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I'm late here but I also very respectfully disagree with the OP. Riding dirt bikes has without doubt made me a better rider. Most of the reasons have already been mentioned.. But here goes anyway.. Riding dirt bikes and starting young as I did, has allowed me to spend far more time riding bikes.. which in turn, means I've had that much more time and experience to allow the "basic operation" of a motorcycle to become second nature.. a good thing no matter how you cut it.. Riding dirt bikes also teaches you how to push your limits.. how to assess levels of risk, and how to make educated judgments based on your ability. And it allows you to learn the "basic physic's of how a powered, two wheeled vehicle works.. which by the way, is something that's far easier to learn on a 300 dirt bike than say.. an 850 cruiser / touring bike.. And finally, as others have mentioned, there's the skill set.. and sure, there are some differences, but its not all different.. and on a dirt bike you can learn how to control skids.. how to slide and drift, how to shift your weight, how to go over obstacles, all of which are very relevant to street riding.. The list goes on but I won't keep repeating what everyone else has already posted..
It seems to me that the OP is slamming dirt bike riding because he never rode dirt bikes, or, and probably more likely, he was so annoyed by a "newbie's" questions.. that when said "newbie" mentioned dirt bikes.. his statement somehow grew to mean that all of us who "grew up" on dirt bikes are somehow "newb's" and therefore lesser riders than those elite among us who've only ridden street bikes..
As such I probably shouldn't admit this.. but with 2 Harley's and a Buell in the garage.. I'm very seriously thinking about buying a used Honda xl650r.. to go play in the dirt.. I know.. shame on me.. oh well..
I only read the first page. Dirt bikes made me a far better rider than i would have been without. course it almost killed me when i had a 2 stroke street bike in 77 that i road like a dirt bike on the street!
i am a total newbie and i didn't take any offense to his statement because i think what he was getting at was people who are totally new pretending that they've been a life long biker instead of admitting they haven't been riding long and learning a thing or two.
As has been mentioned before experience doesn't equal ability. There are riders who do have some years of experience, but they aren't very good at it. There are people with very little experience who are awesome riders.
I cross paths with a LOT of bikers and do not recall ever actually meeting anyone who was a poser. I mean, the people I meet *rode their bike* to where I meet them. Then, we ride around all day. It is a unique person that is drawn to riding a bike. It's not something someone can really "pretend" to do - falling down creates problems. It's something in your blood. It takes more than a bit of courage to put yourself out there on the road with a bunch of multi-ton vehicles all around you.
Yet, there seem to be people who somehow run into "posers" on an almost daily basis. I suspect that says more about *them* than it does the people they meet.
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My two favorite things - my wife & my Harley
