It's a bit of an odd one this biker lifestyle. Years ago in my teens/early twenties I used to be a greb/goth type, not really fitting totally into either mould.
I classed myself as *alternative* I listened to Metallica, Guns N Roses, The Levellers etc. I had dyed black hair and wore odd clothes with 8 hole Doc Martins. Fave shops were Ice Nine and Void in Notts. I hung out in the local pub which was full of "our kind" (the Waggon and Horses in Alfreton if anyone knows it in the early to mid nighties) yet there was never a single bike in sight. I honestly never recall a single bike in the carpark or anyone talking about bikes.
RustyKnight In: Newton Aycliffe
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Ooh never looked at biking as being downgraded Julie but you've deffo got to have an odd frame of mind to put badges on a leather waistcoat and an open faced helmet with teeth full of flies is also a strong indication of the 'biker' tendency
I used to hang out at a rock n roll pub 'St Mary's Arms', in Fratton, Portsmouth, dressed like a rocker and nearly everyone at the pub rode a bike including myself, for a while. In those days I preferred to be a pillion. There wasn't a car park we parked the bikes outside the pub on the road.
I also remember that everyone drank alcohol then rode their bikes home.
I don't recall there being any rallies, well certainly not with the Brit' bikers I hung around with, we went abroad and stayed with our biker friends over there.
The way i see it you ride,your a biker,you don't and your not.
We all get different things from biking and enjoy different aspects of it,which i reckon is exactly how it should be.
well sometimes when im out with a big group from here i feel a bit out of it cos a lot of you are much more into the biking than i am, that is not to say in any way that i dont feel welcomed by you all,just feel a bit of a fraud at times cos i go home and the bike goes back into the garage for another week or even two and i go back to being a mum doing the school run etc till the next time.
bluesbiker In: Birmingham in th
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I never really got the rally thing. Just a group of blokes stood in a tent swiggin brew X1 from their pewter tankards sayin how good it all was before the japs turned up. A bit of tug o war and welly wangin.
Am i a "biker"? i never like the term as it feels really snobby to me. As a group were down trodden enough by society without sub groups trying to see themselves as better in some way like real ale drinkers.
Just ride your bikes meet up with yer mates and enjoy it. stop trying to define everything.
Patience Julie,once you have more time for yourself and the things you WANT to do as opposed to NEED to do,you might suprise yourself.Nothing fake about someone who has other has commitments.
I've never been one for attaching labels or subscribing to lifstyles,I'm me and thats it.Having said that,everybody knows or thinks they know i'm a bike rider cos of the way I look but i dress the way i do cos it's comfortable for me.If asked I would call myself a biker because it's easier to say than motorcyclist lol but it's basically the same thing,bit like trucker and lorry driver although I do try not to use the term trucker cos it has too many american inferences and there far too much of that over here already! I took my cb out of my lorry because there were too many t*ats trying to put on yank accents! YES IT'S TRUE!!
As for fakes,well,I once saw a bloke in full leathers,denim half coat,patches the lot.He left the pub and got on...a honda C90!
biker to me has always meant lifestyle,music,attitude rather than having or riding a bike. i dont consider myself a biker never was and dont want to be.i have always liked riding bikes and hope i always will but i dont subscribe to the biker lifestyle. i know hells angels who drive around in vans now and havent been on a bike for years but they still have airbrushed petrol tanks on the living room wall and dismantled bikes all over the house and still wear biker gear
If you can, take a look at a copy of Bikers Handbook (Becoming Part of the Motorcycle Culture) by Jay Barbieri.
It is hilarious, although it is not meant to be....
(and it's American, by the way)
I call a 'biker' someone who owns and rides his bike and enjoys the company of other bike riders , attends events and rallies and club meetings if in a club , enjoys trips , holidays , booze cruises and sleep overs with fellow bikers...i think most of the bike owner/members of this site are bikers to some extent more so than just 2 wheel commuters ...as RK and DUNS said you can still enjoy the car , at times much more convenient lol
bluesbiker In: Birmingham in th
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Whats this sleepovers thing excalibur? sounds a bit dodgy to me!
