Actions of Bikers on the freeway
 

Coming home from San Diego in our Tacoma this evening, we got passed by 4 bikers splitting lanes near Leucadia. We were in the #1 lane doing 80 mph, and the slowest cars in the # 4 lane were going at least 70. The first 2 were wearing Hells Angels colors. They were doing at least 100. I haven't seen any Hells Angels in years. And have very rarely seen them in SoCal. They were a common sight when I was in the Navy in 1967 and living in Sonoma.

Then 3 miles later we get passed by 4 sportbikers, cutting the gap at well over 100. One was even passing on the shoulder. 2 were wearing t-shirts, and it was about 58 degrees.

Now which of these 2 groups do you think the driving public will remember as being reckless idiots?

you in the tacoma

They are all idiots, but to most the angels have the intimidation factor where the sportbikes will be assumed idiots.

I don't know, but I'll give you my highly opinionated personal opinion about the whole thing. I don't give a rat's ass what the public thinks about speeding Hell's Angels or sport bikers. Guys speeding, stunting, acting crazy on bikes are way less likely to hurt anyone else than the stupid twat in the Camry talking on her cellphone while applying makeup.

How often do people crash their bikes and hurt anybody but themselves?

Well said RK1.

That's the way I figure it.

That puts a different light on the equation. But you are right on RK1.

It's an '07 Double Cab Long Bed 4x4.

I just stay in one lane and go with the flow, while watching the rearview for upcoming motorcycles.

VTRsurfer;

I appreciate your appreciation. Sure, I wish everyone would behave themselves all the time, but they won't. I don't lose any sleep about it unless and until their misbehavior threatens me in some concrete way. If a guy blows his fast lane 80 mph stand up wheelie in front of me and my F150 4X4, I might need to bill his estate for a front tire, but I'm going to be OK!

It didn't bother ME at all. I actually moved as far to the left as reasonable, like I always do. I just hadn't seen Hells Angels colors in years.

guys like that make the rest of us suffer. they make everyone on a bike look bad.

I've seen a few in the last 5 or 6 years, but not many. I think most So. Ca. Hell's Angels went to Arizona where they don't need to wear helmets and with a felony free record can get CCWs.

In recent years I've seen Mongols and Hessians rarely, but many RUBBIES (rich urban bikers) pretending to be outlaw bikers with their Harleys and skull gear.

I actually respect the outlaw bikers to the extent that they are the real thing.

+2 RK1

i saw a couple of hells angels pass me on my way up to loudon nh for the first day of bike week. first time i ever saw a hells angel.

+1

That was hilarious and yea don't wreck my car.I dont see much of that stuff because of where I live and go to,so maybe I'm missing something.And when I ride Im generaly courteous.It's not theyre fault Im doing what ever Im doing.I've been thinking for awhile now that maybe that stuff helps me.
If they fear us maybe they will see us.But the Man has been eyeing me too so there is a down side also.

I see Hell's Angel's all the time. There is a clubhouse about 15 miles from me, and I got a few friends that are prospecting. I see outlaws or atleast black pistons, when I go to dyersburg. They are trying to build up a presence in the area. A guy I work with is prospecting for them. If you wear support gear in the wrong area , they might ask you to leave or through you out, or beat your a$$. Depends on if you meet a harda$$ or not.

Saturday night me and a friend went to a biker bar in Dyersburg to listen to his buddies band. When we walked in, there was 3 Outlaw patch holders in there with a few Black Pistons around. They were cool with everyone and suprisingly curtious. I guess they were looking for women , not trouble.

Since they are so rare around here, my wife said "how do you know they're real Hells Angles, they might have just gotten the jacket somewhere".

I said "I don't think so, that would get your ass kicked, at the very least."

I've worked odd shifts as a bouncer (that's the closest description in English I can accomplish) And there never, ever was any trouble with any of those guys... Walk up and talk to them, be courteous and they would respond in kind... If someone got out of hand, they would discipline their own...

Once two prospects was in a heated exchange, on the verge of duking it out, and me and one colleague where a bit hesitant to just jump in... One HA member taps me on the shoulder, says "excuse me..." picks up the two, one under each arm and walks out the door... The guy in question was a head taller than me and about twice as wide... I didn't ask what happened outside... but when they got inside, they had considerably more bruises and the two of them walked straight up to me and the other bouncers and apologized... Somehow strangely the rest of the night we had absolutely nothing to do... All the young hooligans that where around to see this happen, kept a very low profile...

I wouldn't know H.A. colors from anything else.
Everyone I know that rides a Harley is just a wanabee.

Hells Angels have had a lot of bad press over the years, and they've done some very bad things, no doubt. But bottom line is that I respect them for being the real deal. They live, eat and sleep motorcycles.

But sportbikers stunting and riding reckless impact us whether we want to admit it or not. About 20 years ago 2 L. A. DJs named Mark and Brian, on KLOS, said to their listeners, "Don't you hate it when one of those motorcyclists scares the crap out of you splitting lanes on the freeway while you're stopped in traffic. How about if you listeners out there, when you see a motorcycle coming up between the lanes, wait until he is almost there then open your car door".:eek:

I have always split lanes, but I do it in super alert mode, and I don't go 50 when the cars are completely stopped. They had motorcyclists pissed off all over SoCal, and they did a retraction the next day. I haven't listened to them since.

Some drivers have no respect for our lives because of the actions of a few idiots.

I don't disagree with any of the above and my initial rant wasn't intended to piss on your thread.

Just wanted to point out that the average driver has half a hundred more dangerous things to worry about than bikes.

I believe the anger and disrespect large numbers of people supposedly harbor toward bike riders is exaggerated. I don't encounter it very often. Maybe a handful of times over the decades I've had someone intentionally crowd me as a come up between lanes. I've had thousands move over to give me more room. I always give them a thumbs up when that happens. I like to think that makes it more likely they'll do it again.

To the extent anger really exists it's partly because a small % of people ride like idiots and partly because some drivers are morons who hate to see a bike slicing through traffic even though it cost the car driver absolutely nothing.

Some people would rather pull you down than lift themselves up, that's just the way it is. I don't give a shit about that kind of people.

A 400 pound sportbike or a 800 pound harley will hurt if it hits you at such a high velocity. Yea, a hummer or a Mac truck will do more damage, but remember, when you (or they ) are flying out there, you can still kill innocent people, yourself, and goats and stuff. use your head.

Very true. And I do care what the public thinks. I'm lucky enough to live in a part of the country where gun ownership is virtually unrestricted and we have no carry laws. But A lot of you guys have already had your 2nd amendment rights reduced. The more teenagers on R1's fly through the rear window of a minivan and the more times each of you guys pulls up the front with a cager audience the closer we'll be to displacement limits. I dont want to live in new france.

http://www.hamcrnv.org/HAmainlogo.jpg

They'll do what ever they have to to defend those colors. We don't have that many around here, but the Outlaws are in abundance.

poor goats...

Hell's Angel colors aren't hard to spot. They're the ones that say "Hell's Angels" in big bright red letters.

I'd only been thinking about the safety of women, children, old pensioners and their pet cocker spaniels. Now that you've mentioned goat safety, I promise to be more careful!

Red and White. Also, Hell's Angel's patches and clothes say Hell's Angel's. Everyone else's clothes and patches say Support HA or 81.