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They make air horn kits and stuff like that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9ZWYTSDb8w but relying too much on your horn isn't the best idea, imo.
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Oct 8, 2013 15:20
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTRYm_peqGA His neighbours must love him.
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Oct 8, 2013 15:58
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As always, there's a Bond movie with a "solution". Start inventing, people! (About 20 sec in, the worlds most effective horn.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpBWIr4EWb8
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Oct 8, 2013 16:12
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Chichevache posted:As someone who hasn't started riding yet, but will hopefully have their bike in the next three months, would it be possible to throw a much louder horn on the bike? I was thinking it would be pretty sick if I could get a semi's horn on somehow... I've always thought that on a motorcycle the only reason to use a horn is to audibly flip someone off. It's pretty loving worthless as an actual safety aid. If you're in a situation requiring you to use a horn, you're probably already moving out of the dangerous situation. If you're actually using a horn to try to get people to stop merging into you or whatever, you're going to get killed trying to own your lane.
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Oct 8, 2013 16:32
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I blow my horn all the time. This is largely a New England thing. The trick is to use it early enough. You should use all tools at your disposal (inluding your own maneuvering and brakes) to avoid dangerous situations. Obviously an air horn is a bit excessive but throwing Stebel Nautilii / Magnums or Hella Supertones on your bike isn't uncommon at all. The stock horn circuit generally isn't hefty enough to handle the current (especially if you run two horns) but splicing in a relay is trivial. This is easier on bigger / full-faired bikes than it is on smaller / stripped down ones simply for ease of finding somewhere to stick the things.
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Oct 8, 2013 16:53
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Chichevache posted:As someone who hasn't started riding yet, but will hopefully have their bike in the next three months, would it be possible to throw a much louder horn on the bike? I was thinking it would be pretty sick if I could get a semi's horn on somehow... I run Stebel Magnums on all my bikes. Mainly because when I hit that button, I want something to happen. It's also good for beeping at people who lane cut in the carpool lane and drawing the attention of cops to them, or warning people, or the things you would use a horn for (ie, not a sound forcefield to stop people from merging into you). And I'm glad you've found my posting informative - that is, once you set aside all of the silly back and forth trolling that goes on, the point. I learned a lot from people posting on the internet when I started riding, and I like doing it, so it's sort of a win/win. Drifter posted:I'd rather have people constantly forcing me to think critically by saying "what else could you have done to prevent that," than people just accepting that something happened and moving on. This is really what it comes down to. It's the point where people get the most righteous indignation about how they've been wronged where they probably need to look the closest at how that situation could have been avoided. You're not angry when someone does something stupid that you know is coming, you're only angry when they catch you off guard. On a larger level, it's the difference between someone who's gonna write of an accident as a "cold tires/unavoidable accident" vs. taking responsibility for the conditions, the bike, that car they saw and didn't plan for it pulling out in front of them, etc. I wouldn't ever try and convince any of the GBS keyboard jockeys that motorcycling isn't as dangerous as they think it is, but the reduction in accidents if you do the basics like get trained, wear a helmet, and don't ride drunk is staggering. And if you further remove any accident where the motorcyclist could have taken reasonable precautions to avoid the accident (appropriate speed, respecting the conditions, planning for the idiocy of other drivers), it drops to a fraction of that already small number. Yes, it takes a lot more investment to get there, but after nearly a decade and hundreds of thousands of miles on motorcycles, and a lot of willful stupidity and I'm still riding, I'm either a total statistical anomaly or motorcycling can be done in a way that's safe. And frankly, I don't think that's a dialogue that exists in any meaningful way, even among motorcyclists.
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Oct 8, 2013 17:24
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The only thing worse than Z3n's posting is his intolerance of dairy.
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Oct 8, 2013 17:25
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Snowdens Secret posted:I blow my horn all the time. This is largely a New England thing. The trick is to use it early enough. You should use all tools at your disposal (inluding your own maneuvering and brakes) to avoid dangerous situations. Which reminds me I've got to find an SD card reader to get the pics of my bitching new FIAMM dual-horn set out of their cheap digital camera prison and out onto the internet. These are the replacements for the cheap knockoff Stebel Nautilus copy that refused to work in the wet, which was great fun when it worked though. (There was actually a cheap no-brand dual-horn set in-between but less said about that the better) Mine mostly get used for shooing errant pedestrians out of the way rather than in a more defensive mode, but my first time using them for real was a textbook example of how you're *supposed* to use your horn and how almost nobody does - coming up on a side turning with a car pulling out to turn right from between two parked cars, I saw the driver check to her left (so away from me, in the the direction of travel) and start to roll forward, so I gave a little blast just to ensure she looked in my direction.
