What is your riding etiquette?

Well on the bright side on 10-20 years most of them won't be riding, I just hope they don't take others with them.

I also notice this a lot, and it is not just back roads.
I have seen these things in the city and on main highways and i've only been riding for just over a year(2005vfr800 is my first).
I hate to say it but i believe almost 75% of sport bike riders ride like this on a consistent basis, heck some of them are my friends(friends not riding partners).

I am 24 and in the demographic of many of these new riders and i can't comprhend the blatant disregaurd they have for other people.

Another fact i have also noticed is most of them have NOT been to rider training or if they have went to a school focused on getting a licence asap with out learning to ride.

So we have a group of riders that do not care about others, ride in a dagerous fashion, have not had the proper training.

I can't say why this is the case, but the riders who fit that discription will not be riding in a few years. I just wish they did not give the rest of us a bad rap.

As some have briefly touched on there is often a group of squids(i like that term) in town or multiple groups and it seems to be coomon sport bike culture to ride in that fashion. there is even tv shows displaying that side of riding(more exciting tv i supose). As mentioned being a squid is seen as cool, while being more responsible seems to have a stigma attached to it. As mentioned i have riden often with squids and i still do not understand it.(they ride harder on the road but come track day i waxed em....felt good)

Not sure what to say but it is a problem.....and your right it does seem to be getting worse and it reflects poorly on all of us.

 

I ride with respect,u sound like a bunch of old ladies and I'm from cali,peace,eh?

 

Dearest Malcster:

I believe that your impression of our polite discussion regarding the topic of etiquette may have been generated by the continued and prodigious use of multisyllabic words used by the members of this forum to voice our individual acumen on such a subject. I will choose not to allow your female metaphor to be my only guide to establishing your cerebral credentials. Adios My Friend.

Translated

uz think real men ride hard and dabitches talk sheit ‘bout safety. Uz wish uzwaz kool as all dat, but you ain’t. AMF. -out

:smile:

 

every generation has had them, but with promotional items to the almighty dollar directed to the youth, You just have more of them doing it !

Until we go by the way side of a Al Gornian facist sociaty (in process now) in charge, it will alway's keep happining.


A little Old School but still apply's

There Young, Dum, & full Of cum :tsk:

 

Better a live healthy old lady than a banged up or dead squid.

 

Does this fall into the "Dazzle them w/ brilliance or baffle them w/ bullsh!t" category:biggrin:

 

Thought a friendly Brit may have piped up to explain a bloke described as a Nancy is someone a bit effeminate.

Riding a horse side saddle was considered something well bred ladies did in the old days therefore a Squid riding side saddle on a Highway is not Cool but a bit of " a big Nancy boy ", suspect not the image Mr Daredevil squid is really striving for.

 

A bit too Nancy?

Speaking of looking "a bit Nancy" I pulled this from the VFR mailing list. Dude got to ride bitch with Mamola around Laguna Seca...

so would you ride or say no....? I'd ride with the tinted shield for the sun. Not that there's anything wrong with clear...

http://vfrworld.com/forums/vf-vfr-mailing-list/9854-motogp2007-2up.html

 

New law in Washington State

A year ago the state put together a committee (riders, legislators and law enforcement) to provide some direction out here. The numbers of fatalities were increasing and a large number of them from were non-endorsed riders. So on July 21st they began impounding bikes from those who do not carry a valid endorsement/permit.

I cannot tell you how many bikes I have seen hanging off the tow trucks in the last 2 weeks.

Five weeks ago, I went out on what was supposed to be a 2 day ride from Seattle to Mt. Saint Helens and then around the east part of the state. My riding partner (Moto Guzzi Stone) had been riding too fast for the conditions. I told him when we got to the top of the mountain to enjoy the ride, no rush, we are already there. Needless to say about 7 miles later, he started up with his speed. Long story short. He does not ride anymore. He totaled his bike on a 90% left hander. Ran out of road and into the trees. Bikes totaled and he's lucky to be alive.

I’ve been riding for 40 years (47 yrs old now) and I’m sick and tired of these knuckleheads and their lack of respect for the sport and fellow travelers.

 

Would definitely say yes to a spin around a track on a MotoGP bike....

:biggrin:

 

If I might play devil's advocate here, I have one simple question to ask: How are you ever supposed to get good enough to do these things without being a squidkid if you just NEVER DO THEM?
I didn't learn how to ride wheelies by staying on two wheels all day and all night, and I didn't learn how to corner at the speed limit.

 

I've been reading this thread with some interest as i used to be an instructor. I have no knowledge on how easy it is to pass your test across the pond or what sort of training you are given but i'll give you a perspective from the UK/European side.

The UK sells more sportsbikes than most countries put together. Therefore there is a type of rider with a mentality already built in that likes to go fast. Most of the accidents sadly involve new, young riders but the next group surprisingly are the 40 year olds who have come back into riding after having a break of 10-15 yrs. No matter how much we hammer into them (young and old) the aspects of safety, once that person has the licence, i can't stop them from buying the fastest, nimblest machine out there.

What follows is a recipe for disaster really, novice rider + fast machine = trouble. It's not until something happens to these people that they suddenly realise that maybe they don't know it all and maybe further training is required to improve their abilities. The fact that they show little regard for other road users can be down to a number of factors. I can name a few here,

Mid-life crisis
Youth
Money (ability to buy whatever you want)
Break from the mundane
Peer pressure

To name a few. As to how to change the attitudes of some riders? I don't know if you can. All you can do is point out the errors of their ways, show them videos of what happens when things go wrong, offer them extra training. Restricting the speeds of motorbikes is also an option (which we do in the UK for new riders, backed by the manufacturers) but that still doesn't stop people from riding like nutters.

All we can do is hope they see sense, at the end of the day you're either sensible or you're not. If you don't show consideration to other road users then expect none back.

 

yeah what HeyMike Said

 

Without trying to sound like a fuddy duddy wouldn't it be better to learn how to wheely on your Mountain bike / dirt motorbike or learn how to corner at 10/10's on the track. The public road is not there for stupid risks just riding is risky enough enough. Personally try and balance twistie riding between being fast enough to be fun and slow enough for at least one unknown.

 

Hey you old farts- quit lumping the young with the stupid!:biggrin: I'm 26 and can't stand my own peers. I mostly ride with older "gentlemen becuase I would like to ride into old age. Sad fact is, these squids don't ride because they are motorcyclists, they ride because it's A: cool, B:thrilling, C: something they think they can conquer (no matter the riding style). These Squids can't seem to grasp that the more they try to be D: all of the above, they lose everything they are aiming for because they are losing control of themselves and their ability to think straight. Next time you hear Joe Shmuckatelly talking about a "motorcyclist" doing squidly things- Inform that they are not a "Motorcyclist" they are a "squid". We on this forum is of the Motorcyclist variety- a true Rider in every sense of the word (save a few miscreants). Motorcyclists ride motorcycles as a lifestyle, looking to enjoy riding motorcycles for the sake of riding motorcycles.
"squids" ride motorcycles for completely selfish reasons and don't care what the general public has to say about it, let alone how it affects real "Motorcyclists". This is what I say to anyone uninformed who brings up the subject.

Now all's I have to do is avoid getting started on some of the snobby "beemer" riders I have been cursed to witness..........:boxing:

 

Beemer riders not the only ones tbh. I see exactly the same from hardcore Harley riders, in fact any niche one manufacturer club tend to be like that. Don't know why, guess its just how it is.

 

E'rrrr, ummm, shuffling awkwardly looking at my feet, around three quarters of my distance riding is with the VFR club :redface: