| Author | Message | ||
     Fast1075 |
Sneaky...be careful of who you ride with. Not long ago a guy showed up for a group ride....he rode a nicely set up Gixxer with well scrubbed tires, wore the gear and seemed like a pretty nice guy. His riding skills SUCKED...he got off the pavement twice (didn't actually fall down) during what I would consider a barely moderate pace...when we stopped for lunch I talked him up some and tried to help his skill level out a bit. After lunch, I volunteered to ride trail so I could see this guy's riding skills and maybe help him overcome some obvious issues....I confirmed my suspicions watching him "ride"....but how did he have such nicely scrubbed tires??? They were not race takeoffs because the scuffing was uniform and obviously not very old... How does a completely clueless squid poser have a well set up bike with scrubbed tires? The answer is it wasn't his bike...not HIS his bike....it was his ASSIGNED CONFISCATED bike....you would think they would have sent a skilled motor patrol officer at least....now I fear my most favorite desolated set of twisties may no longer be safe on Sunday mornings.....my group sometimes ride pretty hard, but only when it is safe and in no way endangering others. | ||
| Fahren |
Wow - and people laugh when they hear about infiltration of groups by the government! That's a whole lot more twisted than most of your roads down in FL. Don't they have better things to do than infiltrating a bunch of riders out for a Sunday ride?!!! | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
wow that is dirty but like you said they should have at least sent out a motorcycle cop. Heck I seen a video of the course some motorcycle cops have to ride and I don't think I could throw those big baggers around like that. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Do the cops down in Florida sneak around quite a bit? Sure seems they enjoy the high-speed chases. Pretty dangerous with the blue hairs everywhere. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Wow. Wish they could have been busier focusing more attention on the guy that nearly offed my riding buddy a couple weeks ago. And yes, I know the good guys can't be everywhere all the time, but still. Umm...not that I paint with a broad brush, but my squid-dar usually isn't goin' off when I meet a fellow bueller. Check the other "sport bike" forums instead. | ||
| F22raptor |
You ride up,reach over,and take his key! Or as we used to do as kids..( I rode with future, national AMA champions!) Hold their handle-bar and gently,carefully,in a soft comfy spot,put them in the weeds! | ||
| Augustus74 |
I guess they have moved on from trying to coax you into a race with a confiscated sports car. Glad for the heads up but thinking it sucks for most. (agree with them needing a cop who rides) | ||
| Wikid_intent |
Flame or Troll me as you will.?. What is your groups riding style? Why would the LEO feel the need to infiltrate with a undercover? Just asking. | ||
| 86129squids |
Hmmm- is this typical of undercover LEO's in FL? I agree with Wikid- why in the heck did this happen? Other than his squidly riding, how was his "cover" blown? You were REALLY about to be the poster boy for "nice guys finish last"... Details please... | ||
| Ezblast |
Anything Fast does, must be suspect, and investigated thoroughly! Sport-bikers being such hoods an all - lol EZ | ||
| Fast1075 |
A. We were alerted by someone that this stuff is happening. B. The main reason this is happening as I understand it is in some areas roving packs of "ridas" cause mayhem in the most inappropriate places. I'm not a "downtowner" so I haven't seen much of it. C. We have a lot of squids that like to wheelie thru traffic at 130....see THAT all the time. D. Buellers are such a rare breed, I haven't met ANY squid Buellers in person. E. How slow do you ride your Buell?? I see a lot of knee draggin videos shot on the streets. F. A lot of our group rides are video'd and can be seen in Storm Fronts, Tampa Area Buellers. G. This is happening in "meetup" groups where you can find info on the internet about who, when and where people will be riding. The group I am in has had a lot of people show up and ride....some of them are sent home at the first hydration stop. Some of them are told to never show back up again. Some of them are given instructions on how and where they can attend rider improvement classes and are told they can come back one they have improved. H. We don't run red lights or stop signs, we don't pass illegally, we don't do burn outs or donuts, we dont stunt (for cripes sake I am going on 60 years old)...We DO shred a few corners, (there are actually 21 corners in Florida) but we DO NOT run 145 in a 55 or anything stupid like that. We share