The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
General Category => Totally Off-Topic Discussions, Rants, Tire & Oil Threads, Etc. => Topic started by: Julio A. on November 21, 2011, 09:49:04 AM
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Apparently, my size and build precedes by age. The intital talks and stuff goes fine with some people until they ask my age and they suddenly become
"oh, aren't you too young to ride a bike?"
"we need your parent's consent"
"get your licence first"
"do you know how to ride properly"
to something as ridiculous as
"I don't even think that's even your bike" ...
which quickly turns into...
"Did daddy know you took his bike?"
And the most offensive of all, nobody believes I service the R65 by my own. Or they call me bluffing when I tell them I got it running from the sorry, previous state it was in.
Sometimes I have this very tempting urge to shoot a big, loud, heavy and completely inappropriate "F*ck you" right into their face(with the matching gesture)...
...Or do my very much awaited first dropkick into a person.
Sorry, I just wanted to vent this out somewhere. :-[
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Hey, it's cool. Some , most all really, people think "if I can't do it, it can't be done". Screw them. I have been building things all my life, and heard that kind of thing more than I can remember. Guess we will never get to the moon then, or rebuild old cars or bikes, or have wireless internet, or... Just ignore them, and go for a ride!
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Age probably ins't as much of an 'iisue', but knowing how to do things for yourself seems to 'throw' people .
I don't know how other regions of the world are, but in my area, very few people know how to do things, like changing the oil and filter on your car/truck, etc .... thenselves, let alone how to do a brake job or replace shock struts/absorbers .
Being independent and able to do things for yourself, seems like it makes you something of an 'outcast' in some peoples minds .
Like they couldn't bring themselves 'down to my level' and perform dirty/messy tasks, they are above this !!!!
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I agree with Bob, many can't comprehend how to do things which were considered quite normal/routine a mere 2 or 3 decades ago. And they seem to think if they cannot buy an app for their iphone to do it for them, then it either cannot be done or should not be done, except by "menials"...
I personally have more respect for people willing to roll up their sleeves and try, even if they are learning as part of the process. It is usually the older folks that do that too. Teenagers, like my nephews, etc. cannot be bothered with "wasting their time" on these sorts of things, in spite of the fact that they have much more time left than us older ones.
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Reminds me of the Government Morots ad of some years ago.. Hat on backwards "Bob" saying: "I don't know anything about cars, and I don't WANT to know, Mr. Goodwrench takes care of me"....does he EVER...bend over, Bob. Bob, who probably knows the batting averages of hundreds of "sports stars" can't change a tire. In WWII one thing the Germans admitted about GI's was that they could fix their own vehicles, under a tree, while Dieter's stuff had to go back to the depot on a transporter. They also can to learn that most GI's could SHOOT, while Schiklegruber's boys were suffering from years of "gun control". Toward the end of the war, when the Germans were impressing kids as young as 15, the lack of prior experience became obvious.
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I normally get comments like:
1. So when did BMW start making bikes? (Last year!)
Or....
2. Who services it (not a Balinese 'mechanic for sure!)
Or my favourite, normally from tourists......
3. Where can I rent a bike like that? - To which I reply;"Go to the Harley dealership - They will deny that they rent BMW's but persevere, they keep them in the back!"
The last one no doubt leads to nasty words and fisticuffs
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Julio, just wait until you're my age (72 now). Show up on a motorcycle and get remarks like -- born-again biker huh? Trying to recapture your lost youth or what? Poser! Or they seem to think you're some kind of ageing hell's angel about to pull a gun and start spraying bullets. Not much place for old idiots who've been riding since 1956!
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3. Where can I rent a bike like that? - To which I reply;"Go to the Harley dealership - They will deny that they rent BMW's but persevere, they keep them in the back!"
HAHA! That is the best one I've heard in a long time!
;D
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Not much place for old idiots who've been riding since 1956!
Wow - 55 years now, huh? (The math was easy for me... ;) )
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I've been back-reading here on the forum today to catch what I've missed. On this topic I can add a bit.....
Too old, too young...well add another to that mix...old and a woman!! Yikes! "Isn't it too heavy; too fast? Aren't you scared riding alone? What do you do if the bike breaks down? I guess you can't camp out? How long have you been riding...they expect the answer will be "oh, a couple of years riding in the neighbourhood' "Is your guy in the store? To which you always answer 'yes'!"
But the best news is this is not pervasive....I garner lots of great encouragement and admiring comments from very friendly folks. Best tactic for safety...find the old couple or the family with kids...you'll feel like a 'hero'!! Being a woman has it's advantages...no ego to protect. "Yah, I could use a bit of help here".
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Got thinkin'...be absolutely great if someone asked me "aren't you too young to ride a bike?" [smiley=ROTFLMAO.gif] [smiley=ROTFLMAO.gif] [smiley=ROTFLMAO.gif] [smiley=kiss.gif] [smiley=clap.gif]
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This is a very interesting thread started by Julio. I rode for about 25 years and then my bike riding was interupted by a breeding program I was involved in.
When I bought the R65 LS, I didn't receive one single positive comment from friends. Not one.
