Not all motorcycles. I have a respect for the big hogs going up and down the highway, nuthin' but highway in front of you, wind in your face bike.

I also admire motocross racing. Always have. Crazy as hell, but it's something awesome to do.

What I don't like it punk-ass kids riding crotch rockets. I hate the way they ride them. I hate the sound coming from them. I hate the way they expect to get preferential treatment by other motorists, but yet don't feel like the laws apply to them.

Yesterday, I am driving back from Myrtle Beach on Highway 74 west in Union County, North Carolina. Divided highway with a 45 mph speed limit, in between tons of red lights and a TON of tight, slow traffic. 6 bikes, you know the kind, come be-boppin' up between traffic, cutting in and out of lanes in a very haphazard manner. Not a one of these riders is more than 20 years old or so, and apparantly have nothing to live for. So, after all the ear and nerve splitting tactics they call "driving" and the god damn noise that I am still hearing this morning, they get on about their merry way down the highway, after we get through the tiny town of Monroe.

Well, traffic is moving along just fine, until we all come around a bend and see two of these guys just parked in the middle of the damn highway, everybody driving cars has to immediately slow down to stop, so they can get off their bikes and pick up a couple of articles that one of the riders had dropped behind him. The other four bikes had gone on ahead...I made a point to beep the horn as traffic moved around these fuckin' numbskulls. The whole world having to come to a stop in the middle of the highway so these guys don't have to circle back or stop on the side of the road and wait till traffic clears to go out and pick up the items.

This ass-clown rides back by me and honks and threatens me to get out of my truck. I gladly take him up on his offer. But, as the round-a-bout is fixing to commence, my fuckin' wife starts dragging my ass back to the truck. She got her ass chewed on the rest of the way back home, and she chewed on mine some too.

Then, the fucker pulls over about 2 miles up the road with his buddies, and they are waiting for me. This time, I had no choice but to drive by.

Rest assured, if I am by myself, one of two things would have happened. Number one, this guy gets the best of me, and his cronies probably pitch in to fuck me up real good. Or, his buddies don't pitch in, and he gets his fuckin' ass pounded into the god damn ground. And his helmet gets stuck in his ass for good measure.

Either way, I wasn't going to win. Leave it up to your fuckin' wife to get in the way of a little "citizen justice".

I know I ain't the law or traffic enforcement. But I don't stop in the middle of the open road with traffic behind me, so I won't be "inconvenienced".

Argue with me about whether I was right or wrong, but I believe I was right. I hate fucking motorcycles. And the god damn idiot kids that drive them.

I used to have a crotch-rocket as my only means of transportation. I was 20 or so, but I was a much more conservative rider.

Anyway, don't waste your time getting mad at those kinds of morons. Trust me, if they keep it up, they'll die before they have the chance to breed more like them.

I feel your pain, man. I hate them too. Always have. I had one guy ride between me and the car next to me on a stretch of two lane parkway in the pouring rain. He came right up next to my drivers side window, flipped me off and buzzed on through. I guess he wanted me to get out of his way so he could pass, but me and the car next to me were both doing about 25 mph because the rain was coming down in buckets. It took all I had not to cut the wheel and knock this jerk-wad right off his Ninja.

And what I don't get it is, they will ride your ass all the way down the highway and tail you, but if you get too close to them they'll signal you to back off a little.

I hate them. I always have and always will. And when I see one blow by me at 150 mph I secretly hope that they meet an oak tree around the next bend.

Form your story it sounds like the wife stopping you was probably the best thing for everybody in the end. You might have been sending your post from either cell block #3 or from 6 feet under.

F crotch rockets!

Well, I ride a crotch-rocket too.. until 2 years ago it was my only transportation around El Paso. But I feel your pain. I would be as pissed as you. I don't ride my bike fast like most.. so I get the assholes on their rockets that cut me off an inch in front of me and then speed up to 100mph in 2 seconds. jerks.

ARB/CALMINI

That is all I have to say

overpowered sportbikes + arrogant kids = god's way of thinning the herd.

The only thing I don't like is how everyone who rides a sport bike gets lumped into this category. We're not all complete morons.

Nice one Carlton!!! Man, it's a war out here on the North Carolina highways. When did an easy Sunday drive become a life and death struggle?

Nimrod.

Buy some flowers on your way home to your wife. She prob'ly saved your life, or at least saved herself from telling the kids why daddy pees into a bag, sits in a wheelchair all day, and paints with his teeth . . .

Just ignore them. Those without riding skills will eventually become a statistic.

I always rode at ten tenths, but only out of traffic on open roads.

ashleynatlanta,

As they say, "don't hate the game; hate the player!".
They are plenty of Harley guys out there who ride like douchebags too (i.e. blasting their exhaust in 1st gear at 2am, or turning the kill switch off to cause a loud backfire, etc.)

It is unfair to stereotype all sportbike riders like that.

I, for one, ride one and do not always ride like that. There are times to ride crazy and times not too. Most of time when I ride like that it is at night, on an open highway.

Let me explain, if I can, the lane splitting thing though. Because there have been plenty of times when I do it. The reason that I lane-split to the front of the lights is because, even though my bike is oil-cooled it still overheats. Sitting in traffic does not help in this matter.

Another reason for lane-splitting to the front is to avoid being part of a Buick sandwich...if you know what I mean. I would rather be at the front lights and piss a few people off, than be between two cars and have someone behind me not pay attention to the red light and use me as a hood ornament. I have seen it happen.

Not all sportbike riders are squids.

Stone

That might have been the case 15 years ago, that's a total bullshit excuse now.

actually no. I have a 1 year old bike that is oil/air cooled and overheating is a big concern sitting in traffic.

