I fear my riding day, and driving days, are unfortunately over, though I miss it immensely. I appreciate the spirit of the post and the inclusivity you are promoting Brother. Keep the rubber side down!
Yes, they are very active in this state. There are a couple of Masonic riders groups actually. One of the clubs run the video cameras at our annual communication. Sadly however, the chapter of the widows sons that was close by moved away to Olympia, and are too far away to be active in, or I would have been more than happy to join. The Grand Lodge here historically have been supportive of the WS and riding in general. Several Grand Masters have been riders.
1. I think you nailed the reasoning. And I think the disdain for the Japanese bikes might have stemmed from many of those WWII veterans who fought in the Pacific Theater. At least at first, as the generations progressed and our relations with Japan steadily improved. Now, I think some of that had carried over as a “tradition,” although I’m thinking some still view the “Metric” V-twins as Harley copies.
2. You’re not going to believe this, but I get the “rubber side down” wave from even the most rough bikers when I’m on my 110. I remember one time I was buzzing downtown when one came up beside me. He looked like Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, but he looked at me and gave me the Rubber Side down two fingers, then took off. It was the Coolest Thing. I’m much more likely to get the wave from a biker on a V-twin than I am from one on a crotch rocket, although they’ve come around more. To this day, I still get waves from more than 90% of those I run across.
I got an insight from a leader of a biker group back around 2011 when someone borrowed my 110 to take the endorsement test. The other bikers razzed the hell out of the guy using my 110, calling him a cheater and a wuss, but the leader told me they’re raking him over the coals because he was giving them trash before I showed up with my bike, then told me that many of them learned how to ride motorcycle on a Honda CT when they were kids.
3. I run across the “2 in front, one in back” trikes, like the Can-Ams. From my observations in downtown Centralia, I’ve found that the bulk of them are women. Which is fine in itself, but it might be also that they’re not familiar with the “Motorcycle Culture” and traditions, so they don’t “follow” them. For example, I’ve jokingly gave them a wave with three fingers (three wheels), but they just wave back like a mother waving off her kid on the school bus. That’s cute, but I think if more do it, they’ll start asking about what we’re doing.
4. The sport bike crowd is nuts. They’re riding vehicles that really belong on a track to run their true potential. So in order to get at least some of the purpose of their purchase, they take their bikes out on a country road and see how fast they run it. And I can see them making a long run in a VERY short order – as long as nobody pulls out in front of them, no deer dart out, etc. My next door neighbor got screwed up badly in a wreck hitting a deer, and I know of a handful of bikers that had near misses with deer. I heard somewhere that deer are responsible for more motorist deaths per year than predators (bears, cougars, etc.) have killed people over the last 80 years. The Sport Bike crowd has no fear. But, I suppose, to each his own.
I haven’t really looked into 5. in my travels, although I have noticed that among woman riders, it seems that the smaller the woman, the larger the bike. I’ve seen a few of them that are small enough to fit on a 50cc scooter handling a large cruiser, arms fully outstretched and reaching in every manner. Not a knock on female riders by any means; I’m thinking it’s more of the fit. You have to make sure you can handle your ride in all circumstances. A small lady dropping a Fat Boy is just as bad as me dumping a 50cc scooter on a test run. Except I end up looking like Baby Huey, while the woman, especially at speed, can wind up in seriously bad shape.
6. I don’t know if the cops are too embarrassed to pull over such a small bike, but in theory, I can indeed exceed the speed limit in town, so I COULD get pulled over for speeding, not signaling, things like that. But I get more waves from the police than static. Probably because they had a Honda Trail in their garage themselves.
Yeah, the hate of Japanese things is a fall out from ww2. It was also because they were known for cheap poorly made products. It wasn’t until the 60s that they started to be accepted a bit more, especially with electronics. Then suddenly people were orientally curious, with the burst of movies, tv shows, martial arts, books, etc.
My first motorcycle was a Suzuki boulevard, basically a knockoff version of a Harley. In fact, the previous owner had stuck a black sticker on the rear fender to cover the brand name. I still have it, gathering dust in the garage.
I also don’t run into too many people who don’t wave, but most of the riders around here are the older crowd.
I also don’t bash people that ride sportsters, the label of a girls bike was started by dealerships in order to sell the bigger more expensive bikes. Nothing wrong with them, especially nowadays with the insanely high prices the new bikes come with. It’s crazy how expensive new bikes are, and why the used bike market is the only thing keeping dealerships afloat.
I fear my riding day, and driving days, are unfortunately over, though I miss it immensely. I appreciate the spirit of the post and the inclusivity you are promoting Brother. Keep the rubber side down!
