Bikers

josealdo

Hi Psychology section of Boards ,

I was wondering why do people dress up as bikers , and take on the badass persona . is it a mask to hide something ? What would be the general thoughts on this ?

cheers

figs:D

busttropical

I doubt there's a black and white reason! Why does anyone dress like anyone? They have somewhere to fit in that suits their personality!

Their badass personalities.

JuliusCaesar

Sociology probably has more studies on groups like this.

josealdo

How do I move topic to sociology ?

misses with rifles

figs666 wrote: »

Hi Psychology section of Boards ,

I was wondering why do people dress up as bikers , and take on the badass persona . is it a mask to hide something ? What would be the general thoughts on this ?

cheers

figs:D

reason i dress as a biker is cos i drive a bike and having skin ground off on tarmac aint fun

Doom

figs666 wrote: »

Hi Psychology section of Boards ,

I was wondering why do people dress up as bikers , and take on the badass persona . is it a mask to hide something ? What would be the general thoughts on this ?

cheers

figs:D

Here's a better one, why do people dress up in suits and rob millions?

With the biker thing, I'd say its just a bit of escapist. I know plenty of bikers and not one acts the badass!

josealdo

Hi Misses with rifles ,

please let me clarify , I used to drive sportsbikes , wearing the power ranger one piece suit , my beef is with Harley drivers , they wear the gear off the bike . ?????? why , it's an image thing , right ???? different Harley t shirt for every day of the week , I'm just wondering why vespa owners and Harley owners (both which can be driven on a provisional license) dress up ? that's my question .

josealdo

Doom wrote: »

Here's a better one, why do people dress up in suits and rob millions?

QUOTE]

Because they can !:D

Killgore Trout

figs666 wrote: »

Hi Misses with rifles ,

please let me clarify , I used to drive sportsbikes , wearing the power ranger one piece suit , my beef is with Harley drivers , they wear the gear off the bike . ?????? why , it's an image thing , right ???? different Harley t shirt for every day of the week , I'm just wondering why vespa owners and Harley owners (both which can be driven on a provisional license) dress up ? that's my question .

Why is a provisional licence relevant? Do you consider these motorcyclists inferior?

josealdo

Killgore Trout wrote: »

Why is a provisional licence relevant? Do you consider these motorcyclists inferior?

I think harleys are overpriced learner legal motorcycles . Sportsbike out handle . Out brake and out perform harleys . The other thing i've noticed is people who drive harleys tend to have a lower IQ than average

bladespin

Killgore Trout wrote: »

Why is a provisional licence relevant? Do you consider these motorcyclists inferior?

Obviously they haven't proven their ability as yet so would be open to some skepticism from those who have and are less obvious about it. Doubt the IQ thing though, from what I've seen they're no different from the rest of us, whatever that is lol.

josealdo

Yes , it's seems ironic in two cases

(1) badass rebel driving a learner legal bike . Such a badass he will drive a machine that is drivable on learner legal license !

(2)Apparently it traditional and custom for HD owners to wear HD t shirts and apparel , so a HD owner feels the need to conform to dress a certain way , the way of the UNCONFORMIST ???????????

studiorat

figs666 wrote: »

Hi Psychology section of Boards ,

I was wondering why do people dress up as bikers , and take on the badass persona . is it a mask to hide something ? What would be the general thoughts on this ?

cheers

figs:D

You mean dress like they are Hells Angels? The patches, tat's, clothes all underline loyalty to the group and identify them to each other and to their rivals. I suppose any sub culture dresses in a way in which they can signify their interests to others. Punks and goths dress like that to tell people they are into punk and gothic music. Lads wear Man United jerseys to let people know they support Man United. Bikers wear biker gear, be it, Isle of Man T-Shirts, Hell's Angles gear, Yamaha Paddock jackets, whatever, to let people know they are interested in motorbikes.

Even the fella at the bus stop with the Arai lid want's people to know he's into motorbikes.

