Sportbikers and Cruisers Can Be Friends

There's a song in that old musical, "Oklahoma," about how "The farmer and the cowman should be friends." A modern-day equivalent might be a song about how "The cruiser and the sportbike should be friends." Too often that is not the case.


No, too often the laid-back guys on their V-twins look at those generally younger guys on their super hot street-legal racing bikes and shake their heads at what "idiots" they take them to be. Meanwhile, the guys on the sportbikes look down their noses at the cruisers, mentally blowing them off as slow and deficient in riding skills. This happens even when they're riding bikes made by the same manufacturer: Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R vs. Vulcan 1700 Vaquero; Suzuki GSX-R600 vs. Boulevard M109R.


It doesn't have to be that way. The similarities that unite us are far greater than the differences that separate us. We all enjoy getting there on two wheels, we all know and love the unique wonder that is motorcycling, and perhaps most importantly, we all know the dangers all of us face at the hands of motorists who think their text message or phone call is more important than looking out for us on the road.


We're all in this together, and we need to stand united. No matter how aware we are of how this bike is a cruiser, that bike is a sportbike, we have to recognize that to the non-motorcycling public, they're all just motorcycles. And if a motorcyclist on one type of motorcycle annoys them with noise, or by blasting past on the public streets at double the speed limit, they'd just as soon put severe limits on all motorcycles--they don't care about the differences.


And that's just exactly what is happening. In Denver, in the entire state of California, and in a variety of other locations, laws have been passed that attempt to address excess noise by requiring that all mufflers carry an EPA stamp certifying that it meets noise limits. Never mind that you can modify the muffler and make it louder. Or that non-certified mufflers might well be within legal limits. Or that a truck or a car might be putting out noise far in excess of the legal limit but, not being a motorcycle, it is not affected by the legislation.


It's bad legislation, it's ineffective, and in practice these laws are seldom enforced. But they continue to be passed and this is a problem for all motorcyclists.


Fortunately there are organizations fighting for motorcyclists' rights. On a national scale these include such as the American Motorcyclists Association, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, and the Motorcycle Industry Council. The first two are open to all who wish to join, while the third is made up of those whose business is motorcycles. On the local level there are the ABATEs.


From state to state, the letters of that name have different meanings, but on the state level the ABATEs are the premier rider organizations working with legislatures to ensure that laws consider and are fair to motorcyclists. And yet, in most cases, sportbikers on the whole want nothing to do with the ABATEs because they see them only as groups that are anti-helmet. Meanwhile, much of the sportbike community subscribes to the ATGATT philosophy: All The Gear All The Time. ABATEs are not anti-helmet, however, they are simply opposed to helmet mandates. They believe it is a choice the rider should make on their own, not something the government should force upon them. In fact many ABATE members wear helmets all the time, and consider it stupid not to wear one. But stupidity is not against the law.


In the meantime, the ABATEs are focused on much more than just helmets, and these issues are the ones on which the two groups share common ground. But without membership from the sportbike community, the influence the ABATEs wield is diminished. The two groups need to find a way to work together for their common good. The cruisers and the sportbikers should be friends, or at least allies. We've got nothing to lose but our rights.