| Author | Message | ||
     Fltwistygirl |
I spent part of my day off enjoying the nice weather during my errand-running on the XT. Our son, a newly crossed over scout, was in need of a compass for some upcoming activities and the most logical stop on my route was my least favorite store on the planet, Wallyworld. So, in typical form, I pulled up into the unofficial "motorcycle parking" spot near the front entrance. There was a scooter and a metric parked there as well. Got what I needed and returned to the bike, goods in tow. As I was loading up a guy pulls up on a fat boy. Started chatting about the nice weather, bike week, seemed a pleasant old school fella. I made a comment about the unofficial motorcycle parking, and he said, yea, its the same at Lowes and a couple other stores, works out well, blah, blah, blah. Then, some azzhat in a bikeweek t-shirt walks over, looks at all the bikes, and says, "there's only one bike here fit for motorcycle parking and that's the harley. The rest of these are just s&*t". No telling if he was riding one of the bikes parked in the parking lot, if he had a bike in his garage, or if he just borrowed motorcycle t-shirts in March to try to fit in at bike week. The Harley dude and I just looked at each other, chances are I rolled my eyes, then we bid our farewells. Coincidentally, I got my issue of American Motorcyclist today and was reading the member letters. One member had a similar experience on his ST1300 this past summer. His question, and mine: Why do motorcyclists not show civility to each other? Why do we have to be fractured by the different bikes we ride? All that matters to me is that you ride and try to be a decent human being when you ride. I don't give a rat's patooty if its 2 wheels, 3 wheels, European, American, shifting or automatic. As long as you're not a jerk making the rest of us look bad, or jeopardizing some one's safety, I don't care what you ride, just that you ride. Rant off. BeLinda. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Quote: Why do motorcyclists not show civility to each other? Unquote They do, in most part, Fltwistygirl. I've met some a*shats but in most part over 40+ years of riding, my experience has been that if you are on two wheels, regardless of the brand, motorcyclists are good to motorcyclists. I've had one or two make stupid 'Hardly' comments when I've toured on my Harley, and I've had one or two Harley guys say something stupid about my full gear, but ignore the fools and move on. For sure, don't generalize and blame one brand. Every group has a small percentage of a*shats and a preponderance of good folk. Have a good attitude toward everyone on two wheels, ignore the as*hats, and ride safe. All will be good and your example will be followed. | ||
| Charlie_zulu |
There's always someone willing to be a jerk.That happened to me once, I laughed at him so loud (as well as everyone else) and he got embarrassed and left. | ||
| Paralegalpete |
Folks who make those kinds of comments are generally few and far between, and are lacking a little love and trust in their life | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Thanks for your input. Just curious what y'all thought about since it seems to be on others minds as well. Thank goodness these negative encounters are seemingly rare, I'm always a little taken aback by them. I usually keep to myself when I'm out and about "on task", and am not usually the one initiating any interactions with other people. If I do initiate a conversation, it's done in a respectful manner. BTW-It's way more fun to be writing about how cool it was that an 8 or 9 year old little girl came up to me at the grocery store just to tell me how much she liked my bike. Or about the toddler who was giggling and waving at me at a stoplight, and mom took notice and rolled down the window a bit so the kid could get a better look of me waving back. I much prefer that type of interaction  . | ||
| Itileman |
Some people are proud of their ignorance and like to show it off. Very few people really understand the Buell. Most of what I get are serious questions about it. "WTF is that?" is the most common. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Itileman- Unfortunately you are correct. Our Ulys tend to be confused with beemers in these parts. Unless the motor is running. Then all bets are off! (Message edited by fltwistygirl on March 09, 2011) | ||
| Mnviking |
In my experience, I've seen the grief being given from both sides. When I'm on my HD Fatboy the majority of sportbike riders won't give me the time of day. And when I'm on my ULY, the HD guys give me looks like I have 2 heads. At least the HD guys warm up a little once they find out the history of Buell/HD. (For the record I've only had my Uly 3 weeks, but I can't seem to put it away. What a great machine!!) I'm with you FLTwistygirl, as long as you ride your bike rather than garage it, I'm willing to have a beer with you. | ||
