Some people just don't know their own bikes

[Miles]

I went to the local Yamaha dealer this morning, to order some parts, because I completely removed the AIS system off of my '06 RSMTD. Went I came out from the showroom, toward my bike, here were two guys standing next to my bike, pawing it, like it was an old girlfriend of theirs. Now, I am very old school...meaning, in this case, I was brought up in an era of motorcycle riding where you did not touch another persons motorcycle, unless the owner of that bike was your # 1 friend in the world, and they asked you to move it or get something off of it.

 

To see these two, older guys, pawing my bike, got my feathers ruffled.

 

Taking a very deep breath, I decided to approach them with a friendly demeanor, rather than be nasty about it. Turns out, after much discussion, that one of them owns an '06 Venture. He did not know what model his bike was...until I told him it was a Venture.

He asked me all kinds of questions about why my bike had this, and that, and where was my rear trunk, and why did it say Tour Deluxe on the saddlebag trim. He was totally perplexed about what model my bike was, and when he said he road one that is the same, I asked him several questions about his bike, of which he had no answers.

 

I finally determined he had an '06 Venture, and when I said the word...Venture, his eyes lite up with 15 watt dimness, as if to remember that yes, his bike was a Venture.

 

Geez...you would think that if a guy, he is 67 years old, owns and rides a 2006 Yamaha Venture...he would know what model of bike he has.

 

Okay, I have seen this 1000 times over the past 42 years of riding. There are bike pilots, that know NOTHING about their bikes except how to barely ride it down the road. And then there are the rest of us, that are so intimately familiar with our bikes, and about 99 % of all the bikes on the road, that we have everything memorized down to how many newton meters (NM) torque is used on every bolt of the bike.

 

It just bugs the gorilla snot out of me. Get familiar with your bike. If you won't, then give the bike to someone that does care enough to become familiar with it.

 

So, after fully removing the complete AIS system off of my bike, I then rebalanced the carbs with my handy Carbtune Pro, and the bike runs very nice.

 

Miles

[SilvrT]

Could he possibly have alzheimer's?

[Prairiehammer]

It just bugs the gorilla snot out of me.

 

 

[twigg]

Could he possibly have alzheimer's?

 

Who makes that one?

[Miles]

Could he possibly have alzheimer's?

 

 

No, he did not. I really do a quick eval of this guy. His issue was he just rides bikes, and doesn't want to be botheredm to know any of the facts, figures, or technical details of his bike.

[Galapagos]

I am a service manager for a Mack truck garage.

 

You would not believe the people that have spent $150,000 on a truck and not know the model. They are luckey to know the brand.

They have no idea on engine, drivetrain of transmission.

 

I admit I am learning about Yammies. I also know I have a RSTD with a 1300 engine.

I am a 40 year Harley guy. Takes a bit to peel that off.

[Snaggletooth]

Wanna be guitar players can be as bad... or worse.

 

I played for years and many times I was asked for info on guitars. The last time a friend asked me for help as he wanted to learn how to play. I went down the list of what kind of music he wanted to play, hollow body or solid, electric or acoustic, bass, yada yada yada.

 

He kind of lit up and said.............................A RED ONE.

 

 

Ya can't help everybody.

[Marcarl]

My son-in-law was working on moving a gravel pile the other day, when a brand new Western Star dump pulls up to the pile to dump his load. Guy is on the phone for about 20 minutes while 3 more trucks dump, and this guy just sits there,,,,,, turns out he doesn't have any idea on how to raise the box to dump it. Now who would send a guy out in a $150,000 truck and then not know how to dump it?

[Midrsv]

I ride with a good friend that doesn't care to know his bike. He could care less how much horsepower or torque it has. He dosn't bother with having tire sizes and specs commited to memory. He knows enough to check the fluids and safety related items. He is an excellent rider and has ridden for many years. He's fully capable of learning about it but he just prefers to let the dealer take care of all of the maintenance and any issues that may come up.

[playboy]

Well just maybe that 67 year old man knows a lot about something no one else knows. If he wants to ride let him ride. I thought riding was what it was all about till I found this nut house and figured out it was about eating.

