Stupid questions people ask you when stopped

[D R]

Originally Posted by toy4fun

On the ferry between Port Angeles, WA and Victoria, BC. Got the bike stowed away and locked up the helmet but I keep my crash green coat on. Up on deck I keep getting folks come up to me and ask questions about the boat and the trip over and where the bathrooms are. Finally, I give up telling people I am not part of the crew and start making up answers for their questions.
How many cars does this thing hold.....several thousand depending on how they are parked.
What do we do in the fog......slow down!
Where is the anchor.....under neath.
How many people work on the boat.........legally or illegally?
Where's the bathroom.......I tried to send them to the farthest one from where we were.
After all this I decided to go to the snack bar and almost got away with getting a employee discount.
Funny thing is the whole crew wore black shirts of black jackets.

Carry a small supply of informational tracts for the RMS Titanic and just hand them one.

[Jim Moore]

Originally Posted by Casey.

I've only been riding for a few days (and only around my neighborhood), and I've already heard "Can I ride it?"

This thread has been cracking me up - I hope I can come up with witty responses when the time comes.

Since you're a new rider, I'm going to give you some very important advice. The answer to the above question is, "No, sorry. I don't let people ride my bikes." If they continue asking the answer becomes, "No. And quit fucking asking me. It's starting to piss me off."

There's no need to feel like a dick when you say it. The person asking is actually being a dick simply by asking. Anyone who know anything about bikes knows not to ask.

[Mambo Dave]

Originally Posted by Jim Moore

Since you're a new rider, I'm going to give you some very important advice. The answer to the above question is, "No, sorry. I don't let people ride my bikes." If they continue asking the answer becomes, "No. And quit fucking asking me. It's starting to piss me off."

There's no need to feel like a dick when you say it. The person asking is actually being a dick simply by asking. Anyone who know anything about bikes knows not to ask.

Agree.

A similar story - a friend who was like a family member and brother to me asked me to ride my nearly new ZX-7R when I got it. Now I knew he had never ridden anything like it although he did ride a street bike a little, and he was marginal on the trails with a trail bike (though we didn't tell him or argue with his impression of his skills). I felt terrible and really guilty having to deny him the chance to ride my pride and joy, but later on, in a different conversation, I realized how poor of a rider he was when he was describing how much he liked to see the front wheel/fender when riding. He was one who focused far too closely, and he proably would have wrecked my sport bike within 1 mile.

Like a pickup truck, you have to just man-up and tell people outright that it isn't something you loan out.

[Snarky]

Originally Posted by Mr_Gone

I agree. Anything below 40° is cold enough for me to connect the heated gear. There are times when it's in the 20s and I ride to work without connecting the heated gear, because it's only a 5-minute commute, but it's still cold.

40 degrees is probably the magic number for cold on a motorcycle. At road speeds the wind chill factor can be well below freezing.

The thing that bugs me is around here it'll start at the low 30s and reach the 60s or 70s in the afternoon. You either start out underdress or end up overdressed. I get annoyed removing and attaching liners all the time so i usually deal with a cold morning commute so i can have a carefree afternoon commute.

Coming in I always get: "arent you cold?" The answer is always yes, but it doesnt matter. Heated grips make it easier though.

[Jim Moore]

Originally Posted by Snarky

Coming in I always get: "arent you cold?" The answer is always yes, but it doesnt matter.

I told a guy once, "I'm not in this life to be comfortable. I'm here to have fun."

[Drunk_Uncle]

I usually tell people they got a better chance of riding my old lady and I don't see that happening. They usually get the idea and stop asking to ride my bike.

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by Jim Moore

If they continue asking the answer becomes, "No. And quit fucking asking me. It's starting to piss me off."
.

Wait... WHAT? Are you not the "polite reply fairy" from the early days of this very thread?

[HellSickle]

Last week at a stop light on my 990. The car next to me rolls down his window:

him: "Hey buddy, what kind of bike is that?"

me: "It's a KTM"

him: "Huh, never seen one before. Nice looking bike"

[pretbek]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

Wait... WHAT? Are you not the "polite reply fairy" from the early days of this very thread?

How quickly we get jaded...

Nowadays at the office I only get asked if I rode in on days that it snows, or there is snow in the forecast for that day. ...Which is when I don't ride.

I guess they are trying to definitively prove that I am "that crazy motorcycle rider".

[Jim Moore]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

Wait... WHAT? Are you not the "polite reply fairy" from the early days of this very thread?

I still am. But no, you can't ride my bike. Quit fucking asking me.

[Drunk_Uncle]

Could this also be stupid things cruiser riders say at work? Case in point. A guy said that his '72 Pan at home does over 200mph. I asked if this was while being flown in an airplane. This was after his buddy is convinced his Valkerie will do well over 150mph. I love these people.

[pretbek]

Originally Posted by Drunk_Uncle

Could this also be stupid things cruiser riders say at work? Case in point. A guy said that his '72 Pan at home does over 200mph. I asked if this was while being flown in an airplane. This was after his buddy is convinced his Valkerie will do well over 150mph. I love these people.

Those are very normal estimates. A former colleague estimated that his 883 Sportster with drag pipes (and no engine work) made at least 150 HP.

[HellSickle]

Originally Posted by pretbek

Those are very normal estimates. A former colleague estimated that his 883 Sportster with drag pipes (and no engine work) made at least 150 HP.

Rigggghhhhtttttt..... And those pipes have saved more lives than Mother Theresa.

[Mr_Gone]

Originally Posted by Snarky

40 degrees is probably the magic number for cold on a motorcycle. At road speeds the wind chill factor can be well below freezing.

The thing that bugs me is around here it'll start at the low 30s and reach the 60s or 70s in the afternoon. You either start out underdress or end up overdressed. I get annoyed removing and attaching liners all the time so i usually deal with a cold morning commute so i can have a carefree afternoon commute.

40° is about the magic number for me, at least on longer rides. All my regular gear— pants, jacket, boots, gloves — all work great down to 40°. Below 40° I need to plug in my heated gear to be comfortable if I'm going to ride for longer than 10-15 minutes. I can sometimes suffer through, but why do it?

[duck]

Originally Posted by HellSickle

Rigggghhhhtttttt..... And those pipes have saved more lives than Mother Theresa.

You obviously don't know much about straight pipes. By not baffling the exhaust you get more thrust.