I can agree with the ignorant and dangerous part; and I would find really difficult to shift in flip flops, think my rearsets would tear up the toes; but really is riding fast an indication of being a squid, or is it more along the lines of being out of control. Really for as long as I can remember, being a squid describes the riders attitude, and is usually coupled with the inability to safely ride at the speeds they are attempting. Someone one that rides fast, and even aggressively, but can handle his/her bike safely is simply not a squid. Squids do seem to understand when and where such activities are appropriate. Wheelies in rush hour stop and go traffic is squidly behavior. Passing other bikes unsafely is squidly behavior, but blasting through the twisties (even if you pass slower riders) is not, and neither is wearing less than full gear. I personally always wear my helmet and gloves, and most of the time long pants, and I do where my leather jacket, but not as much during the summer. And yes I tend to break the occassional traffic law, am I a squid, no...why? because i always ride with a concern for those around me....see it's attitude....

 

+1 AZ1000rr

A squid will swing across a lane in a blind turn to cut the angle (like the racers do ) [Sure it looks good and feels good but you've got to stay in your own lane if you can't see what else is in the other lane]

A good rider will do the same turn in their own lane. (IMHO it takes more skill to go fast in your own lane than to turn a complex turn into one line by cutting across lanes)

It really pisses me off the blind turn wrong laners... I had a REALLY close call one day with a zx7r... Riding a local ride I was entering a reasonably tight righ hander. Had a gut feeling I should stick to the right hand side of it... as I entered the turn a green zx7r buzzed me fully in my lane. I was doing ~60-70 mph... he was doing at least that. I saw him at maybe 50' away. Absolutely no time for either of us to react. The only reason we didn't head on was I had a gut feeling to be tight to the right. That was a crap your pants moment. My helmet literally bobbled in his wind blast we were that close. Both leaned over...

 

I remember seeing this debate on another topic, about the whole riding gear makes you a squid if you don't wear full leathers every time you ride. Anyway, I wish I was a squid that way I could do wheelies!!!! I really HATE wearing my jacket especially on the freeway. I get blown around like crazy! When I don't wear my jacket and I'm riding on the freeway it just feels so much smoother and easier to control and much less wind resistance. Ok there is my random post about random things that doesn't make much sense.

Mike

 

az1000rr

i would think the same thing about flip flops but come to florida dude, swear to god tons of people wearing flip flops and riding, i personally think there idiot

Snowboarding -
i actually feel the opposite if i dont wear my jacket i get easily fatigued on the expressway, my jacket cuts through the wind and makes it smoother for me. so you have a mesh or leather?

 

There is a time and place for everything, and unfortunately we can't control what others do. Flip flops seem wrong, but I still wouldn't call that person a squid simply based on that, maybe a dumba$$. I guess I just wish people really understood what a squid is. They are not only dangerous to themselves and others, but they generally give the public at large the wrong impression and make them think all sport bike riders are the same way. Helmet or no helmet, jacket or no jacket, shorts or jeans....these are all personal preferences; granted anytime you don't suit up with all of your gear, you are risking more serious injuries if you go down, but again, unless you are driving out of control, it doesn't mean you are a squid. Saying someone riding in shorts without a helmet is a squid is about as fair as saying that all squids are young riders. Simply not the case. It is unfortunate that most squids tend to be young, and tend to ride out of control wearing less than appropriate gear. It's a shame that a behavior is not only stereo typed by the public at large, but apparently other bikers in this forum....

 

I have a mesh jacket. It's a cortech GS sport or something. It has 4 or 6 vents in the front and 2 vents in the back and I noticed if I closed all of the front vents it makes a little bit of a difference but still just doesn't feel comfortable, I still feel like I get blown around.

Mike

 

You contridict yourself, any non-rider i have ever talked to thinks that someone riding without gear are idiots regardless of HOW they are riding. How is a non-rider supposed to know someone is a safe rider with a good attitude when they cant even have the good sense to dress themselves properly? That is the very definition of 'giving the public at large the wrong impression'.

 

Flip don't take this the wrong way, but that makes no sense. I would venture a guess that if you asked a non-rider what a squid was you'd get the marine animal; the general public does tend to group all of us together because of those, young punk kids riding in shorts with no helmet that cut them off last night. All I can say to make you understand is that I don't wear all my gear all the time, and I assure you that I am not a squid. All I have been asking is for you and others to acknowledge that a squid is not defined by the lack of gear they were, its how they think and how they ride that make them fit into that category, its just a shame that they also tend not to wear their gear, so guys like you see someone on a bike in shorts and think squid. I guess I shouldn't care, but I have only taken issue to a couple of things while posting on this forum, the definition of squid, and the 600 riders that think they can beat the liter bikes...and of course those people who seem to think its their place to criticize someone's choice of bike. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

 

As my original post stated, about the big squid, I called him that because of how he was riding...passing on double yellow, passing multiple cars at a time, cutting me off by squeezing between me and the car in front of me then cutting off other cars ahead. Also passing on a blind curve doing about 70 or more. It just so happens that he was not wearing any gear. For that he's a retard. For the other reason + the lack of gear, he's a squid.

 

AZ, you stated that a squid gives the general public the wrong impression of sport bike riders. I'm telling you that non riders see someone with no gear and think he is unsafe. If you are telling me that you ride with no gear and ARE safe, then the general public would have the wrong impression, correct?

Thats all i'm saying. I dont care if you or anyone else thinks you are a squid, i was just taking your words and showing you that no gear can give the wrong impresion, thus is a squid by your own definition.