In a sea of big bikes....how do you swim?

[Bigballsofpaint]

My 250 has turned to track duty (even though i havent been to the track). Ive spent the winter prepping it. Hoping in a few years ill buy an actual track bike so my 250, which was my first bike and brand new, will be back on the street.

[Ninjinsky]

The truth is that the big bike guys like to beat up the owners of small twins, at some point in the evening you will most likely find yourself surrounded by a circle of them grinning and chewing straws and calling you names like Sandra or Nancy. Then comes the first shove.....
Of course you can try this, substituting 'Ninjette' for 'mule', but you better be good

Link to original page on YouTube.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by Ninjinsky

Does anyone remember a magazine ad in the 80's, which I think was Kawasaki, where there was a fictional meeting at a roadhouse or cafe on a certain day and time.
And hundreds of people actually turned up for real at that venue on the evening taking both the owner and Kawasaki by surprise?

If we're thinking of the same campaign, it wasn't fictional. One of those ads was about Marcus Dairy, which is now gone... it was at the intersection of Rt 7 and 84, next to the airport and across from what used to be the fairgrounds and is now the mall. Every Sunday was a huge bike gathering.

I miss places like that. The whole dam country is turning into boring sameness. Where Marcus Dairy (a unique local business) used to be, now sits a Panera Bread. Yawn.

[adouglas]

Definition of winter: The time when we sit, staring at our bikes instead of riding.

Definition of bike night: The time when we sit, staring at other people's bikes instead of riding.

It's really all about your own motivations. I prefer riding to socializing. I'm also perfectly happy to get on my bike and spend the afternoon blasting down the twisties by myself, not keeping to anyone else's schedule or route. That's not for everyone.

[jgcable]

Yea. Marcus dairy bike sundays were cool.

[csmith12]

Regardless of your stance on bike gatherings, one should take the time to know your locals. Riders and non-riders alike, they are the one's that may help you out in your time of need. It's worth the couple of hours a month to maintain such FREE insurance.

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by adouglas

If we're thinking of the same campaign, it wasn't fictional. One of those ads was about Marcus Dairy, which is now gone... it was at the intersection of Rt 7 and 84, next to the airport and across from what used to be the fairgrounds and is now the mall. Every Sunday was a huge bike gathering.

I miss places like that. The whole dam country is turning into boring sameness. Where Marcus Dairy (a unique local business) used to be, now sits a Panera Bread. Yawn.

Yep Thanks for that, A Douglas, good to see it again! I was dealing from a very vague memory wayback.

ps Looking at the ad again I see they had the decency to put a CX500 custom in there in front of the bearded guy with the shades

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by Ninjinsky

Yep Thanks for that, A Douglas, good to see it again! I was dealing from a very vague memory wayback.

ps Looking at the ad again I see they had the decency to put a CX500 custom in there in front of the bearded guy with the shades

I think I see the tail of a pre-gen Kawasaki peeking out in the pic too.
Marcus Dairy was cool. Every kind of bike you could think of. We would stop there for breakfast before every ride on Sunday. I was riding my 2001 250r at the time. There were so many different kinds of bikes and riders everybody fit in. Nowadays... nothing but a see of Harley's and 600's. The sad thing is that most of the Harley owners spend 10's of thousands of dollars trying to out do each other and when it all comes down to it.. most of the bikes look the same. The new craze is the Streetglide. Every meeting place has at least 20 of them. I have a Wideglide which is fairly unusual in the Harley landscape but still.. its just a shiny lawnmower. I actually prefer the look of my 03 250r in Lime Green. I spent more money for the pipes and bags on my Wideglide than I did on my 250r with all the upgrades I did to it. Thats pathetic.

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Regardless of your stance on bike gatherings, one should take the time to know your locals. Riders and non-riders alike, they are the one's that may help you out in your time of need. It's worth the couple of hours a month to maintain such FREE insurance.

Also... it is fun to ride in a big group of experienced riders. Its safer for sure.

[oblivion007]

I typically keep my own pace if I go out with others at all. Today makes an example even though I wasn't on the 250. I was at the shop and one of the shop buddies asked me if I wanted to cruise right before I went home. I replied with "Are you a fast guy?". He said yeah and asked me if I've ridden Transmountain (not quite sure what people see on that road unless you're going real fast). "Of course I've ridden Transmountain but its not like I'm part of the 120 club. (run transmountain never going under 120mph...) How about you?"

