GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

Hey guys and gals,

I reckon in my country, gs rider doesn't have much respect due to
1, the bike is air cool
2, the bike is a twin,
3, the market value is low
They only respect the popular bikes such as CB400,750, XJR 400,1300 etc....... as long as your bike is 4 cylinders you get more respect.
but after you kick the super bikes riders' AsS, they will give you alot of respect.
I am getting respcet up the twisty, slowly!

I haven't had any problems with other sport-bikers ... just a bunch of the diehard Harley riders I know  :icon_rolleyes:I've been riding witha  few guys from one of the local HD shops though , and they all have sportbikes  :thumb:
I even run down to the riverfront by the Arch with a bunch of the local Streetfighters and hang out and watch them stunt ... it also helps that I didn't hide the fact that the previous owner laid my bike down so I covered it with stickers hehe ... I call it my ricer-rat - suprsingly , most of them like the bike . When we get on the local twisties I can pull away from them all quite easily , so that helps too  :icon_twisted:
They have bikes that pop wheelies and can outrun me when they're in 3rd gear , but I have a bike that I can actually turn ... they were the ones that helped convince me to keep my GS instead of getting the ZZR I was gonna get (though I kind of still want one for a "highway" bike , but if I get it I'm keeping my GS ... it's my baby ! )

Only the squids have issues with what other people ride...

Quote from: melloGS on April 07, 2007, 08:35:50 AM
Only the squids have issues with what other people ride...

+1

About the only thing mello has ever said that I've agreed with.

 Posted by: melloGS
Insert Quote
Only the squids have issues with what other people ride...


Yes .. what he said pretty much .... anyone that knows how to ride knows its the rider that counts ..but it is always fun to blow  the big bikes away in the twistys  :flipoff:  they go from this --> :bs:  to this --> :o  in my home town most the ppl i know ,  know that i know how to ride go to the local honda/suz. shop and they will say the same :)

yup yup, I know the question sounds silly, but I just don't like the ppl who can't see anything but HONDA in my country. I am just trying to prove you can be fast on any bike.

I agree with the Richard Feynman quote:

"What Do You Care What Other People Think?"

I enjoy what I ride and that is good enough.   :cheers:

PS. It is a good book BTW.

I ride a motorcycle because I enjoy it, not because I want attention from a crowd I have no interest in associating with.

Quote from: GeeP on April 07, 2007, 10:48:51 AM
I ride a motorcycle because I enjoy it, not because I want attention from a crowd I have no interest in associating with.

ditto.

and- if any group actually wanted me as a member, i'd know right off they were lame. duh!

Quote from: GeeP on April 07, 2007, 10:48:51 AM
I ride a motorcycle because I enjoy it, not because I want attention from a crowd I have no interest in associating with.

People that ARE concerned generally buy $30K Harleys so they can suddenly become a "Rebel" lol

Speaking of crowds , ya coming with us next saturday GeeP ? I called Atkins and figured we'd meet at South County Mall around 10am or so ... PM me your number dude

You have mail.

Find out what it means to me?

f3

Wrecent, you have two interesting middle paragraphs there -- one talks to what you prefer, and the other talks to what others want you to prefer. 

If others convince you, that's one thing.  But if you're criticized for going against the prevailing opinions of others, I think that's wrong.  I don't think I'm taking an alternate point of view -- just clarifying.

PS.  I wear clothes when it's 95° out because my skin burns easily.   :)

PPS. Pink clashes with my Red jacket & helmet.   :)   :)

[43

Quote from: Cozzy on April 07, 2007, 09:19:11 AM
yup yup, I know the question sounds silly, but I just don't like the ppl who can't see anything but HONDA in my country. I am just trying to prove you can be fast on any bike.

You will never be fast on a GS.....sorry, to burst your bubble
you can be quick through the twisties.....that is about all.

canoe club mentality here should apply
you have a bike they have a bike....ride

if they have a problem with what you ride...don't ride with them no more
If you have a problem with what they ride....get over it and ride... or don't ride with them no more


Image is D!CK..... it just makes you poor and envious of others

Quote from: Wrecent_Wryder on April 08, 2007, 08:27:29 AM
We live in an increasingly overpopulated world, where people are constantly in each other's faces, brushing up against each other, like it or not. Anonymity, privacy, and owning things that do NOT use you to advertise in any way increasingly come at a premium. It costs more to own things that do not make a statement, while those that desperately try to are everywhere. Everybody has a jacket with "North Face" stenciled on the back of the shoulder. Everyone wears baseball caps and t-shirts showing their taste solely in terms of consumer product brands. Everyone wears Nike swooshes or Polo ponies, with pants that advertise Levis or Dockers, shoes stamped "Timberland" or "New Balance". Everyone's vehicle advertises it's manufacturer in ways that are as non-removable as possible, and most advertise the dealer as well, we just take it for granted. "Brand new" used to mean something, because when the "brand" was on an object in paper or ink, it was the first thing to disappear with use.. now it's very often the most durable part of a consumer object. You get someone to build a fence in your yard, they just nail THEIR sign on it, without even asking. As if that weren't enough, furthering the frenzy of "marking", everyone has tattoos and/or piercings, anything to desperately try to distinguish themselves from the next person. 

Silence, privacy, anonymity and understatement are becoming powerful positive class indicators, but it's no less a reaction to the presence of others, it's more.

Very good discussion Wrecent.

What you are talking about is the need of every person to project what Jung calls a "persona".  The persona is the way a person is perceived by others, in contrast to who they really are.  In essence, the persona is a form of posturing.

All of us try to project an idea of who we are which does not conform to reality.  The clothes we wear, the motorcycles we ride, the color we paint the house, are all affected by our need to project a persona.  Even if there were only one of us left on this planet he or she would still project a persona.  The need is hardwired into our brain, just like sex.

