Driver Awareness

[Motu]

1. Human's are only truly scared of things bigger than them or the thing they are in or riding. We're programmed to ignore stuff smaller than us as it doesn't pose an immediate significant threat to our health.

Motorcyclists are rather inefectual creatures these days,nice pretty clothes,quiet bikes in oh so gay colours...who would get offended by such nice chaps?

In the 60s,70s we weren't such nice people,our bikes were noisy and aggressive,our attire threatening - ''bikies'' were often in the news for outragious behaviour...they even brought in laws to control us....such as ''unlawful assembly'' where they wouldn't let us ride in groups.A noisy black British bike with a black leather clad rider would have cars stopping in the middle of a roundabout to give way...shit,you wouldn't want to offend a ''bikie''.

I kinda feel we have lost something important.....respect,no matter how it's earned.Gotta give those gang types some good rep - they saved my bacon many times.

[Ixion]

What Mr Motu said. Where's me big chain.

[sunhuntin]

how do we go about recapturing that respect, motu? i have read about those days in books and online, and can only mourn what has happened to bikers over the years. weve gone from the most feared "members" of society to a bunch of bankers and lawyers etc. sure, people still hate us and what we protray to them, but they dont fear us half as much.

maybe we all need to decend on some helpless town and have drunken drag races....our own little hollister perhaps? that seems to be what set it off to begin with.

[The Stranger:Me]

weve gone from the most feared "members" of society to a bunch of bankers and lawyers etc.

Hey don't lump me in with that scum.

[James Deuce]

Hey don't lump me in with that scum.

Thanks for that CaN. What an unpleasant thing to say Sunhuntin'.

In fact I don't even John or WINJA have ever been that nasty.

[sunhuntin]

sorry boys.

but it seems that the majority of people on two wheels these days are bankers or suits of some kind. not saying all...im sure as hell no suit either.

[Ixion]

Only on Harleys I think. The posers like the Hogglies, they think that riding a HD makes 'em big bad bikers. (Not saying that HD riders are posers , some ARE big bad bikers, just that posers like the association)

[sunhuntin]

hmmm, yeh ok ixion....think for the most part your right....most of the posers are on harleys....hell, my brother is one of em!! his harley is sitting in the shed, hasnt been ridden in at least 4 months, maybe longer than that even.

[steved]

1. Human's are only truly scared of things bigger than them or the thing they are in or riding. We're programmed to ignore stuff smaller than us as it doesn't pose an immediate significant threat to our health.

Spiders and snakes are smaller then me. They scare me.

[pyrocam]

once ive avoided a cagers stupid move Ill pull up next to them and scream an obcenity and rev my engine. they look scared and are like 'omg i fucked up'

one cage at a time. one cage at a time.

[The_Dover]

Hey don't lump me in with that scum.

Did you mean the feared members of society or the bankers and lawyers???

I think they're all equally as scummy as one another.........

[avgas]

As much as im gonna get critized for this comment, but i really like my pipe on my bike.
Last year when i had the excuse "I didnt see you"... i figured well if they can see me with the next bike they bloody better hear me.
while i still get the occasional numf that doesnt hear me i still have had less "experiences" then previous

[The Stranger:Me]

Yeah just enquired into a set of Neptunes for the Blackbird. I had wanted to keep it quite so as not to unduly annoy or scare the cagers, but I recon there is a good chance the lane swapper the other day would have heard loud pipes. $1,500.00 then there is the leathers that I want/need and the new lid and the Ohlins rear shock and Power Commander and and and.

Safety first though.

[Blackbird]

sorry boys.

but it seems that the majority of people on two wheels these days are bankers or suits of some kind. not saying all...im sure as hell no suit either.

Erm.... what's wrong with suits riding bikes then?? Do I have to forgo a decent education to be considered a "real" biker then?

[Pixie]

One of the above was looking right at me as she pulled out, maybe I looked like her husband or something. Another one just did not look at all.

So the question is this. How do we connect (no pun) with cage drivers?
How do we raise their awareness of bikes?

Don't even think that this is achievable.We are invisible,you can look them directly in the eyes, and due to mindset and motion camoflage they will not see us.
Mindset is where their visual cortex is searching for cars and trucks but not bikes.In the same way that if you are looking for a red head in a crowd you disregard all the other hair colours.
Motion camoflage is a complex situation,suffice to say that it makes an oncoming obect impossible to see against the background.
Our only defence is to be ever alert.