Oh God, it's ROT weekend. The posers are back.

[Incubus]

As I rode to work this morning, I was riding down 6th Street, which is the heart of the entertainment district here in Austin. There they were up ahead, already unloading their chromed out Harleys off the trailers into the prime parking spots. It was 6:45 a.m.

Yup, the pretenders are back. The trailer queens are in town. And here were some that weren't even pulling up two miles out of town to unload their bikes and ride the rest of the way. These guys were unloading them straight into the primo nightlife parking spots so they could lean against them later and pretend they bad. Oh. My. God.

For those who do not know, the Republic of Texas motorcycle rally is an annual event here in Austin. There will be 50,000 motorcycles in town. The streets will be clogged with bikes. The parking lots will be clogged with the trailers they haul them in on. The newspaper today said ROT rally has grown into the second largest bike rally in the country. I guess maybe Sturgis is number one.

The vast majority of the bikes are chromed out Harleys and Custom choppers, most of them getting their only exercise of the year. They'll ride them tonight in a five-mile parade and then load them back on the trailer to tow them home. Four years old, 20 original miles. Truth.

The riders will be decked out in leather and do rags, posing and acting tough, plastered with authentic looking temporary tattoos. I don't know who will be running the insurance agencies and dental offices across the country this weekend. They be here.

It's so tiresome. The only good thing I can say about thids weekend is I will be riding one of my vintage bikes. I will pull up somewhere near an assemblage of $50,000 chrome motorized statues, and everyone in the area will forget about the hawgs.

They will only have eyes for my bike. They will walk around it, ask questions, tell stories about the Honda or Yamaha they used to have when they were young. Some will ask to buy it. And the posers will fume.

It happens every year.

Patrick

[ross]

funny as h*ll....

hey there Succubus.....just had 2 laugh about your prediciment...i know just how you feel, but we have something like that happen every week downtown mt. clemens, mi.....it is called car night, but any one can show....with whatever.....it's funny, but the hardley riders gather around the coney island.....i guess so they are close 2 the bathroom....the car owners hover around the coffee shops....maybe so they can't get a dui....and the crotch-rocket riders (and there b*tches) hang around the irish pub.....go figure...i usually cruise main street on the way home from work and they just look and wonder what the h*ll that guy is riding....even the car guys look and wonder....maybe one day i will just stop and let them wonder even more what the h*ll that thing is...i love it...talk 2 ya later...ross

[Incubus]

I think the thing that bothers me is the infernal sameness. Some have ape hangers and some don't and maybe this one has a bit more chrome than that one, but essentially they're all the same bike. They are like great schools of chrome fish swimming down the downtown streets. They are all expressing their contempt for authority and conformity by riding the same damn bike.

Of course, every once in a while you run into a custom chopper. Some of the ones I saw today made me understand why they only get a few miles a year. That's all I would gamble too. I saw one today that looked like somebody decided in was a good idea to jam a Harley engine in the black-chromed frame from a Schwinn. It had a springer fork that had to be 10 feet long and the back tire was wide enough to dance with your wife on. The tank had kind of a cool shape, but looked like if held enough gas to give the bike a range of at least 10 miles.

The tank had a real pretty paint job, though, which is good. It likely will be the last thing the rider sees on this earth when he looks down after he hears the frame crack.

Sorry about the rant. For some reason nobody around here (SWMBO) wants to listen any more.

Patrick

[ross]

been there, done that...

hey there Succubus....hear ya about that one.....hardleys are all the same, just dressed different by differrent riders......no matter what they all seem to be wanna be's....i also hear ya about the ol' lady....my swmbo emanicipated me after 2 months in the man-cave.....go figure...talk 2 ya later...ross

[olebiker]

And that is the reason that I don't have a Harley. I used to have a real nice FLHS it was real good at a tractor pull. The other thing it was real good at is tar snakes even the road center line didn't bother it. Now my dentist rides one. The truth, my dentist, it just don't seem right. I don't have anything against my dentist but it does seem wierd. The new yuppie thing I guess.
By the way I think both Sturgis and Daytona are quite a lot bigger than 50,000 bikes. Like one more zero. I dunno how big Americade is now but it has grown too. If the XS had of been running I was gonna take a ride down. I haven't been since the mid 80s.

[Paintman]

Ah Posers

Well we have 2 months till the Sturgis Rally hits here again. Sturgis is a nice ittle town of 5000 people when rally hits it swells to about 600K we had last yr> and yes we have so many Million $ Buses pull up with 80K custom bikes that may go 10 miles a yr makes ya sick.
You can spot em a mile away the new beard the brand new leathers and a spotless bike. And if you ask em a question about them they dont have a clue> Then you have the guys who pack everything on thier bikes and ride from all over not trailr they ride,. Those are teh guys with the 1000yard stare and a bike that needs a bath but its thiers they wrench on it and they know everything about it.They may not have the 3K$ paint job but who cares when i ride up in 30-40 yo bike people will stop and ask me about it how long ive owned it what all did i do to get it this way and thats what its all about. Any monkey can write a big ck and place dress up but what fun is that id rather be out side cussing at 3 a looking for a valve spring that flung into the balck hole someplace, and enjoy my ride.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH much better now il go take my meds.


John

[egsols]

When I was growing up I thought a custom was some that you made yourself.

When I hear a guy say it took him 2 years to build the bike, paint by so and so, heads by so and so, exhaust by so and so, etc. I wonder if he did anything but write the cheques. I don't have so much of problem if someone wants to fork out large amounts of cash to have a "custom" bike or car, but I don't like it when the make out like "they" built it! Then once its "built" they hardly even ride it. Might as well pay for a picture and frame, cause all they do at the end of the day is look at it.


