I would call My self a Biker in a sense because I Ride, but when you say "Biker" you think of the Rough types that are in Gangs and go in Barrooms, into Drugs and those kind of things. I am more of a Rider who likes to Ride, Enjoy being on the Bike, Freedom of the Open Road.
I would say the ' Biker Image" has changed because Bikes are more expensive and People are making more Money and have Good Jobs, you have to Today to Afford them. I have a Tattoo and a Shaved Head but I have a Good Job and Pay My Bills and not into the Drugs or anything associated with that Lifestyle!

 

im not i started out on vespas & brettas, ive only had byks for 30yrs! so i must still be a scooterist! untill i go to a scooter show then they call me a byker!!!!!!!!!!! dilligaf, both got 2 wheels

 

Ive been to Sturgis, been on the Love Ride, West Coast Thunder, Laughlin River Run and the Patriot Ride just to name a slim view. They were all fun but riding in a group with up to 20,000 bikes isn't really where it's at for me. Riding alone or with a friend and traveling down the roads less traveled while having little more than a map and some directions from a local is where its at for me. I wave to all the old fashion way and hold my low side two fingers out thus expressing my love for 2 wheels. I stop when I see another rider on the side of the road to check their status and get a thumbs up. I listen to the non riding public tell me how dangerous it is and call me an organ donor. I also hear the old lady who comes up when I park my sportbike only to ask if I'm not too old for this. In either case what they say is meaningless as they just don't get it. If all this means I'm a biker then I too am guilty as charged.

 

No, not a biker...just a motorcycle enthusiast. I don't try to pass myself off as one either...all my gear is functional, can I help it is all black leather. Do like enjoy looking tough? Sure, but that started way before getting the cycle..it just comes naturally.

 

Yessir! I couldn't have said it better.....so I won't try, but I've said all this before when asked this question.......I consider myself very lucky as well!

 

+1 JeffBarb.....well said...now I am concerned that I reponded to the thread because it indicates that I must be a NEW biker and missed the preceding gazillion posts along these lines...John

 

Great readin' here... I guess it all depends on what your preception of a "biker" is.
Years ago, people hated em' (public's perception of a "biker" anyway)(I remember the
81's got the front page spread on the Saturday Evening Post, in the mid late 60's and a whole part of the mag dedicated to them ) for how they looked and what they represented, as were the hippies hated for they looked and dressed, and what they represented.

In the early mid 80's it became fashionable to ride a HD; back when HD bought back their company from AMF. It became a status symbol of saying that you've made it financially to say, "Check it out", showin' off your new toy, where as most folks were just tryin' to raise their kids and pay off their mortgages.


Many thought that this was cool and emulated this style or aspired to do so. I would venture to say the era of where probably the majority of the folks that are on this forum are from.

However; there were those, and still are that wanted a HD so badly that they had to scrimp and save, and deny themselves those 4 dollar coffees, just to be able to have that experience.

I've been told that in Europe, the many of folks buy HD's just so that they can join the
1%er groups.

So again it all depends on what your perception is.

Maybe all in all it's a state of mind....as all things are...

 

Started off on dirt bikes and rode for many years. My son and wife also ride dirt bikes. Finally got a Harley -Davidson, a life long dream come true for me.
Yes, I,m a biker, but you could never tell by looking at me. Inside my soul I ride.

 

been riding since I was 14 so I am a master biker, also love to fish and make my own baits for about 20 years so I guess I,m a master baiter also

 

Ride with anyone on two wheels. Yes.