The persona is balanced on the other side by who we really are.  If the balance is out of whack towards the persona you have an an insecure person.  Most young people are insecure, as they have yet to discover who they are.  Marketers prey on that insecurity and place their products as a solution to insecurity.  "If you ride this motorcycle you'll be acknowledged amongst your peers." are a few of the unspoken words on the sales brochure of a GSXR.  It may sound silly, but it sells a lot of "North Face" T-shirts and GSXR motorcycles.

Between our need to be seen as something we aren't and the marketer's interest in helping us fulfill that need we have become a society that judges character solely on looks.  We have been told by marketers and our peers that who we are as a person is no longer important.  What defines us is what we look like, what we smell like, who we're seen with, what kind of job we hold, what kind of car we drive, what kind of bike we ride, etc.  After all, would you go to a brain surgeon with messy hair?  What would you think if your car mechanic wore a 3pc suit?

so at the end of the it is all about style........sterotyping??

or am I just to childish to care about what others' think!

You dont think you get no respect ride a Buell ! The sportbike riders look down on you and the harley rider think you are a secound class citazin ! The harley guys  say why didn't you by a real harley? I ancer I am not old enough to ride a gezzer glide. If want me to ride a Harley lets race for titles they shutup. I haven't ridden  my GS 500 enough But so far I like it. Not used to shifting so much .But I do like it :)

When I'm out riding, I wave at other riders... And most of 'em wave back.  I call that respect, at least on some level....

I wear total "racer-boy" gear, so at the breakfast place or the bar not a single cruiser guy will give me respect....  But, I'd bet $100 that if someone was trying to steal my bike any Harley guy would beat him into the ground...  I call that respect, at least on some level.

When it comes down to it, I couldn't care less what people think of me...  Especially strangers.  But, it sure is fun to see the look on the "Big-ol-bike" rider's face when they can't catch you on your little 500.   :laugh:


I can't wait to be riding around on a 1600cc cruiser wearing my Yellow Warhawk Helmet, Yellow Icon jacket, and Yellow Gloves.   :laugh:  HA HA HA HA HA  Then Everyone will hate me!   :icon_mrgreen:

I stumbled upon my GS at a game of cards. Having just gotten my license, I was without a bike, and a stranger at the table said he had one for sale. I heard '92, and thought it was going to be a piece ... but it wasn't. Now I realize it was the greatest chance occurence that could've happened to me. I spent two years riding it as I bought it (ignition advanced, fenderectomy, Cobra F-1 Exhaust, Re-jet), and now I'm pumping it up a bit more with a GSXR rear wheel, new paint, and maybe some new dual headlights.
To reply to the actual thread: I get respect because I give it; only squids and hog-hounds who are so wrapped up in their own image to realize that there's another two-wheeled vehicle nearby give me trouble. Moral of the story, as long as you respect yourself and your choices ... who really cares?

Quote from: RVertigo on April 09, 2007, 02:14:34 PM
When I'm out riding, I wave at other riders... And most of 'em wave back.  I call that respect, at least on some level...

i agree when im riding the other people wave to me first mostly cause i dont see them until i hear them. so i wave back respect shown and respect given back. does everyone do it whn i go by no, harley riders and cruiser riders usually dont buts most sport bikers do(im guessing since my bike has the fairings still on they think its a real sport bike and not just a lil 500). when i pull into the and bike store to get something no one ever gives me crap the sales person asks me what i ride and i tell him they never say anything bad abotu the bike. you get some more mature riders who give you the respect and some newbs and squids who dont give a flying f*&^ as long as their bike is faster than your.

I agree - it ain't matter what they say. As long as YOU like your ride (style, color, power, etc) you are fine.


BTW, only a trained biker's eye (and ear) can tell the difference between a GS500E and say a naked Honda 566 and 919. Put them all in yellow side by side, you'll see my point. Two years ago I personally wouldn't know any difference.

My point is that to most "regular" people I am "a guy on a BIKE", and depends on how they percieve bikers in general it can be negative, neutral or extremely positive opinion. To them it ain't matter that it is "just" a 500-cc. If a motorcycle is neat, clean, looks well taken care of -- it's going to impress or at least amuse (think shiny pink Vespa  :laugh: ). On the other hand a mighty 1200-cc sportbike covered with cracks, dust, scratches, looking neglected and abused will not impress anybody on the street. Look at the little kids eyes, they don't know much about CC-s or resale value, they just see a two-wheeled wonder they'd die to ride on right now. That's what they dream of.

So to me GS500 is somewhat a dream came true, a great looking bike I enjoy riding. All the rest is irrelevant. It's my own "proof of concept". Proof to myself I can ride, seeing I can enjoy it (to my surprise, all of my life I was sure the bikes are just a death trap and I will NEVER ride). GS500 is my first venture into the seas of motorcycling experience and I am glad I did it. And I will always respect and remember my GS500 no matter what I ride in the years coming. It is thanks to GS I was able to get into this sheer excitement of biking, it is my learning tool. I like how it looks and how it rides after all upgrades I wrenched with my own hands. That built a strong bond between us. It is a dear friend which will take me home through a cold night and won't put me down when I need him..


If you like everything about your ride but still feel you need to boost your ego with a bigger bike (manhood/house/SUV/etc) you've got problems. It is fine to look for an upgrade when YOU outgrow your bike, or it is getting old and tired, or for other legit reasons, but not because SOMEBODY thinks it is small/no-good/whimpy/ugly/etc. or THEY ride a better bike. Advice them to look for a duck-o-meter elsewhere. And you may earn some of that RESPECT.