So I was heading home from work yesterday, blasting onto a freeway at about 120Km/hr and noticed a bit of lateral movement in the backend. One of those situations where it is such a minor thing you don't know whether you are just imagining it or not. First thing that came to mind was a flat rear tyre. I got a few more Km's down the road to a set of red lignts and I had a look when I stopped.

CRAP

It was totally flat by that stage and I was stuck in the middle of traffic. I managed to get accross a few lanes of traffic on the green, but had to force my way in front of two lanes of cars and by that time the back end was all over the place. Hairy shite I can tell ya. 

So I rang my mate who I've got shares in a trailer with and asked him for a hand. No problems there but it would be about an hour. I sat next to the bike on the side of the road for an hour in the 34' heat. Some interesting observations in that time;

No car drivers at all stopped or offered to give me a hand or see if I was OK.

3 bikes that went past (of about 20) slowed down and hand signalled witht he thumb up "Are you right ?". 2 of them were HD's ridden by local MC club members, and the other was a jap road bike rider.

So I would conclude that;

Generally car drivers don't give a fuck, or they are scared of harley riders

Most motorcyclists don't give a crap either, or they are scared of harley riders.

Bikers look after each other.

I think it supports my belief that community values and common decency is slowly erroding away in society. Paranoia or selfishness, I don't know. 

Myself, I always stop and help people when I can, no matter what they , or I am riding / driving.

 

 

 

 

hi boof... never had misfortune of being stuck on side of the road but have stopped for a few people, including a Hyo GV250 on Mt Henry bridge.

Know of a very popular chick on PSB who with her Dad broke down on West Coast Hwy and were there for hour and half after the MAD (www.madride.org) Ride in '06 and not one rider stopped.

I quite agree with your coments about a decaying society. People dont' seem to give a fuck about their fellow man nowadays.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who can the change in society and it's not change for the better either.

Boof, it sucks that no one stops to help out that's for sure.....................but fall off and every vulture within 10miles will stop for a look

 

You'd think some bugger would have at least offered to pop into a servo and grab ya some water.

It doesn't fix the flat, it doesn't get you home......but it's just plain bloody descent to offer.

Don't get me wrong I was totally fine and I'm not upset about it or anything (hang on while I dry my eyes). I just think it's interesting. It was cool that the bikers did give a shit about someone they didn't know. I suppose it shows the emphasis on brotherhood in the MCs. 

Mind you I'm not a little fella iether and folks seem to be a bit freaked about my size sometimes, even though I wouldn't hurt a fly.

Boof, you talking about STOPPING and ENQUIRING about your welfare?

What about simple thing such as nodding to your fellow riders. I wave or nod to everyone, no matter what they ride. About 5 - 10% nod back, and you want them to stop and ask???

G'day Boofhead, you have hit on my favourite bitch with this thread.

In October I was last to leave the National Rally site in Qld. As the ute with  the grog was going back to my place I threw the bag that I always carry with me in it, inside the bag was the usual, phone, hat, sunscreen etc, guess what, I got a flat back tyre. Having a flat was bad enough and after pushing the bike with a flat for about 1km I got to one of thoes emergency phones that are along the side of the highway, got through to the operator, they connected me to home, Mrs got one of my mates to come and get me.

The thing that pissed me off was the amount of Harley riders that went riding straight past without even a look let alone stopped to see if they could help. Now I can live with the jappa riders going past because at mach 3 with their arse sticking in the air as their reaction time to someone on the side of the road was about 3 milli seconds but when a group of 8 local well dressed Harley riders proudly flying their local chapter flag went pass, blew the horn and all waved I was getting feral. I guess when I saw  that many tassels all moving and waving at once I should not have expected any more. At least 4 other Harley riders went straight pass without even a nod and I would have thought that a flat rear was fairly obvious to any idiot coming from behind to notice, the only way the back of the bike could have been any lower was if i pulled the wheel out.

I guess this new breed of person that has come into the Harley family needs a lesson in Harley owners basic guidlines. The rules have always been fairly simple, if someone needs help you stop and ask if there is anything you can do, sometimes it is a simle as making a phone call other times you may need to assist more. I have on more than one occasion gone home and got the trailer to help out someone from out of the district to get a bike to the shop for repair.

My theory is that this new breed have never owned a bike with points let alone a chain and have been fortunate enough to have only owned a Harley from the reliable era, either that or they are just stuck up yuppie pricks that only got the bike for the image and if that is the case then all the guidelines in the world will never get through to them and they will never know what they have missed.

Coming back from pt Pirie last year we stopped in a out of the way parking bay for a smoke. Having finished our smoke got back on the bike but no power. It was 30 odd degrees and me and the missus well mainly the missus where trying to push start it on dirt. I walked up to the road with the intention of waving down the first bike I saw nievly thinking that a bike rider would help. lucky for us the first bike I saw stopped, it was an older guy on a old shovel. He helped push for a while but the he menteniod that he had a triple bypass a couple of years ago so all this pushing wasn,t a good idea. He said he only lived up the road and would go and get some jumper leads, lo and behold he was back in 10 minutes and got us going. The guy wouldn,t except anything for his trouble and we are still in his debt to this day. maybe we just got lucky or people do help.

hg... country folk are different to their city cousins.....

Streetbob - Bikers, Bikies it all depends where you are and who you ask as to the correct terms, (The last 1%er I called a bikie gave me a friendly warning not to call him or his brothers that) but lets not go there aye.

Czarek - I'm not expecting anything. Just simple observations thats all. Does slowing down and calling out "ya right mate?" qualify as "STOPPING and ENQUIRING about your welfare" ?

I spose I'm old fashioned,but if it's you by the side of the road with a flat tyred bike (even though you are an ugly and scary pack of mongrels), or your wife and kids with no petrol, I will always stop and help out. No questions, that's a promise.

Yeah. I'm from the country as well. You at least ask people if there' ok because in the bush it might be a long wait before someone else comes along. A young bloke I knew was wrapped arond a tree on his way home from footy one Saturday night. His dad found him on the Monday morning.

Ba ha ha
I should choose my words more carefully...

Bad news - their is now 1 less bike aware cabbie on the streets of Townsville.

Good news - their is now 1 more bike aware / friendly bus driver on the highways of north Queensland.

Two weeks ago I stopped driving white cars and now drive BRB's (big red bus).

So far from the dozens of bikes coming toward me on the open road that I've waved to I have had only 2 waves (yeh I know - getting ready for the blast) and 1 nod from Harley riders and 1 up yours from a japer. All 3 Harley responsers were patch wearers. Even had a passenger mention during a meal stop that he had never seen a bus driver wave to bikes before, turns out back home in Sweden he has a 07 Nightrain.

If you look broken down and screwed for help I will stop, can't promise to stay stopped for long but will make sure phone calls happen from the next town if needed.

See ya out there.

I've had a similar thing happen to me but I crashed on my bike.

I was in the bush with my bike overturned & no-one stopped & helped me. They drove past & ignored it. I had to ring for help in the end. Luckily I could still ride the Harley

I reckon today people more & more say: "What's it gotta do with me?". In the UK since I moved there you can pretty much get beaten up & mugged in the city centre & no-one will help u or say anything to stop it. They just stand & watch.
I hope AU doesn't end-up like this.
Overall these incidents make people mistrust one & another.