cafe life in a hick town...

[Mr.E]

Well as some of you know, I recently got my cb750 on the road and have been taking every opportunity to blow the bugs out of it running around my small, rather closed off to the world, slice of the south. Its been great fun so far, and the black & tan is running strong. But over the last week, I have encountered a couple people that either make me grin, or grimace.

Exhibit A: wasn't pushing it very hard, following a car for a little while on my way to a gas station, when a red sebring decides to tailgate me. Im used to this. I put my indicator on to turn left into the gas station, and I stop. Sebring stops also. I wait for oncoming traffic to clear (quite a line). Sebring starts blowing his horn, then cuts around me by swerving off the road and throwing gravel everywhere. Jackass... so I get into the gas station and another bike is about to pull out. I nod, the rider gives me the ugly eye and shakes his head, revs his barley and deafens everyone as he leaves.

Exhibit B: im filling up my bike and a shirtless guy carrying 3 cases of beer walks up and I can smell his previous beverage of choice pretty heavy. WOW!! He says. CAN I RIDE IT!? no you may not, you are drunk, and i don't let people ride my stuff. I replied. He said: that sure is cool, is it a harley?! No, its a honda, I said. (It says honda on the tank, duh) so he staggers off, gets in his truck, and drives off.

Other things have happened. Kids have waved at me, cops have turned completely around in heir seat to stare, a guy on a large barley looked away when I waived, and everyone I talk to that isn't hosile wants to know what it is. So it got me wondering what kind of other stories people have about cafe riding and the people they run across. People here just don't know what to think, or already have their opinion before they even know what it is and hell will freeze over before they open their minds to a bike that doesn't fit the mold. So how bout it? Any stories?

 

[rustreddesign]

Here in Peoria, IL., I'm currently working on a '74 CB360 and whenever I tell someone I have a motorcycle that I'm restoring, the instant response I get is "you got a Harley?" When I tell them it's a '74 360, they quickly lose interest. One instance, among many, that sticks out in my mind is when I was buying motorcycle oil at Autozone. The cashier looked at the oil and asked me if I have a Harley. Really? The fuck?

Don't get me started on all the goddam Harley riders around here that wear absolutely no appropriate gear. I would say the vast majority of riders, 80-90% or more, don't wear a helmet. That's taking all ridiers into account. If I only consider Harley riders (at least the one's I see personally) the number would be more like 95-98%. Really. It's insane. I'll see guys riding in 40 degree weather with a fucking bandana.

Here's a central Illinois checklist for fitting in:
a. Get yourself a badass tribal or Asian symbol tattoo. If you thought that shit was on the way out, you thought wrong.

b. Crank some 80's rock. As long as the leadsinger rocks spandex, it should pass the test. Anything with Brett Michaels is an instant classic. So you only have that one album and it's a copy of Nickelback's greatest hits? Don't worry, you'll fit right in.

c. Move as far away from your place of work as possible so you can look badass driving your huge SUV to and from. Walking is very much discouraged and don't even think about commuting on your bicycle lest you be thought of as poor and low class.

d. Finally, buy a Harley. Everybody has one so why don't you? Why would you want to buy some Japanese piece of shit when you can buy an Amurican made beast. It doesn't matter that you do all your shopping at Wal Mart and all the cheap shit you get is made in China by a fucking ten year old. All that shit's mitigated by the fact that you ride a goddam Harley and you'll never forget 9-11.


Well, hopefully that rant is insensitive enough for you.

 

[enur19]

Boy, am I glad I live in Europe .. People are used to cafe's, ricers and the like. Most Harleys here in Denmark are driven by either: older men (midlife crisis sort of guys) who have tricked them out with all sort of ugly leather or Hells Angels or Bandidos.
Can't say much about how people on other bikes react to you riding, but in Denmark we aren't that open towards others, which is actually too bad

 

[DrJ]

Well, hopefully that rant is insensitive enough for you.

