Old versus new...

Old versus new...Being an "old school" biker I have recently noticed how many new riders there are in alot of the events I've been to. I realize the shift of mainstream society's views toward the biker has changed from "hide your daughters" to the most common "too much noise". I guess that is a good thing for our Image. but all too common, the new inexperienced rider tries to become the "bad boy" and races up the streets with pipes blaring on his 40,000 dollar bike and is not concerned about the image that we have  spent the last 20 years trying to clean up. I know most of these bad boys will be gone from our community in a few years when the novelty wears off and trade thier rides for a boat or beamer and leave us who have been here, and will always be here, to once again clean up the mess.and those who stick with us will learn that being a biker is more than owning a bike. case in point the new bill in the house to take our bikes (yes I said bikes!) and our motorcycle endorsement away if we are deemed to be reckless driving, or speeding 30 mph over the limit. They wouldn't do that to the cage drivers.  So in a nut shell, lets think about how we portray ourselves out there.  Something to think about......Scott

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Just an old biker

Thank you, Scott.

    This has been one of my concerns for quite some time now.  I've been riding for 38 years & have always been respectful of anyone & everyone around me.  I live in a very small town & try to keep things quiet when I ride.  So a guy around the corner gets a V-Star a couple of months ago (don't know if he's got his endorsement yet) with REALLY loud pipes & spends all day riding up & down the main road through town.  This is NOT gonna make people happy.  Another thing; I'm always really careful about abiding by the posted speed limits when riding through all these towns---shoot, they're there for a reason, and I DON'T think blasting through at 20+ over is going to give the residents much of an impression of bikers, nor is it safe (kids, dogs, driveways, pedestrians, etc.).  As we've learned the hard way (the proposed new law in Florida), it doesn't take much to piss the citizens off & bring their opinions of bikers right back to where they were a decade or two ago. 

BTW (rant complete)---do you know any of the PGR guys down at the beach?  I ride with them frequently---VERY nice bunch.

Take care, ride safely, and thanks for letting me vent.

Janis

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This is me; I still don't talk much...

My thoughts

I have to agree with both posts. What bothers me the most are these morons that run around on sportbikes riding wheelies. The place for it is at the track and not on the road. Just because the bike is capable of it doesn't mean it's a good idea. Another thing that scares the Hell out of me are these newbies that think the can ride and can't. Taking a class does not give you street instinct. You have to develop it over time. One mistake can determine which side of the dirt you wake up on. It kind of boils down to their ego writing a check that their ass can't cash. I'm all for people joining our ranks, but going out and buying a bike and all of the accessories does not make you a biker. I've been riding for over 20 years and I still try to learn something every time I throw a leg over it. Just my 2 cents.

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Watch out for people on cell phones driving SUVs.