Who Exactly are the "Real Bikers"?

    • 611 posts
    August 26, 2011 5:59 PM PDT
    Ohfortheloveof....
    Seakers, welcome to the world of bikers. Some will welcome you, some will shun you, others will offer to whupyerass cause YOU don't fit their Daffy-nition of a biker... Actually kinda sounds like anywhere else USA, don't it?
    Keep on posting yer opinions, work on getting yourself in the wind and keep on keeping on!
    On the other site that I brought this post from, all the replies have been just about like these. Most are saying "You make the rule for yourself. What is your definition of 'Biker'?"
    Ride Enjoy Repeat... in your case Post enjoy Repeat!
    Edge
  • August 27, 2011 12:34 AM PDT
    Lots of great replies, And We are bikers here not all 1% er's but bikers weekend or all week not a big deal .. Own or owned back in the day... good enough for me . .
  • August 27, 2011 2:55 AM PDT
    To Gary TJ all I can say is VERY WELL SAID Thank You
  • August 27, 2011 3:45 AM PDT
    Great posts folks We are what we are today and in the past. Ive been riding since the late 50s and took around 20 yrs off from riding and after I retired bought my 97 Dyna and started up again like the wild hogs makes me a poser i guess. O well Keep the Turns Up Webby
    • 601 posts
    August 27, 2011 9:22 AM PDT
    I ride a bike...I dress different, that is what I do, I am living A.W.O.L (Alternative Way Of Life) I make neither excuse nor apology for that.
    • 130 posts
    August 27, 2011 10:46 AM PDT
    Bigbad wrote...
    "...That is years of riding to credit and GODs grace that saved us then. ..."





    Makes me wonder why God didn't just keep the deer from running out in front of you.
     
  • August 28, 2011 10:48 AM PDT
    You know if you are a real biker, nobody needs to tell you. Is it the bike you ride? Not even close...
  • August 29, 2011 2:16 AM PDT
    I prefer not being called a biker, rider sounds so much better.
    • 5417 posts
    August 29, 2011 10:07 AM PDT
    You don't have to call me a biker... I'm happy if you just call me Lucky.

    But if you feel compelled to use some type of descriptive term  for me you can just say "that really good looking guy that rides the black Road King"

    • 0 posts
    August 29, 2011 10:54 AM PDT
    Lucky old mate I ride a dyna not a roadking...I know your gettin a bit of age about ya and get mixed up these days..all me BOOF,Arsehole,dickhead, or that big hungry lookin drunk bloke..NEVER and I repeat NEVER call me later for dinner...Oh yeah and never call me during happy hour ...CHEERS BOOF
    • 9 posts
    September 1, 2011 4:25 AM PDT
    Ok, before I put my two cents in, I just need to point something out here. Is it me, or did anyone else wonder if the "Dirk Diggler" thing is an alias, a coincidence, or just a joke. You know who he was/is, and if you don't, please feel free to google the name, as it would take far to long for me to explain it here, and still have any point to make...

    That being said: I met my first "bikers" when I was around 12 years old. They were a group which still exists today up north, called the "Iron Coffins". I was babysitting for a neighbor lady (she was 23) who liked to hang with a tough
    crowd. Her husband supplied all the weed-need. And unbeknownst to me, they apparently also enjoyed an open marriage. I was far too young to understand how that all worked, and that in itself is a long story. But suffice it to say, this group of guys would show up on their bikes (all Harley's) with her in tandem, and they would pile into the house. Usually well after her two baby daughters were asleep. They would first invite me to smoke weed with them, and then the "fun" started in earnest, with these much older guys, hitting on me, touching me, and asking me to do some very inappropriate things. But the lady of the house, kept them in check, and other than getting me high, nothing serious ever happened. They would back off, some even apologized for being "too enthusiastic". They were a couple of exceptions, that had me scared to death, but for the most part, I learned that these guys were
    really all pretty decent. And you gotta remember, as far as the weed went, those were FAR different times...my point is (finally), that these guys all took me under their wing, and turned into a family of sorts for me. I had a single mom who was an alcoholic, and never home. I have a brother, and he and I basically had to fend for ourselves, unless the "Coffins" helped out. Which they did. So I more or less grew up with a bunch of guys, who
    would've given me the shirts off their backs, and not for insidious purposes. I learned that you should never judge a book by it's cover. By the same token, anyone can "ruin" an image. Good or bad. There's bound to be a few in every "style of life". But as for me, being who I am, is a choice. And I'm proud to be who I am.
    Ride Free
    Tweek
    • 846 posts
    September 1, 2011 6:50 AM PDT
    I don't care what i'm called. I've known a few folks I would call bikers, but they never called themselves ones. I've known folks like Tweek mentioned and others that where not who I would consider bikers. I think that anyone one that wants to put a label on themseleve may have some other issue or not. I don't care, As long as there a open road and a fairly nice day and two wheels to ride

