Bikers and Pseudo-Bikers (Posers)

Nomad

Yep - Nothing to do with T@Bing.
It's Sturgis bike ralley week and I'm headed west so observed the mayheim along the way.

Seems there are two types of bikers - the hard core, they ride to Sturgis (real, wind-burned bikers) and pseudo bikers, wimps that trailer their bikes to a comfortable motel (not a chapped lip in sight).
Of course once there they all put on their leathers and try to look like the former :-)

Picked up the Buffalo Chip Gazette in Wall and in addition to a cherry pie eating contest they list these events...
Underwear social - Trying to set a new world record for the number of people gathered in their underwear.
A fake orgasm contest - Any of you forum biker babes there and entering*
Of course there was a pic of a sign at the entrance that declares it a clothing optional area.

Only saw two accidents along the way...
A camper came loose off the hitch and layed open in the ditch - looked like a cracked egg shell
Unfortunately a mangled bike in the median with ambulance attendants not far away tending to someone. A corvette in the right ditch not too far beyond. With that many bikes on the road, and the way some ride, I'm surprised there weren't more.

Gas stations along the route were pretty organized - different pump lanes for bike groups and cars/campers.

Motels even as far away as Wall looked like they were booked solid. Some wondered if I'd find a place to camp but there's a BLM area that I've never found busy - only three others here and it's a great overlook on part of the Badlands. Parked about 20 feet from the rim - Not a good spot if you walk in your sleep or for the wino-women - big drop if you stumble ;-)
Lots of mountain goats grazing on the side cliff - how do they do that? Lots of cute little babies.

* Wonder who the most likely candidate would be :-)

Ratkity

I would have to say the 50-75 mph cross winds in the Badlands are not for the faint of heart for those needing to head that way to Sturgis (which would have to be my route). You have to actually lean hard into the wind and the faster you go, the easier it is to handle a 750-1200 lb bike. I'd have to say I'd be the one either shipping my bike (there are lots of services that do that) or pulling a trailer. Sturgis is a bucket list item, but I confess, I'd probably go the week before when the more sane folks arrive (and vendors) just to avoid some of the more "adventurous" or "Rated R" contests.



My 2016 Fatboy Special Edition - Shelby's Landing, Patuxtent River State Park after a 51 mile ride there. Yes, I do have a windshield on it (although you can't really see it in this pict). Bugs HURT!

PS I should mention that DC traffic is a bear to ride in all the time, and that pict was from today's ride

Nomad

Lots go the week after also - Ran into that crowd last year.

sabel

I have no idea what you guys are talking about. It's been nothing but peace and quiet here. Had a lovely lunch in Sturgis on Friday with valet parking just outside of the Loud American Roadhouse.

Ratkity

@sabel, SWEET!

ericnliz

sabel, Let the good times roll!

sabel

Had fine dining even in camp. Crowds? What crowds?

Ratkity

Ok @sabel, who rode and who SAG'd the camper? (SAG - Support And Gear - old cyclist's acronym).

Verna

I'd love to the there, @sabel!  I spent one night in a KOA Kabin watching that Devil's Tower. It is an amazing place to be!

@Ratkity I am jealous. It's gorgeous!  I mentioned wanting to ride two nights ago and I thought my sister was going to pummel me to death....I guess no more for me....plus the T@B really shouldn't be towed by a motorcycle, right ?

Nomad

Sabel - Not surprised it's not crowded,myou're clear over at Devils Tower - You're as far away as I am. So, you gonna help them out setting that underwear record? :-)

sabel

Sable rode the Goldwing and Mable towed the T@B.
Photo of valet parking at the Roadhouse.
Underwear and fake orgasm contests were back at the T@B.

Smullis7

Been there 4 times...road the 500 mi each way to get there every time.  Hubby went with a buddy this year...they trailered!  Oh, the shame!

RZRBUG

My Sturgis sotry:  A couple years ago I spent at week in the Black Hills.  One day I decided to make a day trip to Sturgis, just so I could say I had been.  I cruised around, went to Bear Butte, then stopped at McD's for lunch.  About half way between the truck and Ronald's House, I reached into my front pocket for my money clip and discovered it was gone.  No problem, I carry cash in my checkbook.  Oh no, it's not in my rear pocket either.  Then I discovered that I didn't have my wallet either.  I had spent the whole day without credit cards, cash, checkbook, OR driver's license.  I headed back to the truck then remembered I always carry a small stash of cash in the truck.  I bought myself and the pooch a cheeseburger and headed back to camp, where I discovered all the above mentioned items in one of the cabinets.  What was my reaction when I first discovered this absentmindedness?  Well, my heart raced and I felt flush, but I'm quite sure it wasn't the Big O.

larrygon

@PXLated The correct term is "Poser" for someone who does not actually walk the walk and ride the ride!

http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/poser

poser

noun

• a person who pretends to be a member of a group that they are not actually a member of; "wannabe". For example, by adopting the mode of dress, mannerisms, speech patterns, etc. of the group.

