Are these guys always stupid?

[wfooshee]

The Thunder Beach rally is this week here in Panama City Beach, and while the rally is 99.99999999435% cruisers, I usually go bike-spotting in the venue parking lots on the Saturday of the rally and spy a few bikes I don't get to see every day. A couple of years ago I even had some gear repaired for not a whole lotta money.

But some of these guys just aren't very good at this, or very smart, or some combination.

I was driving my company truck out to a customer site this morning, and while in the truck witnessed these three near-death events. Normally I go weeks without seeing anything this stupid, but today, three in one trip.

First was a group of 5, might have been 6 riders turned right from 98 onto Thomas Drive, which is a 5-lane 45-mph throughway. 2 lanes each direction, shared center turn lane; you know the kind. They're riding the left-hand lane, I'm about to pass them on the right as they're slowing. About 25 now. The leader signals left, then each bike in turn signals as well. WTF? There's nothing over to the left but the fence around the Navy base! They make a U-turn from the left traffic lane, not the center turn lane, and it still takes them both northbound lanes to get turned around!

Next one is a guy on Back Beach Road (US 98), which is a 55-mph highway. Congested might see it crawling down to 45, usually it's closer to 65 or 70. Single rider, apparently missed a right turn. He moves over into what is the merge lane for traffic from the road he wants to get to, walks his bike back and forth to turn it around against traffic, and turns left against traffic onto the southbound road, using a significant portion of the northbound lane to do so. The red line is his missed approach, the yellow star is his 93-point turn, and the orange is his path away.

Lastly, two bikes sitting at a light on a street across mine. My light turns red, I stop. I'm at the front of the line, with a full and unimpeded view of the action. Bikes make their left turn, but they aren't on an arrow, and oncoming traffic (which exists, and is turning right against their left) has the right of way. Red line is the bike traffic, with the swerve when they saw the car in their mirror. Yellow line is the car's turn. The car politely waited for them to make their illegal turn rather than insisting on the right of way, or it would have been greasy.

So here's hoping nobody mows down any of these helmet-less un-geared riders who are on vacation to do this and therefore not thinking about the real world. And here's reminding myself to watch out for motorcyclists and to resist the temptation to clean up the gene pool.

 

[Crash Cash]

Yeah, it's pretty much the same at Bike Week, which is why I don't shed any tears over the "N people died at bike week this year" stories, as they're probably the people that had an appointment pending with Charles Darwin anyways.

If I had a dime for every ****** that wobbled up to the light, then couldn't get it in gear (or forgot to downshift) then finally wobbled away from the light as it turns yellow, I'd be able to buy Harley-Davidson itself these days. The number of people I see lock up the rear and nearly cream their buddies is amazing.

And it's 100% idiots on Harleys. The sportbikers might be in flipflops and bathing suits, but they do at least have the basic riding skills down.

That's the reason I don't go to things like the Leesburg bike wotsit last week, and I only go to Bike Week to check out the vendors and come back. I don't go ANYWHERE near Main Street, which is probably 'tard central.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Wfooshee, they are always that stupid. Its just that now, you have a larger concentration of them, so it seems worse.

 

[exskibum]

Who here has that avatar that shows a Motor Company logo with the inscription "Ride to Pretend, Pretend to Ride"?

It is NOT all of them. There actually are good riders on HDs and even some (most often from the same subset) who are friendly enough to acknowledge riders of other bikes. But if you're looking for high 'tard quotient, poor riding skills and antisocial behavior exalted to the level of a "lifestyle", you've identified the richest segment in which to look.

I quit riding cruisers (or even wanting a HD) in the mid-70s** after moving on to a Kaw. Z-1 that was a much better bike and far better suited to my riding preferences. So it's always with some amazement that I have listened to HD 'tards ask me when I'm gonna get a real bike -- too often from poseurs with only a handful of years on motorcycles.

