Article: What makes a biker?

[Silver]

Here's another lighthearted article I've written for my site:

So, what constitutes a biker? Or more to the point, what makes someone go down the route of learning to ride a bike (since I'm not going to get involved in discussions about how 'real bikers' are hard-core mentalists who still try to ride their bike through four foot snow drifts in mid December)?

Firstly, let's look at the big comparison; cars. To my mind, a lot (if not the vast majority) of people learn to drive because they have to. It was less of a necessity in days gone by, but now it's hard to do anything without a method of transport. Many people will think nothing of commuting twenty or thirty miles to work and it's not something you want to be doing on public transport (despite what the Government would have you believe - have you seen rail prices? I don't want to buy the train! For the cost of a season ticket you could probably get chauffeured in a limo).

In comparison to thirty years ago, for example, towns and cities are much more accessible. We have a road network that (in theory) allows you to travel through the country on high speed motorways, with the idea of driving from one big city to another holding none of the trepidation that it may have done in the past. Having said that, it probably takes longer to get from one side of London to the other than it did when the vehicle fuel of choice was hay...

So you'll find a lot of people learning to drive and buying a car because they need to. Granted, many do it because they want to, but I'm sure that number is outweighed by the former. Now look at bikes. From a transport point of view they lose out to cars in several important areas:

They leave you exposed to the elements.
It's harder to carry passengers and luggage (you ever tried taking the family to Sainsbury's for a monthly shop on a Fireblade?).
Due to clothing/safety requirements, it's harder to jump on one and go.
If you do have an accident, it's going to hurt (to varying degrees).
The route to obtaining a licence is overly complicated and potentially more expensive (you could probably pilot a commercial airliner having gone through less paperwork and tests...).

Obviously there are some tangible benefits of using a bike as a mode of transport (cost and congestion-beating to name two), but for your average school leaver these will probably not be the biggest considerations. They don't want to muck about with a helmet, twenty layers of clothing and boots when taking a girl to the cinema on a Friday night. And she'll be less than impressed when you roll up after she's spent an hour picking out her favourite skirt and heels...

So, a car driver's crime (in buying one in the first place) is one of necessity. Given the reasons above, what draws a person to become a biker? Well there are the cost and congestion reasons as already mentioned, but there are, at least, a couple more:

Freedom
A lot of car drivers don't really understand this, but the wind blast from being exposed, together with the instant response and manoeuvrability of a bike, makes driving a car seem like piloting the QE2.

Speed
Coupled with the above really, and the resultant adrenaline. If you build a one tonne car and give it 100bhp it'll get you about just fine (snigger). Now, if you build a bike that weighs about twice your body weight, give it the same amount of power (ergo pretty much any middleweight sports bike), then it will go like the proverbial excrement from a certain digging implement. You want a car that'll hit 60mph from a standing start in under four seconds then you better have £80k is loose change kicking about (I said 'car', by the way, not go-kart - you can't fit a month's worth of Sainsbury's finest frozens into a Caterham either). Want a bike that'll hit that acceleration? Well take your pick, there are probably more than a dozen and not one will cost more than £9k. Speed on a decent budget? You got it.

Adrenaline
This one's related to both of the above, well, in fact they're all related to one another. Add the freedom together with the speed, throw in some manoeuvrability and you'll feel like one of the Speeder Bike riders trying to dodge trees in The Return Of The Jedi. The stigma amongst sports bike riders of those who can't get their knee down might seem pathetic (what am I trying to say?), but there is no denying the intense adrenaline rush from having the bike decked out at 70mph with your knee physically dragging along the ground and foot pegs sparking behind you. For extra kudos the bike needs standing up out of the bend, and wheelying. How's a car going to compare with that? Bit of a skid, maybe a wheel spin? Wow. Hold on while I get the tissues...

Camaraderie
There is a reason that bikers tend to nod, flash or wave at each other on the road and that reason is camaraderie. It's almost an 'us against them' mentality and spirit. A biker knows the hardships that the other biker's putting up with. He knows about the diesel washed manhole cover, your frostbite ridden fingers and the apparantly blind Fiesta driving mum who is more concerned with changing the CD than not killing you at the next junction. Much of this also comes from exclusitivity. According to the Government there are over 32 million vehicles on the road in the UK, with just over 1 million of them being bikes. In percentage terms that makes it quite an exclusive club, so you'll find that bikers generally stick together and complete strangers have an instant topic of conversation.

