What is the word?

[Caseyjones]

I know "clutch" of eggs, "Quiver" of arrows, "Murder" of crows and a few others.  Does anyone know what you call a Gaggle (temporary term) of novelty bikes?  I like Gaggle but Parade sounds good to.  Rolling roadblock is two words.  If I'm not mistaken "Gaggle" is a term used for a group of earthbound geese but it really has the right sound for this.

After my ride in the hills today I need something to encompass contempt, frustration and disgust, I was also actually embarrassed on behalf of many I was trapped behind.  A startling percentage of them bear woefully poor riding skills and seem intent on making it painfully obvious at every turn.  They sure don't make bikers the way they used to!!

I now retire my bike to transportation needs only for the next 2 weeks, a pleasure ride seems to be out of the question if there is any pavement involved.


--/rant mode off
--/anger mode off

Wow, I feel a little better now but I still want a term.   

[Hank]

How about a CF?      Oh yeah that's two words too..

How about a "clump", or a "pile", or a "stain".

When I was out for the June rally, I rode back and forth between the rafter J and the FF a couple times.  I got trapped behind a few "novelty" bikes as well, 45 on the straights, 40 on the curves, this on 385 which could be taken (nearly) top to bottom at 100 if you wanted.
I assume when you say novelty you mean loud, chrome plated, tassel adorned choppers that have riders who are using doo rags and chaps for "gear"?


My cousin, who is a Suzuki mechanic, calls them "flower pots" (on an individual basis), as in it's just something you look at.  I think that's pretty funny.

 Ah to each his own I suppose...  but it is really annoying to get stuck behind a two wheeled roadblock/stain/clump/gaggle that makes your ears ring.

[plumber mike]

Let us not forget the mode of transportation that get the masses here.....a painfully slow RV or pickup with the "gaggle" loaded in with a trailer full of "flower pots" 

I would think the ride here would be just as much fun as the riding here. That's just me....and probably you.

If it wasn't such a profitable time for me I'd take off.
As Caseyjones said, the bike will be parked for my safety(except for dirt )
My 11500# box truck will keep me safe

I do like looking at the "jewlery" however

[Dr Psyko]

I last went to sturgis in 1979, and the bikers were real enough back then. I welcome everyone to the motorcycle world, but allot of these guys are in some wierd Halloween/time warp process that is embarrassing.

I got caught behind a crew on baggers on a favorite road in Wisconsin a few years ago and had the distinct pleasure of passing them on my Road King, dragging floor boards and all! (The floor boards are metal, and make nice sparks when they drag through a corner. They ground pretty easy. Next time your favorite "biker" talks about how great his bike handles, slide your hand along the edge of the floor board and watch their reaction. They won't know what you're doing.)

[The Yeti]

The wife & I used to go to Sturgis during the rally every year, mostly for the music. We just can't stand it anymore! I mean, crap, a beer is now what, $6-$7?? It's just getting to be soooo expensive to just enjoy a concert or two. Not to mention the crowds now....we went to Kid Rock a few years back at the Chip, and we couldn't get close enough to the stage to even tell if it WAS Kid Rock, and the sound sucked balls! That was the last show we went to at the rally, and will probably be the last ever.

Oh yeah, and riding on the road during this week and a half is just ridiculous! I'll stick to the dirt. 

[loingrader]

i think annoying is the word.

i rode my xx out there 3 years ago on a weekend during the rally.  i bet i blew past 4000 harleys in the 2 days i was there.  most of them in packs of 10-20 bikes.  i spent more time in the passing lane or on the yellow line than i did in my lane.  it was good practice dodging road hazards and it was REALLY fun when some ambitious biker tried to hang with me. 

nothing like leaving some guy on his $40,000 screamin eagle modded out hodrod harley in 2nd gear on my xx.

[Number Two]

bolus /bo·lus/ (bo´lus)

1. a rounded mass of food or pharmaceutical preparation ready to swallow, or such a mass passing through the gastrointestinal tract.

