Just when ya think live and let live.

**98tls** · 12th December 2009, 19:10

Apart from a bit of friendly piss-taking with mates who ride em i have to many miles on 2 wheels to really give a shit what names on the gas tank of anyones motorcycle but after spending the day on a poker run to raise money for a crook 3 year old local lad the bullshit i saw was fucking unbelievable,the deal was well stipulated at the start as in do what you like but dont pass the guy (pretty obvious he was,high vis everything) out front,knowing the bloke and the fact he was riding a Harley and taking us down some great off the beaten track twistys the "dont pass the hi vis guy" thing didnt xactly turn me on but thought hey the day was about raising money so went with it.Made a point of being in at least the first 2-3 to leave behind the guy as did a couple of others on Ducs,at least we would be riding as fast as we could,well as fast as high vis guy could.All was good until looking forward i see an approaching car and in the mirror i see a bike headlight,not a problem until what seemed like minutes later this fucked about with old 1200 Sporty at huge revs 2 up manages to finally draw up alongside me

problem he had was the car was not far off removing him from view permanently

what to do eh,the Sporty had nothing left

anyway hit the pics and said Sporty managed to pull into the right lane(dumb fuck threw it in there so hard he almost kept going into a paddock).Utterly pointless exercise really but obviously a sign to some others on similarily branded bikes cause on they came,in some ways funny in others sad but how the fuck there wasnt a rearender or similar ive no idea,to be honest it wasnt all Harleys,there was guys on all sorts of cruisers doing this "gotta get to the front no matter what" shit,even though once there they didnt pass the "high vis guy"

Whilst having a pint at one of the stops one of the guys on Ducs asked a guy who just had to Squeeze a M109R into a gap that wasnt there "what the fuck was the point of that" M109R guy didnt offer a reply but left the table

That shit aside a great day and plenty of money raised for a worthy cause.Read plenty lately about Sprotsbikes pissing people off and taken it with a grain of salt but 3 hours of watching cruisers go nuts for no reason deserved a rant.Highlight of the day..once again braking to let an American whatever it was in before he was forced to go round a tight/blind left hander on the wrong side of the road only to pass him on one wheel down the following straight.If nothing else it reminded me of why i have always hated and dont go on group rides,The so called rules actually make it more dangerous,way preferable to just leave all that shit behind.

**boman** · 12th December 2009, 19:32

Yea I know what you mean. Been put off a few Group rides by the actions of some idiots. Not always on Cruisers either. Seen the best of both worlds. Considering you are not supposed to pass the leader, you got to wonder what the point is.

**98tls** · 12th December 2009, 19:40

Originally Posted by boman

Yea I know what you mean. Been put off a few Group rides by the actions of some idiots. Not always on Cruisers either. Seen the best of both worlds. Considering you are not supposed to pass the leader, you got to wonder what the point is.

Thats what really got me mate,the idea of doing some great back roads etc with 70 bikes most of em cruisers of one brand or another and not passing the lead guy didnt really turn me on but the day was about raising some $ blah blah,next thing thers a bunch of Easyrider wannabies turned into Carl Fogarty wannabies all attracted to a high vis vest

Wtf,when we got to the good twisty bits i could have almost got off the old TL and pushed it and still kept up,should have in retrospect,would have saved being blinded by endless brake lights.

**Pussy** · 12th December 2009, 19:42

Good on you for supporting the cause, Mike.
Just avoid riding with wankers.. I do... it's just not worth the hassle

**YellowDog** · 12th December 2009, 19:49

Most cruiser riders are pretty sedate and happy to follow.

Mixing sports bikes and cruisers in a group ride situation is a recipe for disaster. It's not like you or they can follow the same lines.

Works best in smaller groups of <10

**Headbanger** · 12th December 2009, 20:38

People are dicks.

**Motu** · 12th December 2009, 20:41

I noticed this in a much less dramatic way when traveling south with the Bikeoi for a while.I slipped into the pack and sat at the same speed they were all going at - and I was continually passed,everyone moved up and passed me.WTF??? After 150km I was at the back of the ride,traveling at the same speed as the group and never passing anyone.What was that all about? Can't they stand being behind a BMW? I smell?

