Definition of Biker Friendly

Biker friendly cities...
Biker friendly bars...
Biker friendly hotels...

The fact is that the term, "biker friendly" is somewhat of an oxymoron, because about 99% of all places and establishments are friendly to bikers. Biker money is the same as anyone else's money. Any biker can go to a Denny's restaurant, and receive friendly service there.

It's more appropriate to use the term "biker unfriendly", as that would narrow down your list of search results to a manageable few.

However, when a biker describes a place as being "biker friendly", they mean that the management has an affinity for biker clientele. It's not so much that a lot of bikers go to that place, it's just that bikers tend to be treated with greater attention and understanding.

For myself, I don't give a damn if the management has an affinity for bikers. I just want to be treated like any other customer. If I were to visit a biker bar, I'd expect the level of service to be different than if I were to visit a TGI Fridays. You don't want children and soccer moms at a biker bar; you go to a biker bar to get away from that segment of society.

But biker bars are not necessarily, "biker friendly". Like other establishments, they treat all clientele the same. They just don't kiss ass, and they don't bend over backwards for you. The girls working there will cuss and shake their asses, and give you some attitude if you got a problem. For that reason, the soccer moms and yuppie dads tend to stay away.

The hard core bikers and veterans of the road don't necessarily want to patronize an establishment that actually markets itself as "biker friendly", because all that does is brings in the RUBs and posers. On the other hand, the money that RUBs and posers bring in is the same as anyone else's money.

People are also using the term, "biker friendly cities" to describe a town that isn't waging a war against bikers. This is also somewhat oxymoronic. No city goes out of its way to be friendly to bikers, with maybe the possible exception of Sturgis, SD. Otherwise, 99% of the police departments out there treat bikers the same as they treat cagers. But there is that 1% that seem to pay extra attention to bikes with loud pipes, although that's usually because there is a specific problem of loud pipes, not because they just like to bust bikers.

If anything, bikers don't want extra attention, they don't want staff to go out of their way to welcome them in. They prefer to be treated the same as any other customer, and without being made a public spectacle.

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The Psychology of Washing a Motorcycle

Most everyone washes and polishes their motorcycle at some time. It's how often you do so that reveals something about your interest in riding.

Riders often chide each other over the cleanliness of their bikes, or the lack of cleanliness. Interestingly, a dirty motorcycle is kinda like a badge of honor...

• A dirty bike is a sign of riding a lot.


• The more you wash your bike, the less you ride.


• No one knows if a bike is dirty when its moving down the road.


• An impeccably clean motorcycle is a sign of someone who's more interested in showing off their bike.

There was a time when I spent a lot of money trying to give my bike a certain "look". I bought a lot of chrome pieces and accessories. I kept telling myself that I was doing this to please myself, but in reality, I was excited when someone stopped to look at my bike.

Those days are over.

Later on, when I bought my Harley, the only aftermarket stuff I bought for it was a stage 1 kit, and some extended mirrors so that I could see out of them better. If I want other people to know something about me, it's that my bike is for riding, not sitting in the parking lot.

One of the guys I ride with regularly has the same philosophy. You can stop at a biker bar, and look at all the bikes, and know which ones don't get ridden much, based on how clean it is.

I still wash and polish my bikes once in a while. But there are places on my bikes that are hard to get to, or I have to remove some pieces to get to them. I don't bother. It's not worth the effort to clean those hard-to-get-to areas when the bike is going to get dirty after the next ride.

But for some guys, it's worth the effort to clean all of it.

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Do Motorcycle Riders Hate Scooters?

I was reading this forum post from a scooter rider, complaining that she's being disrespected by motorcycle riders while riding down the road...

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I get the impression that many people riding motorcycles in my neighborhood (socal) cannot respect the right of my 250cc scooter to share space with them.

Am I right? and if I'm right, why? Or is it possible that I am doing something unknowingly to provoke people?

Here's a link to her full post...
http://www.beginnerbikers.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16665

She goes on to specify that on a busy street, during her commute to and from work, she often splits lanes and rides past many other motorcycles. Once in awhile a motorcycle will refuse to move over to let her by. She thinks that these riders are refusing to let her by, just because she's on a scooter.

I have a couple of thoughts on this.

For one, on a busy street, where motorcycles and scooters are splitting lanes, most motorcycle riders are focusing on the cars and trucks. They're not concerned about a scooter rider "showing them up" on skills. If a motorcycle rider is not moving over to let her pass, it's because they are not looking in their mirrors, or they're not comfortable with the situation. It has nothing to do with ego, as she suggests.

Second, there are some scooter riders out there who seem to have a chip on their shoulders when it comes to motorcycle riders. They seem to think that motorcycle riders look down at them. As a result, this segment of scooter riders are looking for any tiny bit of evidence to justify their ire. It's too bad that they harbor this anger while trying to enjoy a ride.

While I've heard some motorcycle riders make jokes about scooters, I haven't met one that took these jokes to heart. I don't know of a motorcycle rider that believes that scooter riders are not taking the same risks that motorcycle riders take when they hit the road. Scooters these days are capable of hitting triple-digit speeds, and have engine displacements as much as 800cc now. If anything the lighter scooter feels the bumps more severely than the heavier motorcycle.

If there is a motorcycle rider who is truly concerned about his ego, that ego is not limited to motorcycles. He'll have the same ego trip with his car, boat, bicycle, or whatever.

The fact is that scooter riders have a greater concern with cagers. Any scooter rider with a chip on their shoulder against motorcycles, should watch out for cars instead.

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