what do ya do when a friend just feels like they can just rest their hand on the handlebars of your bike and lean there and talk to ya? or better yet they turn your radio on without even asking? damn!!!!!!!!
I had both happen yesterday, I told them "I know your my buds and all but if you f$#k with my bike again I will have to shoot ya! they laughed but did not touch it again.

 

Is it winter ALREADY???

 

You will get lots of answers But as for me:

None of my friends ride, so they are afraid to touch it.
If they felt free to turn on the radio, when knowing nothing about motorcycles I would let them know that is out of bounds.

But

It is just a machine. It is a machine I love but I would roll it under a train to save my best friend. If he just touches it, I could not care less. If he wants to learn how to ride, we get him a bike and I get a riding partner.

spiz

 

I cary on a normal conversation with him. What could he hurt by touching the handlebar?

 

If they ride they ought to know better, if they don't ride, bitch slap'em so they now know better...

 

so165,
One question: Do your friends ride?

If not, then it is normal for them the feel like they can touch the bike because they are not familiar with the 'un-written code' between bikers that dictates you do not touch, sit on or otherwise mess with another bikers bike unless given approval to do so.

That said, leaning against a bike (or car) is a big no-no with me, mainly because I've seen, and had happen to me, a few situations where the rivets on a friends Levi's scratched the $h!t out of my paint and it took a fair amount of work to fix. Almost had that happen on my '07 Ultra, but caught the bud just before he leaned up against the bike.

After I explained 'why' I didn't want him to do that, he totally understood and was very respectful about those things from that point on (yes, we're still friends).

 

Yes it is a lack of respect for someone to touch or sit on your bike, friend or foe, without asking, here is what i tell them, would you let me touch your wife, although i am afraid some might say yes....LOL.....Ivan!

 

I don't have a problem with people touching handlebars or stereo. It's a motorcycle not your wife. When they want to mar paint when dragging hands across tank. I say something like Do you Know how long it takes me to polish those scratches out.

 

So what can they touch? Your car? the dog? How about the TV? Maybe you should post a list then there won't be a problem.

 

I subscribe to the bitch slap theory of controlling friends' behavior. Then again, most of my friends know how I feel about my bike so when/if they did get slapped, it wouldn't be much of a surprise. I was sitting on the patio of a bar/restaurant one night when a youngish grandmother came walking across the parking lot with her grandson. They were looking at my bike and I just knew what was about to happen- the old bag picked up the kid and sat him on my bike. I jumped the rail and chewed her *** up one side and down the other. She was lucky she had the kid there because I was finding it very difficult to control my language. She jerked the kid off my bike and I immediately looked for any damage- luckily there was none. Had that kid burned himself, I'm sure I would have been sued. Later, I went to the head and she was sitting at a table I had to walk by- I saw her nudge her old man when she saw me so I glared at him daring him to say something...he didn't. I was always taught to keep my hands off of other peoples' stuff...guess they don't teach that anymore.