Funny things people say about motorcycles

[Mike Qube]

Just some of the comments I've gotten about my Monster.

"Ducati, those are made by Ferrari."
"Why doesn't it have fairings, did you crash it?"
Guy talking to his girlfriend "These things go for about 50 thousand dollars."
"You know Harley makes your engine, they have the patents for V-twins, no one else can make them"
"Ducati's are race bikes that they put a headlight on"

[nt650hawk]

I get the:
Is that a new Ducati? Nope it is an old Honda.

Does all that gear make you hot? Na, I'm on a dehydration diet.

Why do you wear all that gear? It will save me from all the idiots like you around me.

People always tell me to drive safely. "I always ride safe. Why don't you tell that to everyone around me." What because I'm on a motorcycle you think I am reckless. Thank you Squids for ruining my reputation.

[gamorg02]

i'm with some of these guys, i never get approached either.

[Mike Qube]

I walk into work wearing full gear and at least one person asks "Did you ride your motorcycle today?" my answer is always "No, I took the T, why?

[pontifex]

I get the:
Why do you wear all that gear? It will save me from all the idiots like you around me.

nice. i need to use that one.

[nt650hawk]

Sometimes I like to go with this approach...

[HanktheTank]

Hey, one of your light is out........I've got that line about 10x now....I just give them the thumbs up.

One of the reasons I wired my bike for dual headlights was so I wouldn't have to listen to this anymore.

Working on my bike on the streets of Boston, I have come to realize that all guys (to include non-riders) feel obligated to say something mechanically sounding when they see a guy working on a motorcycle:

I'm replacing a brake light bulb when a guy walking down the street strolls by "What are doing? Working on the engine?"

[gumby]

Sometimes the most comical thing is what people don't say.
I picked up my 11 year-old daughter after school this spring on the bike (at her request).
The reaction of a few teachers was special... they had a look of shock and terror!

[GingahNinjah]

Sometimes the most comical thing is what people don't say.
I picked up my 11 year-old daughter after school this spring on the bike (at her request).
The reaction of a few teachers was special... they had a look of shock and terror!

This really kinda makes me wanna ratchet strap a carseat to the back of the ninja and put a doll in it and rocket around just to make ppls hearts skip a beat lol

[Dip Dungles]

Or you can rock a babybjorn. That would give people something to think about.

[gumby]

This really kinda makes me wanna ratchet strap a carseat to the back of the ninja and put a doll in it and rocket around just to make ppls hearts skip a beat lol

lol... that would be entertaining!!!

[RyanNicholson]

Once got pulled over and the trooper told me I shouldn't be going that fast because i can't stop as fast as a car since I don't have the contact patch.

I was on an R6 with braided lines.

[01xj]

I walk into work wearing full gear and at least one person asks "Did you ride your motorcycle today?" my answer is always "No, I took the T, why?

Happens to me once a week. I usually just say I'm accident prone.

[GingahNinjah]

Once got pulled over and the trooper told me I shouldn't be going that fast because i can't stop as fast as a car since I don't have the contact patch.

I was on an R6 with braided lines.

actually the contact patch on a bike per the horsepower to weight ratio is bigger than that of a car... silly hater err trooper

[BSR6]

A few weeks ago while I was at a gas station filling up in full gear a Harley rider at the next pump over strolls up to me to chat.

Him: "Nice bike! What kind is it?"
Me: "It's an R6"
Him: "Yeah...it's nice and all but I just don't see the point in sport bikes. Your only gonna kill yourself on that thing."

He then walks away ignoring anything I have to say in return, and gets on his Harley wearing shorts and flip-flops with no helmet and rides off.

Had he given me the chance for a response I would have said "I'm careful", but clearly the point of the interaction was for him to state his ignorant opinion and be on his way. He didn't seem very concerned with have a two way conversation.

[shortbus]

I rock this thing looking like a maniac asshole, so no one talks to be at gas stations.

I once was wearing it walking into a convenience store and held the door for a lady as she was walking in, she said she was shocked I did that based on the helmet.

I've had some people ask me where my second muffler is (stock has dual, I have an aftermarket system), but I don't mind that one as it means they know my bike.

[Father Ribs]

I've always been tempted to play dumb and mention to one of your folks that you have one headlight out.

I ride a lot of back roads in farmland; never gotten a negative comment and instead plenty of wistful memories of people riding back in their 20s or whatever. Outside of kids or accidents, why would you give this shit up?

[nhbubba]

...why would you give this shit up?

I tried. I made it 6 weeks.

[Stoneman]

A bunch of us here on NESR were pulled over when the cop finally caught up to us (I won't get into how far over the speed limit he CLAIMED we were going). He questioned why we were all dressed like we were on a racetrack...

[Stoneman]

Just some of the comments I've gotten about my Monster.

"Ducati, those are made by Ferrari."
"Why doesn't it have fairings, did you crash it?"
Guy talking to his girlfriend "These things go for about 50 thousand dollars."
"You know Harley makes your engine, they have the patents for V-twins, no one else can make them"
"Ducati's are race bikes that they put a headlight on"

Had something similar happen to me just the other weekend. Had my TL-R, Ed's (Pinhead) SS900, and Mike's (Half Squid) Aprilia in my driveway. Someone staying next door asks if I '...own all those Ducati bikes...', then goes on to tell me, '...those're too fast. I've known about 5 people that had Ducati bikes and they all crashed...'

[aldend123]

The only really frustrating mantra I've heard yet is people's fear of them. They're right to think they are dangerous, but I've been trying to argue that risks can be mitigated, they are not entirely out of your control, and that the stats are often the result of the sport attracting some of the dumbest people on the planet. The numbers on lack of helmet and DUI crashes are pretty ridiculous, nevermind the inability to collect data on "look at me while I jam the throttle" moments. Don't DUI, wear some gear, and drive responsibility including where and when you operate and your odds change dramatically. Everyone just seems convinced two wheels means a short life.

The people that I have had start a conversation have been plenty reasonable, though maybe that has something to do with the age of my bike. It's not exactly a show stopper.

Edit : When I wrote this, I was thinking "dumb things", .... and I just re-read the title and realized this is not funny at all.

[RyanNicholson]

Someone once told me that horsepower to weight ratio had something to do with contact patch while braking.

[WordTooYoMamma]

Wirelessly posted (Infuse)

A bunch of us here on NESR were pulled over when the cop finally caught up to us (I won't get into how far over the speed limit he CLAIMED we were going). He questioned why we were all dressed like we were on a racetrack...

Hopefully your response was "in the event of an accident I would like my skin to stay where it is"?

[golden chicken]

Wirelessly posted (Infuse)



Hopefully your response was "in the event of an accident I would like my skin to stay where it is"?

I would have asked him why he was dressed like he was about to get shot.

[Stoneman]

I would have asked him why he was dressed like he was about to get shot.

Interesting. Although I'm fairly certain you would've said no such thing...