What is a "Motorcyclist"? What defines it?

[seiko1]

Q: do you wear you "gay safety gear " on tack days or t-shirt shorts and thongs?

I've never done a "tack" day to begin with.
I hate Horses for a start

[QWAKA]

sorry "track days" yeah they seem to leave shit all down the back straight

[Gosling1]

.......old school = stone .........modern day = wild hogs.......

that sums it up perfectly !!!

I reckon a motorcyclist - a real hard-core motorcyclist - is someone who lives, breathes, eats, sleeps and shits motorcycles. I know someone like that

On the other hand, the suit on the scooter, who rides because it is a cheap mode of transport, has never heard of Mick Doohan or Casey Stoner or even Mick LC - well these nobs are just *not* motorcyclists. They are people who ride scooters because it is a cheap mode of transport - full stop.

Most punters fall somewhere in between these 2 extremes. I met a heap of old fogeys on the weekend up at the VJMC Rally, and every last one of them was a *motorcyclist* - someone who has ridden for the fun of it, for nothing more than the pleasure of cranking through their favourite set of bends - alone or with some mates, it doesn't really matter.

You will *never* find the scooter rider cranking through their favourite bends - because they don't have any on their daily grind to work.

You Know It Makes Sense.
yours sincerely
Boris Mihailovic

[hoffy]

.......old school = stone .........modern day = wild hogs.......

is someone who lives, breathes, eats, sleeps and shits motorcycles. I know someone like that

you fart motorcycles....does that count? or is that what happens before you shit one...?

[Jonno]

I like the way this thread has gone

[QWAKA]

Q: do you wear you "gay safety gear " on tack days or t-shirt shorts and thongs?

Mankini n Helmet. Any extra is just added weight. Manscaping can save a few tenths a lap or so I hear

why stop there? lop off an arm and leg to save even more time! i've heard about this pair of eyes on a zx6 that no one can catch

[balanse]

Youve just gotta love riding a contraption with 2 wheels and a motor. Categories like dirt bikes and road bikes and scooters and cruisers are meaningless if you have the love. I would take any thing motorcycle like for a spin for no other purpose than to experience what it is like. Sometimes I get surprised and a whole new spending opportunity arises At the very least I can talk about how good/bad/scary/boring it was and this will be with people who are also interested and who will argue the point (usually in proportion to their alchohol intake).

These are the people who you click with because they are also motorcyclists. The people in your life with whom you experience the extreme highs of adrenaline charged road side stops after a thrash were everyone is talking rapidly and smiling lots, yet also the same crew who will stay and help each other improvise a repair at dusk on the side of the road when the pub is welcoming just up the way.

Motorcyclists are people I know who love motorcycles from 50cc to 5000cc and immerse themselves in the experience. People who seek and enjoy the community of others who ride seriously and who also possess an interest in their fellow rider. People who truly understand consequences and danger by experience yet will eagerly accept these in the name of living an actual life rather than the LCD version promoted by our nanny society.

Motorcycling is concerned slightly with what you ride or were you ride but hugely with how you partake in the experience.

[Jonno]

I just got home late this evening from my trip to Phillip Island supers, I spent 10 days of riding and a few driving, met awesome people mostly KSRC members and blade boy, witnessed some great racing and rode an estimated 3000kms on some of the best roads in this country with other spirited motorcyclists and solo.

Anyway, why do dogs like hanging their heads out of car windows? I think riding has a similar feeling that is spiritual, physical, and at a deep soul level.
It is almost like the sensation of free fall or flying and being close to the edge, any bad day on a bike is better than a good day not on a bike.
I cant imagine not being without a bike for long at all as I have been riding since I was 6yo and prolly been without a bike of any description at times for 2-3 of those 38 riding years but I cant remember, I would buy a bike before a car, I would prefer to ride rather than fly or drive time permitting. I would say being a motorcyclist is about passion and the love of bikes and riding mostly, you can enjoy it on your own or with other like minded riders, sorry scooterers dont qualify as motorcyclists and was covered well above, I reckon show ponies don't either because they have missed the point.

I come from the old school world, where the law was to be broken at every opportunity and in some very inventive ways (its all fun and games until the cops turn up) safety was of no concern let alone safety gear and what was insurance other than a waste of money that could be better spent on drugs booze sex & rock n roll.
It was absolutely anti social behaviour guaranteed usually around a bonfire with a local band, bathtubs full of beer, some animals on a spit over a few days and bikes of some sort doing crazy shit in the paddock. Getting locked up was a way to gain respect but interfered with party time for a short period, oh and the women.......

Roll forward 20 years and I would classify myself as a somewhat modern rider, drinking latte's, owning a bike worth polishing and insuring, obeying the law safety conscious, respecting other road users, wear most of the gear most of the time, and being somewhat social and where have all those women gone.......
Maybe age catches up, but legal morals have changed 180 degrees since the 1970's and probably for the better but fark the ride was insane man.

[smithy5]

Got it in a nut shell Jonno but I do try and re-live the old days at times

[Six Addict]

Got it in a nut shell Jonno but I do try and re-live the old days at times

riding overweight, underpowered bikes with shit suspension, spaghetti frames and crap tyres?

[Glen]

Got it in a nut shell Jonno but I do try and re-live the old days at times

riding overweight, underpowered bikes with shit suspension, spaghetti frames and crap tyres?

I never new Jonno or Brad had ZX6's

[Possum]

Got it in a nut shell Jonno but I do try and re-live the old days at times

That’s one massive nut strapped in a slightly cracked, dinted and well loved shell and I agree entirely.

In limbo between growing up with old school traditions and riding with Y Gen only adds diversity and complexity to the initial question.
Whatever or however you choose to label yourself or others, Motorcycling to a motorcyclist is so much more than riding a bike.

Things don’t age, they just change form..

and where have all those women gone.......

…they ride solo’s now

[webcase]

Motorcycling to a motorcyclist is so much more than riding a bike.

That sums it up for me.
A lot of the reflecting on the old school ways all fits in with how life was a lot less rigid than it is now.A lot of the actions described in the posts here would be shot down in flames if they posted it up as what they did on the weekend now a days.

[Strika]

I am really pleased and impressed eith some of the thinking this thread has provoked. It's gone how intended too, as to me it is not an old school new school thing brcausevi went through both of them and middlevschoolbtoo. Some if it really strikes a chord with me. Like pooloing resouces to fix a bike instead if heading tovthe pub and leaving them to sortvit.

[Glen]

I am really pleased and impressed eith some of the thinking this thread has provoked. It's gone how intended too, as to me it is not an old school new school thing brcausevi went through both of them and middlevschoolbtoo. Some if it really strikes a chord with me. Like pooloing resouces to fix a bike instead if heading tovthe pub and leaving them to sortvit.

The space bar Marty....it's the big pharker at the bottom of the keyboard...

Sorry mate but reading your posts is pretty funny when you're on the gear.