FJR Riders gotta Represent! or, "them's fightin woids!"?

[NightShine]

I fellow PGR local older than me rides a Suzuki Bergman scooter. He found a BMW tank emblem sticker and bonded it to the nose of his Scoot.

The looks it gets are just fabulous. Especially Harley riders will spend 5 full minutes examining the whole bike calling over their friends to point out the Beemer Scooter they didn't know Germany produced.

Hilarious! :lol: A tried and true technique to tweak people's brains.

Couple of years ago I was just leaving the local auto parts store, when a guy pulls up into the parking lot riding a sidecar rig, sporting a Harley Davidson emblem on it. This took me back a moment, as I can't remember the last time I noticed a genuine HD sidecar ride around these parts. When I asked him about it, he smiled and told me it's actually a Ural motorcycle, and he stuck the HD sticker on it for the kicks he gets out of seeing other people's reactions.

 

[madmike2]

I guess I don't categorize others so easily any longer. We who ride and are interested in motorcycles, in general, normally recognize the differences. The non-motorcycling public doesn't because it's not important to them. I use it as an opportunity to be an ambassador for motorcycling, in general. Sometimes I will even agree that my bike resembles a BMW and use it as a launch into a conversationa bout motorcycling, the freedome and enjoyment, the independence and the friends one makes along the journey.

To each his own. I just don't see it as a position I have to defend but as a chance to place myself in the vast company of "riders". Perhaps to plant a seed and encourage another to join our "tribe".

edit: For the record, I've taken all the tuning fork badges off my bike.

YMMV

 

[majicmaker]

I guess I don't categorize others so easily any longer. We who ride and are interested in motorcycles, in general, normally recognize the differences. The non-motorcycling public doesn't because it's not important to them. I use it as an opportunity to be an ambassador for motorcycling, in general. Sometimes I will even agree that my bike resembles a BMW and use it as a launch into a conversationa bout motorcycling, the freedome and enjoyment, the independence and the friends one makes along the journey.

To each his own. I just don't see it as a position I have to defend but as a chance to place myself in the vast company of "riders". Perhaps to plant a seed and encourage another to join our "tribe".

edit: For the record, I've taken all the tuning fork badges off my bike.

YMMV

MM2,

I agree with your statement. When I see people starting to go at eachother about their bikes, I usually try to calm things down by injecting the reason we all

started riding bikes in the first place (at least my reason). I say that riding a bike is sort of fulfilling every little boy's dream of wanting to be a Cowboy.

Where you can get on your horse and go anywhere you want to go. Even if there are no roads! Except Now! Your horse can go 150mph if you want it to!

That's when I see everybody's face kinda soften and glaze over and smile in agreement. Gotta Love It! :yahoo:

 

[rbentnail]

I sometimes get "nice BMW" but most folks look and ask what it is. I too use it as an opportunity to draw folks into a discussion about riding, what's your bike, where you been, etc. Unlike most cookie cutter cruisers the FJR always seems to interest people.

 

[Crash Cash]

I guess major poseurs don't get on other people's nerves as much as they do mine... and I've had too many frickin' oddball nutcases come up to me and say stupid ****.

 

[Robert Ford]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

<_<

 

[madmike2]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

But that offers an easy response, "Because, when I'm riding, Harleys don't do 3 things to my expectations: Go, stop and turn!"

 

[2006FJR]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

<_<

My response is always, how much time do you have?

 

[rbentnail]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

<_<

My response is either, "Too heavy, too clumsy, too slow" or "tried cruisers, not my style". Just depends on whether the other person is being an a-hole or not.

 

[TomInPA]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

<_<

After riding this the last four years, its kind of nice on the FJR not being confused with a Harley.

 

[Robert Ford]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

<_<

After riding this the last four years, its kind of nice on the FJR not being confused with a Harley.

I traded a C50T for my Feejer. Lots of good times on the Bully, but I needed something with some go.

 

[Harald]

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I accused a FJR rider of being on a BMW just last weekend! :dribble: :huh:

Seems this FJR rider had installed bling LED lights along the nose of the bike and with a quick glance as he rode by, I dismissed it as being a BMW. What must I do for pennance for this horrible sin?

I am doing my part to maintain the hardcore image of the FJR rider. It was a balmy 36 degrees this morning with occasional light drizzle as I rode to work wearing my red 'stich. Surprisingly, I saw 2 other bikers on the road and none were on BMW's. Both were riding cruise style bikes! Really shocking because they usually don't ride in these conditions because it takes too long to polish the chrome after riding.

 

[SacramentoMike]

.

I don't know why I can't find it now, but somewhere on the Forum there's a link to a place where you can get an "FJR Forum" tshirt. Seems like the heading began "Support the Forum . . . " Some of the money goes to costs of keeping it up. Maybe somebody can link to it. Anyway, they're good quality shirts with a choice of 4 or 5 pics on the front and a small "FJR Forum" logo on the back.

