Meetup? Hmmm....

[DRivero]

So, I joined a meetup group of sport bike riders, and a couple days after I joined, the founder posted a last-minute meetup for that night, destination: Hooter's for Bike Night. Since I live real close to the restaurant, I just said I'd meet them there. Turns out, only the founder showed up. I found him inside, introduced myself, and he asked what kind of bike I have. I told him a Ninja, and he asked what size. When I told him I have a 250, he chuckled and said, "Why?"!

Hmmm....the conversation sort of lagged after that....I was rather put out. Sorta made feel like a poser! The truth is, my motorcycle is PLENTY of bike for me, what with my being a short, female, 47 year old rider. I'm not out to break any speed records; I just want to ride. I enjoy it a great deal, even though I stick to the speed limits (mostly). All in all, my Ninja suits me most handily, and I love it to death.

There really aren't a whole lot of girl sport bike riders, at least not around here.....and certainly not in my demographic. Can't I get props for even being on the gorram thing in the first place?

Just venting. I feel better now.

[tapdiggy]

I wouldn't pay much attention to the folks who look down on "small" bikes. People used to laugh at me when I pulled up on my 50cc commuter scooter. They finally understood when all my gas for the summer totalled under $50, at $3+ per gallon. Not to mention the maneuvering: makes the ninjette feel like a 'busa.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by DRivero

I told him a Ninja, and he asked what size. When I told him I have a 250, he chuckled and said, "Why?"!

Sounds like a swell guy.

[ScraitT]

You should have done the same back...
What do you ride?
A r1.
Hehe...why?

He would have probably been speechless and wouldn't have an answer besides "it's fast", in which case you could ask why he didn't drive a turboed busa since it's faster.

The only couple of reasonably answers for owning a particular bike are "I enjoy the ride" or "I like this model" or "it's economical".

[CC Cowboy]

You should have told him the truth "you have bigger balls (I mean brains) then he does, so you don't have to compensate".

[ninja250]

My Ninja 250 kicks ass.
I don't care what anyone says. I'm faster than some of the guys on their 5,000,000CC bikes.
It's not the bike, it's the rider.

[adri99an]

I rode in the canyon yesterday. Met some guys with big bikes and we talked about a bit about my ninjette.....one guy sounded a bit cocky like my ninjette was not worth much...I didn't mind as I told him it was everything I needed to get what I wanted out of a ride through the canyon.....we later took off through the twisties...too bad he and his buddy couldnt keep up with me around some of the turns...then after awhile I didn't see them in my rear views.....the ninjette is everything I need when I ride....point of view is everything in life.

[villamia]

This really hadn't happen to me until only recently. I joined a local forum and 99.99% of them ride the "bigger" bikes. I've been getting some sh!t from a lot of the bigger bike riders. I'm not inadequate and neither is my fitty. I love my bike! IT IS an awsm bike and I get what I want out of it. I love to ride and that's what its all about and with more practice I know I will tear up those twisties better than them.

[ninja250]

The day after I bought my 250 I went back to the shop for some oil. I was looking at all the bikes like I always do and heard some guy saying to his girlfriend "Hey look, that's the piece of sh*t that so and so rides" talking about his friend and his friend's bike while pointing to a 250R.

Made me mad at the time but I know better now because I ride one.
I'll scrape a knee and do wheelies just like anybody else on my "Ninjette".

[Cedilla]

I think its kinda funny when people I know that have never even rode a motorcycle think that a 250 is just not enough bike. After I got my bike I remember a co-worker telling me he if he got a bike, it would be no less than 750cc.

Also another thing that cracks me up is when people say that a 250 is dangerous because it is too slow to be on the road. When im riding my 250, I am usually going much much faster than everyone else.

[Keenan84]

I dont get it. you can't even use the power of these 600cc plus machines without losing your licence/dying. A friend was messing with me today about having a small bike, and i just said that i dont plan on going above 170kmh or even close to that, so why would i want a bigger bike. I bought a motorcycle to cruise and enjoy the ride, not to do wheelies and show girls how big my engine is. (heres a tip, they don't care)

its frustrating having to defend yourself all the time, but i like getting into conflict so i guess it works out for me.