He replies "A little faster than that" and I say nah and go about my way home.

I really don't like to do much on the streets and have kept the extreme riding to the track. Sadly my 250 is down and I don't want to track the 650 on the off chance that I crash it and end up with no bikes... But soon I'll be back out there!

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by oblivion007

I typically keep my own pace if I go out with others at all. Today makes an example even though I wasn't on the 250. I was at the shop and one of the shop buddies asked me if I wanted to cruise right before I went home. I replied with "Are you a fast guy?". He said yeah and asked me if I've ridden Transmountain (not quite sure what people see on that road unless you're going real fast). "Of course I've ridden Transmountain but its not like I'm part of the 120 club. (run transmountain never going under 120mph...) How about you?"

He replies "A little faster than that" and I say nah and go about my way home.

I really don't like to do much on the streets and have kept the extreme riding to the track. Sadly my 250 is down and I don't want to track the 650 on the off chance that I crash it and end up with no bikes... But soon I'll be back out there!

That's me all the way. Most of my riding buddies ride EXTREMELY fast with no helmets EVER. Their motto is "you only live once" and "its all about the speed". I used to ride with them but its just too stressful for me. They make side comments often calling me slow Johnny. Well.. I typically ride 20mph over the speed limit in the twisties and at least the flow of traffic in the fast lane on the highway. I don't lane split and I generally like to stay in one lane. In the backroads if its a blind turn (which most of them are), I go in slow and come out fast. They go in fast and throw all caution to the wind. Because of this.. I don't ride with them anymore. Since I have been declining their offers to ride I don't get asked any more which is fine with me. I am looking for some new riders but believe it or not.. its not easy to find riders that seem to have something to prove instead of the sheer enjoyment of getting in the wind.

[Bigballsofpaint]

If your just looking for nice calm rides, @adouglas is in your neck of the woods and like he said, hes always out riding. Moderate pace, same with me. I may hit it on the straight now and then, but im not looking to break records, bones, or aquire any tickets. Ive gone to Toymakers once, the BoRN guys go there almost every weekend.

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by Bigballsofpaint

If your just looking for nice calm rides, @adouglas is in your neck of the woods and like he said, hes always out riding. Moderate pace, same with me. I may hit it on the straight now and then, but im not looking to break records, bones, or aquire any tickets. Ive gone to Toymakers once, the BoRN guys go there almost every weekend.

Thanks.. my goal eventually is to get rid of my Harley and pickup a Concourse for me and the wife. I love those Connies. Should have bought one instead of going with the Harley thing. I have no problem with my custom Wideglide.. its a fantastic bike and like rolling jewelry. What I don't like is the fact that 99% of Harley riders buy into the entire lifestyle thing and are 100% opposed to anything on 2 wheels that isn't a Harley. That's not me. I could have fun riding just about anything on 2 wheels and I am not out to impress anybody with my bike or my riding skills but I will admit I tend to like Kawasaki Sport Touring bikes the best. These guys seem to think the mark of a great rider is speed and carelessness. I think the mark of a great rider is longevity. Almost all of my riding buddies have been in accidents. Some minor.. some major.. some died. Of course.. its always the cager's fault according to them. I can tell you that in those cases.. it was NEVER the cagers fault. You simply can't expect to take all kinds of chances on the road and not get caught eventually.
When I go on a scenic ride through Connecticut I want to be able to see the scenery and not constantly worry about setting up the next turn because I am going 40mph over the posted!

[jschorr]

Wow, I had forgotten jeans ever went that high.

[Ninjinsky]

Originally Posted by jschorr

Wow, I had forgotten jeans ever went that high.

Initially

[spooph]

@jgcable - I think it's a lot more complicated that than, but I get your frustration....

As you mentioned, I think a huge issue is peer pressure - but not because they're being forced to go bigger, but because those that like riding the 250 just don't care to hear it after a while. Same old story we've heard a thousand times. So we learn to enjoy them by ourselves...

