Bikers going over and under the 'hill'
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From: West Philly, PA!
Bikers going over and under the 'hill'
It's happening at my office. The generation gap is rearing its ugly head. Many of the guys in their late early 20s are showing up with gixxers and cbrs. Many of the guys in their late 40s are showing up with Harleys and VTXs. and the guys in their 30s (me at 37) are going both directions. I got a CBR. Another guy who is my age dumped his CBR for a Harley.
You can feel the tension building in the parking lot. The sports bikers handing the cruiser riders Viagra. And the cruisers giving us Pampers. Allegedly, I'm going through my midlife crisis, grabbing a sports bike at my age (one guy actually said my back is too old for it). My reply: where's the 19 yro gf that's supposed to come with the crisis???
Ain't age grand?
You can feel the tension building in the parking lot. The sports bikers handing the cruiser riders Viagra. And the cruisers giving us Pampers. Allegedly, I'm going through my midlife crisis, grabbing a sports bike at my age (one guy actually said my back is too old for it). My reply: where's the 19 yro gf that's supposed to come with the crisis???
Ain't age grand?
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From: Dalton, GA
It's happening at my office. The generation gap is rearing its ugly head. Many of the guys in their late early 20s are showing up with gixxers and cbrs. Many of the guys in their late 40s are showing up with Harleys and VTXs. and the guys in their 30s (me at 37) are going both directions. I got a CBR. Another guy who is my age dumped his CBR for a Harley.
You can feel the tension building in the parking lot. The sports bikers handing the cruiser riders Viagra. And the cruisers giving us Pampers. Allegedly, I'm going through my midlife crisis, grabbing a sports bike at my age (one guy actually said my back is too old for it). My reply: where's the 19 yro gf that's supposed to come with the crisis???
Ain't age grand?
You can feel the tension building in the parking lot. The sports bikers handing the cruiser riders Viagra. And the cruisers giving us Pampers. Allegedly, I'm going through my midlife crisis, grabbing a sports bike at my age (one guy actually said my back is too old for it). My reply: where's the 19 yro gf that's supposed to come with the crisis???
Ain't age grand?
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From: West Philly, PA!
It's just funny. You can almost see the line drawn between the ages. Me, I thought I wanted a Harley when I was younger. It was the thought of paying as much for a motorcycle as some people do as a car. Aka: a physical representation of my bank account. Now... Just feeling the my bike straining to pull out, restrained only by my grip on the clutch just in 1st gear. Dunno how I ever considered it.
Of course since its been 2 decades since I've been on 2 wheels, my grip on the clutch is pretty good while I learn the break points of this bike
Of course since its been 2 decades since I've been on 2 wheels, my grip on the clutch is pretty good while I learn the break points of this bike
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From: Worldwide not a joke
Common ground
Don't know about the whole midlife crisis thing but It is possible to achieve peace and harmony here's a photo from a run to barbers motorcycle Museum and track a couple of years ago this is actually only half the group we rode in two separate groups a few minutes apart which turned into about a 15 minute gap basically because there were 12 of us this is my half of the group and there was no rivalry amongst us everything in this group from HD's Japanese cruisers to sports bikes even a naked B king and ages ranged from 19 to 50 plus which the 50 plus is in the right hand corner of this photo on the R1 a retired Master Gunnery Sgt but everybody had something much greater in common than motorcycling these were active-duty Marines or retired Marines with their sons or grandsons maybe that's the difference
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Like Corps said ...dunno about the whole mid life crisis thing ..
and om not sure if that is all that tends to drive attitudes as far as choices of bikes go...
I have found that quite allot of guys will by the Hardley's mainly for show and the show off tough guy chit attitude ...which does make me laugh ..
So I do not believe the reasons guys grab a tank tourer or a Hardley are just age, or anything to do with age exactly ... Many other hidden reasons may cause them to buy them ??
Here in Aus ..., you will never see a group of sport bike riders cruising with Hardley's... dunno what it is exactly , but the 2 groups steer well clear of each other in the main on the roads..
As a 1000F rider, I seem to find that most other , not all , but most 1000F riders tend a bit older 30+....
I recon some guys buy Hardleys because they know full well inside themselves that they could not handle a sport bike's power, or ever be able to get anywhere near using them for what they were made for..