    Ride on.
  • September 1, 2011 9:06 AM PDT
    I've been around Bikes my whole life, and frankly I don't care what you ride - just as long as you ride and enjoy the wind in your face be it long trips or short - I believe it's the brotherhood and the wave as you pass another Brother or Sister or just getting together that makes us who we are..
  • September 1, 2011 5:20 PM PDT
    i to ride an like some have said if you dont ride a certian make or model then your not treated the same. ive been riding bikes sense i was 13 yrs old.ive owned alot of bikes love to be in the wind on th eroad as much as i can. i think of myself as a biker cause i ride to get the stress out of the head an from life its self. biker is like calling a person an athelate they both love an have a passion for what they do. it might be more than that but this is as close as i can come to making it simple..... keep the 2 wheels down an the wind in you face.....
  • September 28, 2011 6:56 AM PDT
    Yo, man, I once put it this way to someone who asked me what a real biker is. I told him when you are one you'll know it. When you meet one you'll know it. Its really simple, your a real biker when all you do are bikes and you're a loner. Hey man, ur welcome around me Edgewalker. I also used a very loose analogy as follows: The U.S. Army is unique in that it has soldiers and real soldiers. Those that start out in or stay in Airbourne, those that do Rangers and those that do Special Forces are the real soldiers.
  • September 28, 2011 7:30 AM PDT
    Bum wrote...
    Yo, man, I once put it this way to someone who asked me what a real biker is. I told him when you are one you'll know it. When you meet one you'll know it. Its really simple, your a real biker when all you do are bikes and you're a loner. Hey man, ur welcome around me Edgewalker. I also used a very loose analogy as follows: The U.S. Army is unique in that it has soldiers and real soldiers. Those that start out in or stay in Airbourne, those that do Rangers and those that do Special Forces are the real soldiers.

    Your so called loose analogy is assinine!! Every man or women that signs up for the military is a real soldie period!! You are going to have a tough time convincing someone who spent time in a combat zone that they aren't "real soldiers" Your comments are offensive to all of us who have proudly served this country! JERK    
    • 844 posts
    September 28, 2011 7:52 AM PDT
    I got to agree with you there wheels, a really bad analogy!!! Some people let their mouths (or fingers in this case) go faster than their brains.

    And for the "biker" thing... I've said it before and I'll say it again... who gives a rats a$$ if someone wants to call themselves a biker and don't live up to the "qualifications" that someone else arbitrarily put together to be called a biker.

    Lets not confuse bikers with club members.

    As far as I'm concerned if you have your knees in the wind, love your bike and RIDE IT, go ahead and call yourself a biker. Your not going to offend anyone 'cause anyone who is truly a biker doesn't spend all their time wondering what a real biker is!

    • 1855 posts
    September 28, 2011 10:28 AM PDT
    I never thought much about being a "biker" but I've thought about what others may imagine a "biker" to be. I've come to the conclusion that the personification of a "biker" by civilians (for lack of a better term) is pretty much the same for all daydreamers; and of course we've all daydreamed some, right!? I mean, I had daydreams of being a trucker, a smoke jumper, and maybe even a gigalo at times.It made me wonder how others look at me and think about my life, my lifestyle. Not that I actually give a ratsass what people think of me personally but more into what they perceive the life to be. Perhaps lonely, Perhaps romantic, Perhaps exciting, maybe even a hard life.

    I wrote a song a few years back after my wife died in a MC accident. I thought about life all alone on the road so I wrote "Legend On The Road"; about a man searching for something he had left behind. It's a biker tune but it's really an analogy for whatever part of life one might have passed up along the journey. If this links works....here's the tune. And BTW, for me a biker is someone who holds his head up in the rain. LOL

    http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=6536038&q=hi&newref=1
    • 544 posts
    September 28, 2011 10:58 AM PDT
    This has been an interesting read for sure. There are good and bad people in any catagory. What you look like doesn't make you good or bad. What you ride sure doesn't make you good or bad. Everyone knows it's your character that makes you good or bad. Bikers are no different than any other catagory of people. There are good ones and bad ones but for the most part I see them as good. I don't think I would call myself a biker at least not in the present company out of respect but I love bikes and love to ride them. That and a good character makes you alright in my book.
  • September 28, 2011 11:58 AM PDT
    Bum wrote...
    Yo, man, I once put it this way to someone who asked me what a real biker is. I told him when you are one you'll know it. When you meet one you'll know it. Its really simple, your a real biker when all you do are bikes and you're a loner. Hey man, ur welcome around me Edgewalker. I also used a very loose analogy as follows: The U.S. Army is unique in that it has soldiers and real soldiers. Those that start out in or stay in Airbourne, those that do Rangers and those that do Special Forces are the real soldiers.


