When I show everyone my VFR they automaticlly think, "OH YOU BOUGHT A CROTCH ROCKET"!!
When I think crotch rockets I think,gixxer,cbr,r1,ZX7 etc.Is everyone so narrow minded that there is only two types of bikes out there? cruisers and crotch rockets? What happened? When I look at the sv suzuki's I think sport touring NOT CROTCH ROCKET/RACE BIKE.I guess if it has one piece of plastic on it,it is automatically a crotch rocket.
Damn you Tom Cruze for starting all this with the Ninja in Top Gun! :mad:
[image: View Post]sparkyd31, on Sep 14 2008, 11:36 AM, said:
When I show everyone my VFR they automaticlly think, "OH YOU BOUGHT A CROTCH ROCKET"!!
When I think crotch rockets I think,gixxer,cbr,r1,ZX7 etc.Is everyone so narrow minded that there is only two types of bikes out there? cruisers and crotch rockets? What happened? When I look at the sv suzuki's I think sport touring NOT CROTCH ROCKET/RACE BIKE.I guess if it has one piece of plastic on it,it is automatically a crotch rocket.
Damn you Tom Cruze for starting all this with the Ninja in Top Gun! :mad:
:wheel: ...I CAN'T HEAR YOU! :goofy:
Hide it under some luggage and a fresh coating of road shite...that'll baffle them.
i get the same thing when I show people pics of my bike or in person. It is amazing how long you can run with a conversation (b's ing someone) on what your bike can and can't do.
I had a guy ask me if I could beat an R1 and I told him yeah, and he really believed me. And he supposidly owned the bike. LOL!!
Don't worry about it they just don't know. Explain to them that it is a sport touring bike, point out the differences such as riding position and the refinement of a V4 engine over an I4, and watch in amazement as the idea enters their mind that there are more than two categories of motorcycles. Or, since they will most likely believe anything you say tell them that it runs on apple juice, gets 125 MPG, will do 250 mph, and has an automatic transmission.
For a lot of the public, there really are only two kinds of motorcycle, hogs and crotch rockets. They have to mentally squeeze your bike into one of those categories. I'm not at all surprised that my VFR is a crotch rocket to these folks, since the TDM and the V-Strom are crotch rockets as well, and the VFR is far closer to the crotch rocket end of the spectrum, than either of those.
There's a slightly more sophisticated segment of the public that divides bikes into
1. harleys
2. crotch rockets
3. wings
4. beemers
If you put matte black Givis on the VFR, some of these folks might classify it as a beemer. When I'm out on the V-Strom or the TDM, people are always asking me "What kind of beemer is that?" I have yet to hear this questions when I'm on the VFR, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear it someday.
I think the way you dress may also feed into this. If you dress like a power ranger, you'll be riding a crotch rocket. If you wear a 'stich, you might be able to convince people that it's a beemer. But I don't think you can make the VFR look like a harley even if you have a dot beanie and a leather vest with a patch on the back - for that you'd need to add some chrome and slow way down.
Don't worry about it they just don't know. Explain to them that it is a sport touring bike, point out the differences such as riding position and the refinement of a V4 engine over an I4, and watch in amazement as the idea enters their mind that there are more than two categories of motorcycles. Or, since they will most likely believe anything you say tell them that it runs on apple juice, gets 125 MPG, will do 250 mph, and has an automatic transmission.
You are a man after my own heart.
People who can only pretend that they know something should be led on the wildest goose chase possible.
I almost always have a tank bag on my VFR and everyone at work is use to seeing it that way on a daily basis. I recently had the saddle bags and rear trunk on it for about two weeks and I got the exact same response from everybody that saw me leaving the parking lot. Scrunched up eyebrows, heads shaking, followed by "Why did you do that to your bike?" or "What did you do that for?". It was almost as if I had hand fabricated the extra bags to fit my VFR and ruined it - like putting a camper shell on the back of a Porshe or something. I just took the opportunity to explain that some bikes ARE made for this purpose and some owners do like to go further than their local bar.
[image: View Post]tourceptor86, on Sep 14 2008, 11:40 AM, said:
[image: View Post]sparkyd31, on Sep 14 2008, 11:36 AM, said:
When I show everyone my VFR they automaticlly think, "OH YOU BOUGHT A CROTCH ROCKET"!!
When I think crotch rockets I think,gixxer,cbr,r1,ZX7 etc.Is everyone so narrow minded that there is only two types of bikes out there? cruisers and crotch rockets? What happened? When I look at the sv suzuki's I think sport touring NOT CROTCH ROCKET/RACE BIKE.I guess if it has one piece of plastic on it,it is automatically a crotch rocket.
