Squids

[CC Cowboy]

This is a post from a forum of local riders I hang out with. Harley riders don't have all the fun.

"So I am driving to New Smyrna Beach today, when 3 freaking squid riders decide to ride the shoulder, right turn lane, and in between cars down SR 44. And of course they have their helmets on the back of the bike. They were also riding in tank tops, no jackets.... I think 1 was riding with no eye protection. This is why bike insurance is so high and sport bikers have bad raps....

Sorry for the rant, just really rubbed me the wrong way. "


Not only do cagers hate bikers, so do other bikers.

[CodE-E]

Wth, I don't even ride my bicycle without at least eye protection. Getting f***ing bugs in your eyes really hurts! x_O

[kevlarorc]

saw some really cool guy the other day at the grocery store on a big sportbike rockin the wifebeater and backward baseball cap...

[ScraitT]

I still don't understand why it bothers everyone. Is it stupid? YES. But it doesn't affect you, so who cares if they loose all their skin when they go down.

And before someone comes and yells "It screws my insurance rates"...that's NOT true. The way they ride screws insurance rates, but the gear wore doesn't.
Harleys and cruisers are dirt cheap to insure, and that general group of riders is known to never wear gear. Your far more likely to find a sport bike wearing a helmet and jacket then a Harley rider, yet Harleys are far cheaper to insure.

Now when they ride like idiots, speeding, weaving, and wheely-ing, then yes that endangers others and raises insurance.

[Daeldren]

Meh, I never see them riding my favorite spots. Usually on the way back from the mountain back roads you will see a few posing at gas stations and trying to look cool on the strip. Other than the fact that them acting stupid and getting injured increases the insurance rates I could care less about them.

Had a couple of guys on gixxers revving their engines behind me at every stop light a few weeks back, they decided not to turn down the road that leads to the nice hairpin twisties on 176. I mean seriously is your engine not holding idle or something?

[Soujyu]

Yup, I see people like that all the time.

To tell you the truth, some of the squids scare me more than the cagers. A few weeks ago, I was on a highway and I witnessed a bunch of guys on literbikes pass me IN MY LANE doing 90-110 mph easily, and one of them was doing a wheelie at those speeds!

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by ScraitT

I still don't understand why it bothers everyone. Is it stupid? YES. But it doesn't affect you, so who cares if they loose all their skin when they go down.

And before someone comes and yells "It screws my insurance rates"...that's NOT true. The way they ride screws insurance rates, but the gear wore doesn't.
Harleys and cruisers are dirt cheap to insure, and that general group of riders is known to never wear gear. Your far more likely to find a sport bike wearing a helmet and jacket then a Harley rider, yet Harleys are far cheaper to insure.

Now when they ride like idiots, speeding, weaving, and wheely-ing, then yes that endangers others and raises insurance.

Your argument has one flaw. In accidents that are not the riderr's fault and could not have been avoided by the rider, your argument assumes that there will be no additional injury without gear. This is incorrect. Also, a rock to the face or a wasp in your eye certainly can cause an accident no matter how they ride.

[bdavison]

My beef is that when they wreck they take out a perfectly good motorcycle.

[Daeldren]

Originally Posted by bdavison

My beef is that when they wreck they take out a perfectly good motorcycle.

[Greg_E]

It is not limited to cycles. Went for a nice ride yesterday and when I got back in town I had some asshat tailgating me in a vette. Every stop light he was revving his engine with the stupid loud exhaust. Wish I had a pocket full of pennies that I could let slip out and into his perfectly polished bodywork. When he finally got a spot on a double lane and went around (even though I was far from under the speed limit) he of course had to floor it. I flipped him off and said a few words, at the next light he was considering saying something then realized I would beat the shine off his car without even thinking about it, and the harleys around me would join in for fun.

I really need to find a way to drop objects that will bounce of the idiot behind my and not give any outward signs that I chucked it. Nuts, bolts, pennies, gravel, something common that might be kicked up on the roads

[Greg_E]

When they wreck it just makes parts for all the rest of us to buy. Only hurts things when they ride something that do not have a big production run, or is no longer available.

[Sailariel]

Originally Posted by kevlarorc

saw some really cool guy the other day at the grocery store on a big sportbike rockin the wifebeater and backward baseball cap...