Another huge factor I see is that motorcycling is inherently a solo type of hobby. Sure, you go riding with other people, but they're in charge of their bike, and will or won't crash it, etc.. You can't do it for them or keep them from doing it... We like to go riding because we spend time with somebody but don't have to talk to them.... So, as soon as we're in a position to talk to them, ie bike night, the point above gets raised and we'd rather be off riding....

I also think the 250 is a bit of a weird bike, as it looks fast, but isn't, and for some reason, that puts people off... I've had people walk up to me and say "Great looking bike, is it a 600?", then I say it's a 250 and they just want to leave... Good riddance! They couldn't talk timing or valve clearances anyway....

I guess this is what I'm getting at: most people live in a box defined by advertisers, and if something doesn't fall into that box it makes them uncomfortable. As the ones outside of the box (an underpowered, exceedingly well handling modern looking but old technology) nobody knows how to approach us, and we get tired of trying to fit in, so we just do our own thing...

That's why we, as the weird ones, the 250 riders, should get together and have our own fun...

I recommend you start with a local group - with some pull tabbies on a sheet of paper at your local community college/grocery store, etc....

[iliveforcurves]

I'm not shy about going to bike night on my Ninja 250. I never see any other EX250s there, but that seems to happen no matter which one of my bikes I'm on. I keep my Ninja clean and well maintained and get compliments on it. I don't care if anybody doesn't like my bike, I bought it for me, not them!

[jgcable]

Little update on this. I don't want to get into the entire Harley vs metric bike thing but here it goes.
I occasionally ride with about 30 different people. All 30 of them have Harley's.. most of them have 2 or 3. They dress Harley, they talk Harley, they think Harley owns oil fields and they think anything that isn't a Harley is not even worth being called a motorcycle. Anyway.. I had a bonfire at my house on Sunday night. I invited a bunch of friends. They had just come back from a long ride in Connecticut (200 miles for the day) and told me a story about a guy on a bike stuck on the side of the road. They all went by him because he was riding a sport bike BUT.. they were wrong. One of the guys noticed it was a BUELL and that's basically a Harley so they stopped. What happened is the guy on the Buell had his shifter lever fall off and he had no tools to put it back on. My buddy had a tool set and he put it back on for him. While he was tightening it up he told the guy that he was lucky he was on a "Harley" because if it was any other bike they wouldn't have stopped.
That's EXACTLY the thing that I hate about owning a Harley.

[Bigballsofpaint]

I think you have already figured this out, you need new riding buddies.

[Klondike1020]

Hahah.
So you are telling me you know those guys from that movie
Wild hogs ?!

Do they have patchs - concieted suburbanites with disposable income


They ride Harley's
You know why Harley guys hate metrics

Cause their daughters ride pillion -> metric for life

Lol old ladies ride sissy- on a Harley


- Harley - pay more for less performance

Heck even if wanted a cruiser -Indian, victory then metric, then maybe Harley


After all that razzing - seriously I like Harley motorcycles , I will just never relate to the
HARLEY CULTURE

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by jgcable

I typically ride 20mph over the speed limit in the twisties and at least the flow of traffic in the fast lane on the highway. I don't lane split and I generally like to stay in one lane. In the backroads if its a blind turn (which most of them are), I go in slow and come out fast.

You're describing my preferred pace to a T. 15-20 over and obey the laws otherwise re passing, etc. I did a run from Trumbull up to Falls Village yesterday doing exactly that.

Sounds like we'd get along swimmingly. Drop me a line if you ever want to go riding.

It's about time for my annual pilgrimage up to Noank for an Abbott's hot lobster roll....

[KawiKid860]

I'd rather be out riding a twisty road like most everyone here, but I don't think a cruise night sounds bad. Just going out and cruising with a bunch of other bikes that look cool and sound cool sounds like plenty of fun. Heck I could see it be fun for some actual good riders, go join in, invite everyone to a twisty ride, the few who show up and can't ride for squat will maybe learn what riding is about, sell their SS and buy a 250. I mean you can hope...

I'd go for the bikes not the people though, even if it's 99% squids who cares, their squidliness is on them, and when they aren't looking I can whisper soothing words to their poor supersport that wants nothing more than to be set back to stock ride height, de-extended and put on a race track.