| Hangetsu |
I was on a trip in Southern Colorado a couple summers ago and a German tourist I ran into thought my Uly was a German bike,but he wasn't sure which brand. His eyes got big and he ran over to take a closer look when I told him it was US made. He was obviously not a very knowledgeable motorcycle enthusiast, but his assumption was interesting nonetheless. | ||
| Uly_dude |
That's because Buell is a common last name in Germany. But he's from Europe, so I'd give him a pass. What I find unfathomable is a biker from the US who has no idea what our bikes are, or ever heard of them. I mean, what rock have they been living under?! The idiot at Wallyworld was just one of many. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
The only idiots I've ever run into were on Harleys for some reason. When our County Prosecutor (whom i've known for twenty some years as a really nice guy) puts on some a$$-less leather chaps and gets his Harley to bike night, suddenly he's a bad-a$$ biker dressed like a pirate -'MAN'... it's all very funny. Alien mind control is my guess. | ||
| 7873jake |
This month's AMA mag has a letter to the editor that echoes your experience (and question) Fltwistygirl. I wish I could find a copy of it online to link to here. It just arrived yesterday before I read your post and had my own lunch time soiree with a recto-cranial inverted luddite outlined in the 1190RR thread. For a moment, I thought the world was coming to an end...all this hatred. Then I turned on Netflix and found that "On Any Sunday" was still in my queue so I just watched that and knew everything would be alright. Mert would want it that way. "Mert is a gentle man in a dangerous world." -Bruce Brown | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
"I mean, what rock have they been living under?!" Believe it or not, I'd have to use all my fingers and toes to count the number of students I've had who were unaware of the existence of an American Sportbike Company until they saw my bike parked next to the training range and asked me about it. In all fairness to them, some of them were brand spanking new to motorcycling and were so clueless they may not have even been aware that BMW's made motorcycles as well as cars. Harley has done a tremendous job with brand recognition. It's up there with Micky D's and Mickey Mouse. Too bad they didn't put more of that effort into the Buell brand. But that's all water under the bridge now, go Erik Buell Racing!! Very entertaining video. Spot on. Reminds me of a few years back when I was calling HD/B dealerships looking for a City-x part. Some sales weasel was gathering make/model year info from me before transferring me to the parts counter, and when I told him it was an 05 Buell City-x, he told me he thought I'd be happier on a Harley. Never met the guy, didn't know him from Adam, and he had the nerve to tell me, after only being on the phone with me for 30 seconds the type of bike I needed (I think it was a Heritage Soft tail or similar. Not even a v-rod!!!) It was like ordering a honey dijon chicken sandwich, well done, and having the server come back and tell me a 9 oz sirloin, dripping rare, would better satisfy my appetite. Needless to say, that was the first and last time I had anything to do with that dealership. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
7873jake-no worries. That particular letter was what reinforced my Wallyworld experience and got me thinking about starting this thread. I think I may also have that movie in my Netflix, that sounds like a fabulous idea! That, or some of Ewan and Charlie's adventures on dvd may pull me out of today's post dentist visit funk. | ||
| 7873jake |
I always feel better listening to Charley cry in his helmet. And watching Ted Simon try to dodge his cameo with Ewan and Charley is a hoot too. | ||
| Ourdee |
Movie is on Youtube. Here is part one of nine parts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whjviUck9G0 Mert is one of my heros. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Thanks for that link, ourdee. I do enjoy the crying in the helmet, but prefer watching Ewan blooping in the sand on that tall heavy bike. Charley's wheelies are fun to watch also. | ||
| Hughlysses |
There's just never a shortage of dumba**es, is there? I was trying to think of an appropriate comeback; the best I can come up with is to just burst out in maniacal laughter. Or you could say "Thanks!" and then respond to his clueless expression by explaining that Buell was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harley Davidson. | ||