Quality rant.
Can't say I've had any extremely negative experiences here in Toronto. It's a big city so there's lots of different kinds of people and of those people that like motorcycles, they like lots of different kinds of motorcycles. One incident that bemused me was when I pulled into a popular weekend destination and was talking to a guy with his wife. He liked my bike and all but at the end of our conversation, referring to the size and age of my bike, said something like, "Well, at least you're riding something." WTF? Anyway I caught the highly embarrassed look from the wife and let it go.

 

[reelinfeele]

you should see florida. its either RUBS on their identical Hardleys, or some 19 year old asshole who is breaking the sound bearier from stop sign to stop sign. Twice a year you might see some regular people, bike week and biketoberfest. But of course, you have to wade through all the toothless bikers on their hardley's.

 

[thompsonmx100]

ha this should get interesting. I just got an RD 350 from my dad who rode the thing around western NY. He told me when you are riding the RD you will garner a ton of attention. I have been riding it for two weeks in FL and haven't had the first person give a shit about the almost pristine 36 year old mc I'm riding. Hell I had people asking about it while it was on the trailer up north. I bring it down here and the kids ask me why i dont have a crotch rocket. FTW

 

[Chimera Moto Works]

I live in Tennessee. Isn't that enough said?


But on the reals, we call them RUHO's here, and although I have 50+ year old harley friends, they consistently refer to the bikes in our stable as Jap bikes, no matter if the conversation is friendly, or basically insulting. One of my good friends is 50+, built harleys since when he was a kid and bought one brand new out the door for like $2400, yet he still calls my bikes Jap bikes, and will say stuff like "looks pretty cool for a Jap bike" when, *Agreed with an above poster* they Only do their shopping at places like Wal-Mart and the Indian gas station down the street.


(For the record: I am in No Way racist, and have no "phobias", and have no problem with any gas station here in TN)


Was just agreeing with the irony of the RUHO's that live around here and wouldn't know what my bike was based on how much its changed compared to the day I bought it, outside of one of the cases still has Suzuki on it.

 

[Chimera Moto Works]

ha this should get interesting. I just got an RD 350 from my dad who rode the thing around western NY. He told me when you are riding the RD you will garner a ton of attention. I have been riding it for two weeks in FL and haven't had the first person give a shit about the almost pristine 36 year old mc I'm riding. Hell I had people asking about it while it was on the trailer up north. I bring it down here and the kids ask me why i dont have a crotch rocket. FTW

I wish safety upon everyone on two wheels, but the reality, is that you're 10x more likely to be alive in 10 years, while the 16 year olds who's mommy/daddy bought them a 929 or Hayabusa for their birthday present, may not be. Sorry if thats a pretty blunt statement, but here in TN, I can't stand how many parents buy their highschool kids way too powerful beginner bikes, and then you read a week later about another death on the Dragon. It's a shame really, really upsetting that an adrenalin rush is worth missing your 20's and up.

 

[thompsonmx100]

Squids! Theres a kid at work that wants to get his first bike. Wants me to tell him which crotch rocket to get. After I talked him out of the 1000 he still wants a 600 for his first bike. He could end up dead.

 

[Chimera Moto Works]

Squids! Theres a kid at work that wants to get his first bike. Wants me to tell him which crotch rocket to get. After I talked him out of the 1000 he still wants a 600 for his first bike. He could end up dead.

Yeah... maybe I should remove my other post? I had a feeling maybe I was a bit too forward/blunt about what I said. I know everyone eventually will go down, whether they fall over, or something worse, but when you're purposely trying to drag knee through 318 curves on the dragon so you can feel like you're MotoGP at 16 years old, its hard to accept. The kids cause more wrecks and havoc on the dragon IMO on crotch rockets, then kids in cars acting like fast & furious.

 

[RedPlastic]

I've never encountered any of those problems. guess it's where I live in eastern tn. Hell when I had my zuma, I'd have all the harley, honda, ect people wave at me all the time.

 

[peter.walker]

I've mainly had funny experiences...Harley guys I've talked to joke about "get a real bike", then admit they used to ride jap bikes, and "as long as you're riding, that's what matters".

