I've been thinking about motorcycle culture a little bit recently. With all the TV shows and increased public awareness, bikes and bikers have certainly been approaching the mainstream in the last few years.
One of the most profitable companies in America is Harley-Davidson these days. Riding is a popular and increasingly acceptable way to spend a weekend (or a paycheck.) And with all the charity rides and good public relations, it is getting so that you really can meet the nicest people on a Harley-Davidson. Wind in the hair and through the fringe of leather chaps on Sunday. Responsible parent and coworker on every other day.
All of which seems to fly in the face of the rebel attitude and culture that used to be associated with motorcycles and especially Harleys. How many motorcycle purchases were inspired by the image of James Dean or Marlon Brando sporting black leathers and an anti-social attitude? How many riders are trying create a sense that they are part of a devil-may-care lifestyle -- young, angry, and out of control?
This lifestyle image is rapidly becoming just that, an image. One that is purchased almost like buying a membership to a country club and for some of the same reasons. So common is this trend that it has even coined a term: RUB or Rich Urban Biker. Doesn't exactly have the same ring or dangerous connotation as Hell's Angel, does it? But the ever growing popularity and social acceptance of motorcycling is fueled by its mainstream participants. They might be trying to buy an anti-social image, but the most anti-social thing they are likely to do with it is mount some loud pipes on that Hog.
Of course there is a segment of bikers that remains a target of rebel labels and bad press. The sight of their bikes or clothes will immediately single them out as hooligans, punks, and dangerous people. Oh, they aren't likely to take over a town and terrorize the locals. But they do ride the twisty roads like each was built for their own personal enjoyment, drag race on city streets, dart in and out of traffic at frightening speeds, and generally ride as though traffic laws don't apply to them. They can be seen on only one of their two wheels with regularity, as often the front wheel as the rear. When Americans rally around the slogan, "Buy American," these bikers buy foreign (usually Japanese.) Their bikes and attitudes are as colorful as they are loud. They are sport bikers.
Or at least that is a common perception of sport bikers. And it is often undeserved. Yet it is an image automatically assigned to those riding plastic covered, pseudo race machines. In much the same way as the Hell's Angel image used to be assigned to those on cruisers. But unlike our cruiser brethren, we don't generally enjoy the good press of charity rides and TV shows. So our image and reputation have become the dumping grounds for much of the anti-social expectations other people have of motorcyclists.
Of course some of that negative perception is deserved. And because of that, sport bikers sometimes have to explain to people that although some of us do dangerous things on public streets, we don't all do it. I wonder if the early mainstream Harley guys had to explain to people that they weren't Hell's Angels; that they just liked to ride? I wonder if some part of them liked the fact that they had to make that clarification once in a while?
As a sport bike rider, I'll admit I do sometimes like that I am automatically labeled a dangerous hooligan by some people. I like tapping into that bit of anti-social image that accompanies being seen on a sport bike. And truthfully, some of that prejudice does accurately apply to me. And to some other riders, it applies even more accurately. Many of us are rebels who refuse to force-fit ourselves into mainstream society. Our bikes and our attitudes become outward signs of the potential to break traffic laws and the willingness to enjoy it. Because of that we do get bad press and we do have a public relations image problem with the rest of society.
As Harley and cruiser riders approach the mainstream, we are either purposely or accidentally not joining them. We are becoming the inheritors of the bad-biker lifestyle. We are the rebels with the devil-may-care attitude. Well... not all of us, of course. But that is the perception, whether it fits the individual or not. And maybe that is why some cruiser riders don't wave to us. They have become so mainstream that they are The Man. And The Man doesn't approve of us.
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One of the most profitable companies in America is Harley-Davidson these days. Riding is a popular and increasingly acceptable way to spend a weekend (or a paycheck.) And with all the charity rides and good public relations, it is getting so that you really can meet the nicest people on a Harley-Davidson. Wind in the hair and through the fringe of leather chaps on Sunday. Responsible parent and coworker on every other day.
All of which seems to fly in the face of the rebel attitude and culture that used to be associated with motorcycles and especially Harleys. How many motorcycle purchases were inspired by the image of James Dean or Marlon Brando sporting black leathers and an anti-social attitude? How many riders are trying create a sense that they are part of a devil-may-care lifestyle -- young, angry, and out of control?
This lifestyle image is rapidly becoming just that, an image. One that is purchased almost like buying a membership to a country club and for some of the same reasons. So common is this trend that it has even coined a term: RUB or Rich Urban Biker. Doesn't exactly have the same ring or dangerous connotation as Hell's Angel, does it? But the ever growing popularity and social acceptance of motorcycling is fueled by its mainstream participants. They might be trying to buy an anti-social image, but the most anti-social thing they are likely to do with it is mount some loud pipes on that Hog.
Of course there is a segment of bikers that remains a target of rebel labels and bad press. The sight of their bikes or clothes will immediately single them out as hooligans, punks, and dangerous people. Oh, they aren't likely to take over a town and terrorize the locals. But they do ride the twisty roads like each was built for their own personal enjoyment, drag race on city streets, dart in and out of traffic at frightening speeds, and generally ride as though traffic laws don't apply to them. They can be seen on only one of their two wheels with regularity, as often the front wheel as the rear. When Americans rally around the slogan, "Buy American," these bikers buy foreign (usually Japanese.) Their bikes and attitudes are as colorful as they are loud. They are sport bikers.
Or at least that is a common perception of sport bikers. And it is often undeserved. Yet it is an image automatically assigned to those riding plastic covered, pseudo race machines. In much the same way as the Hell's Angel image used to be assigned to those on cruisers. But unlike our cruiser brethren, we don't generally enjoy the good press of charity rides and TV shows. So our image and reputation have become the dumping grounds for much of the anti-social expectations other people have of motorcyclists.
Of course some of that negative perception is deserved. And because of that, sport bikers sometimes have to explain to people that although some of us do dangerous things on public streets, we don't all do it. I wonder if the early mainstream Harley guys had to explain to people that they weren't Hell's Angels; that they just liked to ride? I wonder if some part of them liked the fact that they had to make that clarification once in a while?
As a sport bike rider, I'll admit I do sometimes like that I am automatically labeled a dangerous hooligan by some people. I like tapping into that bit of anti-social image that accompanies being seen on a sport bike. And truthfully, some of that prejudice does accurately apply to me. And to some other riders, it applies even more accurately. Many of us are rebels who refuse to force-fit ourselves into mainstream society. Our bikes and our attitudes become outward signs of the potential to break traffic laws and the willingness to enjoy it. Because of that we do get bad press and we do have a public relations image problem with the rest of society.
As Harley and cruiser riders approach the mainstream, we are either purposely or accidentally not joining them. We are becoming the inheritors of the bad-biker lifestyle. We are the rebels with the devil-may-care attitude. Well... not all of us, of course. But that is the perception, whether it fits the individual or not. And maybe that is why some cruiser riders don't wave to us. They have become so mainstream that they are The Man. And The Man doesn't approve of us.
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