** [SIZE=8pt]About the same time, I quit being a card carrying 'tard, which mostly had to do with maturing a little bit in my early 20s and who I stopped riding with (and their prevailing definition of what was cool). Lucky I didn't quite make it onto Darwin's list back in the day.[/SIZE]

 

[Aasland]

Consider Scenario #3. Up here in MN .. if you were turning right (i.e. yellow arrow) you'd get creamed. 7/10 DRIVERS do the "last available lane" thing.

What amazes me is that the state sees fit to keep installing roundabouts despite 99% of the population not having a clue how to use their indicators in one.

 

[wfooshee]

I don't mean to generalize Harley riders as a whole. The guys that ride day in and day out ride well, for the most part. Except the ones that don't use the front brake and think helmets are dangerous. At last fall's event (they do this twice a year!) I saw a guy kick-start his Harley at the Walmart lot, look for a clear space in traffic then turn it around to get into the traffic lane, leaned over onto the frame and scraping the whole way through the turn.

These guys that ride 3 or 4 times a year, at events like these, who bring the bikes on the trailers and keep them in the garage the rest of the time . . . . I suppose these are the guys that have to be watched while you're out and about. They really have no clue. And since they're here to "play" they really think the roads don't also carry thousands of people trying to do their jobs, get their kids to school, get groceries home for dinner, whatever else has to be done.

 

[dustyrains]

Loud pipes, huge rear tires, leather, and assless chaps with thongs actually are the most valued riding skills in those venues.

 

[07fjrTom]

You got something against a thong??

Seriously, I have seen really stupid stuff done by people on all makes and models of bikes. Any gathering of thousands of bikes or even just a few bikes is going to expose some posers and weekend warriors. Gotta cul the herd sometimes I guess.

 

[Crash Cash]

You got something against a thong??

When it's worn by a 350lb harley guy... can I get a "helll, nooooo?"

 

[k7lvo]

Consider Scenario #3. Up here in MN .. if you were turning right (i.e. yellow arrow) you'd get creamed. 7/10 DRIVERS do the "last available lane" thing.
What amazes me is that the state sees fit to keep installing roundabouts despite 99% of the population not having a clue how to use their indicators in one.

It's the Yr-o-p-n thing, don'cha know? Actually, I don't think the designers of the roundabouts have much of a clue about them, either. The ones in my neck of the woods, at least, are too small to let traffic filter through the way they seem to work over seas.

The cruiser mentality? Yep, that's the mentality that says if they like something (like loud pipes, for example) then every one else must either like them, too. They're the owners of the cruisers that you see parked on the sidewalks, because they're legends in their own minds...

 

[Checkswrecks]

Glad to know that the contingent from DC got there, because I see all of those here.

That first move is called the D-C-U and is practiced pretty much anywhere and at any time here. Independence Ave at rush hour and across a double yellow in front of traffic? No problem.

:angry:

 

[Aasland]

The ones in my neck of the woods, at least, are too small to let traffic filter through the way they seem to work over seas.

When we lived in Oregon, we noticed Oregonians didn't know how to drive in them either.

 

[old&slow]

I don't mean to generalize Harley riders as ass wholes. The guys that ride day in and day out ride well, for the most part. Except the ones that don't use the front brake and think helmets are dangerous. At last fall's event (they do this twice a year!) I saw a guy kick-start his Harley at the Walmart lot, look for a clear space in traffic then turn it around to get into the traffic lane, leaned over onto the frame and scraping the whole way through the turn.
These guys that ride 3 or 4 times a year, at events like these, who bring the bikes on the trailers and keep them in the garage the rest of the time . . . . I suppose these are the guys that have to be watched while you're out and about. They really have no clue. And since they're here to "play" they really think the roads don't also carry thousands of people trying to do their jobs, get their kids to school, get groceries home for dinner, whatever else has to be done.

Fixed it for you ,,, you forgot a few "sss"

I liked the,, "Pretend to Ride - Ride to Pretend" ,, thing :clapping:

 

[beemerdons]

You got something against a thong??

When it's worn by a 350lb harley guy... can I get a "helll, nooooo?"