A psychologist friend says, "Backwards baseball cap, deduct 50 IQ points"

[Cab305]

I always found it odd, its a baseball hat, yet you aren't playing baseball. Meanwhile I wear my lucha libre mask to the grocery store, and I'm considered a public menace!

[Flow]

Originally Posted by ScraitT

I still don't understand why it bothers everyone. Is it stupid? YES. But it doesn't affect you

It does affect me. My own family thinks I'm an idiot for riding a sport bike. Why? They think sport bike riders and squids are one and the same. I guess they think me wearing gear and riding responsibly is just a show for when they're around.

Aside from that, you know they're posers. Do wiggers (for the older crowd; that's not a racial slur) not irritate you?

Posers in general are highly irritating.

[littledog]

When I was in high school, Jacksonville FL beaches area, (there is a very big Navy base nearby) "squids" were the navy enlisted guys. They were pretty distinctive: 1. haircut 2. attitude... "I'm going nuts today cause tomorrow we leave on a 7 mo cruise"


So what is a squid?

[Flow]

Originally Posted by littledog

When I was in high school, Jacksonville FL beaches area, (there is a very big Navy base nearby) "squids" were the navy enlisted guys. They were pretty distinctive: 1. haircut 2. attitude... "I'm going nuts today cause tomorrow we leave on a 7 mo cruise"


So what is a squid?

[littledog]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

This is a post from a forum of local riders I hang out with. Harley riders don't have all the fun.

"So I am driving to New Smyrna Beach today, when 3 freaking squid riders decide to ride the shoulder, right turn lane, and in between cars down SR 44. And of course they have their helmets on the back of the bike. They were also riding in tank tops, no jackets.... I think 1 was riding with no eye protection. This is why bike insurance is so high and sport bikers have bad raps....

Sorry for the rant, just really rubbed me the wrong way. "


Not only do cagers hate bikers, so do other bikers.

I lived in DeLand for a long time. My parents live there. SR44 is infamous.

[toast]

Originally Posted by ScraitT

I still don't understand why it bothers everyone. Is it stupid? YES. But it doesn't affect you, so who cares if they loose all their skin when they go down.

It does affect me when some idiot chooses to not wear gear and has an accident: my taxes help pay for his or her treatment. And here in BC where we have a Crown Corporation that provides all of the basic insurance for every vehicle in the province it does affect my insurance rates when squids pay the price for their poor decisions; the more claims that are paid out the higher the premiums are. I'd say that riders not wearing gear will result in a higher insurance claim (especially since the insurance company covers the medical costs, not the provincial health plan).

So yeah, it burns me when I see someone making such a stupid decision knowing that I'll be indirectly subsidizing their stupidity

But this argument isn't applicable everywhere.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by ScraitT

I still don't understand why it bothers everyone. .

Originally Posted by Flow

It does affect me.

Originally Posted by littledog

So what is a squid?

Originally Posted by toast

It does affect me when some idiot chooses to not wear gear and has an accident:.

Motorcycle riders became big after WWII. It was the freedom to do whatever you wanted ( as long as it didn't hurt anyone else). Lets keep it that way.

Don't judge others! Be who you want to be and leave everyone else to be who they want.

[toast]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Motorcycle riders became big after WWII. It was the freedom to do whatever you wanted (as long as it didn't hurt anyone else). Lets keep it that way.

Don't judge others! Be who you want to be and leave everyone else to be who they want.

I try. It probably doesn't sound like it in my post, but I do. I try to remember that anyone on two wheels has at least a little bit in common with me. And I don't hate "them" (whoever "they" are at any given moment ) but I do question their choices, as I'm sure some people question mine!

[ScraitT]

My point was that everyone calls a sportbike rider that wears no gear a squid. How is someone riding a GSXR1000 with no gear any different then someone riding a Harley with no gear? You NEVER hear people call Harley riders a squid.

Whats the difference between someone riding a Busa, at the speed limit, going to the gym on the weaken wearing just sunglasses and another rider in FULL gear, going down the highway at 120 weaving in and out of traffic? The second guy is the one that causes insurance to skyrocket and people to view us as idiots.