| 7873jake |
The beauty of bike week is not that you get to see dumba$$ but how others handle it. I took a neighbor to a swapmeet yesterday when a guy with Quebec plates is getting off of an SV1000 here in Deland. Up drive two OCC type "choppahs". SV guy looks them over in interest while he stashes his stuff in his tank bag and locks down his helmet. OCC guys make some comment to him that I don't hear because their back is to me but the expression on SV guy's face changes momentarily. SV guy catches himself, smiles and says, "I didn't smell psuedo bada$$ mofo trailer queen until you pulled up. I was just looking to see where the smell was coming from. It sort of burns my eyes now too." I chuckled all the way to the car. I should have bought SV guy lunch. | ||
| Mnviking |
SV guy catches himself, smiles and says, "I didn't smell psuedo bada$$ mofo trailer queen until you pulled up. I was just looking to see where the smell was coming from. It sort of burns my eyes now too."  | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Theres another board I am , its winter and a thread erupted into an E-ego and Moto-penis bashabout. Things got personal, and heated, and I let loose one of the poignant truth torpedoes that would get a Sheen award. And duly received noted infraction. I thank the moderator, and well, hell, the thing of it is, I DONT CARE. I dont know why I let my self get riled up. I dont know this guy, I will never meet him, he is not one of my friends. meh. Lesson learned, never play down to their level, it just leaves you covered in the same shiate they want to spew. So somebody has an opinion about my bike... unless they are buying my next bike, I dont give a rat's azz what they think. Dime store brand ho's with the pretensious mine is better than yours. Get over yourselves. At least you are not at home sitting on the couch watching OCC or Biker Boys, Go ride ! and I find all BS disappears when the throttle hits and the tires roll, even better when it is chunky gloppy clumpy MUD. | ||
| Charlie_zulu |
"SV guy catches himself, smiles and says, "I didn't smell psuedo bada$$ mofo trailer queen until you pulled up. I was just looking to see where the smell was coming from. It sort of burns my eyes now too."  That's a winner!! I'm putting that one into my mental rolodex of comebacks . I might use that one if the opportunity presents itself. (Message edited by Charlie_zulu on March 10, 2011) | ||
| Charlie_zulu |
"I find all BS disappears when the throttle hits and the tires roll, even better when it is chunky gloppy clumpy MUD." Amen | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
"OCC guys make some comment to him that I don't hear because their back is to me but the expression on SV guy's face changes momentarily." Oh, would have loved to have heard that comment. What is wrong with people that compels them to talk smack to total strangers? That is the part I don't get. "That's a winner!! I'm putting that one into my mental rolodex of comebacks." Me too, although I don't think I'd ever use it with a total stranger, I'd be afraid of getting punched in the snout or shot. I try to avoid getting in the proverbial mud with people, got better things to spend my energy on.  | ||
| Catalan42 |
My favorite bar here in San Diego is also popular with bikers (mostly weekend HD riders, just 1 Duc regular), and whenever I pull up on the Lightning or 1125R, people are always asking me "What is that thing?" They have a hard time believing it was made in the Wisconsin, or that it's a 1200 V-twin! Alan | ||
| Cityxslicker |
This seemed to work, feel free to modify it for your specific use. It shut down 3 threads so far. "I'm sorry, I spent a couple days unplugged. Please accept my sincere and unreserved apology for any inconvenence this may have caused you. Clearly, I've upset you, and really I feel that the whole argument is just as unimportant to me, as it is to you. Its probably best chalked up to technology that doesnt transfer tone, intonation, sarcasm and inferences of humor well. Apparently this all got way too personal. I realize the diversion from the original thread topic must have been a real inconvience. It must have been indeed a frustrating distraction and maybe you had to find enjoyment in the Charlie Sheen Meltdown. Nobody should have to suffer that. I truly appreciate the time you took out of your busy schedule to assess my life, and to make clear several salient issues. Thanks for your honesty and direct concern. I always value when someone goes out of their way to prove they are right in their point of view about my life." pure Troll killin magic |
