Prejudice against small displacement bikes
 

This week I needed to travel to another city for some meetings and decided to go on my small Suzuki GN125 because it is the perfect bike for those small city go around. At the gas station I stopped for lunch there was a small group of bikers on 4 BMW 1200GS looking to a map trying to find the way to go to another city nearby. I offered them help (since I just passed though the city they are looking for) and I heard them talking but the guys on the bikes looked at me, my bike and said "No thanks" and when I turned over they said each other something I couldn't understand and started to laugh. Why so many times guys ridding big bikes are such a-holes to other motorcyclists riding small bikes. I really don't understand that.


Sorry for the rant, I just needed to get this out of my system.

There is a saying about dimensions vs what you do with it?

:innocent:

Andy

Don't burst their bubble...

They're living the dream.

:scooter:

Why assume that they were talking about your bike?

Or that they were even talking and laughing about you at all?

Maybe they were, or maybe it was a private joke, like: "Okay whose turn is it to get us lost this time?"

Let it go and ride on, I say.

I belong to a BMW club, but I don't ride one (though I used to). I ride a Suzuki DR650. Other club members make wisecracks about it every now and then, but nobody really cares.

Then when they get their BMWs stuck in the mud, I tow them out with my little 650. (I never let them forget it, either. :rolleyes3:)

..........shu

Shouldn't worry, I have been riding an Enfield since 2010, although kept my nick :)

Much prefer the Enfield over the BMW or the Triumph triple :(

Just 'in-groups' and 'out groups'

If it was a bunch of enduro riders and a single r1200 rider they probably would have giggled at why anyone would ride a tank.

Human nature sadly.

Have fun!

Tribalism

I get much the same when I ride my "vintage" ( mid 70's) 125 Suzuki; totally ignored by anyone riding anything that looks like a "real" bike. It's no big deal but it is noticeable when you swap between bikes of different sizes like I do. Big bike and I'm one of the club, small bike and I'm ignored. In fact just about the only people that talk to you are people who come over and say " I used to have one of those ....". That and "timid" car drivers who don't see you as a "bad ass" threat.

In some ways it works to your advantage - you can often just pass by unnoticed by the police, customs etc

This is a real life experience.

Its a Sunday morning, the weather is marvelous and we are exploring the surroundings in a tiny little village called Guadalupe in the province of Santander in Colombia about 2 months ago.

The famous Quebrada Las Gachas (natural sinkholes made by granite filled up with fresh water) are awesome and they call you like: JUMP IN NOW!

Attachment 19870

We made it there after about 1 hour hike from the village and there is a mix of tourists (like us) and locals.

All of a sudden we hear some horrible noise. Yes yes yes! A group of 10-12 BMW beasts make their appearance. Its all commuters from Bogota, not tourists, not adventurers, not explorers.

You can even see that they ALL have street tires which are struggling in the muddy and wet terrain.. :oops2:

Personally, I have zero problem and huge tolerance to how people enjoy to travel, explore, drive etc.

Attachment 19869

However, I was totally pissed, upset, angry when I saw the BMW owners to literally take over the kiosk that was made for the people with their beasts. It was so brutal and rude to see the local people trying to take their stuff (bags, clothes, shoes) in order to make space for the huge bikes. Needless to say that there was pleeeenty of space to park their bikes around.

p.s.: I travel on a camper van but back home I own a little vespa and I have experienced first hand the different mentality of big bike owners vs the little ones.

Size matters NOT! It is how you use it?

I have three bikes 2 BMW's (k75 and a GS650) I also have a hair dryer AKA the Honda SH50...

In rush hour I can still get into the centre of Manchester faster than a car... And that includes BMW's too :mchappy::rofl:. I am limited to 25 MPH as she is getting old and the speed restrictor needs adjusting! But I make that speed through all the traffic jams.

The snobbery I see when on the hair dryer is staggering from cagers, and bikers are marginally better, but remind them, hey everyone has to start somewhere, and I can go out on a big(er) bike when I want to or even use the car if I have an hour to waste!

If the snobbery continues I ask them why their (BMW) only has 4 cylinders and is missing 2? then tell them I have one car which has 6.... and 2 other bikes.

Most of the year the hair dryer is more fun to commute with than a car, goes point to point as well, cheap to run and has free parking nearly everywhere.

I'm sorry, but I find this story very hard to believe: surely these marvels of superior German engineering come with GPS built-in..! lol

I've rode a wide variety of bikes, ranging from 50cc scooters to BMW R80G/S and Harley Sportsters. Every bike has its pros and cons. I owned a CBR125 for about 3 years and found it ideal for commuting and modest trips on back roads, but I wouldn't want to use it for riding 8-hour days on the Interstate.

Maybe they were laughing at you - or maybe they were laughing at some inside joke that didn't involve you? Who knows? Who cares?

If you are happy with your bike, screw what everyone else thinks, and just go ride it.

well, tell this to your girlfriend :oops2:

bier

If you travel around Brazil the first thing you gonna notice is that many times GPSs (specially the built in ones) are pretty much useless once you leave the big cities and the cellphone coverage are almost nonexistent in most roads around here so even google maps sometimes can give you really bad routes sometimes. The "O Estradeiro" map still the best option to travel around Brazil even in 2017.

size
 

Sadly all the major manufacturers seem to concentrate on ever more engine size and power, then have to fit multi stage traction control to reduce the power to make the bike rideable.
I run a 600 Honda and have recently travels from the UK to Belgium via France,Switzerland and Germany.
The route was covered over 3 and a half days and was just over 2000 miles.
You don't need a large engine to do the miles.
Fuel and tires are cheaper and the bike is a lot lighter to move around.
I bought a BMW R1150 GS and ran it for six months then sold it as I found my old Honda delivers everything the BMW dose without the hassle and expense of a big bike and is just as capable.

If we don't buy them they won't make them. I just switched from Honda to Enfield to go smaller. The old boy just switched Suzuki to Keeway. That's three thousand quid plus lost of sales because we don't want what they offered us. They are stupid because they have the products in other markets that would only need an approval.

It's their business to do what they like. They remind the Old Boy of what the Vellocette salesman told him about Honda though.

Andy