May 5th, 2014, 07:52 AM | #1 |
ninjette.org member
Name: John
Location: Milford, CT
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212
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What is a squid?
These are all examples of SQUID to me...... let me preface this by stating that I live in Connecticut which does NOT have a mandatory helmet law.
Riding a moped or scooter around town in traffic with absolutely no protective gear on at all. Not even a bicycle helmet (which is slightly better than nothing). I can't tell you how many times I will see 2 young people cruising 30mph on the public roads with shorts, flip flops and t-shirts on. Riding an 800lb cruiser with a t-shirt on and no helmet with your wife or girlfriend on the back in shorts and flip flops. Riding a 450lb sport bike while weaving in and out of traffic at speeds well in excess of 115mph on the highway with a full leather race suit and a full face helmet. There is no helmet or leather gear that's gonna save you at those speeds. Riding a sport bike in town at speeds well in excess of 100mph with shorts and sneakers on BUT with a full face helmet. A very good friend of mine was killed 2 years ago on his cruiser. Here is the story.. He just got the bike. A brand new Harley Davidson Blackline. He had ridden years prior but just got back into biking when his kids got older. He bought a really nice DOT half helmet for both him and his girlfriend (one of my wife's best friends) and they always wore them. Well.. when you are in Connecticut and you ride a Harley and you have a helmet on you are probably less than 2% of the riding community. Its very easy to get sucked into not wearing your helmet. Your head doesn't sweat, your significant others hair doesn't get ruined and having that wind in your hair is outstanding so most people... 98% of them.. who start off wearing a helmet eventually stop. Well.. my friend and his girlfriend decided to stop. Its their right per Connecticut law. The 1st day they decided they were no longer wearing helmets (dead of summer about 90 degrees out) they got cut off by a cager at an intersection. The driver didn't even see them. My friend tried to stop and dumped the bike and highsided. He landed directly on his head. 5 skull fractures but he was alive until he got to the hospital. He had a heart attack do to the massive head trauma. My wife's friend had bumps and bruises and a few broken ribs. The doctors in the hospital said if he had been wearing any kind of helmet he would have walked away from it. Instead.. we buried him. Here is the MESSED UP THING... for a solid year his girlfriend told everybody she saw on a bike to please wear their helmets A year later we had a bike cruise tribute to him. They estimated about 75 bikes there. Out of those 75 bikes you could easily pick out my wife and me. We were the ONLY ones wearing helmets. Regarding who wears helmets and who doesn't in Connecticut... 95% of the scooter/moped riders don't. 80% of sport bike riders do. 60% of the metric cruiser riders do 99% of the Harley cruiser riders don't. |
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May 5th, 2014, 08:10 AM | #2 |
motorcycle rider
Name: Bruce
Location: Victoria, BC
Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): '14 Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom (silver) Posts: A lot.
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That's a sad story.
I'm not in favor of the government telling people what to do, but for something called "common sense" it sure doesn't seem very common.
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'14 Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom (silver) |
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May 5th, 2014, 08:25 AM | #3 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: John
Location: Milford, CT
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212
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Quote:
Why is it that in CT and the rest of the country its mandatory to wear a seat belt when driving or riding in a car but you don't need a helmet when riding a motorcycle especially considering that most motorcycle accidents result in injuries and most car accidents don't. That doesn't seem to make sense to me. |
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May 5th, 2014, 08:30 AM | #4 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Sonny
Location: Saint louis
Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): 09 250r, 09 1125r, 95 Virago Posts: 78
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Our scooter riders here have to wear helmets. MOST of the ones I see are actually at least wearing long sleeves.
A squid to me is the guy with no protective gear on a sport bike, especially the stunters. Here's another story for the collection: In '98 I was riding in the twisties (very mild ones) on my '94 Katana 600. I was behind a Harley Fatboy riding two up. Husband and wife in shorts and tank tops. I kept my distance behind them so I wouldn't push them in the corners. I noticed the guy kept pushing his bike harder and harder, so I backed off to where I could barely see them. Eventually, they took a corner and disappeared. When I got there the lady was lying in the middle of the road, bloody road rash and the guy had a broken arm. The guy was actually looking for his bike which was in a ditch nearby. I told him to worry about his lady and I would get his bike. I pushed it up to a nearby house where people were trying to help. (Damn that bike was heavy.) Soooooo, when this was all going on about 5 Harley riders in a group passed by us, slowed down a bit to gawk, then carried on without stopping to help. In my opinion, I had experienced the epitome of "squidness". |
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May 5th, 2014, 08:34 AM | #5 |
wat
Name: wat
Location: tustin/long beach
Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): wat Posts: Too much.