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Oct 8, 2013 17:29
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I've been riding for thousands of miles and every close encounter has been a result of my own misjudgment. I never get into the situations people talk about. Motorcycling, when done right, is a journey into the daunting task of weeding out one's own bullshit. I really should upgrade my horn though. I currently cannot hear it over my exhaust. 
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Oct 8, 2013 17:37
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children please, dont even front on the im helpful thing. ive been mad helpful since before z3n was even born
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Oct 8, 2013 17:40
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I blink my high beams at people a lot, too, but this seems to have zero effect
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Oct 8, 2013 17:40
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Snowdens Secret posted:I blink my high beams at people a lot, too, but this seems to have zero effect Everyone already thinks my high beams are on anyway and flashes theirs at me until I turn them on.
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Oct 8, 2013 17:44
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My bike has the horn button more ergonomically accessible than the turn signal switch, and a little trigger for my index finger to flash the hi-beams. In case you weren't sure what country it hails from. Yesterday I had the motorcycle equivalent of someone in an SUV squeezing into a compact car space right next to me. Dude on an (immaculately clean, max farkled) R1300GS jamming it into a scooter sized spot right next to my Multi. I had to do the motorcycle equivalent of climb through the passenger window to get out, while he futzed about with his all aluminum hard boxes. Haul the thing up by the right hand handlebar and ease it out into the laneway far enough that there was a big enough gap for me to squeeze past and get on from the left side. I kicked his front tire as I got on by accident, but I'd be happy if he thought I did it deliberately. It's not like the bike lot was rammed either, it just might have meant 10 seconds of extra walking for him.
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Oct 8, 2013 17:45
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I'm pretty sure it was someone in AI that said this, but I always think of it with the "own your lane" thingJohn Pastor posted:I assume that anyone following me closely and driving erratically is challenging my vehicular dominance, accelerate to 120 mph and begin driving even more erratically than they could ever manage. And there's probably people who would do that unironically
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Oct 8, 2013 18:15
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Spiffness posted:The only thing worse than Z3n's posting is his intolerance of dairy. troof. Jim Silly-Balls posted:children please, dont even front on the im helpful thing. ive been mad helpful since before z3n was even born Help I am a literal child.
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Oct 8, 2013 18:16
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We probably should try to keep the disbursing of useful knowledge to the multiple threads we already have for them and keep this ranting thread for blowing hot gas out of our enraged buttholes
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Oct 8, 2013 18:24
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Snowdens Secret posted:We probably should try to keep the disbursing of useful knowledge to the multiple threads we already have for them and keep this ranting thread for blowing hot gas out of our enraged buttholes Group ride to Doobies Doghouse in Alabama for some Chili Dogs?
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Oct 8, 2013 18:31
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Sorry I couldn't hear you over me barreling down the highway in a skid lid, Icon field armor, muscle tee, and a clown mask on my baffle-less Hayabusa SoCal is literally a gigantic frownie face. If you cross your eyes and squint really hard at a map I hear you can see it. Or a gigantic man-doodle. Or maybe a sailboat I dunno
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Oct 8, 2013 18:39
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It's a schooner!
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Oct 8, 2013 18:40
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Drifter posted:I've always thought that on a motorcycle the only reason to use a horn is to audibly flip someone off. It's pretty loving worthless as an actual safety aid. If you're in a situation requiring you to use a horn, you're probably already moving out of the dangerous situation. I purely want one for my own amusement. Collateral Damage posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTRYm_peqGA I need this.
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Oct 8, 2013 20:35
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Z3n posted:It's super easy to crash on gravel, all you have to do is see it, freak out, grab a handful of brake, and it doesn't matter if you were on gravel or not! Dirt and/or gravel on the trail is the number one cause of me crashing my dirtbike. Oh and as of this weekend's MX race, hay bales. It wasn't my fault, the track was all covered in dirt, and that hay bale came out of nowhere.