[Caseyjones]

My last enjoyable Rally was I think 1987 or 1988.  It was a really good time, it was a Rally, not a family friendly fashion show.  I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that has such feelings about this.  At the risk of sounding older than I am, I do miss the good ol' days!!

[fringefan]

I have lived in SD my entire life and in the Hills for the last 5-6 and I have never once been to the ralley with no desire to ever attend I pretty much steer clear of the tourism spots and the ralley unless it is 5-6 am.

I have had enough of those idiots passing me while in a car only to just pull over to the side of the road/interstate 2 deep and people wonder why accidents happen. One would think you drop 40k on a custom chrome plated turd with a big motor and a tire as wide as those on my jeep it should come equiped with a working headlight or maybe the fact it is on a switch he can call it a custom.  I am not sure what is worse, the ralley or tourists stopping every 10 feet in the middle of the road in Custer State Park to take pictures of a deer.

I think the last straw might have been when they started having DUI checkpoints for those leaving Sturgis then offering to wipe it clean for 5k for those out of state or so I heard. It is and always was a biker ralley not a family fun event.

I appreciate what they do for the local economies so the only peace of mind is to stay away.

[numb41]

FWIW, I like the 'bolus' term.  Made me laugh anyway.  I have attended (ahem) a couple of rallys.  It's pretty much all about the racing for me.  Hill climb on monday and friday.  1/2 mile on tue or wed.  The other nites are short track.  Do they do anything else there?

[loingrader]

Do they do anything else there?

the occasional recreational drug i think...

[Caseyjones]

Bolus is good, I'm not sure how far down the GI tract it can get and still be considered bolus though, but I think this bolus is very near the end of the GI tract..... what, ladies and gents, do we call that? 

Ironically when I started riding it was the HD riders I identified with most. Riding in the hail, wind and rain noting the "rice burner" guys hiding under the overpasses as we rode on by.  No trailers, no chase vehicles, sleeping on the ground where need be. Believe it or not these guys, or rather their old-school counterparts, actually had the mindset of a motorcyclist and nards to match (generally speaking). 

Times change.  I never thought I would see the day that the HD was scoffed as a novelty item while the real articles end up riding European and even Asian bikes.  But here we are 

[Dr Psyko]

Yeah, I agree with Casey. In the 70's I used to ride a 1957 panhead chopper that was a graduate course in mechanical "cheap fixes". Used to backfire when starting, and blow the carb off the bike every once in a while just to keep me entertained (the throttle cable would stay attached, and the carb would end up somewhere by the front wheel, and gas would fly everywhere). Rallys (parties) were a pup tent, wool blanket, and as much cash as I could scratch up. Riding the torture rack (which I usually wouldn't remember anyway) was an excercise in marathon suffering, and danger avoidance. The brakes were useless, and the girder front end would often get in a lazy wobble and bounce (depending on speed) down the highway. We smelled terrible, offended the "citizens", and loved every minute. Most guys just matured, I ended up in rehab, but the 1% are still out there. I don't remember any bikes being trailered anywhere. If they broke bad enough, they would get heaved into a pickup.

These new guys are an embarrassment.

[Caseyjones]

Panhead, there's a real HD, I found my 59 pan at a garage sale in a series of boxes and assembled it myself. It took me a week to even get the rolling chassis.  Cheap fixes, check! By the time I was able to ride it I had less than $500 into it. I recall adjusting my chain 1-2x/daily while road tripping and on high mileage days valves sometimes every day or two.  Altitude required carb and timing adjustment on the roadside.  They require lots of love and it certainly used to separate the yuppies from the riders. 

I do enjoy current tech but still regret that contemporary bikes don't have some built in mechanism to separate as before.

[mommer]

aww crap.. well im on my way tomorrow morning.. ridin up there with 2 "flower pot" buddies. one is new. stephen. he was at the FnF thing.. and the other is the blow it up roadside fix bucket of bolts "rider".. ive never been anywhere close durring this time of year. so what the hell.. check it out.. get pissed at the sweet corners  going by so slow.. and hopefully find some dirt!! .. maybe see some of you guys while im out there.. im staying at excess'es place.. maybe i can drag him out to lead some more crazy 9fiddy stuff?