    Got to agree with wheels above, that is  a totally stupid and disrectful statement and I can gaurantee that Bum never wore a US military uniform or he damn sure wouldn't have said it!  I am a real soldier and also lost a lot of good friends in Vietnam who were all REAL SOLDIERS.

    This "who's a real biker" is getting real old too.  Here's how you tell a real biker... he appreciates anyone and everyone else how loves to ride and doesn't worry about it.  A real biker isn't threated by other people who ride just because they have a full time job and only ride on weekends with their new bike and leather.  It's the wannabes that are threatened because they spend so much time trying to prove they're a biker instead of just being one, and oh my god if that biker title they worked so hard for gets diluted they are completely lost with no identy.



    • 17 posts
    September 28, 2011 12:29 PM PDT
    I really liked that post. That's the same thing I have asked myself. I'm 63 and retired now my wife of 32 year's is dealing with terminal cancer, I am a cancer survivor. When we got married she was raising three children whom I adopted, gave up riding to help her raise those children. She purchased a 2011 HD road king classic and gave it to me. She said she knew that I would never get biking out of my blood guess she knows me after 32 years. It's not about what you ride or how you look, it's about the ride the open road, freedom and brother's and sister's that feel the same way. We passed a bike on the side of the road today we were in our F150 Pickup. Turned around went back and asked if the rider needed help. He didn't but you don't pass a rider sitting on the side of the road without checking if they need help. It's what we do for each other. I don't know if I am a biker been called that I just love the road and riding don't care where i'm going just got to go.
  • September 28, 2011 1:18 PM PDT
    Been sitting back reading the posts some good some has raised the hackels of some of the cyclefish brothers and sisters. We all have something in common right or wrong we all ride and can call ourselves bikers or motorcyclists or what ever we want to. GaDruid has said it all for sure.
    • 611 posts
    September 28, 2011 3:06 PM PDT
    Oh wow, some really great replies and I wanna say "Thanx" to all of y'all for replying. Wheels... I know what you mean and I'm 'Bummed' that Bum pissed ya off... Even if I do know what he meant. You are right, of course, and ALL that have served (from supply/admin/motor pool to Infantry/Special Ops/Armor) are Real Soldiers. I'm sure Bum would agree (RIGHT BUM?)...
    So, I'll just say to y'all

    RideEnjoyRepeat! Keep on riding...

    Edge
    • 0 posts
    September 28, 2011 3:53 PM PDT
    Oi Edge old mate I gotta funny one for ya..A few weeks ago our Bundaberg chapter had their poker run and about 20 of us took off up there to party with our mates.Well the run was over and the lads put on a bloody rippa beano out the back of their local pub..Whiskey was flowing bullshit was too.There were a few members from a couple of local 1% clubs there and all was going cool.We had our own bar out back and the publican had recruited(and liqoured up) some young back packer sheila's who would compete in the jelly pool for the grand prize of 300 bucks..All was good in the world. I went into the bar to see the publican about something and walked past a bunch of young lads watching the rugby world cup on TV when I hear in a smart arsed pommy accent"are you a real biker mate". I gave the lad a bit of advice in the form of shut ya mouth or ya will end up skun in a ditch or something equally as witty..He pulled his head in and took my advice.Then the rugby finished and these half smart young blokes decided it would be a bloody rippa idea to come out and just make drunken pains in the arse of themselves..Well all I can say is young Pommy backpacker blokes aint so friggin bright.One walks upto a bloody big 1% and asks "mate are you a real biker or what".Old mate the 1% told him to piss off and gave the half smart little bastard a chance.With that the kid pokes his Sargent at arms patch and says" Oh so your the big tough one" which was all he got out before our mate the 1% picked him up by the ears kissed him on the mouth and threw him over the fence..The other lads decided it was time to leave shortly after this event and I thought to myself "shit he got off lightly" but we were all having a fun night and didnt wanna ruin it for anyone so we let shit slide...The old if ya gotta ask ya dont know thing came to mind shortly after that..But shit there were half dressed young sheila's playin in jelly good music and bloody good whiskey so I was philosofyin too much after that..CHEERS BOOF
    • 611 posts
    September 28, 2011 5:07 PM PDT
    Oi Boof! Bloody good tale! Rippa, and the Sargent did let that lil pommy off easy! Didn't need the constable involved on such a good beano/jelly roll, ya know? Thanx for the laugh, it felt bloody good!
    Edge