I hate the sterotypes, but last weekend I'm afraid they fitted perfectly. I took the outfit loaded with wife, dog camping gear to York. In that load condition I'm not doing much more that staying with the faster trucks, so most other bikes passed us. The ones I noticed were:

Three BM GS's with all the toys, London plates, came past very fast, close formation, cut in front without leaving enough space, not so much as a look.

Four cruisers (the one at the back was a Sportster), doing 50 in a 70 zone stared dead ahead as though they were deliberately ignoring the fact a Triumph was passing.

Old Brit bike, maybe a Velocette, huge grin and thumbs up when passed.

12-15 sports bikes in a group; everyone stuck out a leg or waved to acknowledge Karens wave then did his/her lifesaver and pulled in. They were "making progress" but it looked so unstressed and safe looking even plod was going to give them a few MPH grace.

On Saturday night I did a grocery run and stopped to say hello to a bloke on a CBR with a flat. I had tyre kit, but he prefered to let the AA take him home. I was only the second bike to stop on a road with sportsbikes going past every few minutes.

Something is changing in the bike culture and the only thing I can relate it to is that leisure riders on new bikes must now outnumber the full timers keeping old clunkers going. As guys who've never been late for work due to a bike puncture show other guys how it's done we've lost something, they can't help and/or still think like car drivers. Too many idiots out there more worried about their image and how shiney their toys are too.

Andy

I always find that less bike, by percentage, ride well and courtious in the summer than the winter. This fits with observations of others in that I guess winter riders are 'real' bikers, whilst the great majority of the summer guys are fair weather riders.

Always thank drivers for doing the right thing, and alway wave/nod to other bikes on the road. I've never passed a lone bike on the side of the road without slowing and giving the thumbs up/down - now ant then you get a thumbs down, so I stop to see if I can help.

I think the guys who have travelled are much more courtious that those that haven't, lets face it if your attitude stinks you're not going to get far outside of the UK are you ?

i always stop to see if i can help a lone biker at the side of the road and i always nod to other bikers. last week i was stuck at the side of a roundabout and about 40 bikes passed whilst i waited for the breakdown company. NOT ONE STOPPED! lots just turned their heads in the other direction! sad shiny summer bikers! this wont stop me from stopping in the future but i was quite annoyed at thinking were supposed to be a team!

And yet bikes are allways a good ice breaker , conversations with others at petrol stations , roadside stops etc , standing chatting to a stranger for at least 10 mins talking '' bike'' or trips .
i ride road bikes / dual purpose bike , there is a difference in who acknowledges and who doesn,t , but only here not abroad .

i think it's mainly the steroetypes bikers have been given by the media (and sometimes each other) and it's being enforced on the younger generations. Example; cruiser riders are now deeply associated with gang cultures and violence, sports bike riders are known for speeding, using roads as racecourses and doing idiotic stunts on the roads, while the classic bike riders are seen as the slow people who brake down alot and get in the way and harley riders are seen as fair weather poofs.....
I was brought up to believe all that, from teachers to my dad (harley rider), to people tutting in the street and muttering things seeing bikers go past. Plus with all the media attention on a few pricks from some well known biker gangs, most younger riders tend to just keep their heads down and not even look up for fear of upsetting anyone (experience). Btw does anyone agree that the blokey who went on tv and spoke about the ha guys murder with the infamous quote " well these things happen, they shouldn't but they do" is a proper dickhead? Face it with people like that as the mouth piece of bikers, we're ****ed!
But back to the real point i then met a really nice cutdown wearing old school leather clad sweetheart and he taught me a helluva lot, he always stopped for bikers, even scooter riders, never had a bad word to say about anyone, and he waved at everyone including scooter riders, how many of you include those as bikers. Cos they're gonna be on the big machines soon enough and if everyone ignores them, they're gonna be abit like "why the **** should i wave back at you when y'all ignored me for years?" maybe that has summit to do with it????? And cruiser riders bitching at sportsbike riders for being crazy, sportsbike riders seeing everyone as beneath them (read the first page of this thread, theres one of those there) and everyone else pottering along trying to be friendly and being seen as a daft old hippy biker. My guess is the only way to get back the friendly waves and nods is to go back to the bike meets, have a chat with anyone and everyone regardless of what they ride (there's abit too much of a clique culture going on, not pointing fingers sporties) and carry on waving away until it catches on again and spreads like swine flu, and always include the scooter riders. Dear god, imagine for a second if every biker had a chat with the teens on their scooters and 125's, passing on valuable knowledge and the deep love and respect for machines you all have and the mentality of biking culture. Just imagine how much safer the roads could be and how improved the public view of us?????

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That's not really something you want to be shouting about, especially if you're going to put that much info in your profile.

How do you work that one out? :confused1:

Most of those are 16yo's with Chinese scooters bought on eBay for £500. Very few have any intention of sticking with 2 wheels once they're 17. As soon as they're old enough and have the cash to buy a Saxo/Clio/Corsa, they'll be finished with bikes until the mid-life crisis comes around. Look at the new registration figures for 50cc scoots. There's not enough bikes above 125cc on the new and used market to go round if all those kids decided to take it further than CBT.

Old Vespa and Lambretta owners are a different story. Speak to the real "old school" scooter riders who are involved in their club scene. You'll find many have got a real chip on their shoulder about bikers and are still living in the days of mods and rockers, where as most bikers couldn't care less. I will nod to them and it's their problem if they don't wave back.

That's obviously aimed at the likes of me. You're tarring everyone with the same brush. What was that about being cliquey?

Actually, some (but certainly not all) of the most cliquey riders I've found, that won't wave or stop for anyone unless they're riding the same are Pan-European riders. That's their problem though.
I know of a Pan rider who went to talk to people on a Pan riders club stand at a show recently and his face mustn't have fitted because they just didn't want to know him.
I tried to start a conversation with a UK reg Pan rider and pillion on the Grossglockner last year. We were stopped while the road was cleared of falling rocks so nothing else to do. What a pair of miserable ****s.
A******* off the bike = A******* on the bike.

Still, I'll nod to them and it's their problem if they don't.

maybe if you chatted to them then they would stick with bikes too?? I have both. It's not aimed at you, rather the groups that hang out at my local biker cafe and no-one mixes anymore. Think it's less the wavings an issue as the herd mentality of some people. I really respect guys like you, the ones who wave at everyone even if they're being a dick and trying to chat to all bikers, need more!!!

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