Yep.

Owning a motorcycyle doesn't give you a free pass to drive like a dick and disregard traffic laws. It's exaclty that kind of mentality that makes people like me want to swerve at motorcyclists. There is no justification in the world for splitting lanes or driving like a dick. And if you are afraid your bike will overheat....then get a car. Motorcyclists seem to think there is some special set of circumstances that apply to them just because they are on a bike and that the rest of the driving public should know this.
Dumb. Lane splitting is what makes you a Buick sandwich in the first place.

You obviously don't ride. Here in California, lane splitting it legal, and is endorsed by the CHP. A number of lobbying groups have tried to get it outlawed over the years, and the CHP has always come out in favor of lane splitting, because it reduces the number of motorcyclists who get rear-ended in heavy traffic.

I also fail to see the problem with lane splitting to the front of the line at a red light. A bike will do 0-60 in 2-4 seconds, so before you even have time to get bent out of shape at my "cutting in front of you", I'll have moved on faster than the laws of physics will allow your cage to catch up to me.

I agree that I hate squidly riders that do wheelies on public roads, run loud pipes, and drive erratically in traffic, though. I hate them for causing the type of reaction in the non-riding public that Ashley mentioned. I'd like to be able to enjoy the freedom to ride if I choose, and I don't want it legislated away because of the bad behavior of a small percentage of riders.

Sounds like the guys Ashley ran across would have been a-holes regardless of what they were riding/driving.

In CA, yes. I'm not sure on the exact number, but just about every other state prohibits it.

I fail to see why you would need to do it. What, can't wait like everybody else?

Physics? You ever see the pyshics involved when a toy bike and a "cage" meet up? Not pretty.

Lane splitting = diving erratically (in most places). And most lane splitting I have seen occurs while moving (usually at highway speeds), not the kind that happens at a red light.

Some jackass on a crotch-rocket was doing something in the neighborhood of 100 MPH while weaving through traffic this morning in the tail end of rush hour on the Baltimore beltway. No fucking excuse...

Brent

sd-xterra,

You are kidding, right? My Ninja gets hot ALL the time in traffic. Not saying it overheats, but the gauge gets WAY up there and it runs like shit. Try being stuck in traffic on an 80+ degree day, wearing your leathers (as I always do). It is not pretty.....

Stone

Owning a motorcycyle doesn't give you a free pass to drive like a dick and disregard traffic laws. It's exaclty that kind of mentality that makes people like me want to swerve at motorcyclists. There is no justification in the world for splitting lanes or driving like a dick. And if you are afraid your bike will overheat....then get a car. Motorcyclists seem to think there is some special set of circumstances that apply to them just because they are on a bike and that the rest of the driving public should know this.
Dumb. Lane splitting is what makes you a Buick sandwich in the first place.[/QB][/QUOTE]

Cygnus-X1,

Obviously you don't ride. You have NO idea what you are talking about.

"people like me want to swerve at motorcyclists."
That is a real intelligent statement to make. You are advocating vehicular homicide on someone you don't know just because they squezzed through traffic ahead of you? Try doing that to me and I am going to kick your door in, kick your mirror off, or if I am stopped at the light, get off my bike and punch my fist through your window and yank you out of your car. We motorcyclists have a hard enough time dealing with the assholes that hit us by "accident"; now I have to hear you say your are going to hit someone on purpose?

Lane-splitting DOES NOT make me a Buick sadnwich. It KEEPS me from becoming one from all the cagers talking on their cell phones, putting make-up on, fiddling with their radios, etc.

Stone

Brent,
I agree with you. I do not tolerate that kind of riding either. There is a time and place for everything. That rider choose the wrong place to ride like that. But, you know what? He probably drives his car/truck the same way too.

DreadPirateRoberts,

I agree with you too.

Cygnus-X1 If I come to the light I will be gone so fast when it changes.....so what is the BFD? Does that really bother you? I think you are looking into more into it than is necessary. The lane-splitting I do is only when it comes to red lights(and I do not even do it all the time). I do not do it at so-called "highway speeds" as you claim. I value my life. That is not lane-splitting, that is called "weaving through traffic" and I see far more cars doing it than bikes.

Stone

No. Stopped in traffic at light, I can deal with (although I still think it's asking for trouble in this day and age). Lane splitting while moving is what makes me want to nip your rear tire. Would I? No. Do I want to? Yes.

Look, a guy out on his BMW or Honda Gold Wing for a sunday cruise is entirely different than someone on a rice sled antagonizing you on the interstate and then deciding to lane split.

I dunno. You lane split while hauling ass down the interstate and you got a much better chance of breaking in those leathers vs. riding responsibly.

I wouldn't ever intentionally hit a motorcyclist. But I can dream, right

Ian, what do you mean "ten tenths"? Sorry if I'm not up for the jargon.

By the way, I'm looking for a crotch rocket at the moment, and I cant stand people who ride them irresponsably. It irks me to see the dumbasses hauling down the road in t-shirt and sandles @ 125 mph. I agree, they will eventually pay for their haphazard riding.

Anyone got a cheap 600 for sale??
John

WFO! (Wide fucking open) 10/10ths is like saying balls to the wall . Going deep into turns , flicking the bike back and forth in and out of turns while canyon carving , wearing out the sides of your boots , testing your limits, using the WHOLE tire not just the center , is riding 10/10ths , absolutely not squidly!

Cygnus;
I think there is a misunderstanding about what lane splitting is. If you do it right you only it do it when traffic is pretty much at a stand still. I do it all the time at about 15 mph. Once traffic gets above 10 mph I slide right back into line.
The asses who lane split at 60 mph through moving traffic deserve whatever happens to them.