Wow, I never thought of my wife as a "biker." But she does ride her Schwinn! ;o)

 

Whats a real biker anyway ?

I've been riding 40+ yrs, have a successful motorcycle business now, owned multiple HDs which many I built myself, owned a couple bike shops along the way, didn't get an electric start until 1998 ... But am I real biker ?

Having built multiple bikes I can tell you that TV doesn't do the effort justice. It never shows all the welding, wiring, paint sanding, truing spokes, hours & days of making a new bracket or waiting on that one last part or your custom seat to come in. TV takes 2-3 months worth of work & shows you 60 minutes. Just like the show Over-Hauling... 7 - 24 hour days condensed into a 60 min show with commercials.

In ancient days we didn't use windshields or have electric starts, motors leaked everywhere, break downs were frequent. Almost no one rode a bagger then, definitely uncool at the time. Our bikes didn't have gauges to tell us what's happening & most didn't have a speedometer. We could pack a weekends worth of clothing in one saddlebag because the other had tools & spare parts & the sleeping roll was tied to the handlebars. Our paint jobs came from spray cans. We slept on the ground, bathed in a creek & dinner was sardines & crackers. Oh we smelled bad sometimes but, we had a damn good time.

Today I ride a TC103 '07 bagger with electric start, fuel injection that has never failed me during any trip. I stay in hotels & eat at restaurants. I have room to pack everything I need & have extra strap-on bags if I need more room. My tool roll has been used to help others but not used on my bike on a trip.

Is Arlen Ness, Jesse James, Dave Perowitz or Roland Sands real bikers? They have all built successful businesses and are worth far more than most of us here... Just like Paul Sr & Jr did.

Are the Hamsters or HOG members real bikers or must one be a HA or any other 3 patch club member to be a real biker.

So what makes a real biker ? Is it the way you look, smell or having a bad assed attitude or what you ride or...Is it your soul that constantly beckons you to straddle a motorcycle & seek the open roads less traveled ?

So what is a Real Biker ?.... I still don't know.

 

You are right on the money. When i came home from the Army in 1968, October I got into "biking". Bought my first one, a 51 pan complete with saddlebags, side shift, and pogo seat. I live in Minnesota and drove that bad boy until damn near Christmas then the snow got too deep. What did I do? Immediatly took it apart and chopped it. By hand with friends, beer and a little bit of . We cut welded and made every part from scratch, scrap whatever we thought might look cool.I joined a local motorcycle club and never looked back. Tom Rudd, the theif who started Drag Specialties used to check out our rides and before long he had a catalog with premade stuff in it, most of it copies of things he saw on other bikes. Drag Specialties used to be a shop in Minneapolis that built drag bikes and motors. Rudd got rid of his great mechanic and thats the story. We made most everything we could not get from the local harley dealer and had fun doing it. The Tuttels get stuff in crates and all the have is fabrication shops to do sheet metal. Ride, you got to be kidding me. I want to see them ride from thier home to the granddaddy, Sturgis, and back. No hotels, sleep in a park bench at a side stop on the highway get up and go. Now that is what is called a biker.
Happy trails, ride safe, and take the state highways so you can get the real local feel.

 

It's starting to look like I am not a biker. I ride for enjoyment. I have a car and a full time job. I had to buy my girlfriend a heated jacket liner because she was only comfortable down to....... probably 65 degrees. I can have fun and not be too cold down to about 40 degrees if I bundle up and wear a helmet with a face shield. Once it gets colder than that I put the bike away. I will only ride in the rain if I'm going on a scheduled ride. I would not take off for an impromptu ride if it's gonna rain all day. I like having a reliable, comfortable and practical motorcycle. I've been riding street bikes for 24 years, started riding mini and dirt bikes when I was 4 or 5. I'll never make biker status i guess.

 

a real biker are the doctors and lawyers of orange county that have 40,000 dollars harleys, and ride to cook's corner in leather and try to look "badass" as they sip their one coors light, and when you smoke a cigarette by them they give you dirty looks.

 

A real biker is anyone who ownes a bike.

 

If you are respectful of others no matter who they are or might be, are comfortable in your own skin, being nothing more or less than real, and just like being "in the wind"...you might be a biker!

 

Only half right. A biker is anyone who owns and RIDES his bike, no matter the make. Anyone can simply own something. Actually using an object for its intended purpose is what gives it and the owner credibility.

 

My wife actually ran into Paul Sr. in Stafford, CT. a couple Summers ago fueling up his fairly stock harley just out for a ride.
I guess he was attending a bike show in a nearby town and was just out for a ride.
Go figure.

 

....sure as hell doesn't hang around a forum crying about what a real biker is.