Sexy!For many men, and I’m tempted to say probably the vast majority of men, the two images that strike a chord with us are a beautiful woman, and a beautiful motorcycle. Men are made to respond to the visual, and sometimes we get confused as to which is supposed to do more for us, motorcycles or women when they are put together.
I have been on great motorcycle rides on a Honda Goldwing, and even on much lesser bikes, and the competition between women and bikes must surely be a subject of intense interest to anthropologists. I have rallied with small bikes of 125 cc or even less, and the competitive spirit is in evidence. Mainly we have the men riding and their women holding on tight, perhaps tighter than necessary for safety reasons. When the size of the bikes move up to the 500 cc range the effort on the part of the women also steps up to win the attention of their guys.
Although I ride with clubs on 1500 cc Goldwings, the mindset is a little different because these clubs are gentlemen’s clubs. What the women have to do in order to stay on the radar of their men is to pay a lot of attention to the bike. It becomes a shared passion. To avoid being left at home a Goldwinger’s wife simply has to learn everything she can about the bike, and to take an interest in its upkeep and maintenance.
Such owners are almost religious in the worship they pay to their bikes. The bike must not be taken out on a rainy day, nor on a day that is overcast. During the cold and rainy Winter months the bike is kept indoors, preferably in the living room. The paint job is usually immaculate and shiny, and I suspect a lot of the bikes are also kept covered.
If you really want to see one of these men in uncontrollable tears, damage his bike.
Meanwhile, over in the Harley Davidson camp, things are a little different. Harley riders are a more-hardy breed. The extreme clubs like Hell’s Angels ride Harleys. You cannot be an Angel on a Goldwing. The clubs that cause all the bad press are all likely to be riding Harleys. This all has nothing to do with the Harley manufacturers, but the hard asses tend to drift toward this brand.
To simply watch a Harley rally is something else. One of the images that are stuck in my mind is that of a group of bikers that showed up at a rally with their chicks on the back. The girls were wearing, if you can call it that, a couple of handkerchief-style pieces of material that left nothing at all to the imagination. These girls were serious about getting the attention of their men, and everybody’s else’s, and keeping it. What a sight that was to behold.
Trust me to think about something like this: I thought that was all very well, but I hoped that they didn’t fall off because there would be an awful lot of skin to get scruffed up.
As the weather begins to mellow the time has come for rallies all throughout Europe. These can be quite impressive and a lot of good clean fun for the various clubs, but until you have been a participant in one of the big rallies in the United States where the number of bikes in attendance will be 30,000 or more, you, or I haven’t lived yet.
Just have a very good scientific way to find your bike when you want it.
Meanwhile, over in the Harley Davidson camp, things are a little different. Harley riders are a more-hardy breed. The extreme clubs like Hell’s Angels ride Harleys. You cannot be an Angel on a Goldwing. The clubs that cause all the bad press are all likely to be riding Harleys. This all has nothing to do with the Harley manufacturers, but the hard asses tend to drift toward this brand.
To simply watch a Harley rally is something else. One of the images that are stuck in my mind is that of a group of bikers that showed up at a rally with their chicks on the back. The girls were wearing, if you can call it that, a couple of handkerchief-style pieces of material that left nothing at all to the imagination. These girls were serious about getting the attention of their men, and everybody’s else’s, and keeping it. What a sight that was to behold.
Trust me to think about something like this: I thought that was all very well, but I hoped that they didn’t fall off because there would be an awful lot of skin to get scruffed up.
As the weather begins to mellow the time has come for rallies all throughout Europe. These can be quite impressive and a lot of good clean fun for the various clubs, but until you have been a participant in one of the big rallies in the United States where the number of bikes in attendance will be 30,000 or more, you, or I haven’t lived yet.
Just have a very good scientific way to find your bike when you want it.
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