You argue that the first guy getting into a wreck causes higher insurance because his bills are more...but how are his bills going to be any difference from a guy riding a Harley in no gear?
If a guy on a sport bike wearing no eye protection gets hit by a bug and crashes, it can just as easily happen to a harley rider.
Harleys are dirt cheap to insure compared to sport bikes....so that can't be it.

Now unfortunately, a LOT of the time, the ones you see speeding and driving like the idiots are also the ones that don't wear gear. But not always. I'll take a safe rider in no gear on the roads any day to an idiot in full gear doing 120.

If your family views you as an idiot because other bikers are, thats YOUR responsibility to prove to them your a safe rider.

It all comes down to the rider, not the gear he or she is wearing.

[TrueFaith]

If there's a new kind of squid out there, it has to be new Harley riders. The other day at the post office, a brand new Harley pulled up next to my car. The entire lot was empty, but this guy pulls up next to and almost hits my car door parking the thing. It was obvious he could barely handle his new bike. Guy was older than me and I rarely see anyone older than me riding. "New bike?"..."yep". Gee...I would have never known except when you almost face-planted my door there partner.
Tonight another Harley got behind me on the back roads. The guy had so many lights on the thing it looked like something off the set of "Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind". So he gets right up on my ass even though I'm doing 5mph over the speed limit. The entire interior of my car was lit up like an airport from this guy's lights. I thought he might just be an intimidating jerk until I realized he wasn't staying with me in the turns, but as soon as the road got straight he got right on my ass again.
After a few more turns where he couldn't even maintain the speed limit I realized he was just an inept moron who had no business on a bike, much less a Harley.
Every other Harley guy I see is like these guys lately. They seem to think buying a Harley automatically makes you an "experienced" motorcyclist or something. It's no wonder there are so many "slightly used" Harleys for sale all the time. I think the difference is that the Harley riders at least realize they can't ride and give it up before they crash, unlike many sportbike riders.

[Flow]

Tyler, I'm assuming that post was directed at me. I never said anything about Harley riders. A rider in full gear doing 120 vs a rider in no gear going the speed limit? To me they're both idiots unworthy of respect (as a motorcyclist, not as a person) and they both give the rest a bad name.

[ScraitT]

Originally Posted by Flow

Tyler, I'm assuming that post was directed at me. I never said anything about Harley riders. A rider in full gear doing 120 vs a rider in no gear going the speed limit? To me they're both idiots unworthy of respect (as a motorcyclist, not as a person) and they both give the rest a bad name.

Nope wasn't directed at anyone in particular, I didn't even look at names, just read the post. Definately not trying to argue with anyone, just discussing the topic
I used "Harley riders" for the general stereotype of a cruiser with no gear (just as sport bikes are stereotypes as squids a lot, haha). It was just for comparison.

And for discussions sake...why does a rider wearing no gear give us a bad name?
Bringing back the usual Harley rider...they don't wear gear, but most people don't seem to care. You never hear anyone to tell them to wear full leather. The most that ever gets said is to wear a helmet.
Harley riders, in general, don't get a bad name from not wearing gear, so why does a sportbike rider get a bad name for not wearing gear?
We get the bad name because people think at any second we are going to take off to 100 mph....while Harleys don't (and most cant )

And just for the record, I do wear gear. I almost never rider without a helmet (exception is if I'm out and someone wants a ride, the passenger gets the helmet). I always wear my jacket and gloves.
This is just purely discussion. I have no problem with people who choose no not wear gear, so I figured why not discuss. It's their life in their hands, it's their decision.

So before anyone takes anything too seriousely, we are all riders and friends on here, just a friendly discussion

[backinthesaddleagain]

I was riding back from the beach saturday and had helmet and tourmaster jacket on and was starting to get a bit cold. Sportbike comes towards me from other direction and rider and his girl had tank tops on. My first thought was man they must be cold. Guess their lack of safety gear didn't matter so much to me from a protection standpoint, only wind protection.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by ScraitT

And for discussions sake...why does a rider wearing no gear give us a bad name?

Maybe it's different where you live, but here if your bike's not a cruiser and you're not wearing a helmet(oddly enough, this is all they seem to care about), you may as well be Satan(southern Baptists all over around here).

