[blkbrdxx]

An "American muscle machine". I hardly think so. But this article highlights how Americans will believe just about anything Madison avenue tells them! I always

have to laugh to myself when I see these tough looking fat old men on their overweight

and under powered "Elmer Fuddcycles". They are all beginning to look like cartoon characters.

 

[JohnGeisz]

I guess mine is the image of a spode.



My bikes are shiny enough, but not wearing the right logo.



While wearing a black Aerostitch in the summertime, I've been asked where I parked my snowmobile.



And with a full face helmet and no scraggly beard with bugs in it... dang, I'm just so uncool.



I think I'll give up motorcycling and join everyone else at mini-van central, the mall.



(Anybody have a gun, I think I'm just going to end it)

 

[32754]

you got the wrong color!

see, you were supposed to get fire-engine yellow for the 'stich. and people would be awestruck that a fireman rode a motorcycle. A BMW or likely a Kawasaki Concours no less. I'll be happy ignoring the chattering classes and riding my zr-7 in head-to-toe gear and my orange safety vest likewise worn 24/7. And teaching the kids of IL and WI how to ride a motorcycle responsibly, safely and enjoyably. And screw ABATE.

 

[bluedot]

Well, here's a perfect example of this:



Your recent Gixxer 1000 review.



Here we have arguably the fastest, best performing mass produced superbike ever available to us and what are 80% of the reader feedbacks ? "It's ugly"



But this isn't limited to motorcyclists. Some peoples perceptions of how they look (or more accurately how they perceive other see them) will always be #1.



I'll take function over form thanks ...

 

[rsheidler]

For that matter, any street rider who picks the 1000 gixxer cause he wants "the fastest, best performing mass produced superbike ever available to us" is also way more about image than about function. As is the Ducati with Termi pipes and $5,000 of aftermarket carbon fiber and billet aluminum.



Most of us, at least subconsciously are somewhat image conscious.

 

[seruzawa]

It'll be interesting to see how many people think that riding a Harley in black leather is "image" but riding a track-oriented sportbike on the street in full power-ranger regalia isn't.

 

[Buzglyd]

Probably about all but four of us you gun-wielding maniac.

 

[Buzglyd]

Is it ok if I have FBF Forza pipes and just some carbon fiber?

 

[seruzawa]

Guilty as charged. But at least my neighborhood hasn't had a home invasion robbery as long as I've lived here. 'Course those types of criminals usually avoid places like Utah and Idaho.



I'll go quietly now.

 

[seruzawa]

Oh heck. We're all image conscious tp some degree, or we wouldn't be riding at all. No sense in wasting bandwidth inventing reasons why "my choices" are completely objective.

Complete objectivity is a myth anyhow.

 

[5449]

I would argue that, in the context of a sport motorcycle bought for use on the street, its form is a great part of its function. I recently purchased an RC51 in large part because I like the way it looks and I like the way I look on it. I know I will never get even a quarter of its potential utility using it exclusively on the street, and I'm fine with that. It's a great (and great looking) machine, and I am happy simply to own it.

 

[CybeR1]

Well I gotta confess, I like my R1 - it turns heads, I think I look cool (prolly dont but hey I think I do!), and it is a wicked bike to ride. So yeah image is part of my purchasing decision but at the same time I want a bike that performs incredibly and more than I will ever be able to use it .. and it has street cred. R1 will turn more heads even though arguably the new Gix out performs it ....and anyway the rider has a lot to do with it ..opps starting another contest I fear heh heh

 

[capnbinky]

Anybody who says that they don't care about the form of their bike as long as the function is right for them is lying (or a Pacific Coast owner).



Face it...if function won out bikes like the V-Strom would _fly_ out the door at dealers everywhere. We all like to open the garage door and see our beloved bikes in there, and we enjoy what they look like and what they represent _at least_ as much as we enjoy them from a pure function standpoint.



If you're reading this and shaking your head because you value function first and form a distant second (or third), get over yourself. Since when is it a crime against humanity to enjoy asthetics anyway?

 

[Buzglyd]

I gotta say if I was in the market for a litre bike the R1 would be it. I can't come close to using the performance of even my Duc ST4 so I would select the Yamaha simply because it's the best looking by far.

 

[rsheidler]

Good thing I put my coffee down first, or I'd done a Buz and blown coffee our my nose at the Pacific Coast reference!



I think there is a difference between image and aesthetics. Aesthetics involves enjoying the sensory experience, while image is how you are perceived (by others or yourseld). A punker in ugly clothes, spiked hair etc may well be more concerned with image than is a fashion model.



If I choose (not that that would ever happen) to ride a Pacific Coast, it might be to create an image of being someone who doesn't care about his image!



Kinda like those (I was one of em) in the late 60s who demonstrated our nonconformity by all growing our hair the same and listening to the same music!



Bob

 

[417]

Re: Motorcycling Image: The Highwayman

Is this article telling me the Highwayman is really a petite blonde after all and doesn't look like Burns?

 

[Fangit]

Yeh, but the point is, anyone who understands that on the street the difference in outright performance of the Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki in any class is so close (and way beyond the capabilities of 99% of us)as to be irrelevant in a functional sense, it's always going to come down to other factors such as comfort, price and to a large extent, asthetics...and yes I'm afraid the Zuke is easily the ugliest at the moment...

 

[Sam_Freed]

A surfing lesson . . .

. . . old school surfers have an expression, "The best surfer in the water is the one having the most fun"! I would extend that principle to say, "The best bike for you, is the one that you have the most fun riding." If image matters to you, and enhances your riding experience, then there is value in it for you. If you couldn't care less, then I guess you won't be taking your 'Busa to get stretched, slammed, and have the frame chromed! Either way, just go out, have big time fun and make that your criterion for being the best rider on the highway, track, or boulevard that day!

 

[Mashuri]

Well, I don't wear the Power Ranger outfit for image (looks silly, IMO) and certainly not for comfort. Here's a novel idea, do you think some of us wear these things for the great protection they provide? It's a concept lost on most HD riders I try to explain this to...

 

[7349]

Ahhh, the Great American Past-time of reading (and comparing) logos...



FACT: everybody has an opinion; that's what makes horse races.

FACT: as long as there are at least two motorcycle manufacturers, there will be brand groupies devoted to one or the other. The fact that there is so much choice currently is just icing on the cake.

FACT: while there are those for whom motorcycling is a fashion statement, they are riding, just like those who ride because they LOVE TO RIDE. Love takes on many forms. Let it be.

FACT: if hiding behind a brand helps you get through the day, good for you. If you're a vehement supporter of a brand, good for you. If you don't give a $hit and just like to catch the buzz of being under power on two wheels, good for you.



BOTTOM LINE: As William James said at the turn of the (last) century, "What difference does it make?" If you're on a bike, you're a rider. Image, substance...hell, it's all the same thing.