Damn you Tom Cruze for starting all this with the Ninja in Top Gun! :mad:
:wheel: ...I CAN'T HEAR YOU! :goofy:
Hide it under some luggage and a fresh coating of road shite...that'll baffle them.
I think that it's funny when people "think" they know about something. I always get the questions about how fast it is, usually followed by how their uncle, brother, cousin had a bike "like" that, that would break 200mph. I just humor them and nod. The only people I hope don't associate vfr owners with '"crotch rockets and stunnas" is the law, somehow I doubt they make the distinction though. Should be easy enough to tell the difference though i.e. both wheels usually on the ground, stock plastic in original paint or a tastful redo, no animal print seats or extended swingarms.
The worst expression I ever heard given to describe a bike was "SUICYCLE"!
That was the first word out of my older brother's friend(?) when he saw his bike in his garage. The stupid, ignorant fool!
[image: View Post]Beck, on Sep 14 2008, 11:24 AM, said:
The worst expression I ever heard given to describe a bike was "SUICYLCLE"!
That was the first word out of my older brother's friend(?) when he saw his bike in his garage. The stupid, ignorant fool!
Don't worry about it they just don't know. Explain to them that it is a sport touring bike, point out the differences such as riding position and the refinement of a V4 engine over an I4, and watch in amazement as the idea enters their mind that there are more than two categories of motorcycles. Or, since they will most likely believe anything you say tell them that it runs on apple juice, gets 125 MPG, will do 250 mph, and has an automatic transmission.
You are a man after my own heart.
People who can only pretend that they know something should be led on the wildest goose chase possible.
:wheel:
not so wild a story....BIKE or TWO, one of the british rags recently test ran a triumph on alcohol made from apples.......actually made more HP!! of course it took something like 150,000 apples to do a couple of 2 mile test runs.. :unsure:
[image: View Post]bayarearider, on Sep 14 2008, 05:20 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Beck, on Sep 14 2008, 11:24 AM, said:
The worst expression I ever heard given to describe a bike was "SUICYLCLE"!
That was the first word out of my older brother's friend(?) when he saw his bike in his garage. The stupid, ignorant fool!
Beck
95 VFR
Is that worse than Organ Donor Machine?
Or "Donorcycle"? As for those other questions, I usually just tell them that (whatever jap bike I am riding) is a prototype 2013 HD anniversary model Sportster and is badged to look like a Honda to fool the public. Sometimes I get a response of "Really?" Oh well, makes me think P.T. Barnum was right!
Tell them it is a gentleman's crotch rocket. A little old in the tooth, but looks great, and still goes down the road with (or ahead) the youngsters. When people's conversations go there with me I tell them, It is a sheep in wolf's clothing. I do not think they believe me although.
I love it when that kind of thing happens. My boss rides a Yamaha cruiser. When I started at the job I had an 05 Suzuki M50 and he says "Oh, I didn't know Harley made a bike that looks like that." I wanted to slap him. I hate Harleys with a passion. I told him I was selling it so I could get a sport touring bike, and told him I had my eye on a 98 VFR. He didn't have a clue what it was. When I showed up he says "I thought you weren't getting a crotch rocket?" all I said was "I didn't."
I figure if a 50-60 year old man who's been riding for 7 years doesn't know the difference between a SportTouring bike and a racebike, well, it's just not worth explaining. The general public, I can understand. They just don't know anything. Had a cop mention once that he was curious because he had never seen a crotch rocket that sat so upright. When he asked how fast it was I just told him it was fast enough to get me arrested. He still couldn't make the distinction 20 minutes later, but I'd given up. Most of the time the correction just isn't worth the effort.
Non-riders see three kinds of bike IMO: Cruisers, sportbikes and Goldwings.
Most non-riders see the VFR as a 'crotch rocket' due to the fairings. They see them and think "Ninja", which of course equals supersport. Nevermind that Kaw. Ninjas now include the 250cc version which is nowhere close to a ZX-6R except in looks. (No offense, Skutter! ;p )
When remarks about my crotch rocket I try to explain in two sentences that it's not. The question of how fast is it usually comes up no matter what. I usually say something like, "0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds and top speed of over 150 mph - not that I've ever gone that fast on it myself!"