[KIC]

Well just maybe that 67 year old man knows a lot about something no one else knows. If he wants to ride let him ride. I thought riding was what it was all about till I found this nut house and figured out it was about eating.

 

[XV1100SE]

My son-in-law was working on moving a gravel pile the other day...

 

Keep in mind that I work for Toyota (Japanese company obviously) and we have a number of Chinese staff as well....

------------

At a job site, the foreman has four employees, an Italian, a Frenchman, a Scott, and a Chinese. There is a pile of gravel that needs to be moved but no machinery around to do the job so it has to be done by hand.

 

He tells the Italian and Frenchman to get shovels and the Scott to get a wheel barrow. The Chinese guy he tasks with supplies. He gives them two hours to complete the work and goes off to check on other jobs on the site.

 

Two hours later he returns to see the Italian, Frenchman, and Scott sitting on the pile of gravel reading newspapers. The gravel is where it was when he left.

 

To the Italian, the foreman says "I told you to get a shovel and move the gravel. Why haven't you done it ?!! " The Italian responds in a broken English/Italian... "You saida dat the Chinese guy was in charga dah supplies. I could notta finda the Chinese guy to get a shovel."

 

He asks the Frenchman and in broken English/French gets the reply..."we we, I couldn'ta finda Chinese guy either".

 

He looks at the Scott and the Scottsman says ...."Eigh could notta find him either".

 

Mad that the work he asked to be done wasn't even started, he start checking around the site for the Chinese guy, getting madder by the minute. Can't find him anywhere... he walks past the pile of gravel with the Italian, Frenchman, and Scottsman still laying there reading newspapers...storming his way to the office....

 

Suddenly.... the Chinese guy jumps out at him from behind the pile of gravel and yells "SUPPLIES !!!!" (translated to English he was trying to say "surprise")

[Hummingbird]

No, he did not. I really do a quick eval of this guy. His issue was he just rides bikes, and doesn't want to be botheredm to know any of the facts, figures, or technical details of his bike.

 

What is so wrong about that ??

[chabicheka]

I ride with a good friend that doesn't care to know his bike. He could care less how much horsepower or torque it has. He dosn't bother with having tire sizes and specs commited to memory. He knows enough to check the fluids and safety related items. He is an excellent rider and has ridden for many years. He's fully capable of learning about it but he just prefers to let the dealer take care of all of the maintenance and any issues that may come up.

 

How come i don't remember you?

I'm sure you talking about me...

[Mike G in SC]

So,,,, in a couple or years he will sell the bike to get the latest.

Then someone gets a clean, dealer maintained Venture with a few thousand miles for a good used price. WE NEED THOSE TYPES!!!!

[chabicheka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Million Mile Rider

No, he did not. I really do a quick eval of this guy. His issue was he just rides bikes, and doesn't want to be botheredm to know any of the facts, figures, or technical details of his bike.

 

 

 

 

A good pilot doesn't have to know the ins and outs of the airplane...others take care of that.

[BigBoyinMS]

So,,,, in a couple or years he will sell the bike to get the latest.

Then someone gets a clean, dealer maintained Venture with a few thousand miles for a good used price. WE NEED THOSE TYPES!!!!

 

Dealer maintained? My kinda bike. A clean fixer-upper!

[Miles]

Okay, so maybe I went a tad far saying that riders should know ever finite detail of their bikes. I know that is not true.

 

But the point to the original post on this thread is that the owner of an '06 Yamaha Royal Star VENTURE did not even know what model of bike he has.

 

That is the point.

 

This 67 year old guy may in fact be the greatest father of all time. He may be the greatest physicist of all time. He may be the next person to solve cancer.

 

But this forum is about...motorcycles, and specific to Yamaha Royal Star Venture, Tour Deluxe, Generation one Yammies, and Goldwings.

