New World Wannabees vs Real World Bikers

[previdman]

I heard Harley has even trademarked it's exhaust sound.
What's the difference between a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a Hoover vacuum cleaner?
The position of the dirtbag.

NOTE: Speaking in generalities here. If you can't accept on that basis, don't read further.

Given the fact that corporate HD has courted financial favor from the professional segment, the 'joke' was funnier 30 years ago when a true biker built and fixed his own scooter, earned his rode-worn leathers... didn't buy 'em that way, would fight for his bike before his ol' lady, refused to wear helmets, hated the man and the AMA and thought the HOG Club had to be a corporate joke, had no idea what 'old school' meant 'cause he was living it and 'live to ride, ride to live' was his credo, not just some $2.00 sticker on the back of a shiny new DOT approved brain bucket.

Around the block meant a 200 mile round trip for just a pack of cigs (as any excuse) rode in the snow, sleet, rain and whatever else nature threw at him and regardless of destination or urgency to get there, stopped to assist another bro' broke down on the side of the road... even if it meant making a u-turn at the next exit and going back.

That was a real biker, not the candy-coated, weekend warrior wannabees who buy their brand new, so-called Hardley custom stamp out from one of the 28 different designs at their authorized HD dealer, have him service it even for filter and oil changes and whip out their butt plastic for dealer added bling and 'real biker' riding gear .. all desperately wanting to look the part.

A real biker shares his scooter's soul in a life or death struggle against all conformity not just to be different but to ride on his own terms, in his own time and wherever and for how ever long the road takes him.

Even 'custom' choppers have become so commonplace as to be almost laughable, the only thing separating most of them and their off-the-shelf kit parts is a paint scheme.

It sickens me but that's the 'biker' world we live in today. Got enough plastic in your wallet? You too can be a 'real' biker... at least on weekends anyway.

Far as I'm concerned, Harley Davidson Corporate got a lot of comin' up to do to the real bikers...the one's who saved their ass from the brink of bankruptcy only to have the corporate door slam shut on them in favor of yuppie marketing and the almighty dollar.

I understand why they went after the money but will never forgive them for not staying as loyal to the real bikers as we were to them.

JM2C, FWIW.

[Dr. Benway]

Buy a Harley, buy the best.
Walk a mile, ride the rest.

Buy your cool.

Conscious 'authenticity' can be as laughable as weekend warrior yuppies.

Basically one answer is to do you own thing and stop obsessing about the failings or successes of others.

I prefer building rat bikes. However, that bent has cost me alot of money over the years.

Essentially there are three ways with bikes...

1: Buy cheap and fix/service it yourself which requires the know how.

2: Buy cheap and regularly take it to a mechanic.

3: Pay a lot upfront and have a twice-yearly service.

Quite frankly after having blown a lot of money on 'gutter cool' if I sold my HV20 I may buy some of that showroom shine and shop warranty/back-up action too.

Maybe in the next life.

[kevinmeyer]

Personally I'm into superbikes, gotta love that speed and own a Honda CBR-1100XX.

Previd man what you are talking about is true and I laugh at them, but those okes are not "bikers" they are motorcyclists, that is the difference no matter how much they proclaim to be bikers.

I am man enough to admit I was a biker in the past. I used to use my bike everyday, I refused to get a car licence because I hated metal cages, I wanted freedom, I had long hair and I listened to heavy metal and my attitude was screw the man, I drank hard, smoked hard and rode hard, I crashed and wrote off 2 motorbikes luckily with very little damage to myself, I rode with a club for 4 years before I was given my colours.

Even after I got married it was still the same (to a non-biker chick), however married life slowly changed me, when my daughter arrived things changed even more.

Now I know I am not a biker anymore, I am a motorcyclist, I pull my bike out once a month and go for a breakfast run, 2 or 3 times a year I pack my sleeping bag and a tent a go to some rallies (leaving the wife and kid behind of course) and while at rallies I relive when I was a biker...

[previdman]

Thanks Dr.Ben and kevinmeyer.

You know I almost pulled this topic. Everything changes and I figured nobody wanted to hear an old man ranting about how things used to be. Then I realized a couple things:

One, this is the pub and we're just shootin' the breeze here anyway.
Two, I appreciate true custom bikes but love rat bikes and the wonderful ingenuity and character they embody.
And three, I'm not that same ol' biker anymore, either.

In fact, I'd have to agree with you kevin. I am more of a motorcyclist these days than a true biker. While I still stubbornly retain some of the old guard ideas (read "qualities") I remember the exact moment in time when I stopped being a true 'biker.'

It was shortly after my marriage that a question started nagging at me. A whisper at first but a little louder and stronger each time it called.

