Pale Riders

[BladeTriple]

Kaz and I were talking recently about bikers and what a diverse bunch we seem to be , age, gender , background , jobs etc however there seemed to be one thing missing ... Race, why don't we see many black or asian bikers? I mean look around at our meets at the H&C, or the Polebarn... Even George Whites and Fowlers on a weekend, how many none white bikers do you see? And why do we think this is ?

While there have been guys and girls in our group like the Fijian guy who rides a 'Busa and maybe one other, for such a big group that consider ourselves friendly (more or less ) to anyone and everyone who rides 2 wheels regardless of who they are , where they come from etc etc it seems a bit odd that what is a large part of the British population isn't part of our own community....


Does anyone have any thoughts on this ?

[Mitch9128]

Err Wiltshire, not really a diverse county is it? Go live in Lahndun and see how many black guys you see on R1's, loads innit.

[BladeTriple]

It was the same at the NEC tho Mitch and you're telling me the Midlands isn't full of Asians and Afro Carribeans?

[wiltshire builders]

Haha, I was just thinking about putting something similar on here yesterday but was unsure how to word it. Well done for putting it so well.
I snowboard, mountain bike and surf and it's the same story there too. Even if you take into account the percentage of the population that are non-white it still doesn't add up.
People will tell you it's down to all sorts of social inequalities but the truth is, people from different ethnic backgrounds have completely different social structures and priorities.

[Mitch9128]

What the builder fella said, and they really see no attraction to 2 wheels. I've seen this thread raised time and again on TRC and singletrackworld. 2 wheels is seen as poor mans travel in some cultures, on the other hand how many black guys have you seen in tricked out beemers?

[Blackandchrome]

Tractor drivin!
Thats the same too.. ::)

[Mitch9128]

Tractor drivin!
Thats the same too.. ::)

Not for long, http://www.aptonline.org/aptweb.nsf/vOtherDocs/Interview-Wilfred+Emmanuel-Jones

[Thorkill_The_Tall]

Kaz and I were talking recently about bikers and what a diverse bunch we seem to be , age, gender , background , jobs etc however there seemed to be one thing missing ... Race, why don't we see many black or asian bikers? I mean look around at our meets at the H&C, or the Polebarn... Even George Whites and Fowlers on a weekend, how many none white bikers do you see? And why do we think this is ?

While there have been guys and girls in our group like the Fijian guy who rides a 'Busa and maybe one other, for such a big group that consider ourselves friendly (more or less ) to anyone and everyone who rides 2 wheels regardless of who they are , where they come from etc etc it seems a bit odd that what is a large part of the British population isn't part of our own community....


Does anyone have any thoughts on this ?


The largest non-British community resisent in the country was always people from the Republic of Ireland. Or are we purely talking colour here? (I'm from Asia, yet I'm whiter than a snowflake on a snowman's arse)
If so, according to the fountain of all knowledge (Wikipedia, he adds with his tounge firmly in cheek) the percentage of 'black' residents of the country is a lowly 2%. (Which I find rather strange, as nearly twenty years ago, whilst on a diversity awareness course, we were told it was 8%)

Anyway, what about disabled people?
'Chinese' people?
People with a lisp?
Why must everything be about colour?

[Beamer]

N.A.B.D. (national association for bikers with a disability) have their own group...and do loads of their own fundraising...
Its a shame it has to be a separate group but in another way its good because it heightens awareness of people with disabilities with bikes and does some fantastic work etc.
Diversity and equality is always spoken about and people do their best but to be honest isnt the aim not to label and segregate??
It would be brilliant if people, no matter what they believe in, what culture they belong to, what 'god' they worship, what football team they support, what bike they ride, etc etc etc etc felt they could be a part of any group, team or whatever without feeling like an outsider and are welcomed for the person they are.......I Know Wiltshire Bikers welcome anyone and everyone without predjudice.... wouldnt it be great if that happened worldwide with everything???
But sadly life isnt like that and there will always be a lack of diversity in the world and wars will still happen 'cos one 'god' is better than another......
sorry went off on a tangent but thats just the way the world is i guess :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/

[Toph]

beautifully and eloquently put Tina....I totally agree with everything you said. x :)

[Thorkill_The_Tall]

N.A.B.D. (national association for bikers with a disability) have their own group...and do loads of their own fundraising...
Its a shame it has to be a separate group but in another way its good because it heightens awareness of people with disabilities with bikes and does some fantastic work etc.
Diversity and equality is always spoken about and people do their best but to be honest isnt the aim not to label and segregate??
It would be brilliant if people, no matter what they believe in, what culture they belong to, what 'god' they worship, what football team they support, what bike they ride, etc etc etc etc felt they could be a part of any group, team or whatever without feeling like an outsider and are welcomed for the person they are.......I Know Wiltshire Bikers welcome anyone and everyone without predjudice.... wouldnt it be great if that happened worldwide with everything