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Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:03 pm
by Fingers
Bet you're a Slipknot fan!!![/quote]
I am!

[/quote]
Fred Durst just announced that Slipknot have disbanded this week....a/Hope youre not distraught b/ I didnt know they were still together

Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:11 pm
by Deeping
Turisu wrote
Of course they do. I've heard people make a point of saying they ride a "sports bike" or "superbike" as if they're concerned about being mistaken for some crusty old mid-life-crisis guy on a Harley. The fact is that, to the people that ride them, there is a world of difference between various types of bike and nobody seems to want to be misunderstood about which they ride. For example; a maxi-scooter is worlds apart from a 'traditional' scooter and I can see why the rider of one might not want to be taken for the other simply because they describe their ride as a "scooter". I don't think it's about embarrassment (after all, if you were going to feel embarrassed about riding a scooter, why would you buy one?), to me it seems to be more about identity.
I have just read this 3 or 4 times, it is really well written and I agree.
Is it all down to a badge, and is my badge better than your badge?
ps. was that the right use of an Oxford Commer?
pps. who cares?
Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:15 pm
by visfix
Fingers wrote:
Fred Durst just announced that Slipknot have disbanded this week....a/Hope youre not distraught b/ I didnt know they were still together

Fred Durst?? Since when was that loser in Slipknot?

Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:16 pm
by Bluebottle
Deeping wrote:... was that the right use of an Oxford Commer?
All oxford commas are punctuations!

Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:24 pm
by Earl
Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:28 pm
by Deeping
I thought that the word 'and' after a commer was bad english grammer but in some cases it was acceptable . Was this one of them or do I need to brush up on my grammer again?

Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:31 pm
by Data
Deeping, you're right! It's an identity thing for most of us. You know, when I first rode a Burgman 400 (forced to ride it actually due to a dealer cock up!) I still had my Vstrom 1000 and had just sold my GSX1400. In other words, I loved big bikes, they were an important part of my world. But I covered over 212 miles that fateful day on that dealers Burgman, on all sorts of roads at all sorts of speeds. It went just so superbly at any speed and could be thrown around with gay abandon. There's that word 'gay' again! But at the start of the journey I was really pissed at having to take a Burgman out for the day instead of the 1250 Bandit I normally get given. I had no idea just how good they went. I had to stop at lots of places that day too for meetings, training etc. I had loads of gear with me. The Burgman swallowed it all without even flintching. But I had loads of people to see and they would see the Burgman too. I felt a bit inferior at that thought, riding a scooter, it was all just too new to me. I wouldn't be turning up on my macho machine of one type of another, that usually got admiring glances and nice comments, like "see you've got a big one"! So when I started to ride the Burgman, for the first few miles I didn't even like to make eye contact with other road users. How stupid was that! It was an unconcious thing though. However, after 212 miles or thereabouts I returned home thinking completely the opposite about the Burgman as to when I first started out on it. I wanted people to see it, and I had been totally reassured about the bikes ability to perform well in every circumstance. It was one hell of a lot of fun too. Job done...that's when I ordered one! Now I love people to see the "scooter". I describe it as a scooter, maxi-scooter, bike or whatever comes to mind when I'm talking to people about it. It's not now important to me now that I've joined you lot...the "enlightened"!

Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 4:18 pm
by Funkycowie
Deeping: whats a commer???

Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 4:21 pm
by Earl
Funkycowie wrote:Deeping: whats a commer???

Wasn't it a type/make of van in the 60's?
Re: British Attitude to Scooters
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 4:23 pm
by Deeping