I don't care,being passed doesn't bother me...but it was really weird.

**Molly** · 12th December 2009, 20:46

Good on you for taking part anyway. Group rides (actually, save for the recent ACC rides) are always fraught with bad, ego-driven riding. I always try to be at the back of the group with a healthy breaking distance. My Harley wouldn't have troubled you at all (I always wave the sport bikes past - if I see them coming..).

**dipshit** · 12th December 2009, 20:59

Had very similar things happen to me recently. About a month ago cruising down state highway 1 towards Dunedin... waiting behind a truck for an opportunity to pass... a guy on a Boulevard squeezes past me without even bothering to overtake in the other lane... just to push in between me and the truck until he could pass it as there was traffic coming the other way.

Then a couple of weeks ago a guy on a Harley overtakes me just before getting into Dunedin by just squeezing past in my lane without even bothering to go into the other lane for the overtake as well. Then the same car we are behind going down Pinehill, he has to overtake it on the double yellows with a whole lot of noise and drama... just to end up in front of it all the way down the one-way system anyhow.

I could not care less if some other bike overtakes me while i am cruising along at 110ks on the overly policed SH1... but please you wankers... use the other lane... don't just squeeze past sitting on the centreline with only inches between us!

Even a workmate of mine who was in the Dunedin ACC protest ride was mentioning how some Harleys were overtaking other bikes in the precision just to force and squeeze themselves back in.

You really do have to wonder WHY..???

What is going on inside their drug-fucked brains..???

**98tls** · 12th December 2009, 21:07

Originally Posted by Molly

Good on you for taking part anyway. Group rides (actually, save for the recent ACC rides) are always fraught with bad, ego-driven riding. I always try to be at the back of the group with a healthy breaking distance. My Harley wouldn't have troubled you at all (I always wave the sport bikes past - if I see them coming..).

Point is Molly i have no problem being passed by anyone on anything if theres a valid point ie i enjoy riding quick/im in a hurry to get there/the twistys give me a hard on blah blah blah but bugger me this shit was well fucked up.I joked with one of the few sprotbike riders in attendence that maybe the "high vis" guy had "catch me and you can shag my Mrs" on the high vis thing.70 odd riders and 20 or so intent no matter what on being as close to the "high vis" guy as they could.

From what i saw today the car driving public have every right dismiss motorcyclists as fucking idiots.

**Tink** · 12th December 2009, 21:13

Ah its not the bike really.. its the rider... I have a wee cruiser, but would now prefer a sports bike... I have tho the same attitude.... maybe we should fundraise for idiots to get the internet (and a pc)... to read kb now and then... wake up people ... we are not immortal!

**Headbanger** · 12th December 2009, 21:20

Fuckin Harley riders, Total wanks.

**98tls** · 12th December 2009, 21:25

Originally Posted by dipshit

What is going on inside their drug-fucked brains..???

Na mate nothing to do with drugs looking back if it was i wouldnt be able to find my bike let alone ride it,many older farts like myself would be the same wether they would admit it or not.The problem (if it is) has been round for years wether people admit it or not,cruisers have become bigger in hp as well as size resulting in some of the owners of said things confusing that with A performance (its an 1800 it must be quick) B i swapped the cheque for riding experiance/ability and they chucked in a bike.C A bike magazine said it was quick.

**Molly** · 12th December 2009, 21:32

Originally Posted by Headbanger

Fuckin Harley riders, Total wanks.

Had a Kawasaki sport bike pass me in my lane at a f'kin' blindin' speed (between Tai Tapu and Little River). Didn't even see him coming. Gave me the fright of my life. If I'd have just moved off my line at all we'd have both been f'ked. He was taking part in some group ride with a lot of mainly Italian bikes.

Anyway, he too was a f'kin' wanker. It's got f'k all to do with the badge on the bike.