I rode my Suzuki to a pub in Poughkeepsie, and a guy who went by "Pr33m" (said it was short for "supreme", and was spelled with the 3's) and looked like a drug dealer asked if it was a Harley, then asked how much I wanted for it, and said he could "get as much money as he needed tomorrow". At the point the bike had a plywood and vinyl solo seat I made one afternoon bolted on, and was still in the very rough paint it came with. If only I had had a second bike at the time, I could have made some money that night...

Also had a random girl give me the "rock on" hands while riding by Vassar College... \m/ \m/

 

[Red Head Bastard]

Hm, I live in tn as well, but I don't seem to have the usually problems. Sure, there's the occasional obnoxious Harley rider and mostly they're mostly harmless. and no they don't wave back (unless I'm on a bobber). Course I tend to have just as much disdain for them as they do for me. On the other hand, i have taken my "jap" bobber to the big bad biker bar, and usually was pretty well recieved. But, more often than not after a drink or two the harley bikers and I stop seeing eye to eye (and it rarely has anything to do with bikes). Tailgating is a real problem here. People don't seem to realize that I can stop at a fraction of the distance they can, and having a car 5 ft off my back tire at 60 makes me rather nervous (especially considering I'm riding a bike I personally disassembled and reassembled). That's when you begin wondering if you remembered to tighten the swingarm bolt. I guess my biggest complaint, and kinda hate to say it, is the attention you get when riding/driving something unusual. I understand it and god knows I've done it too. You see something cool and you see the owner, you go have a chat. But sometimes when out on my bike, I'm really looking for some alone time. Or if I'm working on it in my front yard (my garage is tiny), I'm trying to be productive not chatty, and it never fails that if working on something time critical, that's when someone walks up the drive and I hear, "lemme ax you sumthin". Like I said, I understand it, I've done it. Hell sometimes I even annoy myself.

Thanks for the opportunity to have myself a bitch fest. I needed that.

 

[Chimera Moto Works]

Agreed on nervous about tailgating. It makes me so paranoid to see 5 crotch rockets within 2 feet of each other knee dragging thru the dragon, i usually let all those guys just go by so i can enjoy riding. Crotch rockets are sweet for their purpose/look, i'm just not a knee dragger, and props to people who are.

 

[troybilt]

Great thread!
I live in a town with mostly stock HDs. Once in a while you'll see a pair of ape hangers bolted on but most bikes around here are baggers with lots of chrome etc.
Anyhow, This happened just last night.

Changing tires on my sons 400f and pinched the tube going back into the back tire. I figured I'd wrestled with it enough and decided to cave and take both tires to a local mom pop HD shop. I'm short on time anyhow and this would be a quick fix. Anyhow, I called ahead and he said to bring them on out.


Walking up at least 5-6 baggers were parked out front. Every single one was burgundy or black. I could not tell one bike from the other. They all looked the same except for the minor difference in paint. Several guys were hanging out front were pretty typical and didn't say a word as I approached. This was you typical weekend wanna be biker crowd with new leathers and those cheapo bandannas with the iron on HD logos plastered all over.

I found the owner in the back of the shop bolting a set of handle bars on a customers bike. He said once he finished he'd get to my tires. Small talk I told him I pinched the tube going back in. I explained that there is a garbage bag trick I found on the internet a good while back and it didn't work this time. I resorted to using tire irons and that's how the tube got pinched. In my defense the tire has a short sidewall and is pretty stiff. The other tires I've mounted have had tall sidwalls and were relatively easy. Anyhow, more small talk and I asked if he did much custom work or fabrication. He explained he did not and they mostly bolted parts on for customers and offered powder coating.


In a short while I was standing in a small showroom but in ear shot of the tire machine. The owner picked up my tires and started to work on the one I had pinched. That's when I heard one of the locals ask why he was working on a brand new tire. His reply, "Because some stupid fuck watched the DIY channel." Every one in the shop got a huge laugh. No smile or glance up like hey, "we're kidding" etc. I don't mind being the brunt of a joke if its kidding around but these asses were being serious. Unfortunately, This pretty much sums up the general biker attitude in our area.


Anyhow, I can't tell you how motivated I am to finish my build and show him what a "stupid fuck" can do. Sadly I know they won't "get it" because they will have no idea what went into it.