So when the tension hits in the car park , just ignor it and have a quiet chuckle to yourself , knowing that most (not all but most) of the opposition are only on them because in actual fact , they might be tough guys ? , but deep inside mate , they are weak as chit ...LOL and they hide to some extent behind there tank tourers ..
Just my opinion guys ...
and om not sure if that is all that tends to drive attitudes as far as choices of bikes go...
I have found that quite allot of guys will by the Hardley's mainly for show and the show off tough guy chit attitude ...which does make me laugh ..So I do not believe the reasons guys grab a tank tourer or a Hardley are just age, or anything to do with age exactly ... Many other hidden reasons may cause them to buy them ??
Here in Aus ..., you will never see a group of sport bike riders cruising with Hardley's... dunno what it is exactly , but the 2 groups steer well clear of each other in the main on the roads..
As a 1000F rider, I seem to find that most other , not all , but most 1000F riders tend a bit older 30+....
I recon some guys buy Hardleys because they know full well inside themselves that they could not handle a sport bike's power, or ever be able to get anywhere near using them for what they were made for..
So when the tension hits in the car park , just ignor it and have a quiet chuckle to yourself , knowing that most (not all but most) of the opposition are only on them because in actual fact , they might be tough guys ? , but deep inside mate , they are weak as chit ...LOL and they hide to some extent behind there tank tourers ..
Just my opinion guys ...
Last edited by CBRclassic; Aug 9, 2009 at 04:16 AM.
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From: Mud hut, Zululand
Went out this morning, 3 cruisers were guys in their 30/40's and two sports bikes, Hayabusa and 1000F Both over 50.
It's more I think to do with what you want - some like the bling, some like the speed and handling.
When I want to cruise I borrow my wife's 750CB C. It's great for the suburbs.
Would I buy a cruiser ?- not unless my body won't let me ride a sports bike anymore.
(and then I'd probably give it up anyway - I'm not a fan of old pushrod technology)
I also don't think biking is to do with what you ride - it's just two wheels, that count.
It's more I think to do with what you want - some like the bling, some like the speed and handling.
When I want to cruise I borrow my wife's 750CB C. It's great for the suburbs.
Would I buy a cruiser ?- not unless my body won't let me ride a sports bike anymore.
(and then I'd probably give it up anyway - I'm not a fan of old pushrod technology)
I also don't think biking is to do with what you ride - it's just two wheels, that count.
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From: Newcastle, N.S.W. Australia
My bike club has a lot of different riders, from all backgrounds & bike types, male, female & age groups, like one guy who is pushing 80 (has Parkinson's disease) but tootle's along quite nicely on his VFR800. On our rides, we get together with a lot bikes that you would not normally see together, as in sports/naked & cruiser/Harley's (& Yamadavidson's).
Classic is right though, when he say's that in S'tralia, Harley's don't usually hang out with the rest, basically because of our riding preferences (curves v's straight road riding).
The weekend rides are pretty good in that respect, usually over a beer or two, you get talk to most of them & the big surprise, regardless of age, sex or what they ride, they are all bike nuts.
Classic is right though, when he say's that in S'tralia, Harley's don't usually hang out with the rest, basically because of our riding preferences (curves v's straight road riding).
The weekend rides are pretty good in that respect, usually over a beer or two, you get talk to most of them & the big surprise, regardless of age, sex or what they ride, they are all bike nuts.
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I've had and have alot of friends that ride cruiser bikes, but we never ride together past once or twice. Used to think it was the old jap junk attitude on their part, but quite a few of them now realize harleys aren't exactly "made in america", and the attitude was common among shadow riders as well so that theory goes out the window. Then I figured it was the sport bike death trap stupid kids thing, but noticed than alot of sport bike riders are getting older and most the hogs on the road around here are ridden by twenty somethings. Two down. So I currently have two solid still remaining theories. Both of which have substantially proven themselves correct to me over time.
1. The two bike styles are essentially incompatible, largely due to the cruisers design. They accelerate slower, corner worse and deccelerate slower. Makes riding with a sportbike a matter of frustration for both parties. The sport rider annoyed that he has to slow down and wait constantly, and the cruiser rider annoyed at being waited on. There's also the matter of safety, if a sport rider has to pull off an emergency stop and theres a harley behind him, he's essentially screwed. Plus the two bike types look rather rediculous together.