[CC Cowboy]

I'm not sure but is it that all Harley and big bore SS people suck and just 250 people are good?

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I'm not sure but is it that all Harley and big bore SS people suck and just 250 people are good?

Yea, seems like that. Once you get into the "Harley Lifestyle" there is no turning back. I mentioned at my party that there are 3 bikes on my bucket list. I want a Concours (Connie) really bad, I want a Hiyabusa and I want to get a track prepared New Gen 250r. Their response.... "Nice knowing you".

I have been thinking about trading my Harley in at the local Kawasaki dealership. My bike would sell in a second. The factory only made 234 of them and it has under 8000 miles on it. It was $20,000 new and I put about $4,000 into it in chrome and upgrades. I would trade it in a second for a Kawasaki Concours 14. I am frankly tired of promoting an image and a "lifestyle" that really isn't me. I just love to ride motorcycles.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by jgcable

Yea, seems like that. Once you get into the "Harley Lifestyle" there is no turning back. I mentioned at my party that there are 3 bikes on my bucket list. I want a Concours (Connie) really bad, I want a Hiyabusa and I want to get a track prepared New Gen 250r. Their response.... "Nice knowing you".

I have been thinking about trading my Harley in at the local Kawasaki dealership. My bike would sell in a second. The factory only made 234 of them and it has under 8000 miles on it. It was $20,000 new and I put about $4,000 into it in chrome and upgrades. I would trade it in a second for a Kawasaki Concours 14. I am frankly tired of promoting an image and a "lifestyle" that really isn't me. I just love to ride motorcycles.

I think it has been said before but I'll say it again. It's not the bike it's the people. You need to move to a different area of CT. I know Farifield County is all Jap bikes. Anywhere west of that is Harley country untill you get to MA. Then there are a few Jap bike areas but mostly Harleys. RI has both but then you're stuck in RI which is OK if you Italian.

Most of the Sport bike riders I know are track people.

[csmith12]

Mosta the HD cats round my parts are pretty cool, but we do get an a$$hole every now and then. This was filmed 3 miles from my house, same road the red truck w/ 4wheeler in the back was on.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I think it has been said before but I'll say it again. It's not the bike it's the people. You need to move to a different area of CT. I know Farifield County is all Jap bikes. Anywhere west of that is Harley country untill you get to MA. Then there are a few Jap bike areas but mostly Harleys. RI has both but then you're stuck in RI which is OK if you Italian.

Most of the Sport bike riders I know are track people.

I dunno about that.

I rode on Memorial Day, through Fairfield and Litchfield counties. Harleys outnumbered sport bikes at least four to one.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by adouglas

I dunno about that.

I rode on Memorial Day, through Fairfield and Litchfield counties. Harleys outnumbered sport bikes at least four to one.

There must be something to this Harley phenomenom.

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

There must be something to this Harley phenomenom.

There is.. they are literally everywhere in Connecticut. I think it has something to do with the no helmet law. Harley's and no helmets is like peanut butter and jelly. I would say conservatively... 99% of the Harley riders don't wear helmets. That includes their passengers. Most of the passengers are women (of course) and not only do they not wear helmets, they are usually wearing flip flops and shorts and if its warm out.. a short sleeved shirt. At least the guys have jeans and a T-shirt on.

Motorcycle people in Connecticut fall into a few different categories.

1. Young squids on crotch rockets that one day will be riding a Harley if they live that long.
2. Old men that used to ride Harley choppers or FXR's and now ride Harley Streetglides or trikes.
3. 30-60 year old men who may have started riding on a Yamaha V-Star or a Honda VTX cruiser and have "moved up" or "graduated" to a Harley which is considered the BIG TIME.
4. A small pocket of BMW riders. These riders are usually the super rich investment banker type who wear full leather race gear and a full face helmet even if its 95 degrees out. They only socialize and ride with other BMW riders.
5. The Goldwingers... every state has them.

