The myth of the motorcycle rider as a desperate deviant is alive and well in the US. Here are 15 stereotypes that non-riders have about bikers.
1.) All bikers are addle-brained meth fiends
Blame the entertainment industry for this one. TV shows and movies have forever linked motorcycles and meth, but the closest most bikers get to meth is watching Breaking Bad reruns.
2.) Bike clubs are hotbeds of crimes
This is the same as saying every Italian restaurant is a Mafia front or every cop is on the take.one rare one may be, but the vast majority are not.
3.) If you ride motorcycles, you have a death wish
People die riding motorcycles, but people die driving cars and crossing the street. Bikers don’t choose to ride because they want to die. We choose to ride to feel alive.
4.) “Nice people” don’t ride bikes
Who are you calling nice? People who spend hours raising tens of thousands of dollars for worthwhile causes around the country? Well, those are the same people who ride motorcycles.
5.) Bikers are dumb
Not only are bikers not dumb, but the brains of the bikers may function at a high level than non-riders according to a famous Japanese brain scientist.
6.) No job + no job prospects = biker
Most riding enthusiasts work, and some of us are highly paid professionals. Groups of lawyers, doctors and money managers get together on the weekend to go for a ride and relieve the pressure of their high-stress jobs.
7.) Violence is part of the biker lifestyle
Violence is no more a part of the biker lifestyle than part it is part of being a sports fan. Just because a very small percentage of bikers engage in violence doesn’t mean it’s a prerequisite for riding.
8.) Bikers are irresponsible
Most motorcycle riders are very responsible. We are not out drinking at all hours of the night, our wives (or husbands) would kill us and our kids would miss us.
9.) Only racists ride
Not true. You will find more racists on a country club’s golf course than at a typical bike rally.
10.) All motorcyclists are fat, unhealthy pigs
Just because you ride a hog, doesn’t mean you have to look like one. Lots of bikers trade their Harleys for an exercise bikes a few times a week.
11.) You need have a long scruffy beard or love men who do if you want to ride a motorcycle
What you look like or what you wear has no bearing on what you love to do in your free time.
12.) You can smell bikers before you see them
This is just silly. Bikers are not adverse to regularly showering.
13.) Bikers are lewd and crude
Some rude people ride, but there are lots of foul-mouthed gardeners out there as well.
14.) Women get treated as objects by bikers
Bikers are not more misogynistic than any other group of guys. Women have an active and equal role in riding.
15.) Bikers are incredibly sexy. Luckily this stereotype is true
The sexiness does not come from the clothes we wear or the bikes we ride, but from our decision to do what we love. There is nothing sexier than that.
