Went out for a ride with a friend on Saturday around the peak district. He is currently riding a 125cc bike and looking at buying a Guzzi after his test as he thinks they sound great. I really get this. So after few hours we headed off to Hulme End for an ice cream always really good. Pulled into the car park and spotted a group of Guzzis parked up and a group riders sat at the benches. I parked within 15 feet of them then fetched our ice creams.
I came back and went across to have a look at the bikes and spotted the club badges. Now im not Mr unapproachable but not one of them even acknowledge me ! Not even a polite hello. My buddy Chris said well there a friendly bunch if i buy a bike i wont bother with the club.
Me i dont really care but i think that might be one of the reasons why clubs struggle to attract fresh members and keep them. I know it may have been a bad day or loads of other reasons but come on lets at least be friendly.
So if you spot the Guardia D Onore with a strange rack please give me a wave. Even better if you spot me out and about i like a raspberry ripple.
I share your views.
So youâre riding along with big smile on yer face and then spot oncoming bike. He nods in acknowledgement, you respond likewise. Two kindred spirits enjoying the same pleasure. Later you pull into a drinking hole and other bikers present. Where is that same acknowledgement now that youâre in person? Makes me laugh. Seems to me that some people are incapable of talking to a stranger even when theyâre pursuing the same passion.
My wife says its the strangest thing we all nod and wave. Turn around to try and help a fellow biker. But when the helmets off we are all to uptight to talk to each other. Maybe its just me but i actually like meeting people out and about as you get to spend time with some real characters.
I went to a branch meeting once. Had a brief chat with a friendly bloke outside and then went into the cafe / shop. Several tables with bikers on who all resolutely ignored me. Looked around the shop and drifted back to the cafe area; same same. Never went to another meeting.
I try and always be freindly, Iâm naturally a pretty freindly and chatty person so find it easy to get conversations going. Our branch is very small but we welcome new people. I have had occasions years ago when I didnât live in the South West, and I attended a few branch meetings where I just never seemed to fit in. Oh well. Bluegrass jams are like that too, but thatâs another storyâŚ
Iâm not sure I agree..
Well, in so much that, just because you look at a bike, the owner needs to engage in conversation.
Motorbikes and riding them has changed, in a sad way I feel.
I got a bike (like many here I guess as a teenager in the 70âs) to razz around on, often riding like an utter tw@, and definitely as a rebellious thing.
Stopping and talking to people ..? Who needs that..?
Now, itâs a very different world.
I recall râkid buying a new GPz900 aged 26, at the time he was the average age for a âSuperbikeâ owner.
Later, aged 37 he bought a ZZR1100, again, at that time he was the average age for a âSuperbikeâ owner.
The age âcreepâ has continued, instead of youngsters dying in bike accidents, itâs now 40+ (maybe even 50+ now) folk with a couple of kids getting wiped out.
So, so far as beingâ âuncommunicativeâ.. maybe they were engrossed in their own conversation, maybe they were on a pilgrimage to a âlostâ buddy, maybe they were simply happy with their own company.. who knows.
But as ever, communication is a two way street, you can always approach folk and ask.. âWhatâll it do misterâ.?
In my experience, whether Guzzi riders or not, most are more than happy to chew the cud.
In fact, be careful what you wish for.. you may find yourself looking for an excuse to run away, when an âenthusiastâ gets rabbiting on, thereâs no escape.!
Just an observation reading your post, the first thing that popped into me head, was why didnât you say hello?
They maybe didnât notice you and were deep in conversation. They were probably really friendly people.
Stood 5ft away smiling and looking at the group normally shows im approachable. But i my life meeting people i never try and force myself into groups for the reasons stated above.
This isnât a dig just trying to point out we should engage more.
Ive traveled the world meeting and working with people i donât know from Adam and i have found its best to let them approach you. Groups are hard to read as you say could be a meeting for all kinds of sad reasons. So keep smiling and try to talk to people is my way.
Iâd agree 100%, at bike cafe meetings everyone sticks to their own friends and barely acknowledge anyone else.
Plus, very few nod or wave these days. Itâs getting so that I may not bother nodding first, as when Iâm ignored I just think âWhatâs the point?â
Itâs certainly not how it used to be.
However, on a positive note, when I have approached an owner to chat about their bike, theyâve always been open and friendly.
Thinks: probably an axe murderer. Donât make eye contact.
Brilliant
Thats made my day.
i think the make my day guy used a .44 magnum not an axe 
So there we were in a pub some 6 miles away.. Weâd seen a T3 and a Harley parked in the street, and noticed a couple at a far table with helmets pushed under their table and wandered across and said hello. They were friendly, we chatted, and next March the Mid Dorset Branch was born, which is still going and growing. So do try saying hello. You might make some good friends.
I absolutely hear you on this one brother.
When I had my last Harley, I wanted to join a HOG but the attitude that I got from them, was simply annoying me. it stunk. I realised that they are a bunch of arrogant dicks.
Many years ago, when I had my 950 Cali I came across some of the Hampshire Wings guys in Llanrwst ( My home town at the time ) and they were looking for the Ugly house, so I said I will take them to it, rather than describe where it was!
They were really nice and they invited me to the Giler Arms where they were staying and we had a nice time, and the next day I went with them for a ride and everything was great⌠THAT is what riding is all about!
But I later bought a GoldWing and when I tried to join the local group up here, I found them to be a bit stuck up their own arses and frankly, I didnt know why I ever bothered!
I have owned a varied array of all kinds of bikes, and I have learned over the years, that some people treat you according to the bike you ride.
People are people and I like to nod anyone and everyone I can.
So its sometimes funny when I might be on the Cali or a Harley or a wing, or even one of my trikes, and I nod every bit as enthusiastically to someone with âLâ plates, as I so to someone on a massive cruiser or sports bike⌠As far as I care, we are all on 2 wheels and no one has ridden without going through the learner process.
Everyone gets the same respect from me, but if they dont, show me the same coutesy then they can absolutely get stuffed!
Whatâll it do? I always used to give the mpg figure. Normally got a laugh, then a better discussion of what or where I do with it. For the younger potential bikers a chance to explain that rapid progress and sheer speed are different, one will get you there often quicker and with a smile, the other, you may arrive in a box.
Good, bad, indifferent in all walks I expect.
Real shame that some choose to look down their nose at others based on what bike they ride. Iâve got four bike and the fact that one of them is Chinese with pedals, donât make me any less of a person - it simply means I can get home after several pints of wallop.
itâs funny when i read âwhatâll it doâ my first thought was the mpg 
Thatâs why I enjoy going abroad each year.
Every biker apart from Germans on their BMWâs in full bmw kit acknowledge you 
Hi, I was part of that group and sorry if you felt that way we are probably the friendliest club that I know of and many of the group also have other makes of bikes as well. We are all well known to each other and you were with your friend and didnât approach us so we may have thought the opposite that you werenât interested in our group. So apologies again please come and join us we meet regularly we use Facebook generally and we have the Notts/Derby group and Staffordshire branch which we often posts meets and venues. You and your friends are most welcome to come
there. matter solved. they werenât unfriendly, you didnât say âhelloâ.