Obviously there are bikers who don't go that fast and don't get their knee down, but I tell you something; they acknowledge the freedom. These reasons above (and more) sum up why people ride bikes. Maybe not all of them for everyone, and maybe in different measures but I can guarantee that at least one of them will reach a person's sweet spot as well as appealing to their outlook on life and their perceptions of the world they live in.

Now, I'm running low on milk, where did I put the car keys..?

[Sephiroth]

That was a good read .

[st3v3]

very interesting read, are you a critic? or columnist
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[ncrn]

cool that was a good read
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[TheDonUK]

Yea good read... Cant really say more than that...

[Torque05]

Very good read, enjoyed that.
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[palmer]

A biker is someone who owns a bike, and then has an urge to ride said bike

[TheDonUK]

[Essex_Mike]

to be honest, when i read the title i thought it'd be, how should i say...boring

but i must say it was a very good read. thumbs up to you
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Current Bike - Suzuki GS500F

[Silver]

Thanks all

[MarkJ]

That was a great read, nice one Silver

[element]

yeh i enjoyed that too
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[Stridz]

A very good read
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[Mooncatt]

good read enjoyed that very much...do some more
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current bike...CBR400RR
"you always need more chicken"

[mchaggis]

Silver, where do you get all the contributions from for your website?
I've not looked at it in a while but I must say I'm very impressed. Certainly well written stuff.
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[Silver]

[Lone-Wolf]

Wotcha.

Hmm - I think I may be missing out

Freedom:- The old "you have to be a biker to understand why a dog puts it's head out of car windows" mind you, I don't see many dogs riding bikes.

Speed: - Have you ever ridden an Enfield Bullet - a Nuovo Falcone - A BSA M21 - - - - ? Trust me, speed is the last thing you get - or even want. Seven inch drum brakes are not much good for stopping a cast iron, side valve engined bike with a sidecar and pulling a trailer..

Adrenaline: - See brakes above. Yep, I'll go with adrenaline. I now know that adrenaline is brown in colour.

Camraderie: - What's a French cheese got to do with biking << gets out dictionary >> Ah - silly me. Yep, there's certainly that. I still ride with folks I went to school with, and I meet new folks at every rally I attend.

Why am I a biker ? Dunno - I just am.
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Cheers.
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[Ariel Badger]

Real bikers look like we will bite the heads off chickens but get wet eyes when we see lambs in the spring.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[Mark312]

Agree with everything in your magnificent article. There are many more reasons people could give for riding, I am sure, but you were probably getting typers cramp..
Anonymity,
Thrill seeking,
For some I am sure the chance to get one over on the Impreza types,
etc etc

For me, I just want to ride for the hell of it!
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Currently Moto Guzzi 750 Strada, Moto Guzzi V35 Florida, previously Honda CB125T, RD250LC, RD80MX

[BorderHooner]

aye, canny read.

However;

A biker is someone who is a motorist.

The reasons why various riders do so extends beyond your playing the bike off to a car scenario.

A lot of motorists who ride bikes also drive cars, in fact I would say the majority who have a license also have a car license. Some riders may have 2, 3 or more bikes, some have cycles too.

I'm a biker as I ride motorbikes but chiefly I'm a motorist (includes jet ski's) I don't believe in biker cult or gang mentality, which is in my opinion a regressive idea. I love technology and engineering (I'm an engineer by family tradition and practice) My grandfather, great uncles, uncles and my father all ride (or rode) motorbikes. So you could say it's in my blood and not some vain hop on the bandwagon which has for the last 10 years fueled the explosion in numbers onto 2 wheels. Well before passing my test, since in nappies in fact, motorbikes have been and continue to be a large part of my life, now that I ride them for myself simply completes the picture, which, has got nothing to do with cars or drivers of cars.
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[quacker_boy]

[Keen]

[palmer]

weekend warrior

[quacker_boy]

What palmer said, Keen

He sounds like a weekend warrior and seems to have a horrible impression that bikers and the only real bikers are sports bike riders.

That impression is a load of bollocks and it seems as though he wants a bike to stand on the side of the road with and look cool!

Even if HE bought a bike he wouldn't get the sensation that we do of freedom.
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

weekend warriors are still bikers IMO. Just it may not be conveinient for them to ride to work day in day out... weekend warriors also don't always have the latest and greatest sports bike.
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