Do sport bike riders and metric riders not like kids? or Christmas?

Question

I just came from my 4th toy drive/ride. This was just a little one sponsered by a local pub, but I've been to a few big ones.

Tonight there was one guy on a V-star and one guy on a GSXR and like 50 Harleys.

The ratios were comparable at the larger runs too, 10 metrics to like 300 Harleys.

Why don't the sport bikers and metric bikers want to participate in these charity events??

Answer 1

They say they don't but... like the comment above "better things to do..."
Like what? They don't answer that.
I'm sorry dude, but you won't get a decent answer.
A while ago our MRO had a toy run. I noticed the same thing about who was there. And who wasn't. Maybe it was the rain that ended as the run began, who knows? I made a comment about it here, and no reasonable responses.

Peacocks? BS! It's about the kids first, and promoting motorcycling second. When it's on the 6 0'clock news, they say "motorcyclists" NOT "Harley riders". And anyone who rides anything else is automatically included in the public's eye.

So, that leaves another thought. How much BS do we get from them while they ride our coattails?

BTW, I have no stake in the HD vs others argument.
I rode my others to the toy runs and other charity events.
Now I ride an HD.
I still ride in the charity rides.
It's not about the motorcycle, it's style, or it's brand.
To me, it's about motorcyclists supporting a good cause.
And that makes us all look better. Remember, the public outnumbers us.

Answer 2

I have a Harley and a sport bike. Most of the Harley riders that I ride with are 30-60 years old. Most of them are at a point in their life that they don't need to go 180mph for fun. They enjoy cruising at 50 and seeing the sights. Most of them have been riding for decades too. Also, Harleys aren't cheap. The cost of the bike is only the beginning with a Harley. Most of the guys I ride with have enough stuck into their bike to buy 2-4 sport bikes, so they take care of them. The people I ride with that are on sport bikes are younger in comparison (18-30). The bikes are considerably cheaper. The reason these people bought a sport bike is to go fast, which is exactly what they do. Most of the sport bike riders I encounter have only been riding a few years at most. They are young, inexperienced, and out for a rush. While it's not fair to generalize one or the other (Like I said - I ride both) on average I think you will find what I described above.

Answer 3

On Dec. 8 the Memphis TN Chapter of the Ruff Ryders Motorcycle family sponsored a charity basketball benefit that collected toys for underprivileged kids. Hundreds of sport bike riders participated in this event. It depends on where you are looking, as to what you see. Usually when we make generalizations it is only a testament to our own exposure or under-exposure. You would probably be very surprised to find out how many sport bike clubs are involved in making positive social change.

Answer 4

As a sportbike rider, I think you are a little off base on this one. Normally I will skip events like this because they are just pub runs in disguise, personally I would rather ride than put-put around. Also, and I know I am stereotyping here but more often than not it is true, alot of the Harley crowd (here in northeastern WI) are not that good on their bike and in a big crowd they become nearly dangerous, they either follow blindly in a row or "attempt to" show their harley is fast??? and nearly hit people. I know this sounds weird from a guy who will ride with a bunch of guys on one wheel for a mile or will play race with a few close friends but I at least know they can be trusted.
Now I know at this point you would like to paint me as a man who hates kids, not true. I mentor an area "at risk" youth weekly and am ringing the bell for the salvation army this evening with my girl. Please ask yourself next time before you try and say sportbike riders are selfish and hate kids, does the gift of a toy and maybe a monetary donation equal the hours of volunteer work that many of the younger generation(sportbike riders) offer?

Answer 5

My guess is that it's a generation X thing.
The generation Xer's are typically apathetic, somewhat antisocial , selfish ,self entitled and not very civic minded when left to their own devices.
It appears that the vast majority of sportbike riders fall into the (gen X) category.
There are some riders in the groups I ride with that are in the (gen X) demographic as well, but most of the Harley riding groups are made up of diverse aged riders that can impart some "old time values" on the younger generation.

So I think the answer to your question in short is , The generation X does not care about charity and the majority of sportbike riders are (gen X).

Answer 6

Because most activities like this are organized and sponsored by Harley-Davidson related groups. I ride a metric and I care about children, and I even like Christmas, but I think you're painting everyone who doesn't ride a Harley with a broad brush here. And it's an unfair generalization.

Answer 7

I don't think that is a fair statement. The fact is that many of these toy rides, and other charity rides, are sponsored buy a Harley dealership or local HOG chapter etc., so you will see mainly Harley's in these events.

Answer 8

My take on this is that the sport bike crowd can't slow down long enough and ride responsibly long enough for a toy drive ride. Too boring for them. Their toys would blow off their bikes. Also, most sport bike riders are a little to "me" oriented and not involved or interested in improving someone else's situation in life. Harley riders have big bikes and big hearts.

Answer 9

we have the toys for kids over here (England) not too many Harleys. Maybe its a country thing. Lots of goldwings intruders and Vmax's as well as the crotch rockets. But saying that we have corners. Ha ha.
seriously .... does it matter who turns up on what as long as they turn up.

Answer 10

There are probably several reasons for this phenomenon. Probably the most obvious is just that Harley sells more bikes, therefore, there would be more of them on the road.

In my area, cruisers seem to turn out in droves for these events, especially the smaller ones, while sport bike riders participate in the larger toy runs or host runs of their own which are largely attended by sport bike riders.