I'm sure it is not all but a large majority of Harley riders are becoming a little rude on the Dragon. Of the three times I have been this year. It has happened every time. Some Harley riders refuse to pull over or at the very least pull to the edge slowly and wave drivers by.

I guess what made me post this was what happened yesterday. I was stuck behind 4 Harleys about half way down the Dragon. A little later two sport bikes show up in my mirror so I eventually get to the side far enough to wave them by. As the first sport bike goes by the Harleys. The lead Harley starts waving his arm for the guy to slow. IMO, the sport bikes were driving fast yet responsible so I saw no problem. Then the second bike decides to go by the Harleys. Two of the four Harleys swerve in front to the sport bike making the rider jerk and cross the yellow line. Luckily it was on a straight.

Has anyone else noticed a pattern like this? Like I said. I'm sure it's not every Harley as some have let me pass last year and before. It's just seems a new thing this year.

Oh well. Still had a blast and took 9 other drivers, including one on work assignment from Germany that have never been and they were thrilled.

 

and you didn't ask me see if I wanted to come along????

When we were up there a couple weeks ago, I had a few similar incidents too.

Don't get me wrong. . . . I love your star spangled red white and blue gigantic Harleys and the freedom that they represent, but when your freedom is slowing me down and getting in the way of my freedom, well, that is just Un-American.

The majority of good riders who are aware of their surroundings and capable of handling their bikes do make an effort to share the road and most of them are very friendly at the overlook and other rest spots. It's just a minority of riders with an SUV-like king of the road attitude that make the rest of them look bad.

 

Sorry. It was only a quick day trip that ended up lasting 13 hours total.

I think that was my last day trip. I'm staying the night from here on out.

I don't mind Harleys either. It's just there are certain riders that don't like to share and it seems that their preferred choice of travel this year is the Harley.

Whatever you do. Don't look on Killboys site this week. I did a boo boo and may have crossed the line. Sadly, Killboy was right there. :impatient I adjusted my air pressure and fixed a bad push when turning right and all was ok after that.

BTW, finally got to meet Battle Cattle and saw his nice new Evo.

 

BC's evo is one sick monster!

Next time, go ahead a stop the car when you decide it is time to adjust your air pressure. It's just too hard to drive the dragon and read a tire pressure gauge!

Heading over to killboy's site now!

 

Now why didn't I think of that.

 

Yes, I noticed the unsporting biker behavior this year, too, SB. I got to the May Dragon event almost a week early. Fontana was hosting the Triumph club and I got stuck behind at least 8 Triumphs on the road between Deal's Gap and Fontana. They barely rode over 10 mph! And they refused to move over, so I felt like I was a visiting dignitary with a motorcycle motorcade. It's not fun to have to continually down-shift into 1st gear on every single turn!

 

I am going to play a little devil's advocate here so please don't ride me for it.

First off I ride a Harley also, a fully dressed Heritage Springer which is a large bike. By no means do I putter around but I am a much more cautious rider than I am a driver in the car. I am always willing to do things in a car that I will not do on a bike because there is a ton of metal surrounding me

While it may be best that they pull over for going slow it is not easy said as done in this case.

Keep in mind that on the Dragon the roads are tight and pulling over to the edge is rather dangerous for someone on a bike. Should you do it in your car and another car comes too close the worst you may suffer is a lost mirror or the entire side of your car is rashed. In a motorcycle should this happen it could lead to a lot more damage to body and bike. It wouldn't take much for a mirror to clip the arm of a rider and break a bone or worse yet send him or her over the edge or into a stone wall.

Also please think about the areas we have the ability to pull over. We are talking about loose gravel. pulling over very slowly or at all in loose gravel on a 2 wheel vehicle is not the easiest thing to do. You have no idea how hard or soft the gravel bed that you pull into is and could easily loose your footing.


While I understand your frustration completely (trust me I have been there) please understand the situation a lot of these riders face.

I, along with many out there, are not like some of the sport bike riders who have lightweight bikes and are willing to risk their life and bike to do things. I enjoy the air and being on the bike as much as I do motoring in the MINI but they are two completely different styles of being on the road.

Just keep it in mind when you are behind someone on a motorcycle. I hope this offers some perspective for you and nothing more.

chris

 

Almost sounded like the Harleys were trying to police the pace of how others drove. If that's the case they might have had noble intentions, but it's still wrong. (or maybe I trying too hard to give them the benefit of the doubt)

 

Chris, I think we all respect the vulnerability of bikers, but when they have a safe place to pull over, to let those motoring at the speed limit (i.e. 30 mph), why don't they do so?

I always pull over for fast bikes and cars when I am on the Dragon or on 28. I am a spirited driver, but always stay in my lane. What's the deal with the bikers who think the yellow line is their lane? I cannot tell you how many bad riders I've seen the past year on the Dragon. I saw way too many sloppy over-the-line maneuvers.

Since 2003, the majority of bikers on the Dragon have really enjoyed the MINI community and given us thumbs-up, as well as chatted us up at Deal's Gap and at the Overlook. I really do not appreciate the bikers who feel it is their duty to go as slow as possible, thus ruining so many others' runs.

 

i can (almost) understand their reticence to pull over into the gravel. but if they didn't take advantage of the regular pull off areas to let you pass, they were just being "holier than thou" about it.

i understand that attitude on neighborhood roads, even do it sometimes myself. there are no kids playing in the yards near fontana.

some peeps are too full of themselves, those harley riders were some of them.

 

Trust me.... I understand all too well and got quite peeved at the dragon this year.

There are plenty of bikers who are just plain stupid and many others that just don't care.

I was just hoping to offer an alternate view on the whole thing.

There are many bikers that ride up to deals gap for the first time and are quite unure of the road and prefer to take it easy.
Others go just for the scenic, cool and beautiful ride and not jsut for the twisites.

Mind you in my MINI I roll through the turns with as much gusto as I possibly can but if I ever took the bike (have yet to as I am trying to figure out a way to safely tow a 900lb bike behind my MINI for the best of both worlds!) I would be one of those very liesurely drivers and make many poeple upset but would be happy to pull over when the space allows without risking my life or others.


Just keep it in mind that not all bikers are bad just like not all MINI drivers are friendly and understand the car they own.

chris

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4206826673549984946

 

I hope the guy was okay. I think I would of stopped to help out.
Having ridden for over 35 years (we sold our HD 2 months ago), I can see both sides of the story. If I was in a place I could safely pull over I would. I hated cars that would 'push' me faster than I wanted to go, for what ever reason. Most bikers I know ride because of the free, open sensation of riding. There's nothing like it. A convertible is the only thing that might some close, but not really. You are still in a 'cage' as bikers sometimes refer to cars. There will always be those knuckleheads that can't share the road, no matter what you d/ride.