This weekend our town hosted one of its annual “bike times,” where a bunch of people converge on downtown on various kinds of motorcycles to party, show-off, check out each others’ rides, listen to live music, drink beer, eat good food, and just generally get rowdy.
I’ve walked it with my ex-bf before and with friends, but not for a few years now. Older son and I went out for lunch yesterday away from downtown but there are always folks who want to check out other areas of town. Let’s face it, West Michigan in summertime is paradise. This group of bikers arrived after we had been seated. One thing I can say about them is that they know how to get LOUD.
We saw their bikes after lunch, on the way to the car. I said, “I bet those bikes belong to the loud people.” My back was to them so I never saw them, but my son did. He said, “Yeah, they do have a look.”
I have nothing against motorcyclists with a particular look, and I hope you understand what I mean by that. Part of it is to be safe (leather, boots, etc.) but part is to feel unity with a group with like interests. They were having a good time laughing and getting loud, and once a year in town is fine with me.
Here are some close-ups of the one bike. The grey/pewter one was cool looking too, but son was waiting for me so only took pics of this one.
Tao Talk 
Its huge in the US, bikers, are I mean!
We don’t have as many here in Ireland!
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Some truly impressive-looking bikes. I have no problem with bikers whatsoever as long as they behave like normal folks. What does upset me is what I observed yesterday afternoon on my way to Atlantic City for a music event. I have a post coming on that tomorrow morning.
There were two bikers on a four-lane highway speeding like maniacs, probably going 100-120 mph – I’m not kidding! They were so incredibly fast. The crazy thing is there were many cars and they went in-between lanes! All it would have taken to cause a horrible accident would have been one driver drifting a bit to the side or perhaps attempting to switch lanes while these brainless maniacs came up from behind.
I completely get the thrill of going fast. But for crying out loud, don’t do it on a regular highway, especially when it’s fairly crowded. If you want to find out how fast your bike can go, go to a racetrack!
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When I lived near the Santa Cruz Mountains, there was an informal “century club” for motorcyclists who could maintain an average speed of 100 mph over a particular stretch of mountain road. Since there were driveways with limited visibility along the road, some died in the attempt.
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Oh no. Like Christian said, take it to the race track and don’t be no foo. I believe some have a subconscious (or conscious?) death wish.
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Yikes, that’s just really unfortunate!
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Oh my goodness, Christian, I can’t help but think “squids” like that are death-defying thrill seeks who believe they are indestructible. I picked up the name squid from my ex-bf, who has ridden motorcycles all of his life; he defined it as hotshots that you later find mashed on the highway looking like squids. And who else gets harmed when they spin out? Even if the person in the car isn’t harmed physically the mental anguish and guilt such crashes invoke aren’t easy to shake. Let me guess, they weren’t wearing helmets? Taxpayers will pay to patch them up, give them prosthetics, put them through physical therapy etc., when insurance cap stops paying.
What drives me loco are the ones they make intentionally as loud as possible. Some say they do it so people know they are coming and watch out for them. I think a lot more think they sound cool along with the look.
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They were wearing helmets – and t-shirts and shorts! One can only imagine how their arms and legs look in case of an accident, though given their reckless speed, professional bike outfits may not make that much of a difference either!
I also don’t like when bikes are extremely loud. I agree it’s not about safety but all about projecting power.
In Germany, Harley Davidson motorcycles can only be sold with sound mufflers – at least, that was the case while I was still living there.
Nowadays, with speed limits on the “Autobahn” being pretty common during evening and nighttime hours to reduce the level of noise, I can’t imagine those regulations for motorcycles have changed.
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I love classic motorcycles….they are like artwork to me.
I do like going to car shows at times…to see those 60s and 70s cars and bikes.
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Max, I do too. I used to go to them fairly often with my ex.
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