[Johnny5]

Sorry, bit of a rant ahead.

:beer:

As the weather has been a little better here in blighty of late I've been out on (Unchristened) quite a bit. I have noticed people seem less impressed with me and my bike than I would expect. I thought this was because it is an agressive looking bike and twinned with dark visor projects an image of hostility. Based on this assumption I reckon people should be looking away from me and bikey, trying hard not to make eye contact and hiding their children from the evil that must be me. Imagine by confusion then, when the number of hostile looks and raised middle fingers seemed to increase every mile or so on my trip to the shop to buy my father a birthday card. I was completely shocked and at first thought somone had written something on me or bikey that could offend everyone. But no!!!

No one seemed threatened by my Speed Four and no one, especially not GIRLS, swore at me as I rode by. Bikers have feelings too!!

The image of bikers here in the UK is being tarnished daily by politicians and especially the media, mostly because of the mini moto malarkey or so it seems. Even the Baddies on Dr Who this week were black leather clad bikers.

So, I have now booked a wheelie day at a wheelie school. If hooligan is what I am to be called, then hooligan I will be :finger: (but first under controlled conditions as I don't want to hurt myself).

 

[Guest]

welcome to the dark side Johnny5 :devil:

 

[Devious2xs]

You are getting the one finger salute just because you ride a bike? :wtf:

What happened in Ol' Blighty, the media gone completely communist? The politicians I can understand, but the average joe on the street?

Screw 'em! Salute right back! :finger:

 

[Guest]

You are getting the one finger salute just because you ride a bike? :wtf:

What happened in Ol' Blighty, the media gone completely communist? The politicians I can understand, but the average joe on the street?

Screw 'em! Salute right back! :finger:

Last couple of months media and politicians have been focusing on bikes giving em a bad image for no good reason. The public takes it like a bitch... :finger:

They'd even wanna fit speed limiters to bikes and tracking systems.

 

[Devious2xs]

Speed limiters? What a joke. Do they understand the cost it would add to a bike?

For the country that held up against The Blitz and the Battle of Britain, with a stiff upper lip, it sounds like the country is now full of sheep.

 

[Guest]

Thats why I moved to spain...er...Florida. :horse:

 

[Guest]

Speed limiters? What a joke. Do they understand the cost it would add to a bike?

For the country that held up against The Blitz and the Battle of Britain, with a stiff upper lip, is sounds like the country is now full of sheep.

The governement doesnt really care about the added costs. They'd like to get wrid of motorcycles entirely. I'm not British thankfully but if these rules start to get trough it'll spread over to Europe in a matter of months. Not looking forward to such crap.

That country is full of sheep and chav scumbags. Guess theres some nice people left aswell but its going downhill.

 

[Johnny5]

I know Devi!!

I thought, 'maybe it's me' but I didn't recognise them, so I assume they don't know me. Maybe they've had bad experiences with people who ride bikes and I just happened to ride past them all on one day. Strange though when it happened the same week bikes were in the news for being fast and dangerous, oh, and more polluting than cars!!

http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=484912007

But yeah fuck em.

 

[Devious2xs]

Ever hit a speed limiter in a car? It makes hitting a rev limiter seem like nothing. If they mandate this, the manufacturers will have R&D costs just for tuning that will be amazing. Hell, Triumph has tuning issues now, just trying to meet emissions regulations.

Where did the pollution information come from? This, I would like to see and question.

It could all wind up like France - with exhaust restrictors to limit power to 100 hp.

What happens on that side of the pond, will soon spill over to here.

 

[kcjones]

Here's another link to the same topic...

http://www.motorcycledaily.com/30march07_speedlimiters.htm

Sounds like shit to me.

 

[Devious2xs]

Now when are they going to limit the speeds of Jaguars, TVRs, Austin martins, and every other car on the road?

Sounds like they are definitely targeting cycles. What do they hope to achieve with bikes that wouldn't be even more effective with cars?

Political BS and grandstanding.

