That and I know some hardcore Ducati riders that ride a lot and some Harley guys that only ride once or twice a year and then only if the temperature is between seventy five and eighty. My brother in law's Road King for example gets less that hundred miles a year and he lives in clothes that say Harley Davidson all over them. In my mind, that's posing. It's a bit chilly this morning but I rode in to work anyway. I pick two wheels over four any time I get the chance.
Posing has nothing to do with the brand.

What if I have a brand new Harley and put about 10,000 miles on it a year and do most of the miles during the spring and summer?

I wouldn't call someone who's actually riding that much a poser. For only riding when it's super nice out I'd call someone a fair weather rider maybe, but not a poser.

Oh I ride it daily too, I just don't go very far.

Also, the summer weather doesn't always play fair... Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have some crazy weather in the summer!

<---poser

Hey there MsB!

You know what they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step in getting help!

No, it makes you a wannabe, as in you wannabe the owner of the shovel.

You would be a poser if you stole the pic and put it up on your own profile.

Most Harley riders these days are posers...A dew rag and a black vest don't help your case...

I agree on that.  I have rode mostly Yamaha's over the years and a Honda or two.  I just bought a new Harley so I am sure some people think I am a poser cause it's all new and shiny. My GF made me clean my jacket too, she said it was disgusting so now it's all shiny and clean, don't feel right with the sand and dirt gone!!  I know many people from around here that never rode a bike until they were 40 or so and able to afford a Harley.  They go buy one and deck it all out along with themselves.  Then they go usually for one weekend a year somewhere (trailer their bike)  then ride to the local pub occasionally during nice weather.   Hmmm I am not sure what makes a poser, but I think if you got  good stories, you ain't a poser.  Posers know they are poser and are jealous of those with real stories and scars to prove it.  I for one am a poser everyday until I can get home a get on my bike (yamaha or Harley). Sometimes when it is windy as hell and cold, I just go start  a bike a sit on for a bit, maybe clean a little, turn a wrench..........

Most Harley riders these days are posers.... Build your own bike .. Dew rags and a black vest don't help your case..

Ya know, when I first got my license, all my friends told me to buy a beater bike, nothing over 650cc to learn on. The 650 so it wouldn't be too big and intimidating, and a beater so I wouldn't cry when I dropped it.

I took my full 10 hours of riding experience...all of it in 1st and 2nd gear mind you...and started with a 88ci lowrider. My brother said, "Most people don't buy a 1450cc Harley to learn on." I told him, "Since when have *I* been 'most people'?" I made a point to ride it home from the dealership, because if I had it delivered, I couldn't have found other excuses to just get out and ride. Once I got it home, I wanted a friend to come over and take me riding, but after one day went by, and that didn't happen, the next day I rode it to work all by myself. I logged 1,000 miles the first month I had it, and 2,000 miles the second month. I ended my first year at 20,000 miles, including a round trip to Sturgis, riding 1500 miles home solo. At first I thought that was just a result of the newness, that the annual miles would go down once the novelty wore off. Well, going on 6 years and over 100,000 miles, it hasn't worn off yet!

So, $20,000 and 20,000 miles a year might not make me a biker, but I am having too much fun to pay attention to labels. LMAO!!

When women ask me about moving from the back seat to riding their own, I always tell them to take a safety course FIRST. They get instruction from people that are trained in how to teach someone to ride, and most courses provide a bike for them to use. I think the worst way to learn is by borrowing a friend's bike, because you can't relax...it is too easy to be too worried about dropping it! But, after you take a first course, then do an honest assessment of your riding ability. Yes, a Harley may not be the best option for someone to learn on if they have a tendency to fall down a lot...replacement parts can be expensive, so in that regard, I agree with the post quoted above. But, since I consider myself an exception, I think it's more of a guideline, rather than a rule. The important thing to consider when choosing a first bike is to pick something you are not afraid of...you want to feel that you are in control, so then you don't try to hard to take control, and end up trying to DRIVE it instead of RIDE it.

This is true for men as well as women...I have seen many a man that bought big ass bikes, and look scared to death when they are behind the handlebars, holding on with a death grip. You usually only see them at the local bike night a few miles down the road from where they live, showing off their "toy".

That's my idea of a poser!

MOST Harley riders are posers? Get the **** outta here, I know a LOT of Harley riders that ride more miles than a LOT of import riders... I have a black vest, it's denim but I have my colors on it and I find it to be a necessary evil plus it makes access to my pistol nice and easy! I don't do due rags because they look stupid.