What you may not realize is if you go to that website, you can customize the shirt most any way you want: change the shirt color, resize the picture, move it around, substitute a pic of your own from your computer (maybe yourself riding). You can also do the same with the text. So I put my forum name under the picture on the front, and on the back I enlarged the text and centered it. It reads "It's an FJR. . . Buh-Bye" Figured they could at least know what it was that just passed them--and that it wasn't a BMW.

Trouble is, who rides in a t-shirt?.... :huh:

11.

.

 

 

 

[ionbeam]

Admin Slapnpop's Tee's: >>CLICK ME<<

N/LINE's FJR Tees:

clickable pic:

 

[Pale Rider 07]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

<_<

My response is either, "Too heavy, too clumsy, too slow" or "tried cruisers, not my style". Just depends on whether the other person is being an a-hole or not.

The proper response would be "Oh...you don't ride?"

 

[Pale Rider 07]

Couple a guys I work with asked "What's that? Why didn't you get a Harley?"

<_<

My response is either, "Too heavy, too clumsy, too slow" or "tried cruisers, not my style". Just depends on whether the other person is being an a-hole or not.

The proper response would be "Oh...you don't ride?"

It's actually funny that this statement came up at this time. I have been thinking about this as I have been riding in some cooler weather lately. Much of my two wheel company has disappeared from the roads on the cold early mornings. I used to ride cruiser style bikes and I have been so much happier since I switched to the FJR. It's not really about the bike at all. It has more to do with the lifestyle. I used to spend hours cleaning and polishing my rides. If it looked like rain on the horizon, I might hold off for fear of messing up all that chrome. For me the FJR is all about riding. I get up in the morning, I warm it up and head off to work. I don't ever think "wow, this thing is really dirty". I spend countless hours online searching not for chrome, but for those farkles that will extend my rides. Clothing that lets me ride in all kinds of weather and temps. I used to take my cruisers to Daytona, park for the day and drool over all the fancy paint jobs and chrome. I headed to this last Biketoberfest on my FJR, parked it, walked around for about an hour, then realized I was bored and wasting a perfect riding day. I don't care what people think I'm riding. The point is I'm riding and it would take a plastic surgeon to get this smile off my face!! We are FJR Riders...Merry Christmas guys!!

 

[wheatonFJR]

... I headed to this last Biketoberfest on my FJR, parked it, walked around for about an hour, then realized I was bored and wasting a perfect riding day. I don't care what people think I'm riding. The point is I'm riding and it would take a plastic surgeon to get this smile off my face!! We are FJR Riders...Merry Christmas guys!!

EXCELLENT POST!! :clapping: :clapping:

 

[Graham Downunder]

BMW = BRING MORE WALLET .

I like their products but the price is like they make the only bike on the planet . The real trouble is their reliability, is about the same as an old Harley made when AMF had Harley . Just ask how many BMW riders have had to replace the Brake Modulator ($2500 for the part alone ) ,Or computer malfunctions ,key ignigtion problems , replace clutch on boxer engines because real engine seal leaking , rear end failures etc . BMW dealer just love you to buy a bike from them keeps their workshop busy . Funny BMW had touble selling the K1200GT/K1300GT and now they have reputedly dropped them completly and gone to K1600 . Customer is always WRONG with BMW after you have bought the bike .

 

[curvercarver]

I have a Blue 06' FJR I ride and a buddy that rides a Blue BMW R100RT. We trade bikes every once in while to enjoy the differences between the two. Every

bike has its qualities and shortcomings. Otherwise there would only be one bike in the world and it would be a real boring place. One of the things I have

observed in recent years is the change of BMW's motorcycle product line to include bikes who's design is much like the FJR design. So if imitation is a sign

of compliment, then BMW is complimenting our bikes by their similar design. Makes you wonder if some folks are asking BMW riders the question " Is that a FJR?"

 

[madmike2]

Makes you wonder if some folks are asking BMW riders the question " Is that a FJR?"

To the non-riding public, there probably isn't much difference in the design of the current genre of sport-touring bikes.

If we were to park similar colored ST-type bikes together, non-owners or other-owners (sport bike, cruiser or tourer owners) may not easily tell them apart.

That's not an indictment of the manufacturers but a fact concerning aerodynamics, rider/passenger wind protection, function and use of luggage, etc. That's a very good thing for those in the market for this type of motorcycle adventure.

We who own these motorcycles are familiar with the differences. There are no bad examples, merely different approaches to solutions and features to fill the marketplace. Of course, being completely unbiased in our opinion of which is THE BEST sports touring bike for us.......

To the general populace, Harley Davidson is the first name that springs to mind and is the image many have imprinted from which to draw a mental picture. If you parked some cruisers, consisting of harleys and other brands, they'd be hard pressed to tell which is which without looking at the name badges. SInce many Police Departments have been using BMWs, they think any motorcycle of that style is a BMW.

TO state again, it gives us an excellent opportunity to plant the seed of motorcycling in the fertile imagination of any interested party......despite what their S.O. may think about it. Uhm...the NorCal group notwithstanding, as a good percentage of them ride 2-up.

I wonder what questions are fielded by our lady riders? Surely Barb, MEM, Silver Penguin, Ty, et al, must get some fascinating queries when they stop and remove their helmets. :blink: