Motorcycling, The Next P**SY Past-time?
Ok, i’m warning you now–this is a rant! So if i insult you, get over it. Don’t know about you, but I’m becoming more and more aware that there seems to be this undertow over the past few years that we’re hearing riders (and people doing motorcycle reviews) bemoaning the lack of “features” on motorcycles. Granted, on one side of the coin you’ve got the manufacturer trying to keep their “life line” full with bike purchases and thus cutting a broad stroke to keep those dollars coming in by 1) giving the consumers what they think we want or 2) the mfg attempting to drive the market to believe we “need” that newest and shinniest feature/gizmo on our bikes. Note: you also have the magazines trying to sell their rags in order to stay in business. (That angle is another point to discuss at a later time) Then on the other side of the coin, you’ve got the riders that for some reason, believe that their two-wheeler should be more like their four-wheeled vehicles or a rolling living room. In the motorcycling stables you’ve got the big interstate cruisers (and yes, i currently have one-BMW r1200CL), in-town cruisers, off road, multi-use and sport bikes, trikes etc, etc. To each, his own.
Here at Guilty Customs we make our living by building “bare bone” bikes and parts; that’s our preference and what we believe choppers should represent. However we are open minded enough to appreciate some of the benefits of larger, heavier long distance capable bikes…(who can really ride a rigid cross country and say their back isn’t killing them when they get off?! If they don’t, their lying through their bug speckled teeth!) Before someone starts lobbing comments over the wall at me “Yes i’ve done a multi-state 1200+ mile ride on one of my rigids-so i speak from experience.” Now, to my point: apparently the very nature of motorcycling is in jeopardy of becoming a “P**sy Past-time”.
Case in point: A recent CycleWorld review of the new Kawasaki Concours. Having been on this bike also, the reviewer did a good job in reviewing the bikes performance, comfort, value and handling. However, and here’s my bone of contention…..they bemoan the absence of a GPS system AND heated grips! All i could think of was “How big of a P**sy has the motorcycling community become to think that features (or lack thereof) such as a GPS should determine the purchasing viability of a specific motorcycle?” Has it really come to this? That we as motorcycle enthusiast make decisions on whether we purchase a motorcycles (of whatever make/model) on it’s GPS or hand warmer (or whatever technology that rolling off the assembly line next) enabled capability to get us to the nearest Starbucks across town or Aunt Maude’s a thousand miles away all toasty and without navigational challenges? A motorcycle that from all accounts may be an outstanding performer, capably of doing all that a motorcycle should do, but has the public thumbing it’s nose at it simply because it doesn’t have a GPS or hand warmers, etc, etc?….It’s a shame.
As mentioned, i’ve got a large touring bike in my garage and i really enjoy the bike for long trips. It’s a bike that has styling, comfort and handling that transports me physically (and mentally) to another place in a way i can’t experience in a car. However, I don’t ride my motorcycle with a GPS for the same reason that I don’t have an intercom or cell phone stuck to my ear: motorcycling is my only escape. Period. Isn’t getting away from the work, kids, family, stresses of life, the very point of why we ride? Getting lost and seeing new places is a bonus. What happened to digging out an ol’ trusty AAA map and looking for the road that has the most curves between point “A” and point “B”?
A map doesn’t require batteries and works great anywhere. Lost? So what! Isn’t that’s part of the adventure. Pull into a gas station or restaurant and, oh-my-God, talk to someone! If folks can’t/won’t ride without a GPS or heated appendages maybe they should sell the bike, start walking or buy a VW. Better yet, hand over those keys to someone that will enjoy the bike for what it was built for, freedom.
October 16th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
You mean my ‘76 Honda bobber isn’t going to come with heated grips and Garmin Nuvi 860!?!? That’s it! I’ve had it! Well actually… thank f’n god it won’t. I’m planning a trip next summer on my new bike that will include a ride from Denver, to Seattle, down the PCH to LA, thru Phoenix, and back to Denver. 4000 miles, plan on it taking me at least 2 or 3 weeks, and I plan on stopping plenty of times to ask for directions… either that or taping mapquest directions to my gas tank. I hope I get lost, I hope I end up having to sleep on the side of a road in a sleeping bag, and I hope I wear the same pair of jeans the whole. Damn the smell. I agree with ya buddy… it seems that being a biker now means you hop on your gold wing, stuff your bluetooth headset into your ear, grab your hand warmers, strap your stuffed monkey on to the back of your ride, and drive 40 miles to the mall while making sales calls. Preach on… you’re not singing a song I don’t know the words to.
November 9th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I hear you Carl, I was bitched out on another blog, because I said winter was made to rebuild your bike in a garage with room for 2/3 bikes. ( I recon that isn’t done anymore ), Big deal I never put my bike on a trailer and pulled it to within 4 miles of an event ether.