I'm really liking this "Bitch of the Day" Thread. I have another bitch.
I'm always hearing people in the motorcycle world talk about "Posers". My first reaction is, Am I a "Poser"? If I am, what am I supposedly posing as?
I understand a poser could be a person who buys a HD and never rides it. They may trailer it everywhere they go.
I understand a poser could be a motorcyclist who wears all the leathers and dew rags and colors to pose as a member of a certain notorious club.
I ride my HD every chance I get. Have I ever trailered it? Damn straight. When it's 32 degrees here and 80 degrees in Florida I have, and certainly will again. I do prefer to ride it. I don't ride 100,000 miles a year. I have this bad habit of eating regularly that dictates I have a paying job.
I'm not a club member nor do I care to be. I'm not even a Hog member. I think I'm too proud to go by other people's rules. I'll ride when I want to, where I want to, how I want to. I have a leather vest with the HD eagle on it. Does that make me a poser? I wear a dew rag so I won't mess up my hair. Does that make me a poser since I'm not a club member? I do try and offset the "badboy" image of the dew rag and leather vest with Carhart overalls and red wing boots. I do have to admit, sometimes I'll miss 2 or 3 days shaving. does that make me a poser?
So, tell me, I sincerely wanna know, what is a poser?
Here's one possible definition by Urban Dictionary:
A once proud brand of motorcycles that were originally only owned by legit badasses back in the day. Sadly sometime in the `80s posers got into the act and Harley Davidson began to become more concerned with merchandising rather than building decent bikes and it became acceptable for doctors, lawyers, and fat bald guys having a midlife crisis to ride Harley's.
If you own a Harley Davidson edition anything you're not a bad-ass you're a pathetic poser urinating allover the once proud name of Harley Davidson. F@$kin' (edited by me) trendys always ruin everything. Personally, I could give a chit what someone who considers themselves NOT to be a "poser" thinks about me owning HD's most expensive bike. While I don't understand why somebody buys a motorcycle and then puts 1K on it a year, if they are able to ride after the purchase...I guess if I had to pigeon hole people as posers, those would be the ones, generally speaking. I owned a panhead chopper in 70-72, had hair down to my ass, dilated pupils most of the time my eyes were open, and didn't care if the sun came up the next day. Did that make me a "biker"....?
I'm not all that fat, and not entirely bald...I'm no lawyer or doctor, and I'm sure not rich. I wear do-rags sometimes too, to keep people from seeing how screwed up my hair is from wearing a helmet for the last 4 hours, and to keep from sweating in the helmet so much (see: fat/bald). I buy some HD clothing, even though I know it's overpriced, but I like some of the stuff. I quit riding HD's after the panhead not because I didn't like Harley any more, I had other priorities, like paying my way through school. So I drove VW Bugs, Honda bikes...that's all I could afford. 25+ years later I was in a position to go in debt for a HD of my dreams. I love my bike and riding as much as anyone who thinks they are not a "poser". I don't have the brand tattooed on my body anywhere...don't have any tats at all, in fact, as I've never seen anything I liked well enough to have it become a permanent part of my body 'till I die. I've not been in many bar fights, or any kind of fights for that matter. I've never felt the need to show anyone how tough I am. I choose my real friends carefully, and don't need colors to remind me of who they are, or why.
Am I a "poser"? Maybe in some people's eyes I am. I love riding motorcycles. I'd ride anything with two wheels and a motor and love doing that too, no matter the brand. If that makes me less than a "real" biker, so be it. Those who might think that about me would not be my friends in the first place, so f'em and feed 'em beans.