I do 'do-rags when I don't want to wear a helmet, to keep the hairs on my head from getting tied up in knots. It's for function, not fashion.

I shaved my head so I wouldn't have to wear em!
But I do agree that most stuff that us vile Harley riders wear has a function! Statements like the one I commented on are out of ignorance from most riders who either envy or hate Harley riders.

Yeahhhhh, I think I will pass on the head shaving thing. I have no desire to look THAT "cool". LMAO!! Although, if I ever got cancer, and went through chemo, I would totally rock the bald look without batting an eye!

I am always entertained by the "real biker" debates. It seems to me that everyone has their own definitions which relate to the labels they want applied to themselves. The posers don't think you need to know how to change your own oil to be a biker, as long as you own a Harley. But, then there are the guys that have been riding for 50 years, can build a motor if they needed to, much less a bike...and exude bikerness to such a degree that whether or not they have a bike at any given moment becomes irrelevant.

It's a classic bell-curve...you got the extreme posers on one end, and the extreme hard core, old school real bikers on the other end, but most people who ride fall somewhere in the middle. But it is sooo entertaining to watch them try and figure out where to draw the line betwen where a poser ends and a real biker begins. They just don't like being in the gray area in the middle.

I don't mind the gray area. It reminds me of a road. I have no problem being there.

Wise words Fefe, absolutely couldn't agree more... I'm not the old school whatever as I dig the new bikes just as much as the previous and when I see slopped together 'old school' bikes it makes me cringe because invariably there is or will be something wrong with it due to it's lack of R&D adjustments.

I am by trade a mechanic but that in no way means I'm above anyone that rides but it does obligate me to assist and or make suggestions to the ignorant.

Black9 I see you're not the typical yuppy bike rider...good for you... I have been riding H.D. since 1978 it was a pan basket $300.00 ...So many of these riders today have no clue what it was like then and lots of them hated or were afraid of our kind...kinda funny how the rubs moved in and changed the culture...I miss the old days...

I am a poser.
I pose when standing at the urinal, cuz to move around can be dangerous to my boots.
I pose when looking through those binoculars at the top of Mount Washinton, cuz I can't figger out why I rode all the way up there to look down.
I pose when sitting down to type this reply, cuz it's sorta hard to ride while texting.
I pose while staring into the campfire after I have solved all of the worlds problems during my contemplations.
I pose in front of the sign that says "Welcome to Hell Michigan", just to prove I have been to Hell and Back
So yeah, I 'pose I am a poser.

I'm still lookin for that Evo FXR basket so I can restore it to it's original condition or a 1980 Low Rider and do the same! Two of my favorite bikes ever made! But I have to admit I love LOVE LOVE my new Switchback! I'm WAY too poor to be a RUB, I don't hang with any of them, most of my friends are just normal folks that just love their bikes and love to ride. Most of them are like myself, pretty much down to Earth and imperfect in every way possible! Rare is the occasion I will find myself in the company of the accepting well-to-do types because I don't own any nice clothes and you'd have to shoot me first to get a tie around my neck! (might as well be a noose!)
I enjoy people in general, I like the geinuine appeal of how people interact and I can't help but marvel at how some can be just such good people and loyal friends in almost any sitution. Yeah, I try to keep my friends for life if that is at all possible I don't dwell on the petty shit, my opinions are my own and I aint about to ever apologize for them or my friends! :0)

Well......Nah, I'm not gonna bother.

Been thinking bout this, and yes, about how many times it has come up. I honestly feel like everyone is just beating a dead horse every time it raises it's head. I want to say up front that I have NOT been offended by anything that has been said on this page. I have the utmost respect for anyone that rides, whatever their reason(s).

