A Zip and Splat doing a wheelie on I-75

[burkbuilds]

Heading out to the gym last Thursday on I-75 N just past the 24 split, 4 lanes of traffic, 4:30 in the afternoon and some guy on a zip and splat comes by me doing at least 75 mph in the far left lane beside the concrete barrier wall doing a wheelie. He probably rode it about a 1/4 mile before he set it back down. What an idiot, what are people thinking? Not that it matters, but the speed limit is 55 through that section.

[patrick_777]

Stupidity comes in all shapes, sizes and speeds...

[dannylightning]

people are crazy, i once had a guy flying by me doing a wheelie on the highway, right after he passed me the bike started to lean to the right pretty good, i thought he was gonna go down right in front of my car and tumble into my lane, some how the guy saved it but i don,t think i could have possibly avoided running him over no matter how hard i would have hit the breaks,

i agree with you that is completely moronic, i guess they think they look cool but in my opinion they look very foolish. doing wheelies is one thing and doing them at high speed in heavy traffic is another thing..

[alanmcorcoran]

Two thoughts:

1) I once worked at a drive-in theater (yes, I am that old) and, because it was loose gravel, we didn't allow bikes to drive-in. They could park and walk in though. Fortunately we didn't get many bikers, but one night a tough looking guy and his equally tough looking girlfriend rolled up on a big Harley, and 125 pound, pimply-faced me, had to tell them from the booth that they couldn't come in. The guy gave me the finger and, at first, seeing as he blew right past the booth, I thought he was going in anyway, but he stopped, turned around and came back out, headed in the other direction. He stopped when he was next to my window and gave me a taste of his very, very loud pipes. After he had revved it a bit, he let out the clutch. Unfortunately, drive through folks don't drive the latest or finest in automotive technology, and thousands of 15 year old station wagons with blown gaskets, crunched oil pans and other mechanical obscenities had stopped at this very spot to pay the five bucks a carload and, while I got their tickets and change, leaked a little bit of nasty oil. Over eons it had built up, and, instead of accelerating, the guys rear wheel just spun. He was a little unprepared for this and, instead of letting off the throttle he hit it a little harder. The wheel slowly moved forward and, when it finally bit into the concrete, he did an unexpected full-on cruiser wheelie. He kept it together for about ten feet and then he, the bike and the girlfriend all went over sideways onto the pavement. The girl was banged up pretty good, the bike was worse and the tough guy was down and not getting up. After I called the ambulance, I walked up to where he was writhing in pain (I think he busted his hip) and I explained, ever so gently, "That sir, is why we don't allow bikes into the drive-in!"

2) I wish I could do a wheelie. Sport bikers were doing them (75 footers!) past my MSF course parking lot both days of the riding course and half of me was thinking, "they're gonna kill themselves" and the other half was thinking, "I wonder if I had a sport bike if I could learn how to do that."

[adrianinflorida]

I've figured out how to decipher craigslist ads for the bikes these morons sell (probably to pay medical bills and tickets)

"Street Fighter" bike: All the fairings, headlight and windshield got smashed, so now it doesn't have them. See also Naked GSX-R and Naked Ninja

"Stunt Bike with tank 'modded' for stunting": Fucked up so bad showing what a douchenozzle I am, I even dented the top of the tank.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

What an idiot, what are people thinking?

There are drivers in Atlanta that THINK ????
I thought they checked their brains at the on-ramp.
Some don't have anything TO check.

Must admit, though, that Chicago is worse.

[patrick_777]

Originally Posted by adrianinflorida

"Street Fighter" bike: All the fairings, headlight and windshield got smashed, so now it doesn't have them. See also Naked GSX-R and Naked Ninja

I know you're trying to be funny, but a streetfighter is not necessarily just a wrecked out bike because someone was stunting it - those are usually called rat-bikes. Most owners fighter out a bike because they like the customized look of a production bike without looking like a production bike. The very same principle applies to choppers and customized cruisers. Indeed, a chopper is simply a streetfighter based on a cruiser body-style.

The trick to finding a stunt bike is looking for an engine cage, 90-bar and dents in the sides or top of the tank (because they intentionally hammered them there for grip). They usually have fairings removed or quick latches installed so they can be removed in short order, and there's usually fork or swingarm pegs on it.

I know this is a sportbike-bashing thread, but I at least wanted to get some information corrected before it got too carried away.

Please continue.

[dannylightning]

some people also call a bobber a rat bike, tha'ts my definition of rat bike

[alanmcorcoran]

Originally Posted by patrick_777

Please continue.

Can you wheelie the ninja?

[patrick_777]

Yes.