I've only just realised that! :-?
And I've only just realised why I just realised that.
I didn't buy it for them. ;)
We all here stand out from the herd. [smiley=camera_sm.jpg]
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I don't know about standing out from the herd, but I'm definitely my family's black sheep. I think they're all used to me showing up on a bike, but nobody's very interested in it. Oh well, as Graeme says, I didn't buy the bike for them.
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This is a very interesting thread started by Julio. I rode for about 25 years and then my bike riding was interupted by a breeding program I was involved in.
That may be the funniest expression I've ever seen for having kids.
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I bought and rode my first motorcycle at age 60...everyone told me I was out of my mind....to old...reverting back to childhood...mid life crisis.. ..trying to be young again....don’t ever remember anyone saying anything positive. But I was retiring and it sounded like fun..trying something new. That little R27 was a blast! That led to the R65... more power and no kick start.....Then I got the sidecar bug..that led to the R90/6. I told my wife this was my last cycle. She just rolled her eyes, smiled and said nothing. I chose well.
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'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'
Long time ago when I first began to wonder about riding bikes, fixing them and how come some people just don;t get it, I read this book.
At the time of first reading I thought Zen and the Art. answered a lot of questions. A lttle later I realised it just raised more. An armchair or is it handlebar, philosopher was born :)
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Julio,
Yeah, I get that too. I started riding when I was 55 and now I'm 63. People look at me with my long white hair and say "You ride a motorcycle? You don't look like a biker." ::) And that from some "Bikers" (as opposed to motorcycle riders ;D ) as well as non riders. I just smile to myself and realize they have no idea so I just let it go. I'd rather use my energy for other things, like riding my R65. ;)
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Talking about being th
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Melena, I generally say I'm not a biker, I just ride motorcycles a lot.
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Personally, I like to gently correct people who refer to me as a biker. I smile and tell them that I'm a motorcyclist. When I'm asked what the difference is, I say, "You know those people who ride Harleys and take the baffles out of their mufflers so their bikes are extremely loud and annoying to everyone? THOSE people are bikers!" ;D
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Okay, Ed & John. I do say I'm a motorcyclist and not a biker, but it was more words than I wanted to use in that post. ;D
You guys are right, though. It is definitely a point to be mentioned to people. John, I like your definition of a "Biker". ;D I too like people to know that most motorcycle riders don't like loud pipes any more than they do. (smiley with hands over ears here)
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I hate "biker chick"! >:( So I correct people too in a gentle was definitive way.
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Bar Harbor/Acadia National park is a destination point for literally thousands of Motorcycles every year. One can sit downtown eating an ice cream cone and see a wide array of styles of motorcycles and riders. For example many of our Canadian neighbors who visit seem to tend towards BMWs [smiley=bmw_smiley.gif] (Big Beautiful BMW's who's riders are well attired in the latest touring garb). The Harley Crowd tends to be domestic ranging from the (Very Loud) unhelmeted "Bikers" to the couple from Michigan with matching outfits, pulling a matching trailer, and wearing helmets that have more communication equipment built into them than the Apollo astronauts had. I love it. I do notice that there seems to be more and more of us who have these gray whiskers poking out from underneath face shields, or plastered against their faces in the wind. My point is that us old farts are becoming the norm [smiley=beerchug.gif] D2
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Julio, just wait until you're my age (72 now). Show up on a motorcycle and get remarks like -- born-again biker huh? Trying to recapture your lost youth or what? Poser! Or they seem to think you're some kind of ageing hell's angel about to pull a gun and start spraying bullets. Not much place for old idiots who've been riding since 1956!
I'm 65 and I always get comments like "aren't you a little old for that"
I've been riding since I was 8.
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I guess I should explain that only old guys say biker chick to me...no one younger!!! Once the helmet is off, the reality sets in for onlookers....biker grandma!!
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I used to get that when I first checked out as Captain on the Learjet. A young pair of somebodies would walk up to the door and one of them would look me (6'2" 175lbs white collard shirt, dark long pants and tie, black shoes - shined) square in the face and there eyes would get wide. After their ackward question I'd answer with one question: how long have you been driving a car?
Then I'd tell them how long I'd been flying airplanes* They'd usually calm down after that.... (The older pair of somebodies would never ask the awkward question. They just seemed to know.)
Now after many years of kids, airplanes and motorcycles, they are more than happy to see me (6"2" 195 lbs dark blue suit matching tie, company ten year pin, previous company's 15 year pin, BSA pin, and hat with scrambled eggs on the brim, dark shoes - still shined) at the door.
*(1976) 8-)
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I guess I should explain that only old guys say biker chick to me...no one younger!!! Once the helmet is off, the reality sets in for onlookers....biker grandma!!
*Hugs* for the Motorcycle Lady!!! :)
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Thanks Semper!!! I feel younger already!! I have missed you Bill on the forum lately...glad you are back!
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Crazy busy. Dawgone Britbikes and a Montesa Trials bike. Now I have to learn how to set up a AHRMA vintage trials course...
Is there a Trials Course for Dummies book out there somewheres? :-/