im kinda new to the 2 wheeled world. got my first bike about a year ago (81' KZ750) and learned to ride. i didn't get my M1 endorsement until i laid eyes on the 696. then it was on like donkey kong. i commute 90 miles a day from Alpine CA to La Jolla, then back. and ive noticed repeating behavior amongst your average every day commuter. for example. about once a day someone changes lanes without using there turn signal and intend to occupy the space that i am in. and it seems 9 times out of 10 its your average soccer mom. a middle aged white woman with "Student of the Month" stickers on there bumper. at first i would try to get there attention and try to make them realize what they just did could have cost me my life. but i noticed, they don't care. i know its wrong of me to group people together in "Stereotypes" but they keep getting proved to me over and over again.
Another example would be lane splitting (Legal here in CA) during rush hour i can make an hour long trip into a 40 min trip. sometimes even less. its probably one of the most helpful assets to a motorcyclist. but not everyone is keen to sharing there lane with someone who isnt restricted 5mph. you get these assholes who see you coming and immediately hug the edge of the lane. so you have no choice but to fall back behind them. and sure enough, once your not a threat, they go right back to the middle of the lane. you try to pass them again and they keep pulling to the edge. this only happens to me about once a week, maybe twice. but 99% of the time, its a 16-25 year old male. again, im Stereotyping. not saying all younger dudes are assholes. but usually the assholes are younger guys. (which doesn't explain the old lady throwing pennys out her window at me last month.)
more "Stereotypes" i have noticed are other bikers. Harly dudes ignore me, Japanese import dudes want to race me, European bike guys like to kick it, and people on scooters are a danger to themselves and others.
i hope you enjoyed my rant. anyone else observe any "Stereotypes"
90 miles each way?!!! holy commute batman
Quote from: ducducgooseme on September 19, 2008, 05:03:35 PM
90 miles each way?!!! holy commute batman
45 each way. :-\ i worded it wrong.
+1 on the harley assholes. It seems like a lot of them think that they are somehow better because they're on hds. It's like elementary when the kids in Nikes thought they were better than the kids in non-brand name shoes. Grow up! Just cause you can afford to waste a bunch of money on a piece of crap doesn't mean you're somehow better. I get it a lot at bike shops too. I went to one to get a bracket made for a tailight on a suzuki cruiser. They said it was no problem, do it all the time. Asked what I was riding and when I told them, they wouldn't even look at it! All it would have been was a bracket. No wiring or anything. They just said, "we don't work on those", and walked away. there have been many instances like this that have happened to me in only a year. This is the main reason I'll never buy one. No offense to any of you that own one, but I don't want any part of that scene. I'll ride w/ any bike if the rider's competent. I've got nothing against harley's, japanese, italian, etc., and I'll just keep waving to every bike I see.
Quote from: Danmack_98 on September 19, 2008, 05:11:32 PM
It seems like a lot of them think that they are somehow better because they're on hds.
i went to a gun shop last weekend to get some pepper spray for my wife's key chain (Some girl was attacked close to where she works) and the first thing the shop owner said when i walked in the store was "You better not have parked that jap bike next to my Harly" i was amazed. i told him it wasnt a jap bike at all and he insisted that if its not a harly then its a jap bike, and i need not to park it next to his store. i payed for the pepper spray and left. honestly. what could i expect from a harly owner that works at a gun & ammo shop. ;)
You should have turned around and take you business else where! by the way, didn't HD had just recently acquired MV Augusta?
:P
Quote from: BomberHead on September 19, 2008, 05:33:33 PM
i went to a gun shop last weekend to get some pepper spray for my wife's key chain (Some girl was attacked close to where she works) and the first thing the shop owner said when i walked in the store was "You better not have parked that jap bike next to my Harly" i was amazed. i told him it wasnt a jap bike at all and he insisted that if its not a harly then its a jap bike, and i need not to park it next to his store. i payed for the pepper spray and left. honestly. what could i expect from a harly owner that works at a gun & ammo shop. ;)
there's only three motorcycles in my 200 unit condo complex (where i live, not that i own it). two are ducatis, one is a harley. the harley dude is totally awesome and loves our bikes (mine a m750, the other is an 848). his harley is chromed to the gills and is about the size of a 50s caddy. i respect it much, even if it's only missing air conditioning in the dash panel.
as far as stereotypes - truckers are the most considerate and kind people on the road. i'd buy each one a coffee for their kindness. pickup trucks with even slightly oversized wheels act as if a two inch cushion between them and the next vehicle is a bit too much.
and during my morning commute, i think about the total morons everywhere, wonder who is hiring them and then consider the state of the economy! [bang]
Quote from: redxblack on September 19, 2008, 07:47:28 PM
as far as stereotypes - truckers are the most considerate and kind people on the road. i'd buy each one a coffee for their kindness. pickup trucks with even slightly oversized wheels act as if a two inch cushion between them and the next vehicle is a bit too much.
and during my morning commute, i think about the total morons everywhere, wonder who is hiring them and then consider the state of the economy! [bang]
Totally agree.
LOL
I actually dig some of the Harleys, ride with some close friends that are into the Harley thing, and was even close to buying one once. If it is a custom or tricked out Harley, I've found that they will just stare at you if you waive to them. I have never, ever gotten a waive back. I've met some of the guys that "ride" these, and discovered that many put on less than a thousand miles on a bike in a given year. They um, look good though. Women Harleys riders rarely waive and many look like they have a death grip on the bars. Its hit and miss with the rest of the Harley crowd. I've also found that guys on beat up or old Japanese bikes want to race too.
