# Fellow bikers: Do 'civilians' fear you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231 "2014-07-02T23:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/41 "2014-07-06T01:11:08Z")
Nobody fears a KLR rider ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/42 "2014-07-06T01:41:45Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Nobody fears a KLR rider ☹ Oh I don’t want to be around when your doohickey lets go! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/43 "2014-07-06T02:02:12Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Oh I don’t want to be around when your doohickey lets go! Don’t jinx it- it’s been holding on for 11 years now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/44 "2014-07-06T03:53:39Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Is the hug too strong, too often, is the guy a newbie & all super enthused? How much bigger than you. **Gus** , there are many people taller than me, but few bigger. Even among bikers. Mostly, I’m not a born hugger. With exceptions. > [@](#): > > For about 8 years in a few different places I would see this one cute little mouse. Blond, perfect body, great personality, dressed just right, and she would squeal as soon as she would see me, race across the room and launch from about 6 feet away and clamp right to my chest & hug & squeal. I never even thought that it was too much hugging. 😃 Mine was a redhead who looked like [Karen Gillan’s](http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130601020237/marvelmovies/images/9/91/Karen_Gillan.jpg) cuter sister. She latched onto me early on and I had to stay sober to not disappoint her. Haven’t seen her for a good year. Hope she’s okay and her husband’s stopped using. There was another who I should catch up with–she was my “pretend sponsor”–but I’m sure she’s okay. She became totally program oriented. There was another woman, from our church, who doesn’t understand the “Anonymous” thing, and she spread the word around church how I had a “harem” of beautiful women at AA. Wife thought it was hilarious. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Nobody fears a KLR rider ☹ I thought that was a Harley model, like a FLHTC, that intimidates no one. Except the owner if he needs to pick it up. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/45 "2014-07-06T14:21:17Z")
I am not a biker. I am a _motorcyclist!_😃 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/46 "2014-07-06T15:59:10Z")
[You guys know everyone thinks you’re total fags, right](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGyKBFCd_u4)? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/47 "2014-07-06T18:03:09Z")
It’s wrong to make fun of Harley riders who like to play their little dress up games. They have a right to dress as any of The Village People they wish. ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/48 "2014-07-06T18:15:38Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > [You guys know everyone thinks you’re total fags, right](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGyKBFCd_u4)? > 😃 That was ridiculously accurate in my opinion. > [@Scumpup](#): > > It’s wrong to make fun of Harley riders who like to play their little dress up games. They have a right to dress as any of The Village People they wish. I’m still laughing at the OP when he asked his “fellow bikers” if “civilians” were afraid. WTF? Just because you ride a bike and wear a leather costume, the rest of the populace are “civilians”? ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/49 "2014-07-06T18:25:46Z")
The non-cartoon version of that South Park clip. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Vn05lGA6Gng/hqdefault.jpg "Motorcycles") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn05lGA6Gng) ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/50 "2014-07-06T19:54:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I am not a biker. I am a _motorcyclist!_😃 I have never self identified as a “biker”. For that matter, I’ve ever referred to someone who doesn’t ride as a “civilian”. :smack: I’m a guy who sometimes rides a motorcycle. It’s not a Harley, it’s not a crotch rocket. It is what is classified as a _standard_. I l_urve_ riding, but I don’t think it makes me a part of any kind of special club or anything. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/51 "2014-07-06T20:01:50Z")
> [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](#): > > The non-cartoon version of that South Park clip. > > [http://youtu.be/Vn05lGA6Gng](http://youtu.be/Vn05lGA6Gng) The worst sounds were coming from the blond guy on the Kawasaki engined bike. Not a Harley engine or bike. Towards the end the repeating of the same engine sound over & over at the same volume as the line of riders moves FWD is rather suspicious and sounds an awfully lot like the sounds the Kawasaki guy was making … Hummmmm In my many years of being a rider of 2 wheeled vehicles & the multipe thousands of guy I have talked to, NEVER have I seen, heard or been told of any CIVILIAN going up to a biker and without any other words, just state that ‘You are a FAG.’ Well, some drunks or when 2 clubs are fixing to kill each other but that is no a CIVILIAN. Any person who has done so, do not need to give your personal info, but where were you when you did this and what kind of bike was he on, Vespa or chopper, how old were you, bar, parade, just out on the street, etc.? Did he have a club patch on or just a vest that said CMA or HOG on the back? 😃 Extra points if one of your parents rode motorcycle for over a 5 year stretch without getting them selves killed. 1000 extra points of either parent was a full patch member in good standing with a 1% club. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/52 "2014-07-06T21:24:20Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > The worst sounds were coming from the blond guy on the Kawasaki engined bike. Not a Harley engine or bike. > > Towards the end the repeating of the same engine sound over & over at the same volume as the line of riders moves FWD is rather suspicious and sounds an awfully lot like the sounds the Kawasaki guy was making … Hummmmm > > In my many years of being a rider of 2 wheeled vehicles & the multipe thousands of guy I have talked to, NEVER have I seen, heard or been told of any CIVILIAN going up to a biker and without any other words, just state that ‘You are a FAG.’ Well, some drunks or when 2 clubs are fixing to kill each other but that is no a CIVILIAN. > > Any person who has done so, do not need to give your personal info, but where were you when you did this and what kind of bike was he on, Vespa or chopper, how old were you, bar, parade, just out on the street, etc.? Did he have a club patch on or just a vest that said CMA or HOG on the back? 😃 > > Extra points if one of your parents rode motorcycle for over a 5 year stretch without getting them selves killed. > > 1000 extra points of either parent was a full patch member in good standing with a 1% club. 🆒 There is so much in this post that I want to ask about, but I’ll limit myself to three questions. Do you think that video clip has a fake audio track? Do you routinely use the word civilian to refer to non-bike riders? In that last sentence about either parent being a 1 percenter, do you mean like a “my two dads” scenario? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/53 "2014-07-06T22:47:01Z")
> [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](#): > > Do you routinely use the word civilian to refer to non-bike riders? Hell, on the job I use it to describe plain ol’ consumers (p-tooie!). I prefer dealing with other professionals. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/54 "2014-07-06T22:53:33Z")
> [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](#): > > In that last sentence about either parent being a 1 percenter, do you mean like a “my two dads” scenario? :eek: It’s time to develop your [Googlefu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biker_gangs#One_percenter), my son. Anyway, South Park already established how the “my two dads” scenario is inherent in that group of leather queens. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/55 "2014-07-06T23:06:06Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > :eek: It’s time to develop your [Googlefu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biker_gangs#One_percenter), my son. Anyway, South Park already established how the “my two dads” scenario is inherent in that group of leather queens. 😃 I know what 1 percenter meant, but I wasn’t sure if he meant it was impossible for a 1 percenter to be part of a gay couple. The “either one of your parents” is what I found confusing, since females aren’t allowed as patched members. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/56 "2014-07-07T06:13:32Z")
I know of some ‘old ladies’ that don’t have a club patch that are more 1%'ers than some of the guys. What I meant was if either parent was/had 1% experience. No, I do not think and openly gay man could be a full patched member of any 1% club. They have not gotten that liberal yet that I have heard about it. 😃 Well, the last part of the video might be suspect unless that guy rode right around to the back of the person doing the video taking. Listen to it your self. I might be totally wrong. 😃 A hopped up 450 Honda engine with short straight pipes make people go insane in 3.5 seconds. They make the loudest, nastiest, open piped Harley sound like a sweet lullaby. When I have the biker costume on, non bikers are civilians. In the military, non military are civilians. When I have my ‘RayBans’ on in my pilot mode, non pilots are civilians or mechanics, which are the most likely ones I will talk with if I need them. ( Since I am an A&E FAA certified mechanic & I used to teach at Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, I give mechanics a lot of slack. ) You should hear my sisters who are in Colorado talk about & to people who trash up the wilderness. They get plum scary. When on a boat of any kind, others are called ‘land lubbers.’ When the untrained go SCUBA diving with me, I call them ‘dead.’ ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/57 "2014-07-07T12:29:07Z")
So basically, anyone who is not engaged in the “special” little thing you are doing at the moment somehow gets a derisive (don’t deny that’s how you mean it) label attached to them? What an egotistical way to look at others. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/58 "2014-07-07T19:21:21Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > So basically, anyone who is not engaged in the “special” little thing you are doing at the moment somehow gets a derisive (don’t deny that’s how you mean it) label attached to them? > > What an egotistical way to look at others. Of course I do. :rolleyes: It is also an easy way to tell others that they person has no real knowledge of the activity being discussed, that is going on, that the other people doing whatever will that IMO, the civilian has no real knowledge of it & to weight their opinion accordingly. I do not know about you but ignorance is just a lack of knowledge, stupidity is incurable. That I use a commonly accepted word instead of a long winded discourse to communicate this to my fellow participants does not automatically make me in anyway have the intent or attitude you say I have and since you said I could not deny it, that makes you correct beyond doubt of what I think? … Got it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/59 "2014-07-07T20:12:15Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Of course I do. :rolleyes: > > It is also an easy way to tell others that they person has no real knowledge of the activity being discussed, that is going on, that the other people doing whatever will that IMO, the civilian has no real knowledge of it & to weight their opinion accordingly. > > I do not know about you but ignorance is just a lack of knowledge, stupidity is incurable. > > That I use a commonly accepted word instead of a long winded discourse to communicate this to my fellow participants does not automatically make me in anyway have the intent or attitude you say I have and since you said I could not deny it, that makes you correct beyond doubt of what I think? … Got it. :smack: Yeah, I think we “got it”. You’re a douche. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231/60 "2014-07-07T20:34:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I am not a biker. I am a _motorcyclist!_😃 Hear, hear! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fellow-bikers-do-civilians-fear-you/692231.md?page=4)