Well, that helps explain part of the logic behind it, but not the level of animosity between the groups. So, on to number 2.
2. The need to justify ones own purchase or choice. This is a nasty one. It affects everything from videogames to vehicles, including bikes. Without fail, 360 owners bash on ps3's and their games, ps3's bash back, chevy owners maked fun of fords and vice versa, imported vs domestic cars, soccer team fans often hate eachother, etc. Think of the wars caused by the simple choice of personal faith.
People have a built in need to think that their choices are the best or the right ones, and go to great lengths to prove it to themselves and to others. The less secure a person is in their choice, the more violently they tend to try to defend it, usually by bashing everyone elses choices and praising their own. Look at any exhaust thread, almost every answer to which pipe is best is the pipe the poster who replied owns.
Now imagine your a cruiser rider, your trying to convince yourself that your bike was the best choice, your buddies bike is faster, handles betters, gets better mileage and will pretty much decimate your bike in any test between the two. Yours on the other hand was, well.... just more expensive. Imagine the amount and level of the convincing and bashing he'd need to do to equate that in his mind.
There are however two kinds of cruiser riders. Those who ride for the enjoyment and comfort of it, and those that ride for the image. Pretty much all of the "image" riders tend to follow the pattern above, the comfort riders can go either way. This is of course all just my opinion, and it's possible I'm totally wrong here, but this seems to make sense, to me at least. Individual results may vary,
1. The two bike styles are essentially incompatible, largely due to the cruisers design. They accelerate slower, corner worse and deccelerate slower. Makes riding with a sportbike a matter of frustration for both parties. The sport rider annoyed that he has to slow down and wait constantly, and the cruiser rider annoyed at being waited on. There's also the matter of safety, if a sport rider has to pull off an emergency stop and theres a harley behind him, he's essentially screwed. Plus the two bike types look rather rediculous together.
Well, that helps explain part of the logic behind it, but not the level of animosity between the groups. So, on to number 2.
2. The need to justify ones own purchase or choice. This is a nasty one. It affects everything from videogames to vehicles, including bikes. Without fail, 360 owners bash on ps3's and their games, ps3's bash back, chevy owners maked fun of fords and vice versa, imported vs domestic cars, soccer team fans often hate eachother, etc. Think of the wars caused by the simple choice of personal faith.
People have a built in need to think that their choices are the best or the right ones, and go to great lengths to prove it to themselves and to others. The less secure a person is in their choice, the more violently they tend to try to defend it, usually by bashing everyone elses choices and praising their own. Look at any exhaust thread, almost every answer to which pipe is best is the pipe the poster who replied owns.
Now imagine your a cruiser rider, your trying to convince yourself that your bike was the best choice, your buddies bike is faster, handles betters, gets better mileage and will pretty much decimate your bike in any test between the two. Yours on the other hand was, well.... just more expensive. Imagine the amount and level of the convincing and bashing he'd need to do to equate that in his mind.
There are however two kinds of cruiser riders. Those who ride for the enjoyment and comfort of it, and those that ride for the image. Pretty much all of the "image" riders tend to follow the pattern above, the comfort riders can go either way. This is of course all just my opinion, and it's possible I'm totally wrong here, but this seems to make sense, to me at least. Individual results may vary,
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From: West Philly, PA!
There is an age thing at work here tho. Comments about my back and how it'll start giving me crap have been heard more than once since I got my bike. I'm fairly sure the 20 yros don't get the back comments.
I'm a technician for Comcast Cable. My job means having to pick up and carry a 85 lb 28' extension ladder multiple times a day. Pushing myself (meaning its an absolute necessity with no other options) I can carry it for 2-3 blocks without needing a break. My back can handle riding just fine.
37 is the new 17 with better toys and better sense for me
I'm a technician for Comcast Cable. My job means having to pick up and carry a 85 lb 28' extension ladder multiple times a day. Pushing myself (meaning its an absolute necessity with no other options) I can carry it for 2-3 blocks without needing a break. My back can handle riding just fine.
37 is the new 17 with better toys and better sense for me
