Granted, the original post is ancient, the thread starter might be long gone, and the question itself is actually reasonable, but attitudes like this annoy the heck out of me.
Mintbread wrote:I, on the other hand, ride my bike all year round regardless if it is cold or pouring with rain and just shake my head at these limp-wristed part-time riders and constantly question their commitment to motorcycling in general.
Point 1: Dude, have some perspective. Motorcycling is not a religion, a cause, a principle, a philosophy, an ideal, or a lifestyle choice that you should "commit yourself to". In spite of what we'd like to imagine motorcycling to be, for most of us on this board, it's a recreational activity that involves a road legal vehicle (and being road legal, a motorcycle also happens to be a practical form of transportation). You might think you're exceptional in your commitment, but the vast majority of motorcyclists around the world are using dinky little 150cc Honda Cubs every day to transport their families, their goods, chickens, and Godknowswhatelse over vast distances in all sorts of horrific traffic and climatic conditions. Even the most hardcore and holier-than-thou among us look like a bunch of spoiled wimps compared to these people. And they're not doing it because they're "committed to a lifestyle", and frankly, would think of that notion as a laughable load of poncy, bourgeois, caribou cr@p.
Point 2: Sorry for the rant, but motorcycling partisanship in general, uh, gets my goat (to use an unlikely-to-be-censored turn of phrase). Weekend riders vs. the hardcore, metric vs. American, cruisers vs. sportbikes, motorcycles vs. scooters, and whatever random silly issue of the day you can think of. Anything that divides us weakens us.
Pompous pontificating over. Moving right along to lighter things . . .
Edit: uh, climatic, not climactic. Although that still kinda works