I have been round bikes all my life too..26yrs as a pilly and now riding myself...
I don't care a monkey's uncle what I am labelled as...all I know is that I should have taken my test 26yrs ago...I just love riding my motorbike...but I also still like a pillion ride...
I have been riding bikes now for over 40 yrs, and i have been called a biker many times, and i have also been called a lot more unmentionable names too. Does it matter what we are called so long as we have our 2 wheeled friends under us......
OH by the way mine is called Carley... Whats yours called.
I consider myself a biker ( a learning one.. but still a biker), just as I drive a car, so I'm also a driver.
As for trikes, I have a lot of friends with trikes, and some have bikes too. Having had a go on a 750 I can see the passion. Especially as you don't need a bike licence to ride one. Ok you can't filter but everthing else is 'biker' about them, plus you can get so much more gear on them and some can even take more than one passenger! lol
My bikes called Ziggy
As Puds points out, this subject comes up ad infinitum and as I've said before, ask 100 people what the definition of "biker" is and you'll likely turn up 100 different answers.
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!
What's fake about that?
Bloke wearing sensible protective gear while riding a 2-wheeled motorised vehicle.
He'd have been equally slated, no doubt, for getting on said vehicle wearing shorts and a t-shirt. No-win situation for the poor fella!
I don't understand how, if nobody can even agree on the absolute definition of the term "biker" that you can also label people as "fakes".
How do you know the people you see in the rock clubs have never been on a bike? Maybe they just don't take their bikes to the club, so they can have a drink? You'd have to go around the club taking a straw poll to be certain that they're "fake bikers".
Do they even call themselves or view themselves as "bikers" or have you just decided to label them "bikers" cos they're wearing leathers etc? I wear leather. I like leather. But I'm not a biker, nor do I pretend to be, hence the ID. I just like my tassely jacket
I guess the easy answer is that there are various categories of 'Biker'
1. The 1%er, a fully fledged Patch club member that lives the full 'biker lifestyle (interestingly, there appear to be a couple of categories here too, some live it full time and some live a double life)
2. The no other form of transport biker that me be a club member but not what what you would class as a 1%
3.The bike rider, has other form of transport as well but enjoys riding their bike, going to bike events etc, may be a club member as well.
4. The motorcyclist/fair weather biker. Still may be a club member etc but only rides in nice weather or at weekends.
5. The enthusiast, may not own a bike but rides from time to time.
There may be other categories, feel free to add. However, I consider we all share the same road and wind and so all that ride are bikers of some sort.
I put myself in no 3.
WHY lable? People are so much more than their machines or thir lables...I love Bikes I can drool over any bike so long as it has a roaring engine and it goes! Beauty on 2 wheels/or 3 .am not picky.....and when my ship comes in Ill get an XJS first,then a DUCATI
.......labels, categories etc etc...............what does it matter? If you've got a bike and you enjoy getting out there and riding it, no matter for how many years, how often or in what weather...............then you're a biker as far as Im concerned! Takes all sorts on all types but whatever rocks yer boat..............or makes your engine roar..........each to his/her own I say............good on yer!!! Thats what makes it so interesting and the people so special
well said babyharley
I got told as much by some 'seasoned bikers' (a lovely retired couple) at the cafe last night.
When asked what bike I ride as my mate had her Z750 and thinking they assumed I would have a 'big bike' I said rather sheepishly that I 'only' have a 125... but they came back with
'it doesn't matter what you ride, we all started somewhere, you're still a biker!
I'm happy with that!
Another thing,why are there so many cliches like "bugs in ma teeth","sharing the same wind" and "riding into the sunset".
Also,8 of us in the pub with our 'Ol ladies last friday night. Not a bike in sight. We were out on the piss and having a good time.
Would we be mistaken for "fake bikers" i wonder?
(Do we care? No we don't.)
no you wouldnt. being a biker doesnt mean you have to have your bike with you all the time or even own a bike (there are bikers in wheelchairs they are still bikers) when i go out on the piss you would never even guess i owned a bike because im not a biker
trikes are only bikes as far as I'm concerned when there's a biker who can't physically ride a bike any more - other than that they are convertible reliant robins
Stewie,next time your at a rally take a good look at some trikes and the people that ride them. Think it will open those eyes of yours very wide.
I was married to a biker 27 years I knew him 3 years before that and the previous relationship I had was also with a man who had and rode a motorcycle/bike.
In all I have been pillion for well over 30 years. When my ex of 27 years left with his new bitch and bike ( She never went on a bike before just preferred to ride the bikers ), Well I was so lost. I couldnt ride a bike myself and my EX still went around with our biker friends. So for the first time since I was 16, I was pillionless.
What catorgary does that put me in ? I just couldnt live without a biker in my life. I am so lucky now thanks to BM that I have found someone really special and caring.
I consider myself as a motorcyclist and a biker. Even before getting my little 125 and passing my CBT I classed myself as a biker.
Oh by the way people say I dont look like one! Its whats inside i think that counts.
Well ppl say I dont look like a biker either when in my office "unform" or being mum/nanny to my kids and grandaughter - why would they? But, when in my leathers and at one with my bike, I look the part and definately feel like a biker inside! We are all different and have different roles at different times, each one of us is unique! Our love of bikes brings us together and when in the bikers "uniform" we are classed as the same. I think, whether you ride up front or pillion you are what you feel and what you want to be - a biker/motorcyclist whatever? doesnt matter, we're all doing what we love and makes us happy, thats the main thing "nothing else matters" as the song says lol!
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