Who are the real bikers?
Who are the real bikers?
There is a term that you will inevitably come across sooner or later when you are out and about in this colorful scene. We are talking about the „Real bikers“. Every time I ask myself who or what is meant by this?
If there are real ones, there must inevitably also be fake ones, at least I think that's a logical conclusion. Now I am a German citizen and people like to be accused of so-called pigeonholing, which I have always tried to fight against. And how many of you have just opened the two drawers labeled "real" and "fake"?
And now I'd like to know who you saw in which one? I bet most of you have seen yourselves in the „real one“, although the other one was just as full to the brim? Assuming that there is a colorful mix of everyone on these pages, then statistically that can't be the case... Reason enough to have a few more in-depth thoughts at this point.
If you analyze this fundamental question a little more closely, the community seems to be split into two camps. The calendar of events for next year is full to bursting. Anyone surfing through the relevant forums will stumble across all those who are already talking about how to get there.
On your own wheels or on a trailer - for many, this almost seems to be a question of faith. So is only the biker who tortures himself on two wheels over congested highways, braving wind and weather... who is happy to accept the cost of a few additional inspections including wearing parts because he is a real biker?
And are all those who lash their best piece onto the trailer and haul it from A to B the „fake“ ones? Both parties should have the same amount of fun at their destination ...
Have you ever noticed that this discussion only takes place among motorcyclists? You wouldn't even begin to suspect that a recreational sailor has sailed to the coast via canals and rivers to have a good time.
The same applies to gliders, cyclists and windsurfers. But to be a real biker... why the hell is that?
I confess that I have already passed the age of 50. However, I would say that I have covered considerably more kilometers on two wheels in the last few decades than most of the esteemed readers here.
I used to be a real biker, I used to go everywhere on my own wheels. OK, I didn't have the money for a car and trailer, so I wouldn't have been able to do anything else. Today, I wouldn't dream of driving across the country. France to enjoy the joys of motorcycling in the Pyrenees.
Trailers are a fine thing, as are road trains, and well-known transport companies have long specialized in offering the „all-round carefree package“ for motorcyclists. I want to arrive and enjoy myself and not need three massages and an oxygen tent to recover from the exertions.
To be honest, I couldn't care less whether you think I'm real or fake. In the end, the only thing that matters is that everyone has as much fun on their motorcycle as possible. Please... drive thousands of kilometers on highways, it's just not my thing anymore.
It's just no fun. And for all those who only ride their bikes to the nearest ice cream parlor or always take the same route to the next moped meeting... please, you can do it if you enjoy it, but not me.
OK, those of you who have been in the saddle as long as I have will remember the days when motorcyclists were a tight-knit community. All you had to do was get around on a motorcycle and you were unintentionally part of it.
We weren't necessarily outlaws (they existed back then too, it just wasn't for me), but we weren't necessarily fully accepted by society. For example, it was almost impossible to get a hotel room in a leather suit (they were all black back then).
The fact that we were different from the others not only united us in the past, but above all made us much more open-minded towards those who were different. We were definitely more tolerant.
And so it's not a question of real or fake, but I miss the tolerance towards everything and everyone who doesn't tick like you do.
It doesn't matter what kind of bike, make or model you ride, it doesn't matter how far or where you ride it, the important thing in the end is that everyone has fun with it.
And I would be very happy if I could get a little bit of that tolerant community from the past back, but I can do without my own personal enjoyment of the Motorcycling have...
In this sense, the left hand in greeting,
Peter Schulz
Text & photos: Peter Schulz
Kolumne: Gastautor Peter Schulz / Motorrad Redakteur, Buchautor, Foto und Filmemacher