 

Yes, my focus in life is quite narrow. I give a serious darn about motorcycles. They have been my life. I (in fact) may not be the greatest father of all time. I may not be the greatest physicist of all time, and I most certainly may not be the person that solves cancer. But...that is not what we are here to talk about. This forum is about...motorcycles.

 

I know very well that there are riders, and some are very good riders, that are simply...riders, and they know nothing more about their bikes other than how to ride them. Yes, I have met one million of them.

 

But when a rider that owns a 2006 Venture does not even know the model of his bike, to me...and maybe it is only me...but to me...that is inexcusable.

 

One one biggest pet peeve about riders, is that all riders should know what tire pressures their bike should have in the tires. Not what the manual states, or what the manufacturer states, but what the real world of motorcycle riding has found to be the correct pressures for their bikes. Experienced riders know what I mean by that. If you go by what the bike manula says, you will most likely be riding on low pressure tires, especially on the front tire.

 

When I ask a rider what their tire pressures are, and they say, "I don't know", that bugs the gorilla snot out of me.

 

Simply...riding a motorcycle is taking your own life into your hands, much more so than driving a car. Those two little contact patches that we have to the ground are our lifeline to stability on earth. If a so-called rider is only going to know how to put the key in the ignition (or does the dealer do that for them too), and straddle the bike, so they can attempt to shift into a gear...then the rest of us have a problem, because the lack of knowledge by those riders that do not care to know anything more about their bikes, affects all of us, in the public eye.

 

Now taking a chill pill.

[Trader]

that bugs the gorilla snot out of me.

 

 

It just bugs the gorilla snot out of me.

 

Miles

 

 

You must be running awful low by now!

[etcswjoe]

I pulled up to get gas one Day and told the guy I liked his Sportster and he wanted to argure that it was a Softail, I figure the person that sold it to him must have told him that.

[chabicheka]

couldnt that argument have been resolved by feeling the tail??

 

 

[etcswjoe]

couldnt that argument have been resolved by feeling the tail??

 

 

May he was not talking about the bike:confused07:

[icebrrg3rd]

Ok, this isn't a knock against women, but how many people's S/O knows all the facts & details of the cars they drive? I'm pretty sure mine knows she drives a Caravan. Maybe even knows Dodge makes them. She can find it in the parking lot (usually). Maybe knows it's a V-6 (course that year Caravan only had V-6s, choice of 3 different ones tho). Maybe might know the year. She knows it's BLUE, and where the gas goes in. Main thing is, she knows that her husband (me) takes care of it. A warning light turns on in the gauges? Tells me, I fix it. Oil changes? I do it. Air in tires? I'm checking them all the time. Tire tread? Yup, me again. All maint, me. She doesn't have to know a thing, just tells me something's wrong, I fix it.

 

That said, she far out-knows me in a lot of things, I'm lucky just have the vehicle knowledge.

 

Or are you just going on about it cause it was a GUY who didn't know his vehicle?

 

-Andrew

[MikeWa]

Ok what kind of bike was he riding again?

 

Mike

[Miles]

Or are you just going on about it cause it was a GUY who didn't know his vehicle?

 

-Andrew

 

 

The issue was NOT because it was a guy, versus a woman. The issue was that the rider and owner of a 2006 Yamaha Royal Star Venture...did not know what model of bike he owns and rides.

 

To answer your other point and question...my wife does know most of the details about her two cars, and about her two motorcycles. Yes, she has me to do all the mechanical stuff...that is literally my job...but she is capable herself.

 

Whether the rider and owner is a man or a woman, they should have some basic knowlede of their vehicle, whether it be a car or motorcycle. If the rider walks into a motorcycle dealership, goes up to the parts dept. counter, and says, "I need a new part...", the parts personnel are going to have to ask the rider a dozen questions of the rider/owner, and will probably have to walk outside and look at the bike, if it was ridden there.

 

I am not asking that every bike or car owner/rider be as technically knowledgeable as most of us on the forum are. I am saying that ANY motorcycle owner/rider should have the basic knowledge of what year...make...model of bike they own, how many miles are on the bike, how often the oils should be changed, and what tires pressures they should have in their tires.