Bottom line is this.. if you live in Connecticut. If you ride a cruiser and its not a Harley you will eventually get one. If you ride a sport bike you are forced to ride with a younger crowd who generally ride extremely aggressively on bikes ranging from 600cc which is the smallest size to the litre bikes and above. You will be riding a lot of highways. The weird thing about Connecticut is that there are hundreds of miles of beautiful twisty backroads to ride on and on the weekends.. 95% of the bikers on these roads are on Harley's. If you want to find the sport bikes.. look on I95. I live right off the highway and I hear them all day and night long ripping by my exit at triple digit speeds. You would think the opposite would be true but it isn't. When I ride in the backroads on my Harley every weekend I rarely if ever see sport bikes and I ride just about every good twisty road in CT. I still need to get my 250r registered so that I can start taking it inland!

[Bigballsofpaint]

I think were going to have to do a CT day soon. I only say this because if i say a 250 day i wont be invited

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by jgcable

There is.. they are literally everywhere in Connecticut. I think it has something to do with the no helmet law. Harley's and no helmets is like peanut butter and jelly. I would say conservatively... 99% of the Harley riders don't wear helmets. That includes their passengers. Most of the passengers are women (of course) and not only do they not wear helmets, they are usually wearing flip flops and shorts and if its warm out.. a short sleeved shirt. At least the guys have jeans and a T-shirt on.

Motorcycle people in Connecticut fall into a few different categories.

1. Young squids on crotch rockets that one day will be riding a Harley if they live that long.
2. Old men that used to ride Harley choppers or FXR's and now ride Harley Streetglides or trikes.
3. 30-60 year old men who may have started riding on a Yamaha V-Star or a Honda VTX cruiser and have "moved up" or "graduated" to a Harley which is considered the BIG TIME.
4. A small pocket of BMW riders. These riders are usually the super rich investment banker type who wear full leather race gear and a full face helmet even if its 95 degrees out. They only socialize and ride with other BMW riders.
5. The Goldwingers... every state has them.

Bottom line is this.. if you live in Connecticut. If you ride a cruiser and its not a Harley you will eventually get one. If you ride a sport bike you are forced to ride with a younger crowd who generally ride extremely aggressively on bikes ranging from 600cc which is the smallest size to the litre bikes and above. You will be riding a lot of highways. The weird thing about Connecticut is that there are hundreds of miles of beautiful twisty backroads to ride on and on the weekends.. 95% of the bikers on these roads are on Harley's. If you want to find the sport bikes.. look on I95. I live right off the highway and I hear them all day and night long ripping by my exit at triple digit speeds. You would think the opposite would be true but it isn't. When I ride in the backroads on my Harley every weekend I rarely if ever see sport bikes and I ride just about every good twisty road in CT. I still need to get my 250r registered so that I can start taking it inland!

I think you're on to something:

Motorcycle people in Connecticut fall into a few different categories.

1. Young squids on crotch rockets that one day will be riding a Harley if they live that long. SUCK RIDERS

2. Old men that used to ride Harley choppers or FXR's and now ride Harley Streetglides or trikes. SUCK RIDERS and trikes are dangerous riders

3. 30-60 year old men who may have started riding on a Yamaha V-Star or a Honda VTX cruiser and have "moved up" or "graduated" to a Harley which is considered the BIG TIME. SUCK RIDERS

4. A small pocket of BMW riders. These riders are usually the super rich investment banker type who wear full leather race gear and a full face helmet even if its 95 degrees out. They only socialize and ride with other BMW riders. ARROGANT SUCK RIDERS

5. The Goldwingers... every state has them. DANGEROUS SUCKASS RIDERS


I have ridden most of the roads in CT when I was a kid and know how great the roads are (were). I have ridden Harleys and Jap bikes and love both. The problem is you have to ride with just one other person or it gets out of hand fast. You just need to find one other rider who rides like you do.

[capt_bugaloo]

Originally Posted by jgcable

Motorcycle people in Connecticut fall into a few different categories.

Sounds about the same here on the west coast. Large sport bikes on one side, Harleys on the other side, and very little in between: just the occasional misfit on a BMW, Goldwing, or dualie.

[spooph]

Originally Posted by jgcable

There is.. they are literally everywhere in Connecticut. I think it has something to do with the no helmet law. Harley's and no helmets is like peanut butter and jelly. I would say conservatively... 99% of the Harley riders don't wear helmets. That includes their passengers. Most of the passengers are women (of course) and not only do they not wear helmets, they are usually wearing flip flops and shorts and if its warm out.. a short sleeved shirt. At least the guys have jeans and a T-shirt on.

