The Things You See

[racoon]

So I'm out running an errand, and as I'm leaving the store and waiting to pull out onto the street three motorcycles drive by.
I had to blink a couple of times, as it was a very odd group. Fortunately, I was able to catch up to them at the next traffic light.

Lead: Honda Goldwing Trike
Second: Harley-Davidson bagger with full front fairing and hard saddle bags
Third: Can-Am Spyder - not sure the model, but it was a dark blue or black and had a top case

So I continue on to my house, wondering if I should post about what I saw or not, and then I saw something even weirder!

I live a few miles north of town, kind of out in the sticks, and the road to my neighborhood is a single lane in each direction with no shoulders.
And I catch up to a wagon drawn by two horses. We're talking a wagon for hauling people, with seats for about 8 people, rolling on four tires.
But as I get closer I realize they are not horses, but are mules.

Now, I'm a computer geek, not a farm boy, so you may be wondering how I knew they were mules?

From the license plate, of course: MULE 1

[ARtraveler]

We have people from our area that ride mules and mule driven wagons by our place all the time. Gotta love rural Arkansas.

We even have a Mule, Kawasaki that is.

[RayBJ]

Re: Group ride mix. I'm seeing more & more mix & match groups in the recent past. I think older riders (like me) want to keep riding with the same folks we've been riding with on 2-wheels forever. Every brand, style, and wheel-count is becoming the norm. It's rare to see 'Branded' clubs anymore.

[Pooch]

The regular group I ride with includes Gold Wing trikes, Harley trikes, Indian trikes, Spyders, and a Kawasaki Concours..
We have a great time.. no ill will re brands.. just us out and about and enjoying the ride.

[racoon]

I'm glad to hear about the group ride mentality, and I have experienced a little bit of that around here.

There is a Harley-Davidson dealer in town, which is one location of a chain of 3 or 4 HD dealers in Tennessee.
They do regular BBQ events and rides at the various locations, so I may see how they feel about a Spyder tagging along.

[Dasmoetorhead]

Yesterday I was coming down the backside of the "Snake" doing about 40 mph and was just coming out of a blind right hand turn. I had just started giving the F3s a bit of throttle when I was confronted with an idiot (a big idiot) driving a riding mower in the middle of the lane doing about 4 mph. He was on his cell phone looking down. I just barely missed him. So if you're on these backroads, be careful. For what it's worth, he never even looked up.

[Snoking1127]

We had a group ride with a couple of Spyder RTs, a Honda GW Trike, a Vanderhall "lady driver", and her husband on a HD 2-wheeler last winter in Az.

[ARtraveler]

RE: Group riding...we did it for years. I belonged to a group from 2002 until about 2017. It was a multi brand group, (I introduced Spyders to them in 2008). We had weekly rides (Thursday's), and always stopped to eat some place. That particular group had safety in mind. We had over 50 members in the early days. It was something to see the pre-ride line up in the parking lot of a business that allowed us there for years. Usually over 50 bikes of all sizes and types. We broke up into groups of 10 or less for the actual rides. There was a "fast" group and there was a "beginner" group, as well as 5 other groups (some friends and some bike flavors). I led the beginner group for a few years. We had a yearly awards party and also celebrated St. Patrick's day with another party. In all the years I rode, we never had one "accident" involving the bikes. We usually had a yearly "I Faw Down" award winner though.

A change in leadership, politics, and safety, at the end caused us to leave the group. Safety was the biggy for me.

Since then, Linda and I finished out our riding years just riding together and an occasional ride with a friend or two.

[pegasus1300]

The group I ride with is not brand specific. When I joined them in 1993 there were around 80 of us, most on Gold Wings and then me on a Venture Royale. I am still will that group but now there are over 500 of us scattered mostly in the west but back east as well. The face of the group has changed now to about 50/50 Harleys and Gold Wings with a good scattering of other brands, Trikes, and a few Spyders ( more coming) Since our main focus is service, religious observance, and combining that with having a good time and sightseeing/touring, your bike brand is of little concern, but your friendliness, and desire to have a great time on 2/3 wheels is. Actually we even have a few cages with members who can't ride anymore who still join us.

[racoon]

I had plans for Saturday, which just changed...

ride.jpg


One of the sponsors is the organization I did my 3-wheel training with, and their website says that the coach I worked with will be attending.
The location is about an hour from where I live, so an interesting event and a nice ride.
The weather forecast is for some showers in the morning, so I may need to break out my rain gear.

[ZiggyF]

I live in The Villages, Florida and our club, The Villages Nomads, has approximately 160 active members (the roster is over 300) & there is just about every bike and trike represented from Can Ams, Harleys, Hondas, Yahamas, & even a couple bikes with side cars. We’re all older riders and really don’t care what people ride. Most of us are old Harley riders and like myself have owned numerous bikes. It’s all about the camaraderie & continuing to ride.

When I joined there were approximately 16 Spyders…..we’ve been adding about 2 a month. The trikes, including Can Ams, Harleys & Gold Wings about 1/2 of the club now.

[Bfromla]

If & when the buds can actually catch a break & we attempt a group ride, it's a fun mix (whatever is working) - an HD Sportster, Ultra glide, Honda VTX, Goldwing, Yamaha RoadStar, someone had a sidecar 1 trip, & maybe a Road King. It's all about the ride (AWAY from WORK) & not brand anything. This was before my injury mind you, so 12y now. We did get a small ride after my injury, on the Spyder instead of Yamaha. Despite various retirements & other things, we attempt keeping in touch; hopefully via a lunch run with a couple of others; usually it's a last minute, good luck if you can drop everything & go thing. Some 'can' better than others, & the razzing follows, especially if those who can't are at known locations where we can loudly rumble by & sound horns to help rub it in! Also, there's always the picture barrage.

[Gwolf]

The mule drawn wagons were fairly common on many Florida secondary roads for a while. I have seen 2 or 3 covered wagons pulled by mules. Most were fitted with flashing lights and slow moving vehicle signs on the rear wagon. It was some kind of youth adventure trips. Saw a news story about it once. It is not unsual at all to see people in the rural areas riding horses along the road sides. Tractors and equipment move around this area, and even through the towns during planting and harvest times. I have had a mule here on the farm for several decades. Used to have a couple of them, but don't have livestock anymore. Mules and donkeys are used to keep coyotes and stray dogs from killing livestock. They are much better and more affective than herd dogs.

[JayBros]

I'll ride with anyone who wants to go where I'm going when I'm going so long as their on-road behavior doesn't give us a bad name; I don't care what they ride.

[BajaRon]

I am seeing more and more mixed rider sets. We see it all the time at the shop. Husband rides a Harley, Indian, or Victory. The wife rides a Spyder or Ryker. Get a few of these couples together and you can see everything from Crotch Rockets to Adventure Bikes. We even have a local group with a scooter in the mix.

Riding groups can't afford to be as brand specific as they used to be if they want to stay viable. I've always been happy to ride with you regardless of what you brought to the party. Never understood the exclusive clan mentality.

The Harley mystique is fading and Harley knows it. Nor are they doing themselves any favors with their recent, aggressive woke campaign. Overall, 2 wheels are just not appealing to the younger generation like they did in my day. Who knows where it will all end up. But I have to hand it to BRP as they have positioned themselves at the front of where things seem to be heading. If they could improve on their electronic and service availability issues, I think they could easily expand their footprint in this area.

The one thing that puzzles me is the lack of competition. You know all the big boys have taken a hard look at this product. They either think there isn't enough headroom available to move into. Or they don't see much potential for expanding the current market. Either way, it's an opinion that if correct, does not make for much excitement in the near future.