Originally Posted by ScraitT

You never hear anyone to tell them to wear full leather. The most that ever gets said is to wear a helmet.

Oh too right. My stepfather actually considers that a waste of money. Thinks road rash is never a big deal and leathers can't save you. As for your post before last about convincing my family otherwise -- some are southern and the rest take after southerners. You might as well try to convince a brick wall to be flexible.

[toast]

Originally Posted by Flow

Oh too right. My stepfather actually considers that a waste of money. Thinks road rash is never a big deal and leathers can't save you. As for your post before last about convincing my family otherwise -- some are southern and the rest take after southerners. You might as well try to convince a brick wall to be flexible.

I was involved in an accident as a passenger...a fairly low-speed crash, but I had some road rash (only wearing jeans) and some torn ligaments in my foot. Making friends with the nurse who was picking asphalt out of my leg wasn't fun. My leg was pretty scarred for a long time, but with vitamin E oil and time it's not noticeable now. I hate to think what would have happened if we were really at speed when we went down

[tapdiggy]

I see a rider around town who wears a really nice armor vest-sans jacket, shirt, gloves, and helmet- with shorts.

[Hadyn]

Originally Posted by tapdiggy

I see a rider around town who wears a really nice armor vest-sans coat, gloves, and helmet- with shorts.

Maybe he's keeping his organs safe so whoever they get donated to after he goes down doesn't get damaged product. How thoughtful of him!

[bdavison]

I went riding with a bunch of folks yesterday. Mostly harley guys. Aside from the helmets, most of them were not wearing much gear. I was of course ATGATT....
It was 85 deg, and they didnt wear much because of the heat.

I cant count how many times they asked me how I could wear all that gear in the heat.

Sure it sucks being hot, but it will suck a lot worse if I went down in a t-shirt and shorts.

Honestly, I think wearing the gear kept me cooler, because the wind at 70mph didnt leach all the cooling moisture off me. With the vents in the Scorpion Burnout jacket open, it was a nice evaporative cooling effect. Plus, I had a full camelbak in my tank bag (thank you rapid transit for making the best tank bag in the universe for a ninja 250r) where I could re-hydrate as I was riding.

[MrMuffin]

Originally Posted by backinthesaddleagain

Sport bike comes towards me from other direction and rider and his girl had tank tops on. Guess their lack of safety gear didn't matter so much to me from a protection standpoint, only wind protection.

Harley/Cruiser
So the only thing i notice people are not bringing up is yes most people on a Harley have jean jackets and a helmet(optional) and a woman on the back in jean jacket and helmet(optional) speeding(optional)

Sport bike (squid)
tank top, baseball cap(optional) pair of Nike's shorts/jeans and gloves (optional) with a woman on the back in a tank top and jeans (woman optional)
speeding(optional)

From what i have seen more people in no gear on sportbikes end up crashing and causing this (http://www.rockthegear.org/images/uploads/edited.jpg) to themselves and or the woman on the back.

Also i have seen a lot less Harley/cruiser bikes with jean jackets and no helmets end up with road rash, they usually get hit by someone or something (not to say this doesn't happen to people on sport bikes)

What are your opinions do you see equal amounts of Harley/cruiser riders acting like morons and crashing or does it lean to a specific type of rider?

Curious to see if my observations account for what most other people see.

This post is completely SUBJECTIVE

[CC Cowboy]

I live in a Harley town and see more sportbikes acting badly as I do Harley guys. It seems that whenever the sportbikers get together they are more prone to showing off. I must add that the Harley guys are an older group.

[ScraitT]

Originally Posted by MrMuffin

What are your opinions do you see equal amounts of Harley/cruiser riders acting like morons and crashing or does it lean to a specific type of rider?

I will definitely agree with the fact that you see and hear a lot more about sport bike accidents, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of the riders that go out and act like idiots don't wear gear....however that doesn't mean that every rider not wearing gear will ride like an idiot.

Also, I hear about more Harley deaths and accidents, but thats because I talk to a lot of Harley riders at work. One guy goes to a funeral almost weekly from his and other known club members dying (some from accidents, some from old age).

