| Author | Message | ||
     Bomber |
Don . . .it's not that I necessarily want to hang with a non-Buell crowd . . . I was hoping to meet some like-minded riders through Brag, and I have . . . . made several good friends that way (lucky me!) . . . . .however, all my friends that have/had X1s (oops, not all . . . .scuse me, 75%) have had major problems with them (this is NOT an anti-Buell post, I promise), and either got rid of them or are considering doing so . . . it's a shamew to loose the value those folks bring to the organization, is all . . . . . nothing wrong with exclusionary, at a global level, I'm not sure I want to ride with the local Vespa crew (although I MIGHT be the fastest there! . . . hmmmmm) . . . however, my goals do not necessarily coincide with those of HD . .. just brainstormin, Don . . . . that's the crackling you hear over your electronics . . . .brainstormin | ||
| Dynarider |
exclusionary can have its moments & at times it is ok, but too many times that same attitude turns into an elitist attitude & thats what I want no part of. | ||
| Donsieg |
Is it elitist to expect not to see women in the men's room? Not that I'm completely against that... | ||
| Dynarider |
Oh yea, that same attitude from Harley owners about Buells, also tends to affect a lot of Buell owners in a reverse manner. I have gotten the old "what a slow assed, shitty handling, noisy dinosaur you have" from a few of them. Perhaps they will see the light when I show them the fast way around a Battletrax course on my Dinosaur? Buell & Harley need a divorce. They need independant dealerships in order to survive. If not Buell is gonna go the way of the Dodo bird & the passenger pigeon. | ||
| Uwgriz |
The problem that I see is that there isn't much in the way of an in-between bike offered by Buell. If you wanted a smaller bike, before this year, you had the Blast and once you got to where you wanted some more, you either tripled your horsepower and stepped up to a 1200cc V-Twin torque monster or left the Buell family (exactly what Cjmblast is dealing with right now) and I don't think the XBs really qualify as being in-between. Now, that being said, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Buell not having such a bike, it just makes things a little more difficult for a club like BRAG to be able to reach out to different levels of riders. It almost seems like you can start in BRAG with a Blast, go away for a while and then come back if and when you want to step up to the 'big' machines. As it stands right now, my girlfriend is currently riding my old Yamaha 600 as she's learning. She's ridden dirt bikes and such so she's doing quite well. We've talked recently about getting rid of it for a Blast, but she's comfortable on the 600 and worries that she will want more power than the Blast has to offer before too long (gosh, I love her), but really doesn't feel like she can handle my S3 and I agree. So now she sees me getting involved with a group like BRAG that does some really cool stuff that she can't get involved in because she's riding a Yamaha. She loves the cool stuff that Buell does and likes how they're not afraid to do some stuff that's different and if they produced something that fell in-between, she'd probably be the first to the dealer. But they don't so she misses out on the group of really cool people that I met last Tuesday. Now, by the same token, that's exactly what a club like BRAG is about, not excluding others, but rather getting fellow Buell owners together, which is also cool and I'm not saying that I think BRAG should change that. I just think there's something very appealling about the Bike-Anon idea - no attitudes, let's just ride. Sorry for sucking up so much space, it just bugs me to see someone like Cjmblast have to leave the club because she's advanced her skills to where she's ready for a bigger bike but something still smaller than Buells other bikes unless she uses the Dyna method to slip through the cracks. OK, new guy shutting up now... | ||
| Donsieg |
Griz, Just marry the girl and make her your "associate" member. :-) Seriously, you make a great point about a 'tweener bike. | ||
| Bomber |
Grizz . . .. very valid points . . .we're dealing with the same issues in my house . . . . just a data point, ,but if I were Mission Miscreant, anyone would be welcome on runs, and at meetings as well . . . . . (we'd all have to agree on cover stories ahead of time for any insurance issues . . . . "the woman just couldn't help herself, officer! she saw all these good lookin men in leather, and she HAD to ride with us!" or sumpin) Don . . you keep talkin like that, I'm gonna have to send you over to SACBORG! we've stumbled, collectively, why motorcyle riders are so poorly treated by our government and fellow citazens . . . those large groups recognize only other large groups . . . scoot trash has been busily subdividing itself for so long that, with the exception of the AMA, we don't speak loudly enough to be heard | ||
| Uwgriz |
Working on it... | ||
| Donsieg |
Isn't SACBORG a left-coast club? I beleieve I'm excluded from membership there due to geographic restrictions. | ||
| Donsieg |
Ahhh, Griz, you stud..... | ||
| Bomber |
Don . . . . .nah, they'll let anybody in , , , , lot's of, ehem, alternate languge usage, however | ||
| Lake_Bueller |
I didn't think the point behind BRAG is to be "Buell Riders". We are a group of people that share a common interest (riding). We just happen to have been brought together by Buell motorcycles. There's nothing in the rules & regs of BRAG that require you to own a Buell. Hell, Kevin from Windy City is an officer and a BMW rider! That being said....get your girlfriend/wife/whatever involved with your chapter. I don't think she'll be looked down upon for not riding a Buell (though we may make a few jokes, in good fun of course) Just my $.02 worth!! | ||
| Cjmblast |
Uwgriz, that's cool you understand exactly what I mean !! People are individuals and all your friends aren't going to be carbon copies of yourself, so they may not always ride the same bikes. It's a shame you pick a bike and your limited to just that type of group rides. I know folks that ride every kind of bike, and sometimes would enjoy some of their group rides as a guest anyway, not necessarily to join the group full time. Some exclusion is okay, snobbery shouldn't be, I'd never make a negative comment of someone in any of my group rides being on another type bike. There are a lot of bike riders out there, and there are soooo many bikes the odds of everyone you know riding the same type bike are pretty slim, so do you exclude ever having them ride with your club ??? CJM | ||
| Bads1 |
Well you guys could be very well right but,to what i've heard the new XB9S will be out mid November. Not so aggresive to sit on compared to the XB9R and that may make women feel alittle more comfortable.HELL Leslie at brag started on a M2 in 1998. | ||
| Donsieg |
Correct me if I'm wrong, but technically speaking, the "rules and regs" state that you have to own a Buell motorcycle to be a member of BRAG. They require the vin number when you sign up at the national level. And you must be a national member BEFORE you can join a local chapter. BRAG stands for Buell Riders Adventure Group It doesn't mean you can't own other bikes though. As wise Wes once said, "A two car garage is a six bike garage." Lastly, NOONE has EVER been excluded from our group rides or activities - EVER!! However, membership is a different beast. As it should be. ...and I agree with CJM, snobbery is bad. | ||
| Bomber |
yeah, but Leslie is a bit taller than most of the women I saw the other night at the meeting . . . . | ||
| Bads1 |
That may be true but the bike does weigh quite abit less then are tube framed bikes and feels smaller because of its rake and trail. | ||
| Bomber |
bad . . . . yessir, and yep | ||
| Bads1 |
Bomber Just think that women may be less imtimidated,If so well maybe they will offer a lowering kit much like they did for the blast and m2 but with the shock not the seat. | ||
| Bomber |
bad that would be great Don . . .right on time and target on BRAG requirements . . . no argument |