I bet explaining something like a V-Max, Mean Streak or V-Rod is tough, too. And I'm sure most non-riders don't know what to make of naked sportbikes like the Speed Triple or Z1000 either! :laugh:
Not trying to change the topic here but it�s the same kind of thinking that goes into racial issues. You might see a Hispanic person and describe him/her as being from Mexico. When in reality he/she could be from Cuba or El Salvador or some other Latin country. The same goes for Asians or Orientals (not trying to offend anyone here). You might think that a person is from Japan and it turns out that he/she is really from China or Korea. It�s best not to assume because when you do, you�re just making an (ass (out of) u (and) me) assumption. Sorry about changing the subject, but the same thing applies to bikes. Several of my coworkers have said the same thing to me "ohh wow you bought a crotch rocket". My response to them is simply "I'll show you my crotch rocket". Then I educate them and show them the difference. :warranty:
when people ask, I tell them it is a bullet bike style. I don't pretend to know the difference by site between a Quarter Horse and an Arabian, although it is obvious to my mother. It's all a matter of exposure, and most people only see bikes in passing. When I was a Camaro owner, my 1979 was often mistaken for the Trans Am that was in Smokey and the Bandit, although they didn't even have the same lights, bumpers, interiors etc....but it was close enough.
It was almost as if I had hand fabricated the extra bags to fit my VFR and ruined it - like putting a camper shell on the back of a Porshe (sp) or something.
LOL!! At the risk of being thrashed by the hard luggage aficionados on this forum, I've always kinda' felt this way about unwieldy-looking hard luggage on the Viffer. But that's just a personal observation, as practical as the stuff no doubt is.
After participating in group rides for my first time ever this past summer, I think the "crotch rocket" term no longer applies in my household (wife). After all the photos from the rides, family members and friends are convinced that VFRs and their owners are in a league of their own: a sporty bike for mature riders. They always comment on VFR riders in the pictures are wearing appropriate gear, how the owners are all "older", and how the VFRs look fast (especially the red ones).
I hear crotch rocket... :squid: comes to mind. Shame on those that apply the term loosely to a VFR.
VFR: Best. Bike. Ever. (even if the 6th gen is going on 7 years) :goofy:
[image: View Post]sparkyd31, on Sep 14 2008, 04:36 PM, said:
When I show everyone my VFR they automaticlly think, "OH YOU BOUGHT A CROTCH ROCKET"!!
When I think crotch rockets I think,gixxer,cbr,r1,ZX7 etc.Is everyone so narrow minded that there is only two types of bikes out there? cruisers and crotch rockets? What happened? When I look at the sv suzuki's I think sport touring NOT CROTCH ROCKET/RACE BIKE.I guess if it has one piece of plastic on it,it is automatically a crotch rocket.
Damn you Tom Cruze for starting all this with the Ninja in Top Gun! :mad:
That's nothing! I once lost my job because my boss found out I ride my motorcycle to work!
First time I brought it in to work one weekend she said "Uhhh...is that your motorcycle parked at our driveway?" I said "Yes" and she follows by saying "Uhhh.... I used to ride motorcycles with my boyfriend in college, but that was a long time ago and....uhhh it's kinda dangerous!". right there I can get her hint that she does not like the situation. I decided that she will have to learn to live with it because my bike back then was a big part of my means of work transportation. I made a concious effort to take my bike again the following week. She did not say anything, but I know something was going on in her head. I wasn't suprised the the week after that when she announced that it was going to be my last week there because " I don't have anymore projects for you to work on"...which was a bold faced lie, cause I knew what stages we were in on what I was working on, and it was no way close to completion.
Thinking about it now, I think I had grounds for suing her for wrongful dismissal and/or discrimination. Unfortuantely, I was younger/meeker/clueless about these things back then. Anyway, I was glad I did not have to work for someone that dicriminates bikers anymore.
Most of the world just does not understand us bikers.......
It's just in what you are interested in...I'll pull out any one of my "Guns" and most here on this forum wouldn't know if it was an auto, rimfire, semi auto, side by side, stacked double gun...you get the picture.
[image: View Post]Bent, on Oct 7 2008, 12:56 PM, said:
What is wrong with owning a "Crotch Rocket"? Why is this something to "freak" about? :unsure:
[image: View Post]hidesertmlb, on Oct 6 2008, 04:19 PM, said:
I hear crotch rocket... :squid: comes to mind. Shame on those that apply the term loosely to a VFR.
I think that's why, Jim. Many people don't want to be lumped in with the squids, and sportbikes happen to be most often identified with them instead of more responsible riders.
I wonder if this happens with the Harley crowd. Folks who love their HDs but don't want to be lumped in with the seamier side of the Harley crowd, so they go out of their way to either avoid that crowd or distance themselves from them. :unsure:
I'll sometimes call my VFR a sportbike but never a crotch rocket. Besides the squid thing, I think it's just a distasteful term, like calling a man's wife his "old lady" or "ball and chain". ;)
I hope I can one day get my father to see the light. He thinks my bike is a Crotch rocket. Hopefully he can meet me on a ride and we can switch bikes and I can show him what he's missing by riding his softtail.
the first time i was pulled over on my vfr. the cop looked at my insurance paper and said this is an "interceptor"?yes.
well it sure looks like a cbr or ninja.
yes honda makes a ninja.their is the vin tag if you dont believe it.