Trailers. Bikes.
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 960
Likes: 90
From: SE WI
just to add a little fuel to this 'conversation'...
What's a 'real biker'???
Someone who rides 10k+/year?...20k+/year?... even more??
Someone who goes to events like Sturgis, or (like in Europe) the European Bike week in Faak?
Someone who onws at least 2 HD's?
IMHO: it's all about the fun & freedom I get from riding my bike. I have been riding for 40+ years and can only guess how many km's I've done over the years. I do know I've had 'good' years with low mileage due to work or other circumstances, and 'great' years with lots of km's.
Just enjoy the time you spent on your bike; life's too short to waist on get upset about whether you are a "real biker" or not
What's a 'real biker'???
Someone who rides 10k+/year?...20k+/year?... even more??
Someone who goes to events like Sturgis, or (like in Europe) the European Bike week in Faak?
Someone who onws at least 2 HD's?
IMHO: it's all about the fun & freedom I get from riding my bike. I have been riding for 40+ years and can only guess how many km's I've done over the years. I do know I've had 'good' years with low mileage due to work or other circumstances, and 'great' years with lots of km's.
Just enjoy the time you spent on your bike; life's too short to waist on get upset about whether you are a "real biker" or not
A "real biker" is whatever I, in my magnificence, declare it to be. I am the authority. So, there you go.
Next question, please, and I'll solve that one instantly too.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,475
Likes: 70
From: Sierra Foothills, California
That's Comical!
I actually have a truck and a trailer, and the OL and I are riding. We have friends coming along for the ride, pulling the trailer as a support vehicle.
Why trailer it when it's an awesome ride? Different stokes for different folks, but we love the ride out and back as much as the event. We've partied and had as much fun on the way as we will there!
I actually have a truck and a trailer, and the OL and I are riding. We have friends coming along for the ride, pulling the trailer as a support vehicle.
Why trailer it when it's an awesome ride? Different stokes for different folks, but we love the ride out and back as much as the event. We've partied and had as much fun on the way as we will there!
Question for the trailer people: I have always wondered, if wifey doesn't want to ride out, why not have her drive the chase with all the creature comforts and you can still ride? Best of both worlds! Be honest, when you are trailering down the highway with bikes passing you, riding wild and free, and you are stuck in your truck, don't you feel just a little envious? That would just drive me nuts!!!
Last edited by Angelfire36; Aug 2, 2015 at 12:08 PM.
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 653
Likes: 7
From: illinois
Angelfire, my thoughts are yours! It would suck getting passed by bikes all the way there, but on the other hand Iknow first hand It sucks spending a week with what only you can carry! I want a big enclosed trailer to make my week long experience the best possible while there. Having chairs,generator,Canopys,6sets of clothes,cooler etc would be a lot better than 3pair of pants and the bareneccesitys. But I'm a little older now and I want the comforts of not sleeping on the ground and using a garden hose for a shower.If it was about the ride there then go a month early? Maybe the guys are right? At a certain age it becomes about the people and interrest rather than the journey. I really plan on getting a trailer soon and traveling to different areas when I retire and explore the terrain on bikes, but to answer what people are saying I would rather ride until my butt hurt and wait out the bad weather in a room everyday, but I'm not rich with unlimited time. You can get more bang for your travels with a rv and trailer (which I don't have) than spending 1/2of your vac time on interstate. Even though everyone should experience a long distance ride at least once in their lives! Sum up my thoughts I'm pro trailer after you pay your dues!
Last edited by xracer110; Aug 2, 2015 at 01:08 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,475
Likes: 70
From: Sierra Foothills, California
Angelfire, my thoughts are yours! It would suck getting passed by bikes all the way there, but on the other hand Iknow first hand It sucks spending a week with what only you can carry! I want a big enclosed trailer to make my week long experience the best possible while there. Having chairs,generator,Canopys,6sets of clothes,cooler etc would be a lot better than 3pair of pants and the bareneccesitys. But I'm a little older now and I want the comforts of not sleeping on the ground and using a garden hose for a shower.If it was about the ride there then go a month early? Maybe the guys are right? At a certain age it becomes about the people and interrest rather than the journey. I really plan on getting a trailer soon and traveling to different areas when I retire and explore the terrain on bikes, but to answer what people are saying I would rather ride until my butt hurt and wait out the bad weather in a room everyday, but I'm not rich with unlimited time. You can get more bang for your travels with a rv and trailer (which I don't have) than spending 1/2of your vac time on interstate. Even though everyone should experience a long distance ride at least once in their lives! Sum up my thoughts I'm pro trailer after you pay your dues!