Oh real nice Crash Cash, go ahead and hurl insults at dcarver and myself; we 350lb Harley Guys have feelings too, don't you know!!! Brother Wfooshee, I no longer go to Arizona Bike Week, either on my FJR, my H-D FXD or any of my Beemer Fleet, for just the examples you have provided. Besides belonging to two FJR Clubs and three BMW Clubs, I also am a 25 year member of Harley Owners Group and a Member of the Chester's H-D Charter HOG Chapter.

I only go on a group ride with my Mesa, AZ HOG Chapter about six times a year and for every one of these guys and gals that have great riding skills, there is another guy or gal that should not be on a motorcycle. Plus, I get grief on wearing my Schuberth C-2 (it is Silver to match my Super Glide!) from some newbie, guy or gal, with only 1K miles under their butts, versus my million. I took my Son Seth on a AZ Bike Week Group Ride two years ago when he was 11 on "Pam Anderson" (Big Jugs!), our FXD and that was the most harrowing three hour ride I have done in many years. You try to talk riding instruction to these cruiser folks and you might as well be talking about burros to Bustanut joker; they just don't want to listen to ATGATT or Advanced Riding Skills Courses or supervised track days. Organ donors in the making!

 

[old&slow]

There are always exceptions to the rule ...

There's a lot of real HD riders out there..

Not every sport bike rider is a kid in shorts . tank top , and flip-flops.

( how the heck do you shift gears in flip-flops ?? )

Just seems like a lot of bad-***-want-to-be pretenders out there....

And 350 lbs. in a thong :dribble: No Pictures Please.... :blink:

 

[beemerdons]

There are always exceptions to the rule ...There's a lot of real HD riders out there..

Not every sport bike rider is a kid in shorts . tank top , and flip-flops.

( how the heck do you shift gears in flip-flops ?? )

Just seems like a lot of bad-***-want-to-be pretenders out there....

And 350 lbs. in a thong :dribble: No Pictures Please.... :blink:

old&slow: Just for you, I have sent an e-mail to Don "dcarver" Carver and you should be able to see the piccies of the two of us in our man thongs this evening. Don's is red and mine is green!

 

[Pepperell]

None of the rotaries in Massachusetts have been replace by roundabouts yet... :yahoo:

 

[Wee Willy]

I have a theory about survival in threatening environments like riding bikes on shared public roads. It goes something like this: when you first start out, there is a wealth of pertinent experience yet to be learned. You will be fortunate to learn your share without serious injury or setback. You are most vulnerable now, like a baby impala in lion country. And there is so much to learn...

With time comes understanding about what works and what doesn't. Really close calls will instruct you like nothing else can, sometimes with a really startling rush of adrenaline, while other "skills" can be learned through simple or complex "thought experiments" like "what would have happened if I had done...ooohh!" Attitude coupled with a common sense approach to the learning process will influence how quickly and how well the necessary lessons are assimilated. And remember that on the roads, just like on the savanna, the dumb ones usually get eaten first.

In my model, lions, just like the traffic around you, will present clues to their intent and what the future MAY hold for you. Once you become adept at reading these clues and learning how to respond effectively, your chances of surviving the endgame can go way up.

Riders who do the sorts of things wfooshee is pointing out can be safely characterized as something like "novices," who have yet to demonstrate a mastery of the art of riding safely. They are an elevated danger to themselves and those they share the road with. And it doesn't matter how many "hours" they have on the machine either. If they are still driving dumb after many years on the bike, then they have not yet learned the necessary survival skills or the reasons for ALWAYS demonstrating them.

One final thought in all this is that, sometimes, the lions get lucky and even the most experienced and capable impalas can end up on the menu. It just tends to happen far less often than with the uninitiated. So stay safe out there: remember ATGATT and practice heads up riding ALL THE TIME.

Cheers,

W2

 

[wfooshee]

They may not be any better at loading trailers than riding, sometimes. Any guesses on the tongue weight of this baby?

In fairness, I don't know that they didn't have a bunch of luggage or something on the back of the trailer while travelling. Don't think it was another bike, because the straps for these go through the space another bike would have used.

BTW: OMG(!) the trailers that are in this town today!!!!!!