I just got the idea to share this... didn't really think about it again until now. I'm new to this forum. I just got my 1st Harley a few days ago, a 2005 Dyna Super Glide.

Keep in mind that I'll be very literal with my words and very thoughtful about what I type. I'll choose my words carefully.

I pull into Auto Zone to pick up some cleaning stuff for my bike. The store is on the main street that runs through the middle of town. It's technically a highway, but since it's the middle of town, the speed limit in this section of road is 45 MPH.

So I'm sitting in my car in the parking lot, parked in a space, getting ready to go into the store. I'm finishing up a phone call with my brother and my door is open, so I can hear everything around me. I'm parked facing the store, so my back is to the road.

The next thing I hear is the hum of a motorcycle coming down the road to my left. So I look over my left shoulder down the road and actually see two motorcycles. They are both traveling in the same right-most lane, going at least 35 MPH (the speed estimation is based on my observation after seeing them ride past, after what I witnessed), but probably not any faster than 40 MPH. The 2nd rider is following about 10 yards behind the 1st.

This is on a 4 lane road with a center lane for turning vehicles. There weren't any cars near them in the 2 lanes on their side of the road.

OK, so that's the setup. Here we go. My astonishment is not with the 2nd, following rider, but the 1st.

As I first hear the hum of the engines and look over my left shoulder and see two bikes, my eyes fixate on the 1st rider in front. One thing I've left out so far is what got my attention to look in the first place. I could faintly make out the sound of music coming from somewhere. I remember thinking to myself, "Where's that music coming from?"

Well, it turns out it was coming from the 1st rider's bike. He's on a big bike with a full fairing and hard bags and the radio cranked... going about 35 - 40 MPH.

The scary part is from the time I first saw him 100 yards down the road over my left shoulder, to the time after I whipped my head around to look over my right shoulder another 50 yards down the road to continue to watch him, he never once had his hands on the handlebars! Yes, that's right. The entire time I could see him he never once touched the grips. He couldn't. His hands were above his head, moving from side to side to the beat of the music.

Now granted, this was a straight stretch of road, but still. Amazing! I've never seen this before. And I hope I never do again.

But wait, there's more. "Oh, that is a little scary", you say. That's not really why I took the time to type all this out.

The truly scary, astonishing thing I witnessed today was the rider literally leaned back and laid down with his shoulders touching the passenger's seat. Yes, he was laying flat on his back! There was no passenger backrest. His head was literally a couple of inches off the rear fender! He stayed laid down on his back for about 2 - 3 seconds, then he did a situp on his motorcycle traveling at 35 - 40 MPH... so he's now sitting straight up again, and then continues with his hands waving to the beat of the music above his head!

Unbelievable!

It really took me a few seconds to process what I'd just seen. I couldn't believe it.

One thing I just thought of is there's a stoplight just 40 - 50 yards down the road from him when he'd left my field of view from the parking lot after he disappeared behind some trees. I didn't hear any horns or tires squealing, so I'm guessing the light was green for him and his riding buddy.

After gathering myself for a few seconds, I told my brother on the phone what I just saw. He doesn't ride, but the first words out of his mouth were, "All it would take would be just one small piece of something in the road to throw his front tire off balance." Well said. And then of course we quickly and easily thought about a handful of other reasons why that was absolutely the craziest thing you could ever do on a bike!

I still don't know whether to laugh, cry or say a prayer for that guy. I think I've already done all three.

Ride safe!

P.S. I know what you're thinking. He was wearing full leathers with built-in CE armor, a full-face helmet and a hi-viz inflatable vest. Um, no. Not quite. T-shirt and shorts.

 

Sounds like a guy who's comfortable on his bike. Not the smartest thing to lie back on a public road, but if he knows what he's doing, short of something like a car or deer suddenly jumping into his path of travel, he's fine. A bike travelling that speed is stable enough that something small in the road won't upset its balance enough to cause a crash. It would most likely shudder and then keep going like nothing happened.

You want to see something that really is scary, check out these guys:

 

The laws need to be stricter and actually enforced for people who don't know how to properly ride a motorcycle.

 

What? If you're talking about the video, those guys know how to ride better than anyone here.

 

HogSmoker, in time you will get more comfortable on your motorcycle. What you saw is not the smartest thing to do, but maybe not as dangerous as you may think. Many peeps ride with no hands on the handlebars, some at a considerable distance.

I will add that if that truly scared you, in time you might be horrified at what else you see involving motorcycles. Good luck on your motorcycle endeavor.

 

The last time I saw someone doing something like that, I let him get a head of me. A red light separated us and then when I saw him again he was laying in the middle of the road and his bike was 100 yards off the road. DOA

 

Usually when someone says something was "dangerous" they mean they couldn't or wouldn't attempt the act because it exceeds their skill level, tolerance for risk or both. Without the proper skill, driving a car to Auto Zone is dangerous.

 

I would be more concerned with drivers who drag their feet at 10 MPH than I would be with someone riding with no hands. The former shows a lack of skill while the later only a lack of judgment.


Congratulations on the new bike and welcome to the forum.

 

 

What, you ain't never rode with no hands?