The fact that someone doesn't have a bike shouldn't stop him /her from enjoying the lifestyle. how many trainspotters or plane spotters get to drive a train or pilot a plane. I don't think they get ridiculed from within by the experts.
ok maybe the trainspotters
Tee Cee, I've got a copy of the Barbieri book and it's amazing. You can guarantee that anyone who really feels they need it to get their head round biking and bikers will never get there. What will they be doing next, a Tufty Club for wannabe Hells Angels? I was sent my copy unsolicited, BTW. One of the great works of unintentional humour!
After reading through all the posts on here I would say as a mainly weekend rider & a new owner of a bike I would object to being refered to as 'fake'.
I would not consider myself a biker, as to me thats more a life style, I choose to ride a bike as its a mode of transport I enjoy when I am not going to enjoy it I use my car.
Like many I have been around bikes for most of my life just not had the chance to own one till last few years due to having animals ... erm I mean kids who insisted in the comfort of a car .. that & the fact you cannot carry 2 kids on a bike.
Right time to give an opinion I think lol.
I'm pretty sure the term "biker" has become the term to cover all people who love/ride/enjoy bikes like "hoover" is a term for all vacuum cleaners (bet Dyson realy gets pissed off lol).
I'm a biker (my main/now only mode of transport) my main mode of fun and there fore my freedom. Not a hard core petrol head, or hard core anything for that matter. Love rallies for the companey of all those who enjoy bikes/biking and chilling with like minded people
The term "biker" can have a very negative image with the general population, due to images of past problems caused by a few, and over reported in an extreemly negative way. More of that later.
Motorcyclist I beleave Julie J is one as a "part time user" she just enjoys the freedom and the "me time" it gives her (you have done a rally) lol well ok camping weekend! You also enjoy the commaraderie of a wide range of people from all walks of life.
Fake bikers/wannabees mmm more difficult this one, some I am sure are attracted by a "spirit of freedom" a style of clothing or the mere thought of being perceived of being a "bad ass" or hard man.. That c90 rider is still a biker! He may have a bigger bike layed up/smashed up or just rides his main bike weekends.
All people who use 2 wheeled powered transport are "bikers", we should not judge anyone who rides any kind of bike as wannabees, as they are "on the road". They also are the life blood of biking in general, without the masses of two wheelers we would die as a group.
True there are a lot of idiots out there who give the majority a bad name and some times worse bad press, idiots on sports bikes being stupid and just dangerious on the main road (part time agrenaline junkies most of them) 4 of these were wiped out recently showing off wheelying out of a round about they came out the exit 3 proceeded 3 abreast to pull a wheely their mate wasa bit behind pulls a wheely behind and promptly wobbles and over accellerates wiping him and his mates out, the chavs on their peds with loud cans, bike theives who are just called "asbo bikers" in the press, in reality just scum who steal anything but they are the ones riding our estates with no helmets 1 2 or indeed 3 up but almost always perceived as "bikers" by the general population and there fore the "popular" press..
That about sums it up i guess Hull , if you own and ride your bike ..your a biker , no need to be a hooligan or rogue . The only difference i see is the guy who gets his bike purely for commuting around the city because of the advantages which are many . Sleepovers are normally when a bunch of bikers decide to make a weekend of it as i believe RK's initial idea was...much wiser when a bit of boozing enters the picture lol
I have just read through this topic and I am confused now , what am I ?
I ride my bike coz i enjoy it
I rally coz I enjoy it
I party coz I enjoy it
I go to bike meetings coz I enjoy it
I don't care much for lables, I do what I do coz I enjoy it
can we not just enjoy life as we like it and meet interesting people along the way, instead of bikers/motorcycleists etc can we just be free spirits lol
dam thats bikers, motorcycleists, fake bikers and now free spirits
ride free and enjoy my friends
RustyKnight In: Newton Aycliffe
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Peter, looking at your pic I'd perceive you as more of a Scotsman than a biker! Wouldn't fancy being hit in the face with that sporren doin 90 on the back roads and the wind up that kilt doesn't bare thinking about! You obviously are a free spirit mate Just a minute, he's got a leather waistcoat on and one of those T-shirts, yes he's a biker!!
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