Blog Entries: 5
MOTM - Oct '12, Feb '14
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Hello...
My name is alex... i wear full gear ATT. and I am a squid.
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May 5th, 2014, 08:38 AM | #6 |
#squid
Name: nickypoo
Location: Five Guys
Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): Track dedicated 2008 ZX6R Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Jul '16
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I'm an octopus
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May 5th, 2014, 08:41 AM | #7 |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
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I'm in CT also (Trumbull) and fully ATGATT. Leather jacket always with Level 2 armor, leather pants mostly, but always pants, and always armored.
I'm right there with you, with the exception of the 30 mph scooter/moped thing. That's bicycle speeds (I don't mean average speeds, I mean commonly seen speeds). Surely you wouldn't call a bicyclist who isn't wearing full body armor a squid? I've crashed my bicycle going about 25-30 mph. Yeah, road rash, taunting by wife... and that sucks... but armoring up on a bicycle? Nah. Helmet, you bet. In our area I rarely see sport bike riders without a helmet. Helmet, jacket and gloves are common, usually coupled with jeans and either sneakers or low boots. Full ATGATT is quite rare. Most common Harley gear is a leather jacket, jeans, boots, sunglasses and no helmet. Most common touring gear is open-face helmet and nylon jacket. To your subject, to me "squid" isn't about gear. It's about attitude. Triple-digit speeds in traffic? Aggressively weaving in and out of traffic? Wheelies? Burnouts? Bike-night posing? Squid. Gear can indicate the attitude. Chromed-out sportbikes. Stupid-loud exhausts. Extended swingarms. Spike windshield bolts. LEDs. And of course, the ever-lovin' helmet mohawk. Shredding the speed limit with nobody around? Not smart, generally, but not squid. Connecticut has a lot of really great back roads with ridiculously low speed limits -- like 25 mph on roads where twice that is routine for everybody but senior citizens and school buses. Triple-digits on the highway... again, it really depends on circumstances. Nobody around? Well.... Let's just say that on a powerful sport bike, elevated speeds are surprisingly easy to attain without even realizing it. I've got a SpeedoDRD on my bike because its speedometer is even more hopelessly optimistic than the Ninjette's. I do have it calibrated correctly and check it often. One of its functions is capture of max speed. Just for grins I called it up last winter and was, to put it mildly, surprised at the result. So yeah. I broke the ton and I'm the farthest thing from a squid that you can imagine.
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I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
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May 5th, 2014, 08:51 AM | #8 |
not an actual panda
Name: dan
Location: philadelphia
Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250, 2009 CBR600RR (Sold) Posts: A lot.
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May 5th, 2014, 08:57 AM | #9 |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
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Dan! Where you been, man? We need to ride together this year.
Hitting the track in July (woot!)
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I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
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May 5th, 2014, 09:01 AM | #10 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: John
Location: Milford, CT
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212
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Quote:
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May 5th, 2014, 09:06 AM | #11 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: John
Location: Milford, CT
Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212
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Quote:
I also agree with how easy it is to go fast. I owned a Valkyrie for a while and that bike would fool you into thinking I was going 75 when I was actually going 95. |
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May 5th, 2014, 09:13 AM | #12 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Ray
Location: 48162
Join Date: Aug 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250 Posts: 450
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The term squid to me is a derogatory term used for people that don't fit into someone else's ideal or compliance and sling it around as if it is gospel, squid can mean many different things to many different people.
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May 5th, 2014, 09:14 AM | #13 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Sonny
Location: Saint louis
Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): 09 250r, 09 1125r, 95 Virago Posts: 78
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Hey JG, our resident Harley voice
I don't dislike Harleys at all (I also own a Buell.) but there seems to be a lot of un earned bravado in the Harley community. It seems a lot of the Harley owners I know have only and will only ride a Harley, so they develop a completely different mindset and set of riding skills. One more quick story about the other squids: Saturday night, 2002, a guy takes his GSXR 1000 to the local "strip" (industrial park) to show off his stunting skills. 100+ mph wheelie around a sweeper and runs into the back of a parked Chevy S10. Kills him on the spot, fire and all. I knew they guy, never got along with him well, he was always promoting reckless riding, sans safety gear no less. He told me once that one of his favorite games was to hit peoples kill switches while racing them. Oh, and the witness cover ups were insane, "he was only doing 35, riding normal". Sad. |
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May 5th, 2014, 09:37 AM | #14 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Jay
Location: CT
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2015 636 ABS - 69 Honda 305 Posts: A lot.
