I am an ex-Marine also. I joined in 1988 and bought my first new Harley one year later. Twenty two years later I still like strippers but have traded the whiskey and cocaine in for beer and not much else...most of the time. Where I live most of these clowns have more money than road time. These guys think a hard day is 300 miles on an Ultra classic. These are mostly military guys around here (Air Force..don't laugh) but it is a different breed now. These guys can't even get in an old fashioned fist fight for fear of offending someone. I still remember the first real good, hard core *** kicking I took as a young Marine in Okinawa, Japan circa 1989. I ended up with eight stitches in the chin and a bunch in the forehead (them little Jap bastards are tough). If you bust somebody up like that now you're going to jail and getting sued. It is a new era brother..an era of pansies and douche bags.

 

Ahhh, the past is so romantic.

I started riding in the 1950s and back then and even into the 1970s if you saw another rider (and they were few and far between) you somehow sensed something in common between yourselves. Maybe that's how waving got started. You could ride across country and if you were short on cash chances are that some biker you had never met before would offer to let you crash for the night at his place. These were the times when gas stations had mechanics, small towns had maybe one or two Harley riders and they were known and could be called upon for help with your ride if you needed it.

But all was not beautiful. In the 1970s, law enforcement became suspicious of almost anyone riding a Harley. Stops for "safety" inspections or handlebar height checks became common and naturally included checks for outstanding warrants. This was annoying to law abiding riders. And damn inconvenient to those with warrants.

Now there are so many riders of so many brands that bikers no longer stand out except in their own minds. There are good people riding today. Some of us may be old and fat and not as interested in each other anymore but we still respect most other riders and know somewhere inside ourselves there is a little of that old devil may care attitude that whispers in our head that we need to live free.

It's all good. Ride safe.

 

So true. All we had was a manual, a couple knowledgeable friends and sometimes a helpful dealer parts guy.

As a black man I never got into the culture beyond wrenching. But it was cool. If I saw someone stranded at roadside, I'd stop to lend a hand no matter who they were. Others helped me as well. I recall one time I stopped and helped a Chicago area Hell's Henchman. Dude looked at me like I was nuts...that is until I loaned him the tools I carried in my fork bag. After we fixed his bike, we stopped for a beer and then parted ways. That was over +30 years ago. Today, I'm still friends with the guy.

 

I also like hookers. Czech hookers are the best. I've been to Thailand, The Philippines, China, Mexico, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Austria, and quite a few other places that I can't recall and the Czech tops them all. Life is great as a divorcee with a good job.

 

I don't consider myself a "biker" and I don't consider myself a "poser". I just like to participate in my own way in whatever the biker culture has become because I like bikes and riding my Harley. I like going to rallies sometimes and checking out the scene because the thing is, it doesn't matter how old or how young or how rich or poor you are. It's just something you have in common with other folks and it's a way to party and enjoy life. So I'll hang with people who I like and avoid those I don't and I'll keep doing it as long as I can because I'm not going to sit around playing bingo.

 

I agree with Steveh326; the biiigest change has been brought about by the reliablility and the cost of a harley. Harleys are no longer cheap and adventure-some transportation. They are expensive, but reliable. Being the case they typical harley rider now is empty nesters with money. They have their kids raised and looking for adventure with or with out their wives. In east Tennessee and western North Carolina they are taking notice of this demographic and catering to bikers in the mountain resort areas. Note the developement of Tail of the Dragon, biker campgrounds, biker resteraunts, and hotels that say "biker friendly". The new biker is most often 50+ years old and both blue collar and white collar grabbing all of the life they can.

 

I think a couple of tough wars created the counterculture type biker. These were guys that saw life and the world at their worst. A lot of younger guys joined up with these veterans. The Vietnam mess produced more guys who were disenchanted with the establishment. I think we see a lot of veterans coming back from the current wars with similar attitudes. Veterans love Harleys ... but not all of us can fit in with that counterculture way of life. My 2 cents ... just a useless opinion I guess.

 

Thinking back I believe I was stopped back in the 70's and harassed because I was riding a chopper. The cops thought nothing of stopping and checking registrations, reconstructed titles and the lot and write you a ticket in a heartbeat. Nowadays they look the other way unless your doing something stupid. Might be the grey hair that gets me off the hok... hehe!

 

Folks analyze to much, just ride the fricken bike and be done with it.

 

I think the topic of discussion was about the old biker lifestyle, not pimpin'!