The badass thing is just part of that particular culture. Same as any other sub culture has certain personality traits associated with it.

josealdo

studiorat wrote: »

You mean dress like they are Hells Angels? The patches, tat's, clothes all underline loyalty to the group and identify them to each other and to their rivals. I suppose any sub culture dresses in a way in which they can signify their interests to others. Punks and goths dress like that to tell people they are into punk and gothic music. Lads wear Man United jerseys to let people know they support Man United. Bikers wear biker gear, be it, Isle of Man T-Shirts, Hell's Angles gear, Yamaha Paddock jackets, whatever, to let people know they are interested in motorbikes.

Even the fella at the bus stop with the Arai lid want's people to know he's into motorbikes.

The badass thing is just part of that particular culture. Same as any other sub culture has certain personality traits associated with it.

good answer , but why do they feel the need to dress up as Goth's , emo's or bikers ??? why is it you don't see many Goth's aged 60 , the biker thing keep going and going . WTF ???

DEFTLEFTHAND

The biker thing is a lifestyle choice you're in it for life, people like to feel that they belong to something, a strong group with common interests and views, some see it like a second family.

In regards to the image I liken it in some ways to the old gangs of the wild west, outlaws, wildmen with a bond. Take the '1% outlaw' MCs in the States for instance, Chapters of the Hell's Angels particularly in California and Washington State engage in organised crime, 'the mafia on wheels' as I've heard them called, these guys are badass it's not some childish game to them.

Odysseus

What is it that you are asking in relation to Vespa owners? are you asking why people choose them and aremembers of scooter clubs? As being a Vespa owner and a member of a scoooter club does is totally different in some ways in relation to the biker image.

josealdo

Hells angels are badasses . I suspect this is untrue . usually in groups like mafia , yakazua and criminal gangs , you have 1 or 2 badasses , the rest are punks , I know the local back patch gang . there is one badass , maybe 2 , the rest are punks .

also how can someone call themselves a rebel and drive an overpriced motorcycle , surely they have to work to afford motorcycle . is it not ironic that someone who claims to be different from society , actually depends on society for employment , road network ect .

clowns to the highest order

bladespin

figs666 wrote: »

Hells angels are badasses . I suspect this is untrue . usually in groups like mafia , yakazua and criminal gangs , you have 1 or 2 badasses , the rest are punks , I know the local back patch gang . there is one badass , maybe 2 , the rest are punks .

also how can someone call themselves a rebel and drive an overpriced motorcycle , surely they have to work to afford motorcycle . is it not ironic that someone who claims to be different from society , actually depends on society for employment , road network ect .

clowns to the highest order

I'd suggest you pick one and walk up to them and suggest this, if your theory is right then you should be fine I'm sure things have changed but if you read up on the 1% then you'll understand the reputation is well deserved no matter what bike they chose to ride, I doubt they gave a thought to employment, road networks (lol) etc.

There are some 'image' bikers out there but there are as many (if not a lot more) of the genuine variety, it's not possible to lump them all together.

jjpep

You seem to have a dislike of bikers. Is there any particular reason for that? Is there any other groups of people you have strong emotional response's to, either positive or negative?

It's interesting that you pick up on the idea of some being 'bad ass' and some being 'punks'. Presumably the 'punks' are faking the stereotypical personality type of 'bad ass' as you see it. What experiences have brought you to this position?

One of the interesting things about being part of any sub culture is the notion of group and its members. The reverse of course is when your not a member and are looking from the outside in. The behavior and motivations of individuals in the group will appear very different to you depending if your in or out of the group.

Odysseus

figs666 wrote: »

I think harleys are overpriced learner legal motorcycles . Sportsbike out handle . Out brake and out perform harleys . The other thing i've noticed is people who drive harleys tend to have a lower IQ than average

In relation to the IQ score of Harley riders, how in hell have you established this?

bladespin

Odysseus wrote: »

In relation to the IQ score of Harley riders, how in hell have you established this?