[Sailariel]

Debbi, Things haven`t changed since ancient Greece and Aesop`s Fables. The one that fits is the one about the boy, an old man, and a donkey. The gist of that little tale is that we can`t please everyone. If we try to, we will make ourselves crazy and look ridiculous as well. I tell people that the only person they need to please is themselves. Some people are simply crass. This past summer when I pulled into a rest station while doing a 500mi one way trip, a guy in his 30s says to me, "What`s an old fart like you doing riding a crotch rocket?" My answer was, "Enjoying a long life." (I just turned 69)

[BlueRaven]

I think the meetup at hooter`s should of been a warning sign for lack of brains

[zartan]

Debbi, call a few of your local dealers and ask about any women groups or even if they have customers that are female, maybe they can get permission to switch phone numbers for you guys. My dealer would help hook me up with some riders if I asked.


but now they sell chain saws. ( bah this dumb economy) they were a great dealer.
My tuner still works there! they don't sell kawi's anymore but still service them.

[DRivero]

I agree with Keenan....riding WFO on most sport bikes (even the 250) is illegal EVERYWHERE anyway, and even if you don't get busted, you may just get killed. I mean, in a way, having a "5,000,000cc" (hehe) motorcycle is like having a 20-bedroom house. So wouldn't the question of "why?" have been more appropriately addressed to HIM?

The motorcycle "community" is sorta like the high school "community", huh? I mean, we're all in the same place, but even so, we seem to be broken off into all these cliques.

I can honestly say this: while I have my reasons for preferring my particular motorcycle, and sport bikes in general, I give props to every single motorcyclist, because though there are several types of bikes and hundreds of reasons for riding, there is really only one way to get there....on two wheels.

Now, as for the DINKUS that Cedilla knows who had a snide comment, when he doesn't even RIDE......oh, puh-lease....was he speaking to you, or was that just a mosquito in your ear?

[rockNroll]

I've found that most people that are gonna talk trash on your 250 aren't very good on their bike, regardless of the cc's. It's so dumb... on saturday someone will shun me because of the 250 and then sunday afternoon he'll gimmie nods and start askin "how ya like that thing?" when I'm on the RR.

[mrlmd]

There are a number of biker bars down here that have bike nights - the local Hooters has its parking lot FILLED with bikes on Friday, another local redneck restaurant has bike night Wednesdays, and there is another hangout bar/restaurant filled with bikers every Sat and Sun down by the Gulf. What I can't understand is how these guys drink beer for hours, then hop on their bikes and drive home. And none of them go ATGATT, and there's very few with helmets. Personally I wouldn't do that, and I wouldn't be drinking, unless I wanted to drink a Coke, but I don't know why you'd want to talk to those guys anyway. It's like the size of their engine in cc's equates to some other anatomical measurement they're trying to impress you with. And basically if you had a big size, you wouldn't need the big bike.
Live and learn, just enjoy your own bike. And none of those guys I see at these places, with the Harleys and big touring bikes, could keep up with you in acceleration or on the twisties anyway.

[DRivero]

Thanks, Marc. Of course you're right.

Hey, even though I am a born and raised Floridian (VERY rare in this part of the state), I had to google Crawfordville. I've never been to the Tallahassee area.....I'd like to go, though. Some day, you'll have to tell me about Sopchoppy and Tate's Hell National Forest!

[mrlmd]

I moved down here about 7 yrs ago, to Tallahassee from NJ, when I decided to quit working and do something else. Then I bought a beach house in Shell Point (an area in the town of Crawfordville) on the Gulf that was destroyed by Hurricane Dennis in 2005 making me have to rebuild it (this time out of reinforced concrete so it will survive even a direct hit from a tornado). Wakulla County, Crawfordville, and Sopchoppy being only 2 of the towns, are so different than NY/NJ that it's like living in a different country, not like the US I knew. Good ole boys network down here controlling a lot of the local politics, probably a lot of inbreeding too. There's a Sopchoppy Oprey that takes place in the local high school, but they are best known for their Worm Gruntin' Festival. All the national forests and parks down here are Mother Nature in its purest form, green and clean, lots of wildlife, but civilization and pollution are creeping in. Google the Worm Gruntin' Festival or if you can't find it, PM me an address and I'll copy a video for you. It's pretty funny, and these people are serious, and that's the funniest part of it. Or ride over and I'll give you the tour and you can see for yourself.