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,475
Likes: 70
From: Sierra Foothills, California
2 weeks ago as I was heading West on I90 inroute to the Black Hills I had a guy and his female passenger on an Ultra pass me.
It was about 95 degrees outside with a 30+ mph southern wind.
I actually turned to my Wife while in my air conditioned pickup and said "no way is that any fun".
About a week later we were at the Kuryakyn tent at Black Hills Harley and we overheard a guy tell his female companion "buy anything you want that will make the ride better for you"
We joked about how much bitching she must have been doing while riding to the Blacks Hills.
So to answer your question; no, I don't feel envious.
It was about 95 degrees outside with a 30+ mph southern wind.
I actually turned to my Wife while in my air conditioned pickup and said "no way is that any fun".
About a week later we were at the Kuryakyn tent at Black Hills Harley and we overheard a guy tell his female companion "buy anything you want that will make the ride better for you"
We joked about how much bitching she must have been doing while riding to the Blacks Hills.
So to answer your question; no, I don't feel envious.
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 6,905
Likes: 4,877
From: Midwest
I saw that as well. I was there last year and in 2013 and each time, the I-90 rest stop before Sturgis was packed with RV's and Trailers with people unloading their bikes. If people would rather trailer their bike than ride it that is their affair. But couldn't you wait until you get to your campsite to unload?Rest stops are just that--for resting, taking a break, or taking a leak--not to unload motorcycles.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: NW Arkansas
This "real biker" talk cracks me up. The people on here that claim to be "real bikers" are posers. I know there is nobody on this forum that is a real biker. Have you all not watched Wild Hogs? Real bikers don't have cell phones, or GPS, or the internet! They just have a bike and the road. There I have ended the dilemma on the "real biker" definition. So any of you "real bikers " that are reading this, sorry to break it to but you are just like everyone else with a bike. Just a person that enjoys the ride and the bikes regardless of the brand or how others with bikes get to rallies.
Banned
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 942
Likes: 47
From: Gods Country
This "real biker" talk cracks me up. The people on here that claim to be "real bikers" are posers. I know there is nobody on this forum that is a real biker. Have you all not watched Wild Hogs? Real bikers don't have cell phones, or GPS, or the internet! They just have a bike and the road. There I have ended the dilemma on the "real biker" definition. So any of you "real bikers " that are reading this, sorry to break it to but you are just like everyone else with a bike. Just a person that enjoys the ride and the bikes regardless of the brand or how others with bikes get to rallies.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Times Harley-Davidson Chucked Tradition Out the Window
Verdad Gallardo
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 9,243
Likes: 3,267
From: west Michigan
2 weeks ago as I was heading West on I90 inroute to the Black Hills I had a guy and his female passenger on an Ultra pass me.
It was about 95 degrees outside with a 30+ mph southern wind.
I actually turned to my Wife while in my air conditioned pickup and said "no way is that any fun".
About a week later we were at the Kuryakyn tent at Black Hills Harley and we overheard a guy tell his female companion "buy anything you want that will make the ride better for you"
We joked about how much bitching she must have been doing while riding to the Blacks Hills.
So to answer your question; no, I don't feel envious.
It was about 95 degrees outside with a 30+ mph southern wind.
I actually turned to my Wife while in my air conditioned pickup and said "no way is that any fun".
About a week later we were at the Kuryakyn tent at Black Hills Harley and we overheard a guy tell his female companion "buy anything you want that will make the ride better for you"
We joked about how much bitching she must have been doing while riding to the Blacks Hills.
So to answer your question; no, I don't feel envious.