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Oct 8, 2013 21:05
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Need to rant. This looks like a rant thread. Backstory: There is some public land near me that I've been "recreating" on for the past decade by way of trucks, jeeps, cars, feet, and motorcycles. A group of mountain bikers has been building single-track trails on this land for a couple of years. Mostly they have been sticking to what I'll call the "left half" of the parcel which is OK with me because I don't really go over there much. As of the past two months they have started building new trails, with the approval of the government body that regulates this chunk of land. Rant: My problem is that there were tons of existing two-track trails that nobody except me and a neighbor ever use anymore, and none of these were worthy of use by the mountain bikers. Instead they decided to make miles and miles of new trails in a section of property that is not even a mile long on any side. I have never just decided to make new trails on this property, mostly because of the existing trails but also because it is a "reforestation area" and also is a large Wild Orchid habitat which are heavily protected by law in my area. These douchebags apparently can't ride mountain bikes on moss or pine needles, or even topsoil, so they stripped all these new trails completely down to undisturbed soil. Often through 6+" of moss. Mostly more than 3ft(1 meter) wide for the entire trail. Right through many spots that I have photographic evidence of there being huge populations of wild orchids growing. To top this all off it is not only sanctioned by local government, but apparently also illegal because they did not have an environmental impact study done like is required by law here. Then the motherfuckers have the audacity to come running out of the woods at me while I am riding these trails they made, and tell me to stay off them because I am going to tear them up. The guy then proceeded to tell me that there is only about an inch or two (he demonstrated by holding his fingers apart and saying "this much") of "good soil" before it gets to sand, and if I ride there I am going to push all the "good soil" out and it will then "not be pleasant to ride a mountain bike on". The guy that was telling me this has the same bike I do, I know this because I met him one time when we were both on the bikes in town. Stopped riding the trails for a week and went back, they have torn them all to hell with their stupid mountain bikes. If I get blamed for any of that then blahblahblah empty threats, you sonsabitches.
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Oct 8, 2013 21:21
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I didn't realize mountain bikes needed pristine dirt for an enjoyable ride. Wish someone told me that when I was 10. Sounds like they might get a kick out of riding on the road. Plenty of that, and lots of it is smoother than dirt.
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Oct 8, 2013 21:26
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Pope Mobile posted:I didn't realize mountain bikes needed pristine dirt for an enjoyable ride. Wish someone told me that when I was 10. Sounds like they might get a kick out of riding on the road. Plenty of that, and lots of it is smoother than dirt. Seriously, there is a perfectly nice gravel road right over there -----> The guy said "I hope I'm not coming across as an rear end in a top hat" -- that means he knows he was being an rear end in a top hat, right?
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Oct 8, 2013 21:29
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Reborn wannabe-professional bicycle riders are the worst, I can't decide whether I hate the sanctimonious mountain bikers or the desperate-to-be-just-like-Lance road riders the most. We've had a real scourge of mountain bikers bombing down forest trails around here, even trails that are clearly marked that bikes are prohibited. They've hit children, become tangled up in dog leashes and generally just have absolutely no respect for that fact that people don't like mountain bikers flying past them at breakneck speeds while they're out for a quiet walk. Not that the people on the other side of the argument are any better, mind you. They've put out boards with nails in them, strung fishing wire across popular mountain biking trails and so on. It's a goddamn war out there. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Oct 8, 2013 |
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Oct 8, 2013 21:53
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HNasty posted:I'm #90 but #1 in your hearts, right guys. This conversation reminded me that this poo poo never happens to me. I've been riding for over 14+ years and I've never had anyone try to purposefully run me off the road, well maybe I have and just don't remember but it seems to be a daily occurrence with some riders. I've never crashed cause of gravel in a corner, or oil or diesel (which I know is euro problem). I'm not accosted by stories of uncle's neighbor's brother dying at 200mph when people find out I ride a motorcycle. I mean I've heard those stories but not enough that they're any sort of problem. People don't merge into me all day long, I don't know I'm sort of statistical mutant. I have crashed once because of slick road surfaces and, after getting over my surprise (wholly uninjured, I was drat near stopped when it happened) realized how stupid I had been. It was my first time riding a new scooter in the wet and I decided that 10 minutes after it started lightly raining (for the first time in weeks) was the right time to test traction. Locked up the rear (intentionally), then the front (oops), then just tipped over. 100% my fault for trying - in fresh rain - to get away with poo poo I had only gotten away with in the dry (on that bike). I've had some pretty close calls with cars changing lanes into me, pulling out in front of me, etc. but rarely close enough that I wasn't prepared for it and never close enough to cause an accident. When I have more than one such occurrence happen in a couple-month-long period I assume it's my fault and re-evaluate how I'm riding. Less often than that and I might be able to write it off as a crazy driver. The fact that almost 100% of my riding is in an urban environment opens me up to more of these situations, I think. And there's only one person I regularly interact with that gives me poo poo about the dangers of two wheels. Saying "I ride scooters" fails to trigger the DANGER WARNING that "I ride motorcycles" triggers in most people. So basically I agree with HNasty.
