Some People!

[upnorth]

Went out for lunch and on the ride back the same guy(old fart) in a trailblazer cut me off 3 times within a half mile. Once he pulled out from a stop sign right in front of me, twice changing lanes. Does lend some credence to all car drivers are trying to kill you!

[Dave S]

Totally agree. If you ride with that awareness (all cars are trying to kill you) you'll be a safer rider.

I would've had to restrain myself from not saying anything to the blue-hair after an experience like that.

[upnorth]

Well he did get the horn the 3rd time. Looked around with a "huh..what" look on his face. He either didn't see me at all or thought nothing of cutting me off.

[Lowrider06]

its people like that where i would like to carry a small bat attached to the bike, and get along side of them and smash there windows in.....people threaten my life on a bike you deserve it, maybe you'll pay more attention next time. Also i think the elderly like 65 or older need to retake there driving tests...seriously

[upnorth]

Need a wake up dumb azz button on bikes!

[PierBridge]

I have 3 friends that have a whole slew of license plate numbers written down over various incidents. We also have several Law-enforcement friends in our click, who I try to contact to make sure they don't give the personal information out that my PO-ed friends want.

I get the frustration but doing something more criminal then what was done to you just isn't very smart....

Be safe and Enjoy the rides!

[JosMN]

Also i think the elderly like 65 or older need to retake there driving tests...seriously

I totally agree with this, 65 maybe 70 and older retake the test, every 3-5 yrs. I mean, they dont have to spot on in the test, but atleast be coherent of what they are doing. I know for a fact it would save a lot of lives. I cant even count how many times elderly people have pulled out in front of me.

[jwmiller33]

I know motorcyclists are a different breed than the crotch rocket guys, but I can't tell you how many times I have been cut off by someone driving a crotch rocket. Or how many times a crotch rocket whizzes past me going about 30 mph over the speed limit, weaving inbetween the lanes of traffic like laws don't apply to them. Its amazing more of them don't get killed driving like that. I don't ride a bike, but I just felt like chiming in. The crotch rocket riders give bikers a bad name. And sometimes I wish I could have a word with one of those guys after they rip past me at double the speed limit. They sure do look cool tho (enter sarcasm)

[Dave S]

The Mrs was behind a guy on a rocket on 212 in Eden Prairie about 4 weeks ago watching a guy weave around traffic when he impacted the back of a small SUV. Not sure how he ended up but he wasn't wearing a helmet.

I will also add that there are irresponsible people on any kind of bike. Rockets just appeal more to the younger thrill seeking crowd. Don't blame the bike, blame the rider.

[Whoaru99]

The crotch rocket riders give bikers a bad name.

Yup. Those darn crotch rocket riding kids are right up there with the hardcore biker gangs.

I own and drive both types of bikes, cruiser and crotch rocket. I don't condone weaving in and out of traffic and high speeds on busy roads, in traffic and such, but out on some lonely back roads, hey, you know you'd open it up every now and then too.

[reinhard1]

dont drive a cycle but in my observation of the bike riders the Harley drivers are much better at driving safely than the crotch rockets. some of the guys riding those crotch rockets drive them like rockets. to me they look uncomfortable to ride but thats just an opinion. good luck.

[Dave S]

well, yes and no elwood on the Harley riders being safer. How many of those on Harley's or foreign built cruiser bikes do you see not wearing helmets? I just saw a group going through Le Sueur this afternoon (approx. 200 bikes), mostly Harley's and other cruisers and maybe 30% had helmets on.

Between Le Sueur and Henderson on 93 I met a group of about 75 rockets. Every one of them was wearing a helmet and not displaying the poor riding habits described.

[Whoaru99]

some of the guys riding those crotch rockets drive them like rockets.

Well, yeah, that's sorta the point of buying a motorcycle with 120-200 horsepower in a 400-500 pound frame.

[upnorth]

well, yes and no elwood on the Harley riders being safer. How many of those on Harley's or foreign built cruiser bikes do you see not wearing helmets? I just saw a group going through Le Sueur this afternoon (approx. 200 bikes), mostly Harley's and other cruisers and maybe 30% had helmets on.

Between Le Sueur and Henderson on 93 I met a group of about 75 rockets. Every one of them was wearing a helmet and not displaying the poor riding habits described.

I would say about 1 out of 10(or pretty close) folks I see up here on the Range wear helmets.

[PierBridge]

Speaking of Motorcycle gangs... Earlier in the summer on one of our club rides we ended up in St Paul at a friends and a guy who was obviously a member of well known St Paul MC "GANG" pulls up and starts screaming at us to surrender our colors. Meaning take our jackets and patches off immediately as we are not allowed to wear them in there town. Some of us who really understood the situating complied others kind of brushed it off and carried on until a Van showed up about 5 seconds later with more people "BIG BURLY LOUD" urging us to comply or else.

It was pretty intense to say the least...

[upnorth]

Little territorial eh?

[PierBridge]

Yes, it boils down to the MC portion of our patch. They actually sent us an E-Mail thanking us for cooperating with them. We then as a club voted on getting rid of the MC part of our badge/patch to avoid such issues in the future. The vote was nearly unanimous to change it~

[upnorth]

Yeah if all you are out there to do is ride and have a little fun, controversy like that ain't a whole lot of fun.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

Quote:

I would say about 1 out of 10(or pretty close) folks I see up here on the Range wear helmets.

I will have to half agree with you, I live in Mt. Iron and ride quite a bit it seems that their are a lot less than 1 in 10 cruisers out there with out helmets, and I cringe even more when their is a passenger.

I've also noticed that people don't pay attention to small objects like bikes near the local McDonald's, I've had 2 people pull out in front of me their.

I will also add that I am new to the bike world, I bought my first bike this year a GSX650f, one I like the rocket look, second it sits upright, third it was relatively cheep, fourth I wanted some maneuverability. I put 1700 miles on that bike before I had my momentary lack of reasoning, and missed a corner. This was on a low traffic road and I didn't get hurt to bad, I was wearing a riding jacket and a helmet, and glad I was. I now have a second 650f and needless to say I am a little more cautious now.

I will admit that I wish MN required helmets by law, We just had a couple fatal accidents recently...who knows if it would have helped.

[upnorth]

Not going into whether or not there should be a motorcycle helmet law. Myself I think it can and should be a personal choice. But I wear one whenever I am on the bike.

[Dave S]

I had 4 bikes stop in the middle of the road infront of me yesterday to make a u-turn, stopping traffic in both directions. Very foolish for not going to the next intersection, and none of them were wearing helmets. All 4 appeared to be in their 50's.

It's not as though I was a long ways behind. There was maybe 7-8 car lengths between us and they just sat there in the middle of the road until they decided what they were going to do.

[upnorth]

Never quite figured out people who do that kind of stuff.

[Whoaru99]

I've also noticed that people don't pay attention to small objects like bikes near the local McDonald's, I've had 2 people pull out in front of me their.

Probably because they're digging into their Big Mac and fries on the fly.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

I pay attention, They look through me.

I am thinking about getting a headlamp modulator, but at the same time I did want to get a HID kit.