Owners of nice bikes who can't ride

[Big Dave]

I think you'll find that there are very few riders who can extract the maximum from a modern sports bike - and survive for very long.

They are either walking, bussing or pushing up daisies.

[Kendog]

I bought it because I absolutely love it, the colour, the look, the sound, the speed – because it puts a huge grin on my face every time I go out and I come back having learnt a little more about what it can do (and more importantly what I can do), and last but definitely not least – because I can.

That sums up my feelings on this topic perfectly. We buy the bike for ourselves, not for others.

[DMNTD:Me]

We buy the bike for ourselves, not for others.

100% agreed...sadly though there are others out there that buy bikes to impress others.
It's not how you ride it,it's the fact that you do!

[MrMelon]

I already gut punched Mr Melon when I saw him outside Westpac on Cuba Mall. Problem solved.

I'd LOVE to come riding with you guys, so long as you don't laugh at my chicken strips and ramrod straight back!

You punch like a girl Jim!

[janno]

What I have noticed is the really beautiful riders, the ones with such skill and talent that they look like they were born on a bike, are the ones who are just pleased that ANYONE is on a bike, no matter what it is. The try-hards and the little man syndrome sufferers are the ones who become the bike nazis over who is worthy of their bike or not.

I have had the pleasure of interviewing three world class riders this year when writing for an aussie mag, and all of them were so un-snobby about bikes it was a real breath of fresh air. I think they of anyone have earned the right to judge.

Try-hards are just tiring. And I think usually what they obsess about in others is what they are sensitive about in themselves.

[007XX]

That sums up my feelings on this topic perfectly. We buy the bike for ourselves, not for others.

100% agreed...sadly though there are others out there that buy bikes to impress others.
It's not how you ride it,it's the fact that you do!

Very well put you two...

I am sad to report though that i have met people who bought bikes way above their skill level (not KBers btw), and then rode them like they saw Rossi do on telly...or tried to...and proceeded to injur themselves in the process.

I guess the only good thing in this is that they only hurt themselves and no one else. I'm not saying I was glad to see them hurt (heck no!), but this was the only thing that actually stopped them and made them realise the error they were making.

[MotoGirl]

somewhat cautious and having remembered the pain and bloody inconvenience of falling off, I will never ride to the limits of my bike!

I'm hoping that time will fade the memories of weeks without skin (albeit tiny holes) and just generally being bloody uncomfortable! I don't actually want to learn my limits; to do so would mean first exceeding them and saying "whoopsie, my limit was back there somewhere!"

That's the thing about owning a bike that's so much more capable than I am. Quite simply, it'll handle everything I'll ever throw at it.

[limbimtimwim]

That sums up my feelings on this topic perfectly. We buy the bike for ourselves, not for others.

Ahhhhh.. But those who do deserve a kick in the teeth.

[skelstar]

Sorry but most of you guys are missing the point.

The reason why I want the rider of the 07 RSV Factory infront of me to ride fast is because I might aspire to have one in the future (for example) and I want to ride and to be seen riding fast. How can i aspire to having a bike where the riders/owners are pedestrian paced cafe commuters?

If you owned an MV Agusta F4 312 blah blah, would you want to see ten of them being used for super market shopping in Ponsonby?

[MotoGirl]

If you owned an MV Agusta F4 312 blah blah, would you want to see ten of them being used for super market shopping in Ponsonby?

Until recently, there was a guy in Tauranga who'd never taken his 1098 out of town. It was like a two wheeled shopping cart.

At least if you're considering such a bike you'd have plenty of time to admire it

[McJim]

, I will never ride to the limits of my bike!

Lies I tell you - I've seen your lack of chicken strips - in fact it looked like your bike had had the exhaust down on a right hander!

(sorry about the exhaust by the way)

[dipshit]

The reason why I want the rider of the 07 RSV Factory infront of me to ride fast is because I might aspire to have one in the future (for example) and I want to ride and to be seen riding fast. How can i aspire to having a bike where the riders/owners are pedestrian paced cafe commuters?

If perceived image is the reason you want to purchase a particular bike, then that makes you the poseur. When I ride, I ride for my own enjoyment at my own pace (whatever that may be) and I could not give a flying fuck what others may think regardless of what bike I may choose to own. The moment you start riding to "impress" your mates or show off to other road users, you enter a very dangerous zone.

If you owned an MV Agusta F4 312 blah blah, would you want to see ten of them being used for super market shopping in Ponsonby?

Why not? That would be totally cool by me!

[James Deuce]

You punch like a girl Jim!

Yes. Life has been cruel to me!

[pritch]

from the 1098 type to the Harleys!
They are out there riding which is what matters!

Well not necessarily. When McJim mentioned people picking on Ducati first I thought, "No it's usually Harleys."

There are people who own them basically so they can say they have one and they don't ride them much, if at all.

When this sort of thing arises my thoughts go first to all the mid-life crisis, professional types, with their Harleys.

Don't get me wrong, I like Harleys too. I'm just not quite ready for one yet.

[Pwalo]

I don't 'get it'. Why are you even bothering to worry about what other people think about what bike you ride, or how you ride it?

You may as well got out and buy a well known brand of cruiser if other peoples' opinions matter that much. And where is the fun in that.