Waaaay back when I started college, I was wearing slacks and button-down shirts and loafers to school and my fellow freshmen and sophomore students seemed to treat me like a grad student who was picking up some extra courses. Then my truck died and I got a motorcycle to replace it and I started wearing jeans, t-shirts, boots, and a leather jacket around campus. My fellow juniors and seniors treated me like a freshman who happened to be sitting in on some advanced courses. I understood the appearance issues, and kinda laughed about the mistaken impressions.
Eventually I graduated and even got another car, but my main mode of transportation is still via motorcycle.
And I’ve noticed something at malls and shopping centers that seems odd to me: Occasionally I’ll be standing by the bike or maybe sitting not too far from it, and I’ll see the people parked in the next stall go through some extensive contortions. They’ll approach the parking lot, see my bike sitting next to their car/van/truck, and stop. Then they’ll look around a bit (and I’ll pretend not to know they exist) and then they’ll chat for a moment and one person will open the car on the side farthest from my bike, crawl across the seats, and unlock the door that’s closer to my motorcycle. Then the other person will cautiously open the door as little as possible and squeeze inside.
Is this happening for other bikes & bikers? Are we considered such murder-happy maniacs that we’ll slaughter entire families just for nudging or getting too close to our machines? :eek:
The last few times this occurred, I had a fairly new and clean sport bike – not a greasy roadster with ape-hangers and skulls painted on the side with human blood. And I was wearing slacks, a button-down shirt, and touring boots that look like dress shoes if you don’t realize there’s 10 inches of leather inside my pant-leg to protect my shins. The helmet was on the bike, the leathers were inside a backpack, and I shave now so I don’t look quite as scruffy as I did when I was in college. Plus I’m actually a really mellow guy. :dubious:
So, cagers (car drivers), what’s the story? Do motorcyclists in general have such a homicidal reputation that you take pains to even hiccup in our general direction?
–G!
Still they ride
On wheels of fire
They rule the night
…–Steve Perry (Journey)
…Still they Ride
…Frontiers
I ride motorcycles, but am not the image of a “biker”.
However, that was not always the case. Long ago when my hair was real long and I shaved about once a week and wore a leather skull-cap, holey jeans and black boots, a little girl saw me in the supermarket and said to her mom, “Look Mommy! A Pirate!”
A ½ smoked cigar and grimy hands and ‘the look’ makes LEO’s check their guns.
Young mothers with little kids in the station wagon seem to be the most twitchy with the least reason. Can’t say I blame them.
I park in the yellow stripes, seems to cause the least trouble & I am closer to the door than the handicap spots. Less likely to have the scoot bumped or stolen also. Hanging my vest over the front bars & headlight seems to keep the bike in place also. < veg >
No, not really. I don’t go out of my way to make people fearful, though. I ride a motorcycle because I enjoy riding, not as part of some jerk-off fantasy.
No, when I rode in the UK I was not aware of anyone being particularly scared of me. I suppose I’m not a scary person in general, being 5’7’’ and slightly built.
I have seen people get nervous around my bike, but not because of me. I think it’s because they’ve seen too many television shows where someone slightly bumps a motorcycle and it crashes to the pavement.
Hmmm. My motorcycle rain suit (2-piece jacket and over pants) is hi vis yellow, with silver 3M reflective stripes. One day I got caught in a sudden downpour on the road, pulled over under an overpass, and donned the rain gear… Only to walk into a Starbucks while refueling, and have an excited little boy point at me and say, “Mommy, look! A FIREMAN!”
I couldn’t do it, I confessed I was only a motorcyclist
I got that once too. Eating lunch at a Wendy’s in full touring gear (high-viz all-weather jacket, boots, rain pants, and a Camelbak), some old lady stopped by my table to ask if I was a fireman.
I think the public associates people who ride Harleys and crotchrockets with hair-trigger violence. The media reinforces the stereotype at every opportunity.
Thankfully I ride a BMW, so I don’t think I’m seen by the general public as a hooligan; I’ve never had any issues with people appearing uneasy in my presence. I expect old dudes on Goldwings are held in similar regard.
Never. I’m clean-cut with short hair, have a textile jacket instead of black leathers, and also ride a BMW sport tourer. It’s no cruiser or crotch rocket. And it’s quiet. Loud pipes suck.
I’ve been riding 30 years and it hasn’t been much of a problem. I live in the San Francisco area and that might have something to do with the better general acceptance. Motorcycles are everywhere here, year round. People here generally respect motorcyclists.
I briefly embraced the “scruffy biker type” image, but after I failed to even grow a goatee after a year of trying (or intentionally neglecting to shave) I graduated from college and had to get a real job (and look respectable for interviews).
Now I use a motorcycle because it’s economical, ecological, and yeah it’s fun as well. But I’m still clean-cut and well-mannered and some say far too courteous.
Nevertheless, I still see people go out of their way to avoid sending even an incidental breeze in the direction of my (or other people’s) bike. It’s been something I’ve notice for years but only recently thought to ask Doper/Bikers if they’ve had similar experiences.
–G!
That incident with the gang pulling the terrified driver out through the window certainly didn’t help our reputations.
No fear that I’ve ever noticed. I also own a Vespa. There are various reactions that I get when I’m riding: mostly big smiles and neck-turners with that, “Ooh, what a cool looking scooter!” Then there’s the indifferent person. And sometimes like tonight at a red light, a woman, maybe in her 40s looking at me with a scowl on her face. To that I’d say – eat your heart out, baby, you have no idea what you’re missing.
I tended to be a bit leery of the stereotypical biker dudes till my spousal unit got a Harley and joined the local H.O.G. chapter. They’re a scruffy-looking bunch, but their favorite destinations when doing group rides always seem to be places that feature ice cream. In fact, a couple of days ago, someone in the chapter sent out an e-mail to the entire group telling them that the new Dairy Queen was finally open!! Cracked me up!
There’s also the time we were at Bike Week in Daytona and I saw this denim-and-leather clad dude walking down the road, holding the hand of a fluffy-cloud-of-pink little girl who kept saying “Daddy, Daddy” - it was so unexpectedly adorable!
NPR had a thing on this morning about whether motorcycles still carry the image of rebellion. My take? Motorcycles nowadays carry the image of senior citizenship. I may be wrong, but my observation is that, while there are still a few younger people riding, grey hair now predominates in that crowd. The bikers got old.
I see young guys on crotch rockets doing some crazy shit in traffic. That type of bike is also gaining popularity among the troubled yoot demographic locally. So, maybe there is still some whiff of rebellion about that type of bike.
Cruisers, whether Harley’s or others, I would agree have a higher proportion of aging riders. Good thing too. Middle aged fat asses cannot look anything but intrinsically ridiculous on a racing bike. Gut resting on the tank and plumber’s crack in the back…it ain’t pretty. A bike that permits a more upright riding posture allows such a rider to retain some dignity and is also kinder to his aging joints.
Not to mention that the price of the cruising bikes is generally beyond the means of young 'uns. Some of those bikes cost more than our car and truck combined!