Most sport bike accidents I hear about are from riding stupid.
Most Harley accidents i hear about are from the rider drinking.
It's a loose-loose situation there.

[Greg_E]

I see far less cruiser and touring style cycles riding acting like idiots, there are the occasional ones out there, but far less than there are of sport bike types. Mostly the cruiser are just the idiots with the "look at me, I'm so wonderful" pipes but those are getting fewer and fewer as state inspection places get raided for passing vehicles like this. Cost me a bit of cash to put my Buell back to the stock exhaust, it would be nice once in a while to have some loud exhaust, but mostly only when I want to wake up the idiot with the straight pipes on his Harley.

[dowmace]

I notice that we have a lot more of the Chopper crowd doing stupid things around here, for instance a friend of my brothers has a 2007 Big Dog chopper, he has added nitrous to the bike and I've seen him regularly use it on the street. Is that dumb? yes! It's a chopper for Christ sake you can't control it at half throttle much less with a 100 shot of N2, and to make it more assanine he never wears anything but leather gloves and a leather bandanna when he rides, no gear because you can't look cool wearing gear on a chopper they say.

[MrMuffin]

Originally Posted by ScraitT

riders that go out and act like idiots don't wear gear....however that doesn't mean that every rider not wearing gear will ride like an idiot.

I agree but not riding like an idiot can not save you from idiotic people around you, demp (my best friend) we have been out many times on his 250R (both in full leathers BTW) and we have experienced ALOT of stupid drivers. REFERERNCE HERE

Originally Posted by ScraitT

Most sport bike accidents I hear about are from riding stupid.
Most Harley accidents i hear about are from the rider drinking.
It's a loose-loose situation there.

I agree with this as well Sport bikers tend to showoff and act stupid and Harley/Cruiser tend to drink and ride both are bad choices.

[sixstring]

I see threads like this all the time on motorcycle forums. It always seems to me its less about what kind of bike and gear you have and more about your attitude and use of common sense.

If I'm going on the highway to work then yes I'll put a jacket on. If I'm going two blocks down the road for lunch I may take my chances with just my work clothes.

Sure I go WOT some times, but only when its safe to do so. I always ride defensively and respect the space of other bikes and cars.

I use my best judgement when deciding these things just like everything else. So at the end of the day its all about bounds of reason and common sense.

[MrMuffin]

Originally Posted by sixstring

I see threads like this all the time on motorcycle forums. It always seems to me its less about what kind of bike and gear you have and more about your attitude and use of common sense.

Very True

[QUOTE=sixstring;154734]If I'm going on the highway to work then yes I'll put a jacket on. If I'm going two blocks down the road for lunch I may take my chances with just my work clothes.[/QUOTE

One day (hopefully not ever) this might be a bad choice and living without regrets seems like a better deal for me.

Originally Posted by sixstring

I use my best judgement when deciding these things just like everything else. So at the end of the day its all about bounds of reason and common sense.

Common sense and knowing your boundaries is true but it wont save you from someone running a red light or cutting you off or some jackass that just does not know how to drive.

[ScraitT]

Originally Posted by MrMuffin

I agree but not riding like an idiot can not save you from idiotic people around you, demp (my best friend) we have been out many times on his 250R (both in full leathers BTW) and we have experienced ALOT of stupid drivers. REFERERNCE HERE

Oh I definitely agree on the fact that you should wear gear because you can't control others. However, even in the situation your friend was in, it wouldn't have made a difference if it was a Harley or a GSXR or a 250r...without gear any of them is (more) screwed. I was just saying that it's generally considered fine for a harley to not wear gear, but a sport bike is automatically a squid. What is the difference in that situation your friend was in? Any bike (not in gear) would be an idiot and gotten seriously hurt, but I personally wouldnt have considered any of them a squid, just all riders that made a bad decision to ride without proper protection.
The one riding like an idiot, speeding and weaving, gives us the true bad name is the squid....not the casual rider without gear.

[sixstring]

Originally Posted by MrMuffin

One day (hopefully not ever) this might be a bad choice and living without regrets seems like a better deal for me.

I've had my share of road rash so I know first hand the price for not wearing gear. But still, I don't live in a world of black and white so sometimes I use my best judgement and take a chance. To each his own.