Bike snobbery drives me crazy

[twistgrip]

I too traded a perfectly good Vigor and never appreciated it till it was gone. It's replacement started to fall apart on the way home! Guess what I now have? another Vigor and cannot see myself on anything else from now on. It's not perfect in every way but all round it's a very pleasing and rewarding bike. The only person ever to make a comment about any of my bikes is the wife who is quick to tell me if I look stupid on it. Thankfully she approves of my yellow Vigor.

[Warthog]

I thought my bike was electric? I push a button to start it!

Good god, man!!
Keep your typing/voice down!!
That is worse than said those crazy maxi scooters Z-weiser dared mention and replica japanese cruisers under 1.8 litres!!!!

Currently on the Easyjet site and booking a flight to Estonia! Be afraid, be very afraid.

Ah Easyjet to Tallinn: say hello to the Stag Parties for me: I expect I'll see the next lot on the local news again: ambassadors that they are!!

[marvinite]

Never wanted to be a power ranger and secondly didnt have the dosh to spend on that flash gear and strut round like a castrated cockerell.Just happy with my old TA riding my life away.Always been proud to be an individual!

[Warthog]

When I started riding I liked the fact that if I stopped for a breather and cigarette, I would have other bikers stop and ask if everything was OK.
It did not matter what bike was involved everyone seemed to look out for every one.
Now it seems to be totally image based.

I agree: home counties: no biking fraternity anymore. The times I had stopped for people they were either shocked, puzzled of plain wary...

However, when ventured away; basically anywhere that wasn't London and the surrounding areas, I found that bikers did still wave, stop, chat and not assess collective value of your bike and kit before saying anything...

[barftone]

If none of us were snobs we'd all ride Transalps!

[Pussyhorse]

I get the pish ripped loads due to my owning a bmw. Mostly tongue in cheek, but there are a few bawbags out there that take it seriously.

It's never been off-road and is relatively shiny. I really don't care what others think of it. I like it and it's a great touring bike.

I find the cliques in biking quite amusing. Ghey Harley riders, sportsbike riding power rangers etc....

[winxp-master]

At the end of the day the road is as hard for us all if we come off our 2 wheels of choice. My v-strom has never seen a green lane, i ride it as it is nice and comfy (sports bikes would leave me crippled) and just because it is desinged to do both doesn't mean i have to. I don't particularly keep it clean (read as not at all) but thats because i'm a lazy barsteward and i don't care about image. So long as oil+filter are regulalry done and chain oiled etc, that does for me.

If the bike i ride now was a GS then i'd be labelled like all the others who ride them, oh he's only got the panniers for the adventure look...erm no, it holds my camping gear... he wants to be like them off the telly, oh yes, i went out and spent 12k or so on a bike to look like someone off the tv, there was another bike that i really like and wanted (that was far cheaper) but i plumped for this one for the image... utter bo//ox.

There might be `some` who have done that but they are your weekend riders who aren't real bikers and have more money than sense. Ask yourself this, if you were given the choice to choose any adventure bike, irrespective of price, what would you choose? This bike will be bought for you, not to re-sell but to use, can you honestly say, hand on heart that you would choose a transalp (excluding stumpy) or varadero over a 1200gs adventure? i know i wouldn't. I know there are more bikes but i can't be arsed listing them all.

I know we have bleated on about all this before but the BMW riders do seem to get the most stick over anyone, i don't even think the power rangers get a smuch stick as the GS riders.

Whenever i think about changing my bike i have a ride and think `it does everything for me` and it changes my mind about getting shot, but then again the bike cost me 3k and against another 6 or 7k for a nice GS it seems like a bargain, but i've never ridden a GS... i dare not

I think thats the rant over?... hehe

[Traveller]

At the end of the day the road is as hard for us all if we come off our 2 wheels of choice. My v-strom has never seen a green lane, i ride it as it is nice and comfy (sports bikes would leave me crippled) and just because it is desinged to do both doesn't mean i have to. I don't particularly keep it clean (read as not at all) but thats because i'm a lazy barsteward and i don't care about image. So long as oil+filter are regulalry done and chain oiled etc, that does for me.

If the bike i ride now was a GS then i'd be labelled like all the others who ride them, oh he's only got the panniers for the adventure look...erm no, it holds my camping gear... he wants to be like them off the telly, oh yes, i went out and spent 12k or so on a bike to look like someone off the tv, there was another bike that i really like and wanted (that was far cheaper) but i plumped for this one for the image... utter bo//ox.

There might be `some` who have done that but they are your weekend riders who aren't real bikers and have more money than sense. Ask yourself this, if you were given the choice to choose any adventure bike, irrespective of price, what would you choose? This bike will be bought for you, not to re-sell but to use, can you honestly say, hand on heart that you would choose a transalp (excluding stumpy) or varadero over a 1200gs adventure? i know i wouldn't. I know there are more bikes but i can't be arsed listing them all.

I know we have bleated on about all this before but the BMW riders do seem to get the most stick over anyone, i don't even think the power rangers get a smuch stick as the GS riders.

Whenever i think about changing my bike i have a ride and think `it does everything for me` and it changes my mind about getting shot, but then again the bike cost me 3k and against another 6 or 7k for a nice GS it seems like a bargain, but i've never ridden a GS... i dare not

I think thats the rant over?... hehe

As always Craig you sum up perfectly
As someone who rides a Goldwing as well as an @ I have to bear the brunt of the ill informed from time to time.
My bikes are chosen by me for me because they provide what i want from them. When I use the @ I wonder why I need the Goldwing and vice versa. They are both great bikes.
I enjoy looking at other bikes with a view to replacing both with one but nothing fits the bill. I have looked at GS Adventures (a great bike) but they are not as good for me as the Goldwing for long distance touring and too big compared to the @ for the windy narrow and off road bits.

[pale rider]

interesting thread...

i think if you regard motorbikes as 'bling' items then your missing the point of motorcycling totally.

ewan and charlie really made a great advert for the gs's but the emphasis should have been where they went and not what they went on.

there are loads of bikes that could have made it round their route.

as the saying goes - "you are what you do".( not what you do it on)

and a shiny gs that never goes anywhere to the point that the owner is worried a drop of mud might fall onto it from a proper rider's africa twin then i think the owner should sell it to someone who will give it a good life and buy themselves a subaru or better still, one of the new blinged-up range rovers that have all the chandeliers and crap on that just look rediculous...

the range rover used to be a hardy farmers tool it's now more like something out of a rap video

[Paul-S]

I went out to a Pub called the Stormey Petrel on the A41 Thursday evening as someone told me about this biker meet up

I got there and it was wall to wall race replicas and the odd few sportsbikes. I parked up, got me burger and coffee and went for a wander round.

As I was heading back towards where I had parked my bike (in the middle of the car park in between all the bikes) all you could see was a field of sports bikes and my AT sitting way above them - seat, tank, clocks and upperfairing / screen etc.

I've forgotten how small the sportsbikes height wise and didn't realise just how tall the AT is in comparison and being the only adventure bike there it did stand out very much.