The Great Debate: “Who’s a Real Rider” and Who’s Not?

by Brian Zerkel
(Schumacher)

I’ve been asked to write some editorial pieces, so any opinions I express in them are my own and not necessarily those of HDForums.

So, with that being said, let’s take a look at the current argument of who is a real rider and who is not. It’s become a non-stop argument in the forum, and I think it deserves a semi objective look from someone who has ridden for a very long time.

Once upon a time, long long ago, in an America far far away… everyone who rode a motorcycle was considered a real rider. Didn’t matter what make of motorcycle you owned–if you rode it, you were a rider. There were never arguments about how far you rode a year, or whether trailering was allowed and what not.

The internet didn’t exist, and cell phones were the size of my left arm. People didn’t argue over such trivial things at the bar or at rallies. Riding was something everyone had in common, and that in itself made it a brotherhood. Harley guys taunted Jap riders, and vice versa, sure, but most of it was in good fun back then, and everyone was considered equal. Riding burned inside of us, and it was a feeling we all shared.

Then came the 90’s with fashion riding, the internet and anonymous opinions. Suddenly if you rode a motorcycle and ventured onto the web, you were immediately judged by your online peers on whether or not you fit the criteria of a “real rider”.

When I first joined HDForums, I was called a poser and quite a few other things, even though I had 30 years of riding under my belt, had owned numerous motorcycles and had done questionable motorcycle related activities. I was immediately labeled “not a real rider”, much to my dismay. It was my first introduction to the “who’s a real rider” mentality that exists in places across the internet. I was completely disheartened that the Harley community had downgraded itself to this level.

It’s an argument that still exists today, primarily online. Don’t ride more than 5K a year? Trailer your bike to events or places? Weekend Warrior? You’ll probably be branded “not a real rider” by quite a few of your peers.

I’m sure there are many people who have that burning desire to ride but just can’t get very many miles in during a year. If I worked full-time, I wouldn’t be able to get in very many miles either. You just can’t blame a working man for not being able to ride as much as he would like to. In a perfect world we would all be able to ride as much as we wanted, but we all know that isn’t the case. Does that mean the working man is not a real rider?

Now let me get to the subject of trailering and hauling. Truth was, if you owned pretty much any bike from back in the day, it would eventually end up on a trailer or in the back of a pickup. This used to be a simple fact of life that we all pretty much rode with. Whether it was Harley or Japanese, most bikes of that era had occasional problems and would end up going for a ride without the wheels touching the ground. Bikes were often hauled to events and rodeos as well, and no one ever thought a thing about it. Nowadays though, you’re just setting yourself up for ridicule.

Recently, someone posted about a man that had ridden around many national sites, but had trailered his bike to these locations. Some of us found no fault with it, while others were quick to jump on the man. What does it matter if he trailered his bike to these places? Does it make him less of a rider, even though he had that burning desire to ride his motorcycle while he was there?

My friend and I talk about trailering during our many motorcycle related Friday night chats. He has told me he would have no problem trailering his bike to a far away destination, and wouldn’t care about what anyone thought about him doing it. I have to agree with him. There are places I would love to ride, but if I had the opportunity to take a camper or needed more equipment than I could carry, I wouldn’t hesitate to strap the bike down and take off.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “real rider”. If someone owns a motorcycle and enjoys riding it, then he’s a rider. Webster’s Dictionary defines it that way, and so do I. We are all riders, regardless of how far we go in a year, or if we take our bikes with us on vacation as opposed to riding them to our destination.

It’s time for the motorcycle community to stop being so judgmental, and to start acting like a community of people who ride.

So can we finally put an end to this lingering debate? Shout off in the Forums!