Adam Carolla motorcycle rant

If you get Motorcyclist Magazine, the editorial is the written synopsis of this podcast. Not work/family friendly. Enjoy. Unless you ride a Hog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dITjRT8g2UM

He's got it exactly right.

I fully agree.

I saw a guy the other day riding one of the "compensation devices" the other day and the guy actually had EARPLUGS!!!!! So you are saying you can't stand the obnoxious crap you are spewing, and yet feel obliged to share it with anyone within a few miles!

I heard this on the podcast a few months ago and I was in full agreement. Except what he said about flat black helmets . At least mine is a snell approved full face one, and I would really like to festoon it with reflective stickers now that I have wised up about the safety aspect of it. Can you buy reflective vinyl in sheets easily?

Aerostich sells 3M reflective stuff in sheets (I think), and several different retroreflective stickers for helmet visibility.

Actually, this would have been a better link.

West Marine carries that 3M SOLAS tape. We have marine shops all over the place up here so I'm sure I can find some, hadn't thought of that. Looks like I have a new project :).

Use the stuff they put on semi truck trailers...cheap cheap cheap

The sport has expanded quite a bit. By sheer numbers alone you're going to have more arseholes.

aircooled wrote: I fully agree. I saw a guy the other day riding one of the "compensation devices" the other day and the guy actually had EARPLUGS!!!!! So you are saying you can't stand the obnoxious crap you are spewing, and yet feel obliged to share it with anyone within a few miles!

I've got a quiet bike, but I wear earplugs anyway to keep out the wind noise.

I wear earplugs regularly as well. Even with a full face helmet, the wind noise will wear you out pretty quickly.

Rant was boring, couldn't finish it.

stuart in mn wrote: I wear earplugs regularly as well. Even with a full face helmet, the wind noise will wear you out pretty quickly.

Hmm, interesting, I never thought of that. I was thinking just the other day how riding without a helmet (or an open face) might be nice just avoid some of the whistling at higher speeds, but I guess that would not be the case. (I never ride any long distances)

I don't think I would do it in general (maybe if I was on a long freeway trip) just because of the reduction in awareness. I know you usually can't here very much, but I am sure it still has an effect (kind of like wearing headphones and having people sneak up on you).

I find that I still hear what I need to when wearing earplugs but it does leave me with more energy after any trip longer than an hour or so. The Miata isn't that much different.

Jason

I've ridden a lot with an open face helmet and some without a helmet (although I haven't done that for decades, I got smarter ) and the wind really beats you up. When I see the cruiser guys out on the open road wearing nothing but a do-rag on their head I don't know how they can do it - I suspect they say, "What?" a lot when they get to their destination.

I use those cheapo expanding foam earplugs, and I think they actually improve awareness - they block out the majority of the wind noise, but I can still hear my bike as well as the other vehicles on the road around me. It's more comfortable, which makes it easier to pay attention to my surroundings. Also, I have some hearing loss as it is, so I do what I can to keep it from getting worse.

interesting thing on the ear plugs... you hear BETTER with them... don't know why but you do...

back when I was riding I read a good articale about how even with a full face lid there was enough noise to cause hearing damage.

donalson wrote: interesting thing on the ear plugs... you hear BETTER with them... don't know why but you do...

Foamies mostly block high-frequency sound, and leave the rest mostly alone.

kewl... is all I know is I wish I'd have been smart enough to use them back in the day of me daily driving a gutted out cherry bombed mr2 lol... made life much better when commuting on the katana (80 miles a day for a few months)... I want another bike doh...

I agree with the rant and can expand. Living in so cal, if you are not on a harley type bike and wave to a harley, you will be ignored. Rubs have always been plicks. I will keep my sport bike and be polite when people make an effort to keep me safe.

now if we could just get the grm die cut stickers in this stuff.......

Opus wrote: ..Living in so cal, if you are not on a harley type bike and wave to a harley, you will be ignored..

Yes this is mostly true, more so for the "I'm so cool" Harley types. One thing I would say about his wave rant. It likely has more to do with the fact that a LARGE number of the Harleys ridden in the SoCal area are by "weekend wanabes" who probably only ride a few days a year. So they likely don't know much about common protocol or practices, only that it makes them "cool".

I think that a lot of people who drive HD bikes are dorks also, but not all of them. Some HD riders can carve it up but a 5-600lbs harley ain't gonna handle like a jap bike. I have a little buell blast with an uncorked exhaust and get a lot of dirty looks, yesterday I had someone run out in the street and start yelling at me, even tried to push me down. If you don't like loud bikes, call up vehicle code enforcement and complain to them. Hell, start a campaign against loud pipes for all I care, but I don't need to listen to some weenie make a profanity laced statement against bikers.

I cut lanes and 9/10 times I don't need you do move out of my way and after I pass you I'm not going to wave or anything because there are cars in front of me that need to be dealt with. It isn't illegal to cut lanes at speeds under 35mph in california.

benzbaron wrote: ...If you don't like loud bikes, call up vehicle code enforcement and complain to them.... ..... I don't need to listen to some weenie make a profanity laced statement against bikers...

So you say if someone is breaking the law and harassing other people you shouldn't be upset with them? And you are upset with someone who is being rude to you when you where being rude to them?!! Interesting attitude.

BTW - The fact that most law enforcement basically refuse to enforce sound laws against bikes is absurd. If I drove around in a car with no exhaust, you can bet I would get a ticket.

I agree with the backing into a curb part. Why are you revving the heck out of it?

I saw this rant when it was reviewed in a motorcycle magazine. The same mag had other rants about sport bikers, their siliconed girlfriends and the knee pucks that they will probably never use. They also ranted about new bikers, dentists and lawyers buying Harley's, older guys on trikes...pretty much everyone that they felt wasn't a "real" biker. I see their point to a degree, but if new people weren't into motorcycles, the sport and the manufacturers would dwindle. The Harley's they love are there because rich guys keep buying them. The big three from Japan can provide amazing performance at a low cost because there are a lot of squids out there who increase the volume and keep costs down. And everyone has to start somewhere. I hate this attitude that just because I don't belong to a MC and ride every day and "live the biker lifestyle" that I shouldn't be allowed to ride and enjoy myself.

You don't mess with someone if they are riding. If you think I'm speeding and my bike is too loud call the cops, write down my plate #, chase me home, just don't try and dick with me while I'm riding. I will make a point to ride my bike by this dorks house every day until I make him understand the error of his way. If that involves mace and boots is up to him.

I live on a busy residential street(25mph) and see people driving up going 50+mph so if the cops don't want to protect us to hell with someone who lives on a "quite" street. I've lived in this town 14years and like to drive my bike the back roads and if you drive 30mph through a tight street it looks fast but I'm going 5mph over the speed limit and no more.

I am going to get a more reasonable exhaust pretty soon but in the mean time to hell with the critics!