Motorcycle people in Connecticut fall into a few different categories.

1. Young squids on crotch rockets that one day will be riding a Harley if they live that long.
2. Old men that used to ride Harley choppers or FXR's and now ride Harley Streetglides or trikes.
3. 30-60 year old men who may have started riding on a Yamaha V-Star or a Honda VTX cruiser and have "moved up" or "graduated" to a Harley which is considered the BIG TIME.
4. A small pocket of BMW riders. These riders are usually the super rich investment banker type who wear full leather race gear and a full face helmet even if its 95 degrees out. They only socialize and ride with other BMW riders.
5. The Goldwingers... every state has them.

Bottom line is this.. if you live in Connecticut. If you ride a cruiser and its not a Harley you will eventually get one. If you ride a sport bike you are forced to ride with a younger crowd who generally ride extremely aggressively on bikes ranging from 600cc which is the smallest size to the litre bikes and above. You will be riding a lot of highways. The weird thing about Connecticut is that there are hundreds of miles of beautiful twisty backroads to ride on and on the weekends.. 95% of the bikers on these roads are on Harley's. If you want to find the sport bikes.. look on I95. I live right off the highway and I hear them all day and night long ripping by my exit at triple digit speeds. You would think the opposite would be true but it isn't. When I ride in the backroads on my Harley every weekend I rarely if ever see sport bikes and I ride just about every good twisty road in CT. I still need to get my 250r registered so that I can start taking it inland!

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I think you're on to something:

Motorcycle people in Connecticut fall into a few different categories.

1. Young squids on crotch rockets that one day will be riding a Harley if they live that long. SUCK RIDERS

2. Old men that used to ride Harley choppers or FXR's and now ride Harley Streetglides or trikes. SUCK RIDERS and trikes are dangerous riders

3. 30-60 year old men who may have started riding on a Yamaha V-Star or a Honda VTX cruiser and have "moved up" or "graduated" to a Harley which is considered the BIG TIME. SUCK RIDERS

4. A small pocket of BMW riders. These riders are usually the super rich investment banker type who wear full leather race gear and a full face helmet even if its 95 degrees out. They only socialize and ride with other BMW riders. ARROGANT SUCK RIDERS

5. The Goldwingers... every state has them. DANGEROUS SUCKASS RIDERS


I have ridden most of the roads in CT when I was a kid and know how great the roads are (were). I have ridden Harleys and Jap bikes and love both. The problem is you have to ride with just one other person or it gets out of hand fast. You just need to find one other rider who rides like you do.

Wait wait wait... You've dedicated an entire thread to moaning and bitching about your area not having the kind of riders you want? I understand the frustration and venting to the community you do like, we all identify with your frustrations, but really?! Name calling? Let them ride. Let them enjoy their bikes the way they want to and go ride... I think you need a road trip out to Colorado... Come visit me, I'll give you a hug and we can ride and hang with some cool people.

Also, might this be a group closer to what you're looking for?
http://www.meetup.com/west-connsportbikeriders/

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by spooph

Wait wait wait... You've dedicated an entire thread to moaning and bitching about your area not having the kind of riders you want? I understand the frustration and venting to the community you do like, we all identify with your frustrations, but really?! Name calling? Let them ride. Let them enjoy their bikes the way they want to and go ride... I think you need a road trip out to Colorado... Come visit me, I'll give you a hug and we can ride and hang with some cool people.

Also, might this be a group closer to what you're looking for?
http://<b>http://www.meetup.com/west...ikeriders/</b>

They can ride all they want as long as they stay away from me.

I can't ride with this group because I don't fit into their rules:

All levels of riders are welcome to join and ride! We do encourage safe and responsible riding that strikes a happy medium with twisting the throttle to produce that rush sport bike riders crave. However with that said, ALL riders are responsible for riding with in their limits. No rider shall ride in a manner to endanger another fellow sport bike rider. All riders that participate in meet up rides shall wear a helmet and have servicable tires. There are enough inherent challenges out there on the road. We want all to come back safe, sound and with a grin on your face

With all the pot smokers in CO I find life too slow and mellow there.

