Red Rag to a Bull? Red Bike to a Dork?

[vifferman]

I dunno if anyone gives a damn, or even if I still do, nor am I sure what the point of this is. But I'm in a crap mood (didn't stack enough Zs last night), so what the hell...
This morning, I took off from the front of the lights on Jervois Road, reasonably smartish, but not racing (it was very wet), and only up to about 60. When I went to move to the left lane, there's this friggin Subaru WRX STI right there, like within touching distance, just to my left and behind me. WTF?!? He must've gone, "Ahh... a bike. I'll show him how big my pecker is, and how incredibly fast I can go." Dick. (Small one, at that.) So after I'd recovered from my momentary surprise, I put the confirminator on, and luckily he dropped back and behind me, so I moved over and turned left.
As he went past, I noted the dealer plates, so he was either a dealer or had had the WRX out for a test drive. Either way, I've decided he was a plonker.
This is the second time someone with a WRX STI has seen me and gone, "Aha!!" Last time, I came up behind a brand-new black one (the white one this morning was a Jap import), and the guy obvioulsy went, "Battle!!" (like John Travolta in "Michael"), and floored it. Yawnnn.... zzzzz....
He was really going for it; revving the snot out of it, stones were being ripped up off the road (and one hit my visor, which is still chipped). Meanwhile, I was barely tootling along, most of the time in first gear, and not pushing it at all. (I couldn't safely pass, as there wasn't room), so I slowed up a bit (from my already torpid pace). Finally, as he seemed to be going the same way as me (he turned off near my workplace), I took the next turn, and gave it a bit of a blat - nothing too extreme, mind - and at the next intersection, I ended up right in front of him (once he'd caught up). This time, without him in front of me, I had an unimpeded run, so I just ran it up to about 6K rpm in first, leaving him about a block behind.

What did this prove? Any of it? Absolutely nothing. I hope the WRX driver got the hint. Even a moderately powered bike has a higher power/weight ratio than some very sporty car. And if some boy racer does beat you, so what? And if you beat him, so what? Is either one of you better, for driving/riding like a wanker on public roads ?

My favourite trick is to bait someone into racing you, like one time when I was driving the Vortex, and pulled up next to another (guess what?) WRX. I took off fastish, beating him to the jump, and across the intersection, then promptly let up. I knew I couldn't beat him, but he took the bait, and roared off up the road at a terriffic rate of knots, heh heh... Yeah, it proved nothing, but it was fun (and safe, and legal.) Ah, those mind games...

[Mongoose]

Still trying to figure out who has/had the smallest dick. Both guilty of a little ahhh, street racing so go tell someone that cares.

[aff-man]

Your bike is red mate. So to any wanna be boy racer out there is must mean that it is fast .which it is but a vt250 can be red. The problem is that sometimes they actually believe they can beat a bike . Now the thing i love doing the most, especially in 60 or 80 zones, is accelerate at a "moderate"( ) pace and then slow when i get to the speed limit. Of couse the guy goes flying past me and i just sit there saying to myself "please let there be a cop please oh please oh please".

[ManDownUnder]

Bearing in mind I was 16 at the time, riding a GPz 550...

I had a similar experience a few years ago (well... ok... 19 years ago) and some guy insisted on catching up to me... I accelerated away up to 160 left him behind, he floored it and caught up, sat so close he was a threat behind me. Pissed me off so I shot through again... etc - you get the idea.

We finally got into New Plymouth and running the length of Coronation Ave (about... 2 kms long?) at 5:00pm so there is traffic everywhere, I pulled into the middle of the lane so he had no chance of going around me, and I slowed to 40 kph, from the top of Coronation Ave all the way to the lights at the bottom of the hill past the Boys' High.

I could see him spewing the whole way.

In hindsight it was VERY childish of me to do that... obstructing traffic etc, but damn it was memorable and well worth it.

As for street racing now, not for me anymore. Just knowing I could do it is enough for me, and I love to make a dick of the guys who take me on at the lights, you make it look like your going to go for it, they shoot through, and I just toodle off the line... The image of the disappointment makes it all worth while.

[ManDownUnder]

Of couse the guy goes flying past me and i just sit there saying to myself "please let there be a cop please oh please oh please".

Exactly my sentiment - I'd LOVE to see that happen.

Hasn't happened yet - but one day it will!

[rodgerd]

WTF?!? He must've gone, "Ahh... a bike. I'll show him how big my pecker is, and how incredibly fast I can go." Dick. (Small one, at that.)

It ain't just the boy racers. A month or two back I was coming over the Rimutakas from points North; passed (within the speed limit, I might add) a Merc CLK230 on the hill itself (the driver was going soooo veeeery slooow around the corners).

Well, that tore it. How dare I, in my Japanese car, dare pass the Mighty Mercedes! Tailgated me down to the dual carriageways at Upper Hutt, and then screamed past at a good 140 or so. That showed me, that did.

[vifferman]

Still trying to figure out who has/had the smallest dick. Both guilty of a little ahhh, street racing so go tell someone that cares.