What Am I…….
Do I ride a Harley? Nope, I ride a metric. I don’t have a problem with that, nor do I have a problem with a Harley, or any other type of ride.
Do I own a rain suit? Yes, but I don’t ride in the rain by choice.
Do I own and wear leather? Yes, a vest, chaps when it is a bit cool, boots that are scuffed.
Do I ride year round? Nope, not in snow, not on ice. 40 degrees is about my cutoff (I can’t understand looking like the Michelin Tire man to stay warm so I can say that I ride every day). I also have nothing detrimental to say about the people who are riding in 20 degree weather, although I have been known to smile and shake my head.
Yes, my bike is garaged and yes, I keep it clean. I tend to maintain all my vehicles extremely well. And no, I don’t always change my oil myself. Sometimes the back and knees just won’t let me do it.
No, I don’t have a “Tat”. Honestly, I never got into them, even after 21 years in the military. Do I have anything against those that do have them? Nope. Whatever trips your trigger. To each his, or her, own.
My saddle bags don’t say Gucci cause I don’t run bags. I prefer a clean look. My bag, when I need to use it, says “Kuryakyan”, and I attach it to my sissy bar.
I have seen lots of sunrises, and sunsets, from two wheels.
Don’t know bout stock seats. I do know that after about an hour my back says, “I don’t care what kind of seat you are on, it’s time to get off!” (Ref above bout oil changes. Not to mention what the docs say bout the back and knees. I worry about having a knee go out on a stop. If one of the knees go, or the back goes out, I won’t be pickin’ that 1300 up anytime soon.)
Don’t care bout stores with big picture windows.
I wave at other riders, regardless of what they happen to be riding; and at anyone else that waves at me when I’m out on the ride.
I could go on and on but I think you get my meaning. In some people’s eyes I may be a poser, in some people’s eyes I may be a biker. Honestly, I don’t really care because I have nothing to prove to anyone. I enjoy riding my 1300 Metric WHEN I CHOOSE TO RIDE.
I understand and respect that everyone has their own view on things, and all I ask is that that respect and understanding be reciprocated.

Now, I think I'll go pour another Dram Bouie on the rocks; then I think I better leave them alone for the night.

I think my whole reason for any sort of slight on this subject is my mechanic's brain... I have listened to people talk about their bikes and their 'limited' and somewhat ignorant assertions about how this operate in an internal combustion engine... I actually had a guy tell me that he put an H cam in his Evolution motor... my response was "wow, that must have been some extensive work?!" he prattled on about how had to rebuild his transmission after it 'blew up'? I kept thinking after that very comment "How in the hell do you 'blow up' a transmission during normal operation? Some of these guys will tell you they've been riding since they popped outta the womb and they can't even gap a spark plug? I think for me it's the hypocrisy of it all but that's the appeal for most is just to 'fit in' I think. Fitting in meaning telling some WEIRD stories about how their particular motorcycle runs and how rare it was. Of course I just have to accept all this information at face value.
NOW...
If they come to me to do work and I've heard their stories you can bet that I will get a fair bit of jabs at them and their 'stories' and maybe even explain it to them how it really is.

The H grind came was the first known hot rod cam that cam in the 57 Panhead motor, just to clarify and I would have loved to have seen that if it were for real because not only would you have to change the cam you'd have to change the trans gear and the final drive sprocket and timing and you'd probably have to address the valve train on such a low compression ratio as compared to a newer engine like an Evo.

Again, I'm not saying I know it all and I guess anything is possible but wow, some of the stuff that hits my ears, especially the functionality of such a simple machine that hasn't really changed in concept since 1936 just floors me when I hear others who really have no idea what they're talking about. Probably heard it from someone somewhere and got it all jacked up in the translation.

But I digress, I enjoy a good story and I keep all my vehicles immaculate and clean, I put all my tools right back in their rightful place and make sure my area is clean and free of any trash and take off or replacement part before I lower that lift.
Yes I wear rain suits because I lived in Western Washington for a LONG time and it was a fact of life.
I wear a helmet because if there's any chance to recover after an accident I want to lesson the recovery time if possible.
Am I a poser? Hmmm... maybe I'm a know it all and that in itself probably just makes me a nerd in some respect but I do care about riding and the riders out there just be careful who you tell your tall tales to, he might be a seasoned mechanic that came up the hard way by making a lot of mistakes and learning from them.

"Most Harley Riders These Days Are Posers"

I love that statement. What are they posing as... someone who wanted a Harley and went out and bought one with their own money. Anyone ever think that they aren't trying to be like you, the just want to ride a damn motorcycle.

Well said Az, Just like everyone we see down here with a cowboy hat is not posing as a cowboy, everyone who drives a pickup truck is not posing as a construction worker, everyone who buys a set of golf clubs and wears a golf shirt is not a golfer poser, everyone who puts on a pair of sweats to shoot hoops with friends doesn't piss off real basketball players... why the hell are "bikers" so worried about someone else wearing a leather jacket and riding a motorcycle.