 

[BUCKET]

Beware people,propaganda is a powerful tool.If the government keeps telling the public that something is bad,they will believe it in the end and not know why.Some of the shit which is getting banned over here is unbelievable.It is exactly how Hitler and his spin doctors did it.The goodie two shoes might think it is great to get those naughty bikers of the road but eventually something they enjoy will get banned too. :violent1: :violent1: :violent1: :devil: :finger:

 

[smashtime]

Beware people,propaganda is a powerful tool.If the government keeps telling the public that something is bad,they will believe it in the end and not know why.Some of the shit which is getting banned over here is unbelievable.It is exactly how Hitler and his spin doctors did it.The goodie two shoes might think it is great to get those naughty bikers of the road but eventually something they enjoy will get banned too. :violent1: :violent1: :violent1: :devil: :finger:

Fuckin lemmings.....I have news for everyone: Your T.V. is lying to you. It turns your daughters to whores, your sons to cowards and fairies, and makes you think your hair is falling out and your dong aint big enough. Turn the damn thing off.

The British wanna do something important to help thier people. Make it mandatory that all beer be refrigerated. I went to drink in a pub in London when I was in the service and two things appaled me. 1:The beer was warm as piss and 2: The bartenders DON'T TAKE TIPS!!!??? What-the-fuck?

Oh, and you fuckin limey's better give the Scotts their rock back.

 

[Guest]

If the want it, tell 'em to come and get it :horse:

 

[milq]

This whole thread is just mind-boggling! Why would the gub-ment (anywhere) want to drive motorcycles out of existence? Bikes produce less emissions (usually) than most cars and are also smaller, which is good when considering traffic issues. People who ride motorcycles (usually) are better drivers, or at least more attentive.

So, reduce emissions, reduce dependency on oil, reduce wrecks (pure speculation on my part), reduce traffic jams, etc.

To be blunt: It's alllll about tha Benjamins!

Case in point: Jesse James (yeah, I know...groan) was recently fined $271,250 for producing motorcycles that weren't compliant with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). This was not for producing 10,000 motorcycles, but more like 30-40 (the exact # escapes me at the mo). Hell, he even offered to retrofit the bikes to make them compliant (charcoal canisters), but CARB said no and threw a fine at him.....for a normal bike builder this would = bankruptcy!

Link to story here: http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_5115954

You mentioned people flipping you off while riding....what are these folks being told anyway?

Damn it....don't tell me I have to hate Dr. Who now too!

 

[DocPup]

wow... uk is tough

 

[smashtime]

No, the UK USED to be tough. Now they just want to control their people. Assholes. "V for Vendetta" comes to mind....

Oh, and about bikes being less dependant on fuel, that's the problem. Less tax revenue if less fuel is consumed. Here in the peoples repubic of Kalifornia we pay 32 cent A FUCKING GALLON on fuel. You think our gub-ment wants us buying less? No. Less money for socialist programs like welfare.

 

[Devious2xs]

milq - The Jesse James deal was CAFE and the local government making an example of him and political grandstanding. If he had filed for a federal and local exemption as a small unit, custom manufacturer, they couldn't touch him. Instead, they went after his company because they KNEW he had the cash that a smaller company would not have.

They did not test the bikes in question, they simply hammered him for non compliance, and would accept nothing less than full fines.

This will likely cause many small businesses in this industry to move out of CA or close their doors. Which means less taxes for the local governments - a lose-lose situation for everyone. Typical of the so-called GREEN warriors (pronounced terrorists) and their short sighted cohorts.

Look at the fuels today - MTBE and ethanol as 'oxygenates'. No testing to determine side effects of pollution, costs to upgrade fuel systems (and damage to fuel systems), or the resulting costs to fuel and grain prices (alcohol related).

All forced on the uninformed public, by the less informed politicians.

 

[cheapbastard]

damn bikers! :finger:

;D

 

[jrussell6]

did i tell anybody my real name was mad max? seriously, why so much governing, i'm so sick of this kind of crap. Entire third world countries run on motorcycles/scooters. i mean go to vietnam or india or taiwan, and you imagine if every person on a scooter were in a car, you literally couldn't fit em. stupid politicians, i get shit on everywhere because i refuse to give all my money to owning a car. I'm even one of those "green" people and i can't stand this shit. if your gonna start bitching, just start with not letting cars get less than 40 mpg, not that i agree with that, but i personallly couldn't care if every consumer hummer dropped off the face of the world.