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Oct 9, 2013 07:29
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Four days ago, I picked up a nail in my tire on my S3R. Took it to the shop, dude patched it, said he could get the tire on monday for me. So I said "cool, I'll leave the bike here instead of ride on the patch, I've got the DRZ so I'll just ride that". Next day, I take the DRZ to work, and after parking it, do a quick check and see that there's wet all over my chair and tire/wheel...and there's a puddle forming under the engine. It's oil. gently caress. Trailer the bike back to the shop, swap bikes for the patched rear tire S3R, now I've got to ride that around until I have the day off Thursday. gently caress me did both these things have to happen at once? At least my DRZ got a free chain oiling.
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Oct 9, 2013 07:30
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:At least my DRZ got a free chain oiling. Countershaft seal? Mine did this and got not only a free chain oiling but also a free rear tire oiling which is what let me know all my oil had dumped out... Oily tires aren't fun. Was riding those singletrack trails (mentioned above) on my way home from work last night and got to "interact" with another smug gently caress that thinks he is better than everyone else. I told him all the things I ranted about here, and more. By the end of the conversation he looked like he was going to cry and obviously just wanted to go home to rock himself to sleep in the fetal position. Having a guy on a "dirtbike" prove that you and your mountain bike buddies are responsible for huge swaths of environmental damage is apparently unsettling and catches people off guard. He did not tell me to stay off the trails, but did insist that I go ahead of him when we ended our conversation and were leaving. He said he didn't want to hold me up, despite the fact that I had been riding behind him and he had to stop to let me catch up (not racing or trying to prove anything, just riding through the woods home rather than on the pavement). Letting me go first was most likely to get my license plate number. I hope they have an "aggravated" version of whatever they might try to charge me with, otherwise the sheriffs are going to get sick of having their time wasted.
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Oct 9, 2013 16:00
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There's a rail road track in the middle of the freeway that I commute to work and back daily, and lately it seems every other day when I'm exiting the HOV lane a train would go by and those loving wheel screeches sound just like cars slamming on brakes. Sure, I look around before I merge over to another lane, but that god drat oh gently caress I'm gonna die sound gets me every single loving time.
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Oct 9, 2013 20:21
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Since I guess this is the bitching and moaning thread, what the gently caress is up with god drat nerds on reddit naming their bikes. Holy gently caress that's lame, I saw one today where some guy named his bike Audrey.
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Oct 10, 2013 04:46
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Mine is named Ulysses.
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Oct 10, 2013 04:52
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HNasty posted:Since I guess this is the bitching and moaning thread, what the gently caress is up with god drat nerds on reddit naming their bikes. Holy gently caress that's lame, I saw one today where some guy named his bike Audrey. It's probably the same nerds who name their guns.
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Oct 10, 2013 05:01
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I made up names for my bikes but then promptly forgot them because they were silly. Today I got mildly cut off, pulling up to an intersection to make a left, by a city bus that swerved at the last moment into the left turn lane in order to get past a stopped car in his lane, so he could run the red light. It wasn't even a fresh red light. He was nice enough to put on his left turn blinkers as he accelerated (straight) through the intersection. I had given him plenty of room as he showed no signs of slowing down, so I didn't get runnoffed the road or had to layer dan or whatever, but this is the kind of crap I see every day.
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Oct 10, 2013 05:27
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HNasty posted:Since I guess this is the bitching and moaning thread, what the gently caress is up with god drat nerds on reddit naming their bikes. Holy gently caress that's lame, I saw one today where some guy named his bike Audrey.
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Oct 10, 2013 06:46
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Giving your bike a girl's name always seemed weird to me anyway. Motorcycles just seem so masculine compared to cars. Maybe it is terror at the homoerotic thought of wrapping your thighs around a Harley named "Bruce".
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Oct 10, 2013 06:48
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I think I had Roman and Gaelic god names for the Aprilia and Triumph It was still lame
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Oct 10, 2013 06:55
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It's much easier when the bike already has a name. "I'm going for a ride on the Bandit" makes it completely irrelevant to further name it. The XT is just "the Ecks-Tee" 
KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 09:17 on Oct 10, 2013 |
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Oct 10, 2013 09:14
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It's easier to just not read reddit, c'mon sons http://youtu.be/DOqb_UzJSUQ
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Oct 10, 2013 12:28
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Chichevache posted:Giving your bike a girl's name always seemed weird to me anyway. Motorcycles just seem so masculine compared to cars. Maybe it is terror at the homoerotic thought of wrapping your thighs around a Harley named "Bruce". I've only ever heard of bikes/cars named the opposite sex of the person who owns it. It's probably just less enjoyable for a dude to ride Bruce as it would be to ride Bessie.
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Oct 10, 2013 17:29
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I wouldn't knock riding Bruce until you've tried it.
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Oct 10, 2013 18:16
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