the road well with the huge packs of "Lance Armstrongs" that roam the best roads every weekend. It's not US (my regular riding group) that the law is specifically after....is is the generalized "sport bikers" that are the target. And there is nothing NEW about how I (we) ride the same roads that we have been riding for 40+ years. Yes there is a dance with the PoPo...that has been going on forever...I have Officer friends that joke with me about one day catching me doing something wrong...it a Wiley Coyote/Roadrunner kind of thing. Should they get aggressive with the stretched turbo idiots that get on busy roads and run em like they are at Bonneville? Yes, but that gene pool is largely self chlorinating. And I hear that a certain Blast! rider regularly smokes squids on the canyon roads of sunny Calipornia  ...And I have seen video of a certain XB9 rider on mountain roads with not much visible but the bottom of his muffler. I ride like and old man  ask anybody behind me | ||
| Britchri10 |
It may be a Florida thing but this type of LEO activity has been rumored to happen around Jacksonville. I don't ride with any organized/publicized groups so I haven't ever experienced it myself. I will check w/the LEO's I know to see if JSO are indulging in this type of thing. | ||
| Glitch |
Unreal, why in the world would someone assign someone to ride with sportbikes and not know how to ride? Irresponsible doesn't cover it. Aren't LEO's in enough danger without sending them off on a bike with what seems to be little or no training, to mix it up with what they perceive as dangerous riders? You'd think they'd want the edge, and send someone out that has more than average skills. The sneaky part just tells you to ride with people you know. | ||
| Firebolt32 |
Unreal, why in the world would someone assign someone to ride with sportbikes and not know how to ride? He may have known how to ride. After the Buell was totalled I came across a Softail I couldn't pass up. I was riding with my brother and almost lost it at the first curve. I was use to sling the Buell from side to side in corners. Different ball game with the Softail. The guy may have rode...just the wrong type. Either way I think its pretty bogus that they'll try this. | ||
| Glitch |
Different ball game with the Softail. Different ballgame, different training, simple as that. Obviously he "knew" how to ride. Either way I think its pretty bogus that they'll try this. It is sneaky, and to me, sneaky is less than honest. | ||
| Slaughter |
Am I the only one here who thinks it bizarre that people will ride with somebody in a group that they have only just met for the first time? We don't have ANY trouble explaining to a stranger that he/she is welcome to meet us for lunch at XXX but that "I'm sure you'll understand our reasons" has ALMOST always been an acceptable explanation. We NEVER - allow ANY other rider to just join in. We will pull over when a stranger joins up while we're on the road and talk. It's a matter of common sense. It's just not worth it for so many reasons. They won't take my "DUDE" card away for refusing to allow a stranger to ride with our little group. Also, this mystery rider is a POLICEMAN. They are TASKED with maintaining law/order/peace - stuff like that. If I were contemplating doing illegal "stuff" I surely would not be doing it with strangers. Back in the day when I smoked strange substances, mere possession of said substances could mean misdemeanor charges, same standard applied. | ||
| Glitch |
Am I the only one here who thinks it bizarre that people will ride with somebody in a group that they have only just met for the first time? I only ride with people that I know. | ||
| Drkside79 |
I link up with other riders all the time. If I'm by my self. We are typically safer in numbers. | ||
| Kyrocket |
"It is sneaky, and to me, sneaky is less than honest." I completely agree but it sounds as though you're saying it as a law abiding citizen, as would I. Thing is the criminals are less than honest. We're not going to catch the drug dealers by rolling up in a marked cruiser and a uniformed officer rolling out saying, "What you boys smoking tonight". Same with the crazy riders, had a marked moto cop been riding with them I'd say the 130mph wheelies more likely than not wouldn't have happened. Yeah, it's sneaky maybe even borderline baiting but unless something has changed since the 10 years for $30 of pot thread illegal is still illegal. +1 for only riding with who you know and I have on occasion accepted some who were vetted by someone I did know. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
