Hadn’t noticed, but i think your right…

RE:
“… part of the Dixon Development promotion…”

What, a Triumph in a “downtown Milwaukee” promotion……??…

-nicker-

I was hoping you took that the right way. Good to see a sense of humor is not lost in cyber space like so many other blogs.

Just making light of a certain attitude some people assume when they throw a leg over a particular brand of bike.

It is funny how that same person is different when you encounter them away from their bike.

“Road Warrior” or any other description, whether it be directed to the old timers, pop culturists, or anyone in between – spare me. I just want to ride. I’ve gotten tickets because of an assumed general attitude. If this attitude in/out of the motorcycling world didn’t exist, then that cop could have easily used discretion. Worse yet, cagers have pulled very stupid & dangerous moves because of assumed attitudes.

RE:
“… crashed HD’s in my small shop?…” relation to “…being able to splurge…”

Ya i hear ya.
On it”s face, that does look a lot like too many who don’t take on the discipline to really learn how to ride.

However:

RE:
“… As long as I survive I guess I am a biker…”

A couple of years ago i lost a close friend to a scooter wreck.
Steve Bails had been a sponsored AMA flat tracker at the national level, a Richmond Ramblers member, and a guy who lived and loved motorcycles. In my mind the consummate biker.

Let’s face it, we’re all just a bit of bad luck away from a permanent DNF.
Not sure simply “surviving” is necessarily the defining criterion.

Just a thought.
-nicker-

-nicker-

B-t-w…you meet the nicest people on a Harley more than you used to.

O.K. … all kidding aside………

RE:
“…There are 2 different topics …”

I’d say its more like “many different perspectives” on what constitutes a “biker”.
Le-me see if i can talk my way through this………..

RE:
“… the pop culture craze in motorcycling is annoying …”

Now, like so many other things, pop culture has tried to redefine (co-opt) an existing term “biker”
So now, the couple in the picture are Road Warriors.
And that’s not annoying to guys that have built a business case around the current “craze.”
Hell, many of those people (pictured) are their best customers and that’s cool.

I’d rather not try-n define “biker” by what they eat or drinks, but rather by how they approach motorcycling.

I suspect that for some (eg, old-farts like me) the above Hotel ProMo brings back memories of the first 60′s TV adds that went something like:
“… you meet the nicest people on a Honda….”
Damned thing would make me grind my teeth.

To be sure, those folks were (mostly) nice people. And they “brought” the hype of the commercial, To them that commercial was motorcycling. Before that commercial it was all about the motorcycle and being nice wasn’t the issue, however wrenching on it was… Big Time!

So on the one hand ya have the “pursuit of a pastime,” where on the other ya have a “commitment to a discipline.”

Take the SCTA guys. When they’re approached by promoters who want to commercialize Bonneville ya get the same visceral reaction (teeth grinding). However, they’ve had help keeping the unwashed masses at bay. What, with the stark environment and the isolation, i doubt you’ll find many people who take on a Bonneville effort as a pastime (for long anyway). Unlikely event to support a craze.
Hell, it has to be an obsession…..

From my perspective, identifying a “biker” is simply a matter of commitment.
Some take motorcycling on as a discipline. Others take it on as a pastime.
To be sure, the “pop culture craze” is being driven by those who see motorcycling as a pastime.

Guess you’d play hell building this industry on the “discipline” folks. There just isn’t enough of-em. They were there first. They’ve always been in the minority. Probably always will be. The guys who would do whatever it took to stay in the game. Dick Mann (like many of the Richmond Ramblers) would use his bike to deliver papers on the week days, then strip it down to go racing on the weekends.

My take on a “biker” is someone who is committed enough to take on motorcycling as a discipline. It makes-em more interesting (to me anyway).

Can’t say i ever sat around a campfire and having an interesting conversation about
…. “gourmet saddlebag lunches” ……. ?????

But that’s just me…..
-nicker-

I agree the pop culture craze in motorcycling is annoying in some ways, but the increased populari$y has been good to the OEMs and countless entreprenuers who read this site. If these companies are doing well, their products will improve, which is good for riders.

It is lame to say you’re not a “biker” if you decide to spend some cash on a nice place once in awhile, especially if one has ridden across several states to get there, all the while sleeping in their tent….

Do you so-called “bikers” drink Schlitz cans ALL the time or do spend a little extra on a tasty Belgian Ale? Wild Turkey all the time or does a Woodford Reserve sound better when you’re on a trip?

Tents are just what the doctor odered when you’re in the right place and right state of mind. Same is true for a clean hotel with a good bar/restaurant open ’til late

Wait, i smell a business opportunity here.

A trailer service to transport the “Road Warrior” CEO’s scooter to the local airport. So he can hop off his jet and “ride” to the IH Hotel.

Hay, it’s a service for the “Discriminating” biker………

-nicker-

Although i gotta confess that today i need a tent, an air mattress, and a campground with hot showers and toilets.

But “… gourmet saddlebag lunches …”…..????
That’s stretching the “Road Warriors” thing a whole bunch.

(IMHO anyway)
-nicker-