Looking at a club brother named 'Bear' who was abt 55 years old at the time, I finally had to confront who I was with where I eventually wanted to be in life. I asked myself, "Do you want to continue being a biker and end up like 'Bear' ... or maybe even worse?

Now there was nothing wrong with Bear. He was a great guy with a killer sense of humor, lots of friends and somebody you wanted on your side in a bar fight. He wasn't called 'Bear' for nothing.

But looking past the good times, I saw the only thing Bear had, ever valued in fact, was his sole prize possession in life - an old, hard riding, broken and patched (literally) panhead. He'd forsaken many a good woman, broke many a bone and kicked many an ass over that old bike of his... and it all showed.

As I re-considered how the scope and focus of his entire life revolved around that old Harley, I asked myself, "Do I want something more out of life when I'm his age? Not only for myself but for my wife and our life together? We wanted children. I knew Bear had several, at least those he knew of but still, his Harley always came first.

The answer was resoundingly clear. I wanted all I could get in this life and more importantly, knew I had to work to get it. Things that seemed all of a sudden, far more important than my bike.

Maybe it was a dawning moment in my maturity or learned responsibility from my recent stint in the military, I don't know. But from that moment on I hung up my colors, started onto a career path and dedicated myself to something that for the first time, I wanted more than partying forever with my fellow bikers.

Funny how life kinda' sneaks up on you that way, ain't it?

I don't know whatever happened to 'Bear' but I thank him for unknowingly providing the insight for making my decision that day. He probably crashed one too many times riding home from some bar or party. At least I hope that's how he went. Him and his old pan, together in death as in life.

For me it was the right choice. Today I'm blessed with wonderful, grown kids and even greater grandkids, a wonderful wife who put up with a lot (still does) but loves me anyway, a modest but very comfortable home and just about everything anyone could want or even think to ask for.

If I ever need reminding how good a choice I made back then, all I have to do is look around today. I'm truly a rich man gratefully blessed with much more than money can buy.

And I really didn't give up anything because while I've only been without a bike for a couple short periods, my wife and I still go out riding to this very day.

I admit to having mellowed in my 'biker' attitude, still talking the talk but less walking the walk nowadays. I'm still ready to kick butt but more likely to let some things slide while other things not.

We enjoy day trips now more than overnighters and cruisin' at only a little past the limit rather than wide open runs. Although every once in awhile as that long stretch of smooth open road is before us, I crack that throttle wide open and realize just like the old biker in me, the thrill is still there.

Blue skies, sunshine, ride forever.

[Dana Love]

"I support gang culture."

Remembering the bar fights and the "motorcycle clubs" of old without remembering the property damage, acts of terrorism, proliferation of the drug trade and murder is sort of like remembering that Benito Mussolini was a snappy dresser.

[Kyuss]

I don't know whatever happened to 'Bear' but I thank him for unknowingly providing the insight for making my decision that day. He probably crashed one too many times riding home from some bar or party. At least I hope that's how he went. Him and his old pan, together in death as in life.

For me it was the right choice. Today I'm blessed with wonderful, grown kids and even greater grandkids, a wonderful wife who put up with a lot (still does) but loves me anyway, a modest but very comfortable home and just about everything anyone could want or even think to ask for.

If I ever need reminding how good a choice I made back then, all I have to do is look around today. I'm truly a rich man gratefully blessed with much more than money can buy.

Never been a hard-core 'biker'. Always been a motorbike rider. And until the day my daughter was born, thought that was carved in granite too. And then being a dad hit me harder than all six bike accidents together combined.

Thanks Previdman, I knew I needed to get another perspective on my grumpiness of not riding as much anymore. Damn bloody maturity, dare I say it, grrrr.

[Kyuss]

"I support gang culture."

Remembering the bar fights and the "motorcycle clubs" of old without remembering the property damage, acts of terrorism, proliferation of the drug trade and murder is sort of like remembering that Benito Mussolini was a snappy dresser.

Amen!

[CycleWriter]

To me, a "real biker" has always been someone who owns and rides a bike. Even though I've spent a good amount of my life immersed in the Harley culture, I've never been ashamed of the other-brand bikes I've owned. I've ridden with outlaws, worn a patch, hung with RUBs, and made a living off this industry in many ways, some I'd prefer not to discuss. I try not to look down my nose at anyone who straddles a motorcycle because whether we agree or not on what a "real biker" is, at the core is a desire to ride. That's more important to me than someone's subjective definition. I have moved far away from my rowdier days when I rode with guys named Bear, Tiny (RIP), Preacher and Chainsaw. But I still ride my Harley more than I drive, although I wear a lot less leather these days. Am I still a "real biker?" Hell yeah, and don't try and tell me otherwise.