Great post!
I want an Indian because I’m a contrarian. 😆
Do you guys have “The Widow’s Sons” up there?
Yes, they are very active in this state. There are a couple of Masonic riders groups actually. One of the clubs run the video cameras at our annual communication. Sadly however, the chapter of the widows sons that was close by moved away to Olympia, and are too far away to be active in, or I would have been more than happy to join. The Grand Lodge here historically have been supportive of the WS and riding in general. Several Grand Masters have been riders.
Our WS are really good about showing up and helping in MM degrees.
Let me give these a crack:
1. I think you nailed the reasoning. And I think the disdain for the Japanese bikes might have stemmed from many of those WWII veterans who fought in the Pacific Theater. At least at first, as the generations progressed and our relations with Japan steadily improved. Now, I think some of that had carried over as a “tradition,” although I’m thinking some still view the “Metric” V-twins as Harley copies.
2. You’re not going to believe this, but I get the “rubber side down” wave from even the most rough bikers when I’m on my 110. I remember one time I was buzzing downtown when one came up beside me. He looked like Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, but he looked at me and gave me the Rubber Side down two fingers, then took off. It was the Coolest Thing. I’m much more likely to get the wave from a biker on a V-twin than I am from one on a crotch rocket, although they’ve come around more. To this day, I still get waves from more than 90% of those I run across.
I got an insight from a leader of a biker group back around 2011 when someone borrowed my 110 to take the endorsement test. The other bikers razzed the hell out of the guy using my 110, calling him a cheater and a wuss, but the leader told me they’re raking him over the coals because he was giving them trash before I showed up with my bike, then told me that many of them learned how to ride motorcycle on a Honda CT when they were kids.
3. I run across the “2 in front, one in back” trikes, like the Can-Ams. From my observations in downtown Centralia, I’ve found that the bulk of them are women. Which is fine in itself, but it might be also that they’re not familiar with the “Motorcycle Culture” and traditions, so they don’t “follow” them. For example, I’ve jokingly gave them a wave with three fingers (three wheels), but they just wave back like a mother waving off her kid on the school bus. That’s cute, but I think if more do it, they’ll start asking about what we’re doing.
4. The sport bike crowd is nuts. They’re riding vehicles that really belong on a track to run their true potential. So in order to get at least some of the purpose of their purchase, they take their bikes out on a country road and see how fast they run it. And I can see them making a long run in a VERY short order – as long as nobody pulls out in front of them, no deer dart out, etc. My next door neighbor got screwed up badly in a wreck hitting a deer, and I know of a handful of bikers that had near misses with deer. I heard somewhere that deer are responsible for more motorist deaths per year than predators (bears, cougars, etc.) have killed people over the last 80 years. The Sport Bike crowd has no fear. But, I suppose, to each his own.
I haven’t really looked into 5. in my travels, although I have noticed that among woman riders, it seems that the smaller the woman, the larger the bike. I’ve seen a few of them that are small enough to fit on a 50cc scooter handling a large cruiser, arms fully outstretched and reaching in every manner. Not a knock on female riders by any means; I’m thinking it’s more of the fit. You have to make sure you can handle your ride in all circumstances. A small lady dropping a Fat Boy is just as bad as me dumping a 50cc scooter on a test run. Except I end up looking like Baby Huey, while the woman, especially at speed, can wind up in seriously bad shape.
6. I don’t know if the cops are too embarrassed to pull over such a small bike, but in theory, I can indeed exceed the speed limit in town, so I COULD get pulled over for speeding, not signaling, things like that. But I get more waves from the police than static. Probably because they had a Honda Trail in their garage themselves.
Yeah, the hate of Japanese things is a fall out from ww2. It was also because they were known for cheap poorly made products. It wasn’t until the 60s that they started to be accepted a bit more, especially with electronics. Then suddenly people were orientally curious, with the burst of movies, tv shows, martial arts, books, etc.
My first motorcycle was a Suzuki boulevard, basically a knockoff version of a Harley. In fact, the previous owner had stuck a black sticker on the rear fender to cover the brand name. I still have it, gathering dust in the garage.
I also don’t run into too many people who don’t wave, but most of the riders around here are the older crowd.
I also don’t bash people that ride sportsters, the label of a girls bike was started by dealerships in order to sell the bigger more expensive bikes. Nothing wrong with them, especially nowadays with the insanely high prices the new bikes come with. It’s crazy how expensive new bikes are, and why the used bike market is the only thing keeping dealerships afloat.