Rant time guys. What is it with these tools that buy a GS1200, then kit it out like they are emulating the Long Way Round, then attempt to filter through miles off standing traffic with a bike that is about as wide as a semi detached house on the daily commute up the A2. Yet again I have been stuck behind a bellend for about 3 miles, with 2 of the biggest panniers you have seen, spending more time with his feet down than on the pegs, attempting to squeeze between cars, with total disregard to the freight train of bikes behind him getting more and more pi**ed at the delay, when we finally breached the dam at the entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel, Mr Global Adventurer moves over and waves the thronging mass through like he is doing everyone a big favour, oblivious to the road rage bearing down on his back. Then once past, to top it off he has a headlight of around 200000K full on, blinding everyone in front of him. I have seen more and more of these BE's using these mobile chicanes, it appears to be every tools weapon of choice at present. He will potentially be the 1st biker to wear out the soles of his boots before his tyres. Maybe he will fund a new clutch for the Blade next time I get stuck behind him. Ingesting a Starbees skinny latte with extra shots and slowly starting to chill....rant over
It's because they are the bike that everyone should be riding, in fact they are the only bike on the planet if you believe the bulls*it that the motorcycling press bang out. Have you noticed how many page of the magazines are given over to the journalists creaming their underwear about how much junk you can strap to the bloody things, I've stopped buying them now as there is very very rarely anything about sportsbikes in anything other than PB of FB. Also these rider hardly ever return a nod when on the road, probably too busy concentrating on keeping the half ton of extras upright...
good rant kent!! thats a man in the rat race right there gents..... and exactly why i sat on the train this morning watching breaking bad on my i pad.... ok they had the heating a little high, but i'm really enjoying my stress free coffee this morning!!
To be honest JV, I was having a chilled run through this morning, but after putting all my filtering skills to good use, it just takes one Herr Bellendski to ruin the lot and put my day into negative territory before it even starts, and to be honest matey, full admiration for anyone who can suffer Southeastern day in day out, if I tried that my stressometer would really be under presuure.
it does make me laugh when I see a fully kitted biker on one. Looking like they can take the world just going to the local cafe
The thing is.....well. the thing is, that for many years now, there has been a desperate need within the biking fraternity for it's own 'Bete Noir'. Oh we've had the pizza delivery 'ped rider who honestly believes he is participating in a WSB race each and every time he straps on his five times to large crash helmet and riggers gloves, but, as a community, we have generally accepted these as a....comedy sidekick, as it were, to the star players in the piece, namely. us. We have cruisers and choppers, off roaders and muscle bike riders, but again, generally, we've tended to give them a respectful nod, either in admiration at their dedication, skill, or simply the sheer brass balls of being seen to be riding some of the hateful looking devices. No. For a long time, we as bikers have been searching for that one thing that would unite us all in a cry of "Mate, I have been riding bikes for eleventy twelve years, and I have never come across such an outright wanker like you!", followed by a swift half closed fist 'martini shaking gesture' as we overtake. It's our 4x4. We have them by the bucket full around here. Huge, high, wide trucks, automatically bought by anybody who can afford them as 'second' cars and can see, even the tiniest corner of the Dartmoor National Park encroaching on the margins of the Ordinance survey sheet that their house is on, with the excuse "When you live out in the wilds, you rely on a vehicle that's going to get you home". This is, of course in response to the two weeks of snow that Dartmoor has suffered in the last ten winters. These Tonkas block any lane that you can pass easily on, mainly because the habitual driver of it, (the mum) can rarely see the corners of it over the instrument binnacle. They are normally abandoned rather than parked (for pretty much the same reason) and, as a rule, the indicators only ever work as a matched left and right pair when they are stopped half on the pavement, half on the double yellow lines right beside the ATM/deli/school/supermarket where the pilot is only going to be 'five minutes'. So here we have the adventure bike rider. Resplendent in his immaculate Rukka and clueless in his ability or responsibilities to other filterers on his journey to his merchant bank or chambers lair, where he'll dampen the para-legal's gussets with tales of his odyssey to the workplace. Don't hate him too much, chances are that soon he may be charged congestion tax, whereupon he'll go back to his Range Rover Sport.
i'm the other way round.... commuted to Stevenage for 10 months and hated it, started hated being on the bike and even resenting it, my weekend toy got used less as i couldnt be arsed after a week running the m25 gauntlet.... thought i'd try it again, done 1 week into town, picked up 3 guys off the floor. 2 of them not their fault.... scooter boy deserved it to be fair lol my firm picking up the £516 monthly travel card bill does help somewhat i must admit!!
i saw a dude on the kings road last year.... the whole length of it he was standing on his pegs!! cracked me up lol
It must be awful watching for these guys watching the long way round on a repeated loop trying to convince themselves they bought the ultimate riding machine! For me I thought Charley Boorman was a c@nt first time round.
Well it's not a GS but perhaps this might make you feel better about the sight of some panniered-up, open-face-helmeted helmet.
Good rant KB, I would have bib'd him and said he has something loose on the back.That way he has to pull over.Then when he sees you again you can tell him what a knob he is holding you lot up with his wide load..
Basically it's fashion and the 'kudos' of bragging in the office to the girls that he's a biker. Rewind 15 years and he would've bought a Harley. Either way I'm guessing that his missus wears the trousers in his house. I can't resist the urge to drop 2 gears and scream past them when I see them. Not sure if that it's the most mature thing to do but it makes me feel better.
we had one of these tag along to a ride out last year,said that sports bikes didn't give him a buzz no more! tried to convince me he was going to get the pegs down on a particular fast twisty road we use,well to cut along story short I had to wait for him after about 5 or 6 miles as they were so far behind!and I don't think I'm a superfast rider but this guy was crap but apparently the others got in his way
A famous test pilot once wrote after the first flight of a new aircraft: "Ingress to this aircraft is extremely difficult. In this pilot's opinion, it should be made impossible" I tried to get on a GS once and this quote just sprang to mind...
