GhostRider62

I do similar. I'll say, "I'm to F'n old for this F'n stuff.....my too old to ride one of them?" The older, wealthier riders on Sunday rides are better than the crotch rocket crowd tearing up the twisties. They are usually intrigued by my all black laidback recumbent and all black kit.

livedarklions

What would solidarity look like? They go to our meetings and won't cross our picket lines?

I've never been harassed by a biker while riding, honked at or close-passed. Can't say the same about drivers.

bruce19

Riding motorcycles since 1975 and road bicycles since 1981. A lot of my moto friends are also cyclists. Whether one has an affinity/understanding of the other is just a matter of the person involved. I don't think I can construct a reasonable assumption one way or the other.

downtube42

100 miles into my first 600km brevet, it was 100F, I was alone in the middle of nowhere and had all but decided to quit at the next control. Crawling up a climb, I heard a Harley coming up behind me. The engine slowed as it approached, and i figured nothing good would come of this. The dude came alongside and matched my speed. I ignored him. I'm sure i looked like crap, between road grime, Gatorade stains, and sweat. Finally i looked over. Young guy, beard, no helmet, not exactly friendly looking. He said, loud and clear, "You are bad ass", and roared off. That turned my mood around entirely. "I am bad ass", I thought. I didn't quit at the next control, and finished my first 600k. The next year, I did another super randonneuring series, went to France, and finished Paris Best Paris. Not to be too dramatic, but I do think that boost on the road in rural Illinois was a turning point for me.

I've had a few less friendly interactions with people on motorcycles, but that's just people being who they are.

burnthesheep

I mean, it's a lot harder in a one-on-one scenario to close pass somebody with a 36" wide motorcycle versus an 80" wide Honda Odyssey minivan. You'd literally have to be trying to do it on purpose to be a turd. So not sure that's really any buy in to a friendlier relationship.

Meanwhile, minivans don't really rip country roads at 120mph on Saturday mornings either in a pack of 20.

venturi95

My second bike shop job was a Schwinn and Honda motorcycles franchise in one building. I already had a 1978 Yamaha SR 500 with a Supertrap. Motorcyclists are such a huge population, they're pretty much on par with drivers in their friendly-ness, ass-wipe-ness, etc. I have been buzzed by a few motorcycles for no good reason other than they could. IME a lot of them hate bicycles for some reason.

79pmooney

My racing days, mid-'70s ... twice I pulled up to lights in industrial sections of Boston and had a Harley ride pull alongside. That fully leathered rider spent the entire sequence checking out my kit, Italian cycling shoes, Bell helmet ... Not a comfortable feeling; being a skinny bike racer and he outweighing me by 100 pounds and not looking like someone you wanted to mess with. Light turns green. He pulls out - and gives me a thumbs up.

I felt like these were the guys who would stop and step up if I really needed it.

livedarklions

Right. I think the general rule is complete indifference. But, yes, I've had drivers deliberately make the turd moves, and I've never seen that from a biker. I think jerkwad drivers think they're invulnerable and that empowers them to express their jerkwadiness in a way a jerkwad biker wouldn't.

I've had pleasant interactions on the road with cyclists, bikers and drivers. I think that occurs because there are decent people who operate any type of vehicle. We're not "team cyclist" or "team biker" on the road, we're just people riding two-wheeled vehicles.

venturi95

I must add that my first 36 years of life were spent in Michigan and San Francisco. I had pretty much good vibes or indifference from motos until I moved to Paradise, California, in Butte County. Butte County, like anywhere in California when you get off the coast, has a special breed of idiots. As one of my friends said, "It's one thing to be ignorant. It is quite another to be ignorant and proud of it."

wolfchild

If I have any solidarity it would be with dirt bike riders , off road adventure riders and touring riders...I don't like the racer boys and I don't like their racing machines.

Trakhak

It's always been striking to me that the endless vituperative complaints about "idiot walkers on MUPs" in BikeForums threads are spookily identical to complaints about cyclists by motorists.

Trakhak

You're talking about motorcyclists, right?

Reflector Guy

Reminds me of an encounter some years ago at a red light; a big guy on a motorcycle pulls up next to me and checks out my bike, and finally asks if I want to race. It was much more funny than awkward. We both laughed. Nice guy, he said take it easy or something like that when the light light turned green.

tomato coupe

You've never watched Soccer Moms of Anarchy?

wolfchild

Yes, that's what this topic is all about.

rosefarts

Reminds me of the time I climbed the Rostrum while being serenaded with the sweet sound of heavy construction equipment building something.

FWIW, I used to have a Honda Trail 90, basically a moped without pedals. I took it climbing anywhere I could (that is, somewhere I didn’t need to exceed 35mph to safely get there, and it was almost unstoppable at low speeds off road). It was fun.

I did manage to fit a small crash pad on my scooter on occasion.

Pratt

A little OT, but the rail trails here and in NH are maintained by snowmobilers and ATV riders. They keep them scrupulously clean, no litter.

Darth Lefty 

Touring, yes, MTB, maybe half the time. Otherwise, no. Even accounting for the fact that someone on a motorbike might at some other time also be a person on a bicycle.

majmt 

JanMM

Been a few years since a jerk on a motorcycle yelled at me to “Get the f*** off the road” as he passed on a local street. Not feeling the love before that or since then but no recent specific acts directed towards me on a bike. Sometimes even a friendly wave.
Loud pipes are annoying!

jaxgtr

lol.. this term always makes me laugh and cry at the same time.

PeteHski

Can't say I've felt any love from bikers. They usually ride like c**** where I live.

indyfabz

I actually did get very close passed by some bikers doing a large run in NW Montana. There were no other vehicles in sight. I finally pulled over on the small shoulder against the guardrail until they all passed.

Probably the worst encounter ever. The overwhelming majority have been great.

LarrySellerz

yeah under normal circumstances I wave at everyone on 2 wheels and bikers wave back atleast as much as roadies

cyclezen

LOL! Think I've gone through all the prior mentioned notions, emotions and attitudes, over the years/decades.
Not as many years on the Moto, as on the Velo, but pretty close...
2 wheels are a terminal illness.
being a Euro means I like, and hold dear, a lot of things others can;t comprehend.
go to Silverstone, Isle of Man, Misano, Jerez and you'll find the same rabid fans as those on the side of the Alpe de Huiz, Arenberg forest, The Ventoux...
The same crazies who start their year with the 'Dakar' (even though it's now is SA).
I have as many Moto Buddies as I do Velo... many of whom don;t do the 'other'/dark side (to them), but all who appreciate the 2 wheel thing.
As noted by others, once you get into personal space and contact, the similarities are usually celebrated.
Cagers are another thing, there are SO MANY, too many cagers for whom getting in their cage becomes a confrontational thing, once out there.
That's the 800 lb gorilla for most of us 2 wheelers...
given that, my motos, except for one (for multi-day tours) will be sold off this spring... my focus has become more and more, the natural, unpaved world... without the noise.
Ride On
Yuri