[rasta]

Originally Posted by jgcable

Just curious... local motorcycle cruise night. Loaded and I mean loaded with big bikes. Busa's, FJ1100's, ZX14r's, about 50 600's and 750's, and about 50 big Harleys. This is a local weekly cruise night hang out.
How do you handle it? So far.. I haven't had the guts to pull in with mine but I am working on it. There isn't a single bike under a 600 EVER.

I find that it helps to have a spine

[b.miller123]

Ride whatever you want, wherever you want and don't worry about other people or what they think about your bike. If I went to a gathering like that and someone I didn't know tried giving me crap over having a 250, then they are exactly the kind of person who I really couldn't care less about. Just because someone rides a motorcycle doesn't mean I have to like them or have any respect for them.

A guy at work just bought a Panigale 1199s for his first motorcycle, should people treat him any differently than someone with a 250? Hell no, and if they do they are a dipshit.

Originally Posted by jgcable

Little update on this. I don't want to get into the entire Harley vs metric bike thing but here it goes.
I occasionally ride with about 30 different people. All 30 of them have Harley's.. most of them have 2 or 3. They dress Harley, they talk Harley, they think Harley owns oil fields and they think anything that isn't a Harley is not even worth being called a motorcycle. Anyway.. I had a bonfire at my house on Sunday night. I invited a bunch of friends. They had just come back from a long ride in Connecticut (200 miles for the day) and told me a story about a guy on a bike stuck on the side of the road. They all went by him because he was riding a sport bike BUT.. they were wrong. One of the guys noticed it was a BUELL and that's basically a Harley so they stopped. What happened is the guy on the Buell had his shifter lever fall off and he had no tools to put it back on. My buddy had a tool set and he put it back on for him. While he was tightening it up he told the guy that he was lucky he was on a "Harley" because if it was any other bike they wouldn't have stopped.
That's EXACTLY the thing that I hate about owning a Harley.

Your "friends" all sound like a bunch of dicks. Nothing to do with what kind of bikes they ride. I'm sure they'd all be a bunch of dicks if they rode goldwings or sportbikes too. I'll stop for any kind of rider on the side of the road. I don't give a **** if they are on a damn scooter.

You shouldn't hate riding a Harley because a bunch of people who ride them are dicks. You should hate riding a Harley because it is an overpriced boat anchor.

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I'm not sure but is it that all Harley and big bore SS people suck and just 250 people are good?

You forgot the part where you meet the nicest people on a Honda

[adouglas]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I think you're on to something:

Motorcycle people in Connecticut fall into a few different categories.

1. Young squids on crotch rockets that one day will be riding a Harley if they live that long. SUCK RIDERS

2. Old men that used to ride Harley choppers or FXR's and now ride Harley Streetglides or trikes. SUCK RIDERS and trikes are dangerous riders

3. 30-60 year old men who may have started riding on a Yamaha V-Star or a Honda VTX cruiser and have "moved up" or "graduated" to a Harley which is considered the BIG TIME. SUCK RIDERS

4. A small pocket of BMW riders. These riders are usually the super rich investment banker type who wear full leather race gear and a full face helmet even if its 95 degrees out. They only socialize and ride with other BMW riders. ARROGANT SUCK RIDERS

5. The Goldwingers... every state has them. DANGEROUS SUCKASS RIDERS


I have ridden most of the roads in CT when I was a kid and know how great the roads are (were). I have ridden Harleys and Jap bikes and love both. The problem is you have to ride with just one other person or it gets out of hand fast. You just need to find one other rider who rides like you do.

Ah, so once again I find myself defying all attempts at categorization. None of those apply to me.

Except that my skills suck (sometimes).

I'm 55, ride a GSXR ATGATT in leather, and do not ride like either a hooligan or a squid. I couldn't care less about Harleys, tourers or ADV bikes.

What does that make me?

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Ah, so once again I find myself defying all attempts at categorization. None of those apply to me.

Except that my skills suck (sometimes).

I'm 55, ride a GSXR ATGATT in leather, and do not ride like either a hooligan or a squid. I couldn't care less about Harleys, tourers or ADV bikes.

What does that make me?

Probably a bass player!

[csmith12]

^^^^^ hahahahahahhahaha

Once again CC....