Remember reading something like that in MCN a few years back - IQ in relation to the type of bike you ride, no surprises BMs were tops (funny how many BM ads were in the comic at the time :rolleyes:).

josealdo

jjpep wrote: »

You seem to have a dislike of bikers. Is there any particular reason for that? Is there any other groups of people you have strong emotional response's to, either positive or negative?

It's interesting that you pick up on the idea of some being 'bad ass' and some being 'punks'. Presumably the 'punks' are faking the stereotypical personality type of 'bad ass' as you see it. What experiences have brought you to this position?

One of the interesting things about being part of any sub culture is the notion of group and its members. The reverse of course is when your not a member and are looking from the outside in. The behavior and motivations of individuals in the group will appear very different to you depending if your in or out of the group.

very true . I myself used to drive sportbikes , I just have the belief that HD drives are ALL SHOW AND NO GO .

bladespin

figs666 wrote: »

I myself used to drive sportbikes , I just have the belief that HD drives are ALL SHOW AND NO GO .

That's just not true, as a performance bike rider you should be aware just how good HD can be (if you know your stuff :P).

josealdo

Hi Blade spin

HD can be good , good for posing .LIVE TO POSE , POSE TO LIVE . A HD is not a performance machine , that's why anyone can drive one on a provisional license , the power to weight ratio is lower than a Performace 125 cc bike . all show and no go , ok they make a load of noise ok , but a performance machine they are not .

also a lot of " billy-no-mates" drive them because they get into clubs where all they have to do is dress up and pose and hang out with similar insercure 60 year olds who dress up and pose , Escapism at it's worst .

bladespin

figs666 wrote: »

Hi Blade spin

HD can be good , good for posing .LIVE TO POSE , POSE TO LIVE . A HD is not a performance machine , that's why anyone can drive one on a provisional license , the power to weight ratio is lower than a Performace 125 cc bike . all show and no go , ok they make a load of noise ok , but a performance machine they are not .

You know very little TBH, HD engine requires very little work to embarrass a sportsbike in a straight line, believe me.

KTRIC

figs666 wrote: »

Hi Blade spin

HD can be good , good for posing .LIVE TO POSE , POSE TO LIVE . A HD is not a performance machine , that's why anyone can drive one on a provisional license , the power to weight ratio is lower than a Performace 125 cc bike . all show and no go , ok they make a load of noise ok , but a performance machine they are not .

also a lot of " billy-no-mates" drive them because they get into clubs where all they have to do is dress up and pose and hang out with similar insercure 60 year olds who dress up and pose , Escapism at it's worst .

What the f*ck are you talking about ??? :rolleyes: I was out for a spin with some sports bikes today on my HD and had no problem keeping up. Your posts are starting to read like someone that has a chip on his shoulder about bikers and nothing more.

josealdo

the only way a HD rider could keep into a sportbike rider is if the HD rider managed to throw one of his/her 763 HD T-shirts onto the visor of the sportbike rider .

josealdo

LIVE TO POSE , POSE TO LIVE

bladespin

figs666 wrote: »

the only way a HD rider could keep into a sportbike rider is if the HD rider managed to throw one of his/her 763 HD T-shirts onto the visor of the sportbike rider .

Wow, have you ever actually been on a bike?

I've raced against HD engines and believe me they're quite capable.

This vid's a bit staged but for sure it should open your eyes as to what a well set up V twin is capable of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXsoAdh5P5g

Does this thread have anything to do with sociology any more — indeed, has it ever really had anything to do with sociology? I've left it open with the hope that it might evolve into an interesting discussion about biking sub cultures, and a few posters have attempted, in vain, to make that happen, but it seems to be a pointless battle; the discussion continues to revert back to juvenile remarks and puerile tit-for-tat. I'm going to close it. Any problems, PM me.