BTW, I have a "custom" Ford F150 now, I put a dent in the tailgate that I haven't seen matched on any others.

[DJinNH]

Originally posted by egsols
When I was growing up I thought a custom was some that you made yourself.

BTW, I have a "custom" Ford F150 now, I put a dent in the tailgate that I haven't seen matched on any others.

I get "custom" racing stripes down the side of my Dodge RAM every time my dog hangs his head out the window and his drool splatters a new artistic design.

Don

[prometheus578]

"Go make 'em cry."

Ah, Succubus, I wish I could be there.
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to mock the "oh so special" back down to where they belong.
There's nothing wrong with a dentist or some administrative weasle owning a bike. They would then be just like us... bike owners.
But... to try to impress others and inflate your sense of self-worth by being "A Harley ridin' podiatrist"...
Well, surely you can see how much fun I would have with people like that.
I think, Succubus, that you should go there and openly mock and deride them.
Have no worries about your personal safety.
They would no sooner take a swing at you, than they would swing a wrench to do their own maintenence.

[andreashweiss]

I remember last summer on old state hwy two going east towards spokane ,wa me and a couple of buddies passed a chopper(orange county style) ,we ran into him again when he stopped for gas, we chatted he frowned at our old stuff and mentioned he was on a run from wenatchee to spokane,(150mi) and he was on the second day of his epic journey..... I casually remarked we had 900 miles under our belt in our 2 day ride and planned on another 300 yet that day.....

[CarolynS]

Laconia

Laconia starts tomorrow. I guess we're going up for a day of two. Whoopee...NOT!
I have never been to a bike week, although I've always been a biker's girl. 'My' bikers were never the kind that needed that kind of scene. Neither am I.
The amount of machismo is palpable. I can't stand it. So many leather sporting, viagra popping, rebel without a clause-accountant, dentist, ceo-types. ICK!! Makes you want to throw up!
I guess my patience has thinned for these kinds of things as I've gotten older. I am going to keep an eye on HWMBO, and to get a nice, non-HD, leather vest to put my XS patches on. I may as well get something out of it. I will stay up late when we get home and sew them on so I can 'represent' on day two-God! 2-days of being surrounded by mediocrity, idiosyncrasies, and Aqua Velva! GEEZ!
Funny, but I can't wait to go next year. All the changes will be made to the Witch by then, and she'll be looking fine. I can't wait to hear,"What the hell kind of bike is that?" "Who did the paint, the lighting, etc.?" To his credit, HWMBO will say, "Carol did. She does all the work, even has her own tools." I'll rattle off my list of upgrades, hours of work, and costs. I'm going to enjoy having something that is better than theirs, 30 years older, and cost me-when done(estimate)$1,500 including the cost of the two motorcycles that I started with, and the engine work that I couldn't do myself-yet...
Yep, that'll be cool. Especially when I tell them I just got back from XS East, and did a gazillion miles riding, riding, riding...

[olebiker]

You and mother Goose would get along just fine

[CarolynS]

Why not?...

That's what all of them do-tell tall tales, feats of daring-doodoo.
They have no idea of what's really going on anyway, may as well make them wonder...
You can't buy anything for one of their monstrosities for under $100, can't repair it for under a grand(because they can't work on it).
Eff 'em. They don't know how it works, they don't know how to work ON it, most of them don't even know how to ride. Sure, they passed their MC safety course-to get the break on the insurance rates. At least I can say I try and I'm learning, they don't even do that. Just pay someone to take care of their problems. Same thing they do when their kids go South on 'em-'How was therapy today, Sweetheart?' Oh! That'll have to wait. I'm late for my appointment at the spa!'
Mother Goose? Okay, I'll give you that. At least I'm excited and into my old P*O*S* motorcycle. I'm looking forward to getting to get to a XS rally on two wheels so I can meet the people here and put faces to the knowledge and friendship. Not to check out the latest fashion in leather, or what kind of chrome so-and-so put on his bike this year. You wanna call that a fairy tale-go ahead. The bikes being fixed for me this time because I don't have the knowledge (yet) to do what needs to be done or the tools-once again, yet.
You have no idea what I look like-when they hear that I did the work to make it into what they see, coming from my old man's lips-their expressions will be priceless. Like Prom said, Succubus should go down and make them look as stupid as they are-cause that's what I intend to do.
There...now that I've vented my indignant rage...I'm going to go pull the engine out of the parts bike. Take that!

[olebiker]

Mother Goose is the nickname that my wife Kathi picked up. Should have been more clear. I meant that you and she would get along fine

[CarolynS]

Then, I apologize with all my heart...

I was hoping you meant it in a nicer way.
I have been a little touchy about my P*O*S* recently. I don't care if everyone thinks I'm lame because I don't want a HD. Because I happen to love my non-running, 30 year old, Japanese motorcycle. But after a while, it sets my teeth on edge and I get a little snippy about it.
Yes, I am hopeless, but I have my visions of being out on my own(for once)riding and enjoying myself, going where I want to go, stopping when I want to stop. Not following the cars too closely-I hate when he does that-and 'BEING'.
So, I apologize for barking. And for assuming you were one of the people that, quite frankly, I have to restrain myself from giving a dressing down. I hope you can forgive me.
Kathi sounds like a wonderful woman. And it's great that you recognize her as such.