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I will say most of your squid items are pretty much the same as mine and what andy said. Someone doing 115 with full leathers on? Not a squid until you put weaving through traffic in there.
I also think that our insurance premiums should have a discount for wearing a helmet. If you say you wear a helmet and have an accident without one, your SOL. |
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May 5th, 2014, 10:06 AM | #15 | |
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
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I've heard that squid comes from "squirrelly kid". I think everyone has their own idea of what it means (Everyone driving slower than me is an idiot, and everyone driving faster is a maniac.), but I think in general it comes down to "clueness n00b" stuff. Doing dangerous stuff in traffic, not wearing simple protective gear, poor riding skills, etc.
Quote:
That's the only argument I've seen that goes against my thoughts that seat belts should be optional too. As long as you're not impacting me, I don't really care what harm you inflict upon yourself. Hopefully you have the brain cells to consider the consequences of your actions, and take simple steps to protect yourself. If you don't care enough about yourself and those around you to protect yourself from harm, then I feel you should be free to make that choice. |
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May 5th, 2014, 11:05 AM | #16 |
Private Joker
Name: Ben
Location: Towson, MD
Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): '99/'01 Ninja 250 "sketchy", '13 Ninja 300 "yoshi", '03 GSXR 600 "merlin" Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '14
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I agree with the sentiment that being a squid is more about attitude than gear. However you can more easily spot a squid through lack of gear. I consider not wearing a helmet to be dumb as hell but people do it. Not wearing a jacket/gloves/boots/pants are also dumb not not as dumb. The only thing that my jacket has done for me is prevent a lot of road rash, it has not inherently saved my life just some quality of life. I would never want to crash without wearing a jacket. My gloves have saved me from likely losing my pinky (the reinforced knuckles stick out a bit and the pinky one was worn far enough to where I'd have lost the knuckle without it.
Regardless, I am a squid because I ride like an idiot consistently. I don't consider flying when no one is around to be squidish. Riding aggressively with other vehicles nearby, pulling questionable passes, and passing cars like they're standing still (yes it's possible on a 250/300) is what makes me a squid. I will never ride without a helmet though. |
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May 5th, 2014, 11:59 AM | #17 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Paul
Location: Eastern Ct.
Join Date: Jan 2014 Motorcycle(s): @004 Yamaha Roadstar Posts: 13
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As I read statistics about survivability during accidents while wearing a helmet, I wonder how many of those helmets were real helmets. I know plenty of people that never wear a helmet and some that wear the little piss pot half helmets and those are a far cry from a full or modular helmet. I used to use a half helmet until I met someone that showed me his full helmet with scrapes running from the chin to the top above his left temple. A cage moved into his lane and took out his front wheel at less than 40mph. A half would have been next to useless when going down facefirst. Remember, facial fractures ARE skull fractures.
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May 5th, 2014, 12:23 PM | #18 | |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 6
MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
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Quote:
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I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
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May 5th, 2014, 12:31 PM | #19 | |
Private Joker
Name: Ben
Location: Towson, MD
Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): '99/'01 Ninja 250 "sketchy", '13 Ninja 300 "yoshi", '03 GSXR 600 "merlin" Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '14
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Quote:
I guarantee it already would have (in terms of injury at minimum) if I were riding a 600 since I wouldn't be limited by top speed anymore. I can take every corner on my way to work flat out if there isn't any traffic. The fact that I know that is a problem. |
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May 5th, 2014, 01:03 PM | #20 |
I'm crazy,your excuse is?
Name: Winston
Location: Connecticut
Join Date: May 2013 Motorcycle(s): 250 2007 ninja Posts: A lot.
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Ever see a real dead squid- as in calimare? just sits there all limp and lifeless.
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May 5th, 2014, 01:05 PM | #21 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Whodat
Location: Ware Is.,MA
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14
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Squid is anyone who rides over their head and threatens the lives of themselves or others. It has nothing to do with gear.
When I was a kid Milford used to have a cop that stood in a can directing traffic by the old library, now the Chamber Of Commerce. Do they still used that can? It was actually pretty cool.
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If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough! |
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May 5th, 2014, 01:11 PM | #22 | |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Fish
Location: co
Join Date: Apr 2013 Motorcycle(s): 250/300 Posts: A lot.
