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I gave up talking and I gave up “saluting”
other bikes. Use to be a raised fist was the salute, now its this
wimpy little two or three finger wave from the hip. Look I'm not a
tough guy, never was and I never liked being told to “park the
motorcycle in the back if you want to eat here and leave the
leathers with the bike”. I'm glad those days are over and I'll
bet that you never knew they existed. For a long time Biker =
Outlaw. There are many of you who like to portray this image.
You've watched too many movies, in real life those guys go down
hard and dirty. You put me in mind of the “Vietnam Vets” who
were protesters until it became popular to be a vet, you're living
somebody else's life. In the day most bikers were a dirty, smelly
lot cause our machines leaked oil and threw grease off the chain.
A lot of bikers hung out in bars, got drunk and did stupid things
that added to the bad reputation. Leathers were worn for
protection. Until you have scraped sand and debris out of a
“road raspberry” or had bugs the size of Godzilla splat you or
felt the sting of rain on bare arms you can't fully appreciate
leathers. The movies made leathers “bad”. “Bad” ain't what
you wear it's your attitude and all the bad guys I knew have been
dead a long time. Knifed, shot, beaten or run over by a truck, bad
is bad and dead is dead.
So
why you need to act that way?
The
Changing Biker
The image of motorcycles and their riders began to improve when
the Japanese bikes became popular. Quieter, smoother, more
dependable, no oil leaks, electric start instead of kick all
appealed to the public but even so it was not until the 80's &
90's that motorcycles became commonplace and widely accepted. The
import bikes improved bikes and made biking acceptable but it
seperated us as brothers. As bikes became more dependable and
dealerships more professional we no longer had to depend on each
other and the less we needed to recognise the spirit of being
Bikers in each other.
Todays riders really don't care about the things
that made being a Biker special to me. They can't care about those
things because they never experienced them. They don't care about
the connection between themselves and a machine. It's just another
toy to show off. They don't own one or ride one long enough to
become intimate. They are more concerned with image than the ride.
In the day it was the ride that created the image. Instead of
being that rugged individualist they have become conformists and
everybody wants to look like everybody else. So I want to know who
defined what you should look like, who defined how you should act?
You see, in the day we took pride that our bikes were as unique as
ourselves. Each bike was a reflection.
There were good riders who didn't know a nut from a
bolt but they were there when the Bros' worked on their machines.
They washed parts and wire brushed them, sanded the frame and tank
and spoke of their vision so others could make it happen. We cut,
welded and machined our own parts. There was no picking out cool
stuff from a catalog and paying somebody to bolt it on. You knew
your bike and when you rode you knew your limitations because you
had gone there (sometimes crashed there) and came back. My pony
threw me but I still love my pony.
Apologies
for My Disappointments
Well if you're still reading maybe there's hope, anyway the end is
near. So this is a love/hate thing going on with me. I appreciate
that I can now ride without worrying about cops “profiling” me
cause I'm on a two wheeler but you see I'm also getting lonely out
there. For the most part I've been a solo rider. Clubs never
attracted me, they got rules and regulations, leaders and
followers and somebody is always unhappy with the way things are
being run. It's difficult to find a riding partner, one who is
intuitive and moves in harmony. One who can let you roll it on and
dissappear down the road or drop back and chill. Somebody you
trust so much that when riding side by side through that tight
curve you're only thought is: “Damn can she ride.” One who
knows what being a Biker is and is in for the ride not the
destination. How can there be so many and yet so few who feel it
and live it?
Maybe I've just been riding the wrong roads, maybe
the old bikers are still out there and maybe I'm the last. Or
maybe it's all a false memory and there never was an unwritten
code of brotherhood among a small portion of the populace. I'd sew
on my 1% patch but it would probably become a fad and everyone
would be flying the “Jolly Roger” to be cool and the meaning
would be lost. Maybe we should all sit back and reflect on why we
really ride or better yet let's go for a ride, I know this little
coffee shop.........
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