Must be me: I don't have a dick - it got shot off in the last war. Before that, it was about a thousand miles long.
Street racing? I wasn't. The WRX driver thought it was a race - I was just on my way back to work. Up until the point I took a different route, I doubt that I exceeded the speed limit. Much. Well, OK - maybe just a tad. There was no 'red mist', no adrenalin, no real effort on my part. I'm fairly sure I kept both wheels on the road at all times, and certainly didn't go anywhere near that red bit on the tachometer.

(Did I sound at all convincing?)

[Mongoose]

Must be me: I don't have a dick - it got shot off in the last war. Before that, it was about a thousand miles long.
Street racing? I wasn't. The WRX driver thought it was a race - I was just on my way back to work. Up until the point I took a different route, I doubt that I exceeded the speed limit. Much. Well, OK - maybe just a tad. There was no 'red mist', no adrenalin, no real effort on my part. I'm fairly sure I kept both wheels on the road at all times, and certainly didn't go anywhere near that red bit on the tachometer.

(Did I sound at all convincing?)

This time, without him in front of me, I had an unimpeded run, so I just ran it up to about 6K rpm in first, leaving him about a block behind.

And this was not part of what could be considered street racing? Dont get me wrong, we all have or still do it to some extent, but you bemoaned a WRX driver for this very behaviour and then relate how you too participate.

[jrandom]

And this was not part of what could be considered street racing? Dont get me wrong, we all have or still do it to some extent, but you bemoaned a WRX driver for this very behaviour and then relate how you too participate.

The WRX driver was a wanker for trying to take him on. It sounds like firestormer managed to politely convey the 'bikes are faster than you, so don't bother' message without endangering himself or anyone else, or even breaking the speed limit (much); good job. Mr WRX now hopefully has a better grasp of reality, and might even be less likely to endanger motorcyclists in future (I'm not too hopeful about that, though).

[FROSTY:Me]

Um er um er firestormer me ol buddy mate pal
Was one of those "dorks" in a blue legacy GTB -possibly with one tailight missing ? Wairau road -yesterday.
If so I'm sorry mate -I was trying to admire your bike.
Seriously. I really was

[Slim]

It ain't just the boy racers. A month or two back I was coming over the Rimutakas from points North; passed (within the speed limit, I might add) a Merc CLK230 on the hill itself (the driver was going soooo veeeery slooow around the corners).

I've done the exact same thing, on the exact same road, in my widdle 1600cc auto Toyota Corolla. Got past something four wheeled (can't remember what) on some passing lanes & he tried to keep up with me, but couldn't. I saw him finally back off when he came round a left hand corner some distance behind me & overshot really badly into northbound passing lanes and obviously realised how damn lucky he was that there wasn't something going the other way!

I've also shot the lights at Huntly on my bike, up to 70 reasonably fast (70kph starts just after the lights) and saw a cop in his car on the other side of the road just about get whiplash watching me & then checking out his radar ... only to find that I was doing the legal speed limit.


I s'pose I get an added benefit when I beat boy racers on the jump at the lights, because I know they have no idea that I'm female & that'd piss them off no end.



Besides getting the jump off the lights, that's about all the bait I'll take. Gotta get some grins somehow when you're stuck in town traffic, and if anyone's tailgating me on the open road, I just pull over to let them past so they can kill themselves without involving me.

[ManDownUnder]

Must be me: I don't have a dick - it got shot off in the last war. Before that, it was about a thousand miles long.
Street racing? I wasn't. The WRX driver thought it was a race - I was just on my way back to work. Up until the point I took a different route, I doubt that I exceeded the speed limit. Much. Well, OK - maybe just a tad. There was no 'red mist', no adrenalin, no real effort on my part. I'm fairly sure I kept both wheels on the road at all times, and certainly didn't go anywhere near that red bit on the tachometer.

(Did I sound at all convincing?)

ooo that's gotta hurt...

[aff-man]

True about open road stuff. Except this one time (when i was on the 250) some young guy in his wrx was sitting right up my ass when going on that road between hanua and papakura. So i just turned on the heat and laughed at him trying to keep up........................... he couldn't. I ended up going a bit quicker than i would have liked but not really getting to close to my limits.

[Mr Skid]

snap! had the same thing from a black WRX yesterday on Gt North Rd.

I noticed him/her in the right lane, and accelerated slowly so as to not encorage sillyness on their part.. They were matching my speed and I guessed were looking to play silly buggers, so backed off the throttle until about 40km/h at which point they lost interest..

I also don't quite get the stickers down the doors on WRX's.. Momo Apexi? Trust Greddy? are these like the driver and co-drivers porn star names or something?

[sAsLEX]

We finally got into New Plymouth and running the length of Coronation Ave (about... 2 kms long?) at 5:00pm so there is traffic everywhere, I pulled into the middle of the lane so he had no chance of going around me, and I slowed to 40 kph, from the top of Coronation Ave all the way to the lights at the bottom of the hill past the Boys' High.

once back in the day in my 1.3ltr sunny I gassed it from the Northgate lights heading in towards town and the integra next to me absolutley blitzed me across the lights and up to a decent pace and straight past the cop waiting for people doing just that, I sneaked away up the side street the cop came out of as he chased the other guy!