Personal Injury Law

Is There a Rivalry between Cruiser Motorcycle Riders and Sport Motorcycle Riders?

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

I have been getting many emails and comments on the Biker Law Blog, from all types of motorcycle riders in response to my articles.

What is truly disturbing to me is that a couple of self described sport bike motorcycle riders have commented on articles, where I have written that unlawful antics by a very few sport motorcycle riders on public roads are bringing heat down on all motorcycle riders by law enforcement, and that all bikers and motorcyclist should put peer pressure on these idiots to stop!

These self described sport motorcycle riders allude to some fictitious so-called rivalry between sport motorcycle riders and cruiser motorcycle riders. Heck one of them even accused me of being biased because I ride a Harley Davidson. What they did not know is that I ride sport motorcycles too.

First off, as a biker lawyer and motorcycle accident lawyer, I represent riders of all types of motorcycles who have been involved in a motorcycle accident here in the State of California. I do not discriminate period. I have many clients who ride cruiser motorcycles, sport motorcycles, and other types of motorcycles.

Now as a biker who happens to be a biker lawyer and motorcycle accident attorney, I ride quite a bit both near and far. The way I see it, on the road, all motorcycle riders seem to give respect to each other with very few exceptions.

I throw out the biker hand salute to riders of all motorcycles, and they throw me the biker hand salute too. The biker hand salute is extending your left hand out and down while riding, with your palm facing forward. This is done to acknowledge another motorcycle rider who is riding past you in the opposite direction.

In the above picture, you can see an actual picture of me throwing the biker salute to a sport motorcycle rider on Mulholland Highway, riding away from the Rock Store. The picture does not show him waving back, but he did! The picture was taken by an ex girlfriend who was following behind me with her friend in a cage.

So what about this so-called rivalry; it is a myth. In my experience on the road a biker is a biker and a motorcyclist is a motorcyclist. Bottom line. Yes there are assholes who ride cruisers, there are assholes that ride sport motorcycles, and there are just assholes! It is the very few assholes that try to make a bad name for all.

The vast majority of bikers and motorcyclist who ride on 2 wheels share a comradery on the road that no cager will ever know. I have ridden in packs where there are sport motorcycles and cruisers. In the end we are all in the same boat as bikers and motorcyclist. We share the same pleasure, and the same potential danger.

So those of you in the motorcycle community, who are trying to justify your illegal street racing and stunt antics on public roads by explaining it away as some kind of cruiser/sport bike rivalry, go suck one. There is no rivalry!

When we stop at places after riding our motorcycles like the Rock Store, Neptune’s Net, the Rock Inn, Cooks Corner, Newcomb’s Ranch, and other motorcycle spots near and far, we all seem to get along just fine no matter what we are riding, except for those very few with some kind of chip on their shoulder. It is those few with a chip on their shoulder that live a miserable existence, and that will never know what being a biker is all about, or experience true happiness in their lives.

By Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, © 2008

Full post as published by Biker Law Blog on June 11, 2008 (boomark / email).