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Quote:
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Hey Unregistered never go faster than your brakes can be applied... |
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May 5th, 2014, 01:20 PM | #23 |
Private Joker
Name: Ben
Location: Towson, MD
Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): '99/'01 Ninja 250 "sketchy", '13 Ninja 300 "yoshi", '03 GSXR 600 "merlin" Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '14
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May 5th, 2014, 02:05 PM | #24 | |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Morgan
Location: A city twinned with Kawasaki
Join Date: Nov 2011 Motorcycle(s): '08 Ninja 250, 2010 STR 675 Posts: A lot.
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Quote:
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1 out of 1 members found this post helpful. |
May 5th, 2014, 02:36 PM | #25 |
Hooligan
Name: Robin
Location: Central Iowa
Join Date: Jun 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2013 Ninja EX300 Posts: 250
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I consider the wobbly idiot who rides a GSXR around my town wearing shorts with his girlfriend on the back in a bikini and flip flops a squid. Well, squid is the nice thing I call him, everything else would just convert to ***s if I actually typed them.
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Qui patiens est, teres. Teres est, ieiunare. | Twitter: @Rogue_300 |
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May 5th, 2014, 03:02 PM | #26 | |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
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Quote:
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I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
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May 5th, 2014, 03:45 PM | #27 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Whodat
Location: Ware Is.,MA
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14
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Nice try Captain Oblivious, I read that in the Milford history book.
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If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough! |
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May 5th, 2014, 03:52 PM | #28 |
Captain 2 Sexy
Name: Newton
Location: South TN
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May 5th, 2014, 03:54 PM | #29 |
Your face
Name: Wes
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2014 Honda CBR650f Posts: A lot.
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I'm either MTGATT or ATMATT
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"even a proper fitting helmet can 'get loose'" -csmith |
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May 5th, 2014, 04:00 PM | #30 |
wat
Name: wat
Location: tustin/long beach
Join Date: Sep 2009 Motorcycle(s): wat Posts: Too much.
Blog Entries: 5
MOTM - Oct '12, Feb '14
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sexual tyrannosaurus? does that mean the thing that hangs out in front is really small and puny?
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May 5th, 2014, 04:02 PM | #31 |
Cat herder
Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 6
MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
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I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12 Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est. Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem. |
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May 5th, 2014, 07:46 PM | #34 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: TC
Location: Hawaii
Join Date: Sep 2013 Motorcycle(s): A lot. Posts: A lot.
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Someone who doesn't have respect for the machine they ride that has the power to kill them instantly.
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Just batshit crazy. All his posts are endless diatribes. Some are actually entertaining but mostly batshit crazy. |
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May 5th, 2014, 09:02 PM | #35 |
Your face
Name: Wes
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jul 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2014 Honda CBR650f Posts: A lot.
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"even a proper fitting helmet can 'get loose'" -csmith |
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May 5th, 2014, 09:08 PM | #36 |
Threadkiller
Name: Mick
Location: Monongahela, Pa.
Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): Yellow '04 stocker, '89 FJ1200, '87 Ducati Paso, '71 Yamaha XS1b, '99 KLR650, '81 FXE 80, '97 KTM 200EXC , etc Posts: 430
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To us, a squid was someone who looked and talked like they were fast, but were in fact Turtle Boys.
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May 5th, 2014, 09:31 PM | #37 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Vadim
Location: Seattle Area
Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250 Posts: 64
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Well I sometimes ride without my jacket because it can be heavy and hot, during the warm days. But if I will be going on the freeway or highway, I always have my jacket on. Helmet and gloves are on all the time. Usually don't put on the jacket when I go gas up or w-e..
oh.. and this is a squid, see how they are all dead? |
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May 6th, 2014, 06:49 AM | #38 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Whodat
Location: Ware Is.,MA
Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): I pass the wind! Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Mar '13, Jun '14
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Quote:
I like the family picture. Which one is you?
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If everything seems under control; you're just not going fast enough! |
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May 6th, 2014, 07:01 AM | #39 | |
Hooligan
Name: Robin
Location: Central Iowa
Join Date: Jun 2013 Motorcycle(s): 2013 Ninja EX300 Posts: 250
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Quote:
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Qui patiens est, teres. Teres est, ieiunare. | Twitter: @Rogue_300 |
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May 6th, 2014, 07:17 AM | #40 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: josh
Location: 763
Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): five honda's one harley one ninja most have sold all where fun.(one honda was a moped) Posts: 344
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I always thought it was someone whom rode like a idiot to show off or just to ride wild because you can. Even in full gear people can be squids.
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