'WHY I LOVE BIKES…'

IC3 · 2 Dec 2016 at 12:42

If it isn’t a passion, a hunger that drives you from the moment you are first able to say the word, ‘motorbike’, then it probably isn’t for you and those of us who do it would rather, if it's all the same to you, that you didn’t. This is our thing. Gerroff.

Source: https://drivetribe.com/p/doKwgHX2TQqUZHTBO89AcQ/C7NU368KR-mtZ6MftpTOoQ

Interesting read. :cool:

Junglist · 2 Dec 2016 at 12:48

That guy sounds like a bit of a dick imo.

"I'm a special ********* because I ride bikes and I don't want other people to ride bikes because I will feel less special"

edit: Nope, after reading it for a second time he sounds like a colossal dick.

"I enjoy the exclusivity, the misconceptions and the fear."

He's probably that kinda guy

Captain · 2 Dec 2016 at 12:51

Sounds like a load of **** to me, coming from someone who thinks 'Biking' should be a privilege almost.. If you aren't a die hard motorbike fan then you shouldn't ride one?

I ride a bike because i like it, if i lost my license tomorrow i wouldn't be 'gutted' i'd just get on with it and carry on living my life the way i do.

Akagi · 2 Dec 2016 at 12:56

Writer comes across as a total toss pot.

Clicked the article and realised..... Richard Hammond!

Well I never.

Junglist · 2 Dec 2016 at 12:58

Ha, It was Richard Hammond.

I've read a few of his blog posts and often they're quite interesting but that quoted paragraph makes him come across like someone I wouldn't want to talk to.

tom_e · 2 Dec 2016 at 12:59

I'd be absolutely devastated if I lost my licence but I don't prescribe to the whole "bikers are special ********** and should be treated as such" and "people pick on us because we ride bikes".

People are dicks, some people that ride bikes are dicks, you're not magically part of a brotherhood because you ride a bike and it certainly doesn't make you special. Except when it comes to developing a 6th sense to stop yourself from being flattened of course

(Haven't read the article, just aimlessly ranting

)

Cleisthenes · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:02

tom_e said:
(...just aimlessly ranting )

You? Surely not!

Junglist · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:03

tom_e said:
I'd be absolutely devastated if I lost my licence but I don't prescribe to the whole "bikers are special ********** and should be treated as such" and "people pick on us because we ride bikes".

Agreed. It's just a form of transport. Highly, highly enjoyable transport but transport none the less.

The_Abyss · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:04

IC3 said:
Yes, motorcycling is dangerous. Statistically much more so than driving a car. Nobody is forcing you to take that danger on, it’s very much left up to you whether you ride or not and if the potential danger is keeping some people away, then so much the better. I’m the last person to appeal to everyone to join and take up biking. I enjoy the exclusivity, the misconceptions and the fear. If just one dentist is scared away from investing in a brand new R1 and a set of matching leathers so they can impress the staff at the surgery before smearing themselves down the pitwall on a track day then so much the better for all concerned. There are already too many smug ***** commuting the wilds of Kensington on Dakar-ready BMW R1200GS believing themselves to be the very image of wotsiface and wotsiface going the Long bloody Way Round on telly when in fact they are a middle-aged man who can’t afford a Ferrari but wants something he feels might impress his colleagues. I’ve argued in the past that if you haven’t got your full bike licence by your 17th birthday then you should be banned for life from taking it up. And a little part of me still feels that way. If it isn’t a passion, a hunger that drives you from the moment you are first able to say the word, ‘motorbike’, then it probably isn’t for you and those of us who do it would rather, if it's all the same to you, that you didn’t. This is our thing. Gerroff.

Click to expand...

Source: https://drivetribe.com/p/doKwgHX2TQqUZHTBO89AcQ/C7NU368KR-mtZ6MftpTOoQ

Interesting read.

What an utterly obnoxious person, emerging only briefly from his own arse to write such crap.

tom_e · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:05

Cleisthenes said:
You? Surely not!

I didn't realise I made a habit of it :confused:

IC3 · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:14

From what I noticed, especially at my age group people ride 'bikes' because A) CBT is as easy, as it gets B) Cheaper to insure than a car C) Overall running costs etc are cheaper. I did my license just after I hit 18, than soon did my CBT and loads of people asked me why I bothered when I could have just got a car. Some of those claimed themselves to be 'bikers'... its simple some get it, some don't.