As for cagers, it seem to be a northwest thing, but the Subaru outback crowd seems to be the slowest driving bunch on the road. They will kill themselves to jet over to the left lane and then go 5 under the limit. Folks in minivans seem to have this tendency too. Lastly, the giant SUV set seems to have an insane desire to drive a foot or less off of my back tire.
By the way, I've been reading some of the Brit biker mags and it doesn't sound like they have the same issues (Harley vs. anyone not on a Harley). Can any of the Brits on here speak to this? It just seems so stupid.
bomber, i too commute in Sd, from santee to national city, bout 45 miles a day. and your stereotypes atleast for san diego are very true, so dont feel bad. only once have i had a person acknoledge that they almost killed me and mouthed im sorry, but that was a younger college chick.
as for lane splitting, just watch for car doors, ive had 2 people that wanted me to take theirs off.
ive also noticed that around town most of the HD riders dont wave, but in the mountains they are a little more friendly. i would have to say that people riding customs are by far the worst.
Quote from: BomberHead on September 19, 2008, 05:33:33 PM
i went to a gun shop last weekend to get some pepper spray for my wife's key chain (Some girl was attacked close to where she works) and the first thing the shop owner said when i walked in the store was "You better not have parked that jap bike next to my Harly" i was amazed. i told him it wasnt a jap bike at all and he insisted that if its not a harly then its a jap bike, and i need not to park it next to his store. i payed for the pepper spray and left. honestly. what could i expect from a harly owner that works at a gun & ammo shop. ;)
Honestly, you should have pepper sprayed him!
It's not just a left coast thing, I've noticed many o the same stereotypes here in VA.
Soccer moms in minivans? Oh yeah!
younger guys are all over the place. Some want to race you (in their car, f'chrissake!) Some give you a thumbs up, and some have the stereo cranked as high as they are, and never see you.
My neighbor has a HD, nice guy, commutes on it. But he just wants to cruise, mainly hiway, and doesn't like twisties.
As far as being sorry that they almost wiped you off the face of the earth? nope. Most couldn't care less.
I know what you're saying about the general HD stereotype, but there's always the one that breaks the mold. About a week ago I was cruising with my brother after he just got his 74' BMW r75/6 and two Harley dudes followed us for about 4-5 miles. We finally got to the restaurant and they pulled in right behind us. I started thinking I had pissed one of them off, but it was exactly the opposite. One dude parked his bike and comes right over to me before I had even taken off my helmet. First thing he says, "Holy sh**, your bike is bad ass!" I said "Thanks bro." He told me he had seen a few Ducs, but never a Monster and we talked bikes for about 5 minutes before they took off. I only felt obligated to compliment their bikes as well which were pretty tasteful as far as HD's go.
Quote from: knightrider on September 19, 2008, 08:05:23 PM
bomber, i too commute in Sd, from santee to national city, bout 45 miles a day. and your stereotypes atleast for san diego are very true, so dont feel bad. only once have i had a person acknoledge that they almost killed me and mouthed im sorry, but that was a younger college chick.
as for lane splitting, just watch for car doors, ive had 2 people that wanted me to take theirs off.
ive also noticed that around town most of the HD riders dont wave, but in the mountains they are a little more friendly. i would have to say that people riding customs are by far the worst.
i grew up in santee. i graduated in 2000 from santana. we should have some kind of SD monster meet in east county. maybe santee lakes :)
I still have an HD (for now) as well as my Monster. I hate the stereotype that the worst of the HD crowd put off. My bike is pretty custom and I'll wave to whoever if I'm not busy minding traffic.I've got no use for someone that rides only a few hundred miles a year.
I commute about 25 miles one way. The final 5 miles or so I call the gauntlet. It's the worst. A 5 lane (2 each way plus a turn lane) surface street with about a million lights and places to turn out or across you. It seems I have to watch very carefully all the time esp. on this road. Go ahead and stereotype all cagers. I haven't met a type yet that hasn't tried to kill me at least once.
Quote from: BomberHead on September 19, 2008, 09:57:25 PM
i grew up in santee. i graduated in 2000 from santana. we should have some kind of SD monster meet in east county. maybe santee lakes :)
i'm in [thumbsup], im soon to be further south- chula vista! but still in SD [thumbsup]
as far as stereotypes - truckers are the most considerate and kind people on the road. i'd buy each one a coffee for their kindness. pickup trucks with even slightly oversized wheels act as if a two inch cushion between them and the next vehicle is a bit too much.
I agree as well. Just the other day the freeway was closed except for one lane (210 in L.A.) and splitting was impossible at some points. Idiots abounded and my mirror tapped a cagers' who then honked furiously like i would go back say sorry.
BUT, the only ones who would move over for me were the big rigs!! In a sea of compacts, the largest vehicles moved the most!
i guess i'm kinda lucky. here in oklahoma haven't had a HD or any other rider not acknowledge me, at least unless they were shifting, then i get the head bob. oh and the hd women on the back even give the hand [thumbsup]
as far as cagers, big fords with big trailers has been my bane. nearly got taken out at a left turn when one decided to take both lanes. but i saw it coming so i stopped in time before the turn. other than that a couple of people turning in front of me. if they come to close behind at lights i will turn around and look straight at them and they will stop scooting up. only had to really give one person the bird that's when he full on cut me off changing lanes with no signals. i hated doing it, but i was sooooo ticked that he nearly took off the front end of my new 696.
Quote from: Jetbrett on September 19, 2008, 07:57:17 PM
LOL
I've found that they will just stare at you if you waive to them. I have never, ever gotten a waive back.
I rode a Harley, nearly everyday for 5 years. And I had the exact opposite experience. Assumeing it's safe to do so, I wave at all other riders (except scooters. I just can't bring myself to wave at scooters). Sport Bikes would almost never wave back. Now that I'm on a sport bike, the Harley Guys wave back, but they look confused.