 

[VonYinzer]

Wow Troy... I would've gone nuts on that dude. That is not only a dickhead move, but so unprofessional its rediculous. I honestly want to drive down there and beat his ass. Haha

Around here its more of the same. Lots of weekend one percenters on their cookie cutter HDs and whatnot. Theres a guy near me that builds custom "choppers". I was at a local car show last year, and the guy had his bikes there. The one is about 20ft long and has all of the characters from "The Godfather" airbrushed all over it. The whole bike is honestly just a pile of catalogue parts bolted together and given an atrocious paintjob.
Anyhow, I was looking at the row of garbage bikes (including the Godfather) and was within earshot of the builder and a couple of his buddys who were talking to other show goers.
One of the random folks asked the "builder" if he would do some work on his Honda Shadow for him, and the "builder" just looked at him for a second, and replied "no offence man, but I only work on real bikes, call me when you buy a Harley".
Hearing this enraged me, so I calmly asked this "builder" where his Harley was. He said, "these are all Harleys".
After pointing out that a RevTech engine, and a bunch of Chinese made catalouge parts is not a Harley, the "builder" asked me if I could please "go fuck myself". Hahaha...
The best part though, was when the Honda Shadow owner told me I was a jerk for calling the guy out. Even though the "builder" just made him look like a dumbass in front of a bunch of guys for no reason.

Thats pretty much how it goes here... You either ride a Harley and talk to everyone who doesnt like theyre a douchebag who doesnt know shit, or youre a douchebag who doesnt know shit but has a big mouth.

 

[rustreddesign]

Wow, this thread really turned into more of a Harley bash than anything. I guess it's my fault, but isn't it cathartic, ahhhh. Believe it or not, I almost got a Harley a few years back. An old iron head sportster in flat black to be specific. I was living in Denver at the time and to be honest, I think I saw more Ducatis and vintage metric bikes than anything else. Well, I didn't get the Harley and got a 2002 Monster 750 instead. I just couldn't pass up a 2002 with 2k miles for $4500 in 2006.

In regard to Harley riders, if you haven't seen this episode of Southpark yet, you are in for a treat. http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s13e12-the-f-word

To be perfectly honest. Last summer when I was riding my bike around, I did have a lot of conversations with nice older people that remembered when they had a similar bike back in the day. I actually had one woman who was affiliated with some local vintage Harley owners group invite me to a vintage swap meet.

 

[VonYinzer]

Not bashing HDs, just the dbags who buy them. Haha.

I know a bunch of guys that ride HDs, and theyre ok dudes most of the time, but you get them all together wearing theyre retarded HD gear head to toe and they can be dicks. Its the group mentality that they have, like because they spent 20k for a DynaroadsupersmalldickfatwifeXLEDSJHUEWBSK model Harley and another 2k for all the gear theyre somehow superior to all other riders.

Eff that... Hell 1/2 of them arent even very skilled riders.
They fire up the bike on Sat mornings, ride to the bar, talk about how awesome they are with theire "bros" and pound shitty Coors Light. Than they take it home, wash it (again), pull it into the garage, cover it with the official $300 HD licensed bike cover, and there it sits until next Saturday right next to the "leathers" and boots that ran about $1000 from "the Dealer".

I am a firm believer that a cool bike is a cool bike, no matter the make or model. And a cool person is a cool person no matter the details of their job/beliefs/bank acct./etc.

Unfortunatly the majority of the HD guys in this area dont feel the same way. If you dont try REALLY hard to fit in with the "im different" crowd you get shit on.

 

[Red Head Bastard]

Just something I've noticed. I've known a few Harley riders, the cool ones were the ones that worked on their own bikes. Further, these same guys were just as happy tinkering or building metrics. You can pretty much bet that the "Harley only" guys 1. never turn wrenches (except maybe to bolt on their ape hangers) 2. are probly gonna be dicks. I guess there's bike lovers that like Harleys, and then there's the Harley guys.

 

[lingo]

It isn't that much different in the off-road community. I wheel old land cruisers. We get all the same problems with jeep owners. You have to put up with ignorance to be different. I am the son of a harley rider. I can't wait until he sees me on my little Honda.