That's why there's a difference between passion and entertainment... its not hard to tell when someone has a passion vs someone who just rides for fun when the sun is out on a weekend.

I don't feel special, neither expect to be treated differently. But, I've met some great people through riding and with most became friends.

Walking through town to a shop, some old bloke started talking about how him and his mates use to build cafe racers and race them on the roads. The little conversations in public that you just get between bikers is something that you don't get with other hobbies like e.g. car scene.

Freeman · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:23

Calm down people. Take the article with a bit of tongue n cheek. It's Richard Hammond after all; you can't take anything he says seriously!

IC3 · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:25

Some parts did make me laugh though, there's a sense of humor in it.

tom_e · 2 Dec 2016 at 13:26

Freeman said:
Calm down people. Take the article with a bit of tongue n cheek. It's Richard Hammond after all; you can't take anything he says seriously!

Now that I've read it I agree it's not exactly a serious article, but it's obviously easy to get a good selective quote from it.

tom_e · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:21

https://drivetribe.com/p/EuWa19QPRR6LqPzYjmQfMQ/etmjIHmIQaGpeCon8JKDDA

IC3 · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:35

Deep down Clarkson loves motorcycles, but can't ride one without crashing so he hates on them.

Cleisthenes · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:38

tom_e said:
I didn't realise I made a habit of it

I humbly apologise. <3

ttaskmaster · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:51

JunglistE said:
Agreed. It's just a form of transport. Highly, highly enjoyable transport but transport none the less.

To some extent it is more a way of life... more for some than others, but biking as opposed to driving means things like factoring in limited luggage capacity, finding somewhere to change out of biking kit at the destination, weather restrictions and choice of outfit, plus the increased likelihood of something nasty happening.
Certainly when I took to two wheels, a LOT had to change in my life.

Freeman said:
Calm down people. Take the article with a bit of tongue n cheek. It's Richard Hammond after all; you can't take anything he says seriously!

Having met Richard Hammond and had to work with him, I came away with the opinion that he is an uppity ****..... Having read this, I am only further convinced. He does try and joke sometimes, but often there is more truth in his opinionated jibes and pokes than Jezza and May.

Jeremy, on the other hand, was always quite a gentleman off-camera. He obviously learned how to turn the 'Top-Gear persona' off when he wasn't working!!

And there is an exclusive language too. It’s not made up only of jumbled numbers and letters signifying different bikes

Isn't it?

VRSCD
FLSTSB
FLHTCUL
FXSTSSE
FXDS-CON
XL883N
VRSCAW
FLHTCUTG
CBR1000RR
ZZR600R
FJR1300AE
XVS650AD
GSXR1300BK

Oh, wait, a whole language comprising The Nod, you say?
Uh-huh...

I’ve argued in the past that if you haven’t got your full bike licence by your 17th birthday then you should be banned for life from taking it up.

So, on the one hand he doesn't want rich ***** buying bikes... but then he decrees only people with money can have bikes and if you're not already loaded as a kid, you're condemned for life...?

tom_e · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:55

Cleisthenes said:
I humbly apologise. <3

Good, I could feel another aimless rant coming on...

Junglist · 2 Dec 2016 at 15:46

ttaskmaster said:
To some extent it is more a way of life... more for some than others, but biking as opposed to driving means things like factoring in limited luggage capacity, finding somewhere to change out of biking kit at the destination, weather restrictions and choice of outfit, plus the increased likelihood of something nasty happening.
Certainly when I took to two wheels, a LOT had to change in my life.

Oh it is certainly more involved than driving. Often I have to look out the window, check the weather, debate if i'll take my tinted or my clear visor, should I pack my overalls etc etc.

But it is still predominately a way of commuting. Don't get me wrong, I love my bike. Infinitely more than I like my car and any trip I take on my bike rain/shine I am always grinning under my helmet.

However I have never felt the need to brag about being a biker and certainly not because some see it as dangerous. And I certainly wouldn't ever get hung up about others riding. In fact I'm the opposite from the article in that I'd love it if more people took up riding because it really is enjoyable and a good way to lose stress, certainly for me anyway.

I guess I just don't identify with being a Biker any more than I do about being a driver, cyclist or skateboarder.