Nomad

Alright, alright, alright - Poser's now in the title - You happy now :-) :-)

larrygon

PXLated said:

You happy now :-) :-)

You Betcha!

Nomad

But pseudo is equally accurate...

Ratkity

@sabel, amazing view. In the summer of 1986, I got to stay at the local campground (wasn't a KOA then) and watch "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind" on an outside screen (classic old projector and old portable screen). During the day, we used binoculars to watch the climbers go up Devil's Tower. There were different climbing routes and the ranger told us they always had spotters on the climbers and each climber had to have a permit. 

I'd love to go back (on the bike). Wonder if I can get the T@B flatbeded to the campground? LOL. It's 1650 miles from where I live now to Meade Co, SD *sigh*

@Verna, that bike is amazing. She's my third Harley. My first was an 883 Iron Sportster. Then a used low-mileage 2012 red Softail Deluxe (with way too much chrome to polish) with a 103 engine (1698cc). The Fatboy Special is still in the Softail line, but has the 110 engine (1801cc) and very little chrome to polish!! After 4 hours of polishing chrome on the Deluxe (spoked wheels and whitewall tires), I vowed no more chrome. When the 2016 Fatboy came out in vivid black, I knew she was mine. Sorta like the T@B phenomenon. You just *know* it. I still have to polish the steel rims of the bike (they are uncoated), but nothing like all those spokes!

ScottG

The two-wheeled community sometimes debates the question "Are we bikers or are we motorcyclists?"
For the philosophically inclined, I offer a parallel (but similarly inane) inquiry: Are we campers or are we RVers?  :-)

(And nice bike, Ratkity!)

Nomad

My Jeep is a recreational vehicle and I pull a camper so I don't have that conflict :-)

irvingj

Aww, don't think I'll ever own a Harley, but here's my main road bike (have a collection of four "vintage" Japanese bikes), an original --yes, the first-- Japanese V-twin, a 1982 Yamaha Virago 750. Plenty of power for my not-so-large frame.

This was on one of my (used-to-be) annual trips up to the top of Mt Washington in NH. Love to ride, but stay away from groups of bikers, much prefer to travel alone. Don't suppose I'll ever get to Sturgis and avoid Motorcycle Week in NH like the plague, but still really enjoy riding.

Ratkity

@irvingj, a sweet looking bike and well-cared for!! I bet it has some stories to tell. How many miles does that have on it?  I have no blinding brand loyalty to HD and enjoy seeing all types of bikes and folks out riding. I just cringe at the ones that ride insanely and without regard for their own lives and others (and not just on "cafe style" bikes).

Last Sunday was amazing because of all the bikes out on the roads I were on. I saw several trikes - not just Harleys, but several Spyders as well. I love to do the 2-finger low hand "wave" to all passing on the other side of the road. 

I saw several brands of bikes at the first Rolling Thunder pin stop (although Sturgis was set up in 1878 and has a long history of HDs - good to avoid). At Rolling Thunder, there were also bikes there that were built from the ground up. Amazing. Everyone was welcoming to all and many local HD bike chapters were there. If you ever want to attend (Memorial Day weekend), you have a place to stay and a group to ride with to the first pin stop (Saturday), even if you don't want to see the Pentagon to downtown mall big Sunday ride demonstration - usually unbearably hot and slow. The group usually has a reserved parking lot to sit and watch the riders go by on the Sunday Pentagon ride, you can leave your bike and see the vendors in the mall.

ScottG

Nice ride, @irvingj. It bears a striking resemblance to my '83 Honda VF750 Magna--another (almost) original. I also have four Japanese bikes from '75 to '01, so even the newest is approaching "vintage" status--ha ha. And I totally agree with you as to where and how you like to ride--no Sturgis or Laconia in my future!

Oh wait, this is a T@B forum! Here's a pic of "The Dragon" on the Tail of the Dragon in 2006. Yes, I trailered the bike south because we also wanted to camp, and even in those pre-T@B days we liked to camp in comfort. There...now I've made it about camping!

 

Ratkity

Ohhhhhh Tail of the Dragon (Deals Gap - NC, TN, GA)! 318 turns in an 11 mile section of road (http://tailofthedragon.com/). They used to allow semi's and big RVs on it. It's a bucket list item for sure for me.

ScottG

Yep, it's fun but not as intimidating as it seems if you ride it like a pseudo-adult. We took it uphill from TN but then doubled back on the scenic Cherohala Skyway "road from nowhere to nowhere."

Opportunistic photographers park on the sharpest curves and snap photos (like the one above) that you can search and purchase online. Sometimes they catch some, um, artistic wipe-outs...those might even make it into the bike mags.

Ratkity

I heard about the opportunistic photographers, especially during big events that meet up there just to experience the road. There are some interesting pictures on the net to view when big rigs were allowed on the road. At one point, TN banned large vehicles from getting on the road from their side, but NC allowed it from their side. All the large vehicles made for some heart-stopping encounters (looking at the picts).

JodellR

Ahh bikers, scooter trash, you name it, I have heard it all. Grew up the daughter of a Harley dealer in Wisconsin, and then worked for both Excelsior-Henderson, and then Indian and Victory Motorcycles in advertising and marketing. Have done some amazing photo shoots, attended Sturgis and Daytona to work.....always fun to see all the riders and the rigs. A lot like all of our trailers!  Ratkity, ScottG and IrvingJ...great rides!  I only ride horse now. Maybe a different kind of dangerous, but I can count on my animal, and don't have the same amount of distracted riders that sadly the bikers have to deal with.   Pixlated, you can always tell who trailers bikes in by the age and wear of their leathers.  Not that you were looking.

Nomad

Wasn't paying that close of attention - Jut trying to not run over one.

Ratkity

@JodellR, I did a one way 51-mile motorcycle ride to a friend's house just to trail ride 4.5 hours on her Pacos horses with her, then rode home. lol - ouch! It was a nice trail and a good time to ride horses. The atv folks and some dirt bike kids can get on the trails (illegally) and spook the horses at times. It had been 40 yrs since I rode a horse without an engine. Love them both though!

irvingj

Interesting history on that bike. As I understand it, the first year they came out (1981) those 750 Viragos were the impetus for Harley to go crying to Reagan about "unfair foreign competition" and filed suit (I don't know for sure what the basis was). Import tariffs were imposed, so in 1983 Yamaha reduced their Viragos to 700ccs to get under the wire -- so for a couple of years, that's all that was available. Apparently, by 1984 or thereabouts, Harley dropped the suit, and Yamaha came back with the 750, then a 900, then a 1000, and other Japanese makers jumped on the bandwagon. Now, all Japanese makers produce V-twins… and the rest, as they say, is history.

One of the issues Harley had, again as I understand it, was "the sound" (not sure-- should that be all caps?  Bold-face? "THE SOUND"). Harleys use a single-pin crankshaft, like an aircraft radial engine, in that there's only one connecting rod connected to the only crank pin on the crankshaft; any other pistons have their connecting rods attached to the "master connecting rod." As a result, all cylinders --on Harleys and on aviation radials-- are in the same plane, that is, they're all "in line" sort of, with each other. When they fire, the two cylinders don't fire evenly-spaced; hence the "Harley SOUND": BUMP-BUMP ---- BUMP-BUMP ---- and so on.

The Yamaha uses a twin-pin crank, so each cylinder is slightly offset from the other when you look at it from the front. It makes for a wider engine, but Yamaha engineers worked very hard to minimize that width. They succeeded, in that my Virago's engine is only 18" wide at the widest point, at the transmission. They also fire in perfect synchronization, no spaces, burps or hesitations: bump-bump-bump-bump and so on. So they really don't sound like a Harley anyway.

In any case, my bike started life near Vancouver, BC, in a "little" town called Nanaimo. It was sold, new, to a young man at that time. Fast forward a few years, and that same young man collided (driving his car) with an old Army buddy in Washington state. Now, my Army pal was from Mesa, AZ, but was working up there; the young man, however, was apparently not supposed to even be in "the States," so his father informed my friend that his son "would make good on that damage he caused."

Some time later, the father shows up with son's bike (said Virago 750) in the back of HIS pick-up, and asks if the son's motorcycle would cover the damage the son had done to my friend's truck. "Yeah!" says my friend.

Virago later travels to Mesa in the bed of my pal's pick-up, and then languishes (after a few miles ridden) in a shed in Mesa, AZ for NINE YEARS.

If you're really interested….  I can go on! (It's quite an interesting story!)

jdargis

Always thought the Harley sound was po-ta-to, po-ta-to, po-ta-to.  Never owned one, rode beemers for 20 years.  Put I thought the Harley Road King w/color matched bags looked the best.