work and not give a hoot.
I hear you there. I had a conversation months ago with some guy here (I won't call him a FReeper) who's all hung up on outward appearances. Told me that it was effeminate to order a strawberry margarita in a biker bar after spending all day in the saddle.
Me, I'm a biker. It's as much a lifestyle or subculture as it is about motorcycles. Don't get me wrong, we're not all the same. There are things about biker culture that even I don't understand, like the unhealthy attachment to Lynard Skynard. I'm really more of a NIN kind of guy.
But I don’t want to be snob either.
That's a good start. I think I was 15, when I wanted to buy a "No Rice" patch from a vendor at a rally. One of the guys we were with, a full patch kinda guy, stopped me and told me that it was disrespectful and that if he knew my old man as well as he thought he did, I wasn't riding a Harley out of the gate. He was right, I turned 16 and my father bought me a Honda Twinstar 185. I rode that thing from Denver to St. Louis. That's what I call being a biker.
Btw, you’re not a RUB. You’re a motorcyclist. RUB is just a another word for poser. Like I said, the guy who wears a tie 5 days a week and then tries to look hard with 3 days of stubble, factory distressed leathers, temporary tattoos (we noticed), and a cool biker nickname that he picked out for himself.
I’ve got nothing against the orthodontist who loves motorcycles, just drop the airs. Don’t call your wife your ol’ lady in the company of bikers if you don’t call her that at home. Just say that your career and ink don’t mix. Most of all, please for God’s sake, don’t give yourself a nickname with “wolf” in it, we not only know, but we laugh behind your back.
Note for clarity: Melas refers to his spouse as his wife or his bride, but never his ol’ lady, and used equally respectful terms for his parents when they were alive.