I need to vent some frustrations to people who might understand. Strap in, it's a long one.I used to ride a Ninja 250 and then a Yamaha FZR600R. I had a nasty accident (not related to riding) that broke my arm in four places and required two surgeries and lots of physical therapy. I had to sell my bike to pay medical bills. It's been three years since that accident and I finally felt ready physically and monetarily to get another bike. It took an entire day for me to reconcile that I would have to ride a cruiser. My arm is no longer capable of supporting my weight leaning forward on a sport bike. Sport bikes are what I always loved but I wanted to ride again. So I went bike shopping and I wanted something small to literally just ride around town. I'm talking going to the library, the gym, work, etc. I'm not going to cross country on this thing.I go to three different dealerships. At every single one, these three things would happen: 1) the salesman would immediately go up to my stepdad who was tagging along and ask him what he was looking for meanwhile completely ignoring me 2) when they realized I was the buyer they'd say "awww your first bike?" 3) they'd try to convince me to buy an engine size way bigger than I wanted.Being that I'd been riding for 8 years and this was my third bike, I luckily knew exactly what I wanted despite them pressuring me to go bigger. I told one guy I wanted small and he was like, "Well you'll want at least an 1100cc." I almost laughed in his face. I ended up going with a Honda Rebel CMX 250.It's a beautiful bike in great condition and perfect for what my needs. What I find interesting/frustrating is the reactions I've had to this bike. Women are thrilled and when they sit on it they are surprised how light and comfortable it is for them. Men, however, are a different animal altogether.I've heard:-That bike is a turtle. -Why didn't you buy a real bike? -You're just going to have to upgrade in a year when it's not fast enough. -That looks like something an old person would ride. -Why did you buy such a small bike? -You don't look like a cruiser person. You should have bought a sportbike.And on and on. That was the exact same reaction men had to my Ninja 250 as well. It was only when I bought my Yamaha FZR600R that I got a nod of respect from men when they'd ask me what I rode.I feel like I'm living that meme that says if you make somebody feel shitty about something they are excited about, you're an asshole. The men in my family have been awesome and supportive but male friends and other random dudes have that unstoppable bigger is better, small bikes are stupid mindset and it's exhausting. Pressuring someone to ride bigger or belittling them for riding a size or style you don't respect is a dick move and a half.Just be happy for people and mind your business! You have no idea what someone is comfortable on, what their physical capability is, or what they can afford. The relentless barrage of these unsolicited opinions is making me feel down.Meanwhile in an adjacent side rant, it is also exhausting that people of both genders talk to me as if I don't know what I'm doing. I have literal strangers come up to me and say, "Now you need to be careful on that bike." Uhhhh no I was planning on popping on a blindfold and doing a wheelie out of this Long John Silvers parking lot. The unsolicited advice and mansplaining comes in hard and heavy. I had one guy at work, who doesn't ride, literally fight with me because he kept telling me to that I would need to change the oil filter on my bike. I told him multiple times that it doesn't have one (Rebels are one of the few that don't) but he refused to believe me. No sir, please continue to explain to me how the bike I own and ride works. Cue hard eyeroll.I know there's a ton of great people out there who love the two wheel life and respect anyone else who does as well. It's just frustrating to talk to all the other people who don't. Sigh. via /r/motorcycles https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/cj574k/some_thoughts_on_bike_sizestyle_shaming_from_a/?utm_source=ifttt
No comments:
Post a Comment