"I only ride with people I know". That is pretty much us too. Got a couple of exceptions to that rule though: 1. Fellow coaches. If their skills were good enough for the MSF to certify, they are probably good enough for me to ride with. 2. Fellow XB Buellers. I will probably ride behind them the first time or two until I am comfortable enough with their skill level to let them follow me. It drives me batty when a random biker gets behind me and stays behind on the road. It pisses me off when they tail me and don't even have enough sense to ride in staggered formation. Sometimes I'll pull over to let my blood pressure drop and just let them go by. It really sucks having to have the pit stop "this is why we ride in staggered formation" conversation with someone you've been friends with, who you assume knows these things, or worse, your big brother, who has been riding the same one year ride for 40 years without evolving. DAMHIK. B. | ||
| Glitch |
We are typically safer in numbers. Low numbers maybe. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Good chance for an etiquette reminder... If I come upon a single rider headed my direction, I'll typically fall into a staggered pattern with a LOT of distance... closing the gap occasionally to keep people from cutting in, but generally 4x the gap I would keep riding with people I know and trust. I actually do try and hook up with them if I can do it without making a scene, mainly because I think two riders in formation are safer than two riders separated. We are easier to see, and can overlap on emergency braking, and extend the cushion between people ahead and behind. For large groups, I try and stay away from them. I dont want them worried I'll be stupid and create a problem for them, and I don't want to worry about them being stupid and causing a problem for me. Opinions? I just settled on these rules of thumb because they felt right. I'm open to other opinions. (Message edited by reepicheep on March 03, 2011) | ||
| Sayitaintso |
Bill, that very closely mirrors what I try to do. Especially the single rider thing, stagger and lots of extra space, I believe in safety in numbers for visibility. If the solo rider I come up on is riding down the center of the road and just staying there, it tells me all I need to know and I either back way off or pass them and go about my business. TBH, college kids on scooters scare me as much if not more than cages when riding around town. 1/2 the time I dont think they know what they are going to do right up until the moment they do it..... change lanes w/o looking, make a left turn from the far right lane, jump off the sidewalk into traffic w/o a second thought as to what might be bearing down on them.... they're nuts/stupid. Cops around here are basically never a problem, even for spirited riding, as long as nobody gets squidly. | ||
| Firstbuell |
interesting thread - the Aussies who ride the BUB Bonneville meet told of competent-riding undercover OZ cops who infiltrate riding groups, go out & break the law with them, and THEN write everybody up! | ||
| Ezblast |
I dunno Fast - I still think they are keeping an eye on you! lol EZ | ||
| P47b |
I have a friend in the Wichita PD who does this. He said he doesn't do it much. They are looking for other things to bust people for here. But it was funny how all of a sudden most of the squids disappeared in a few months. You wouldn't peg this guy as a cop either. And yes he can ride... | ||
| Pwnzor |
I've had that happen a couple of times. Usually what happens is, one or more people in the group get wise to him and we just dump the guy and ride somewhere else. Last time though, we verbally confronted him and told him to take his stolen bike back to the impound yard. | ||
| Swampy |
Sneaky, Sneaky, Sneaky.... LOL! I thought this was a thread about those scum sucking, bottom feeding good for nothing lawyers! | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
If I were Commissioner of this Police Department I would not be very pleased that one of our officers was put into the position of trying to infiltrate a group of riders he could not keep up with. If the officer fell and injured or killed one of the riders in the group, the municipality could be possibly liable, and possibly criminally negligent, for sending out an untrained officer into a potentially dangerous situation. Around here, police officers are instructed not to go in hot pursuit of motorcyclists because it is just too dangerous, even when they are in patrol cars. | ||
| Ducbsa |
Regarding etiquette, I left Leland after the Slimey Crud Run 2 years ago and caught up with a slower pack of 5 or 6 riders and started passing them. I pulled into a large gap, then pulled out again at the next straight and was gone. I'm not often in that situation and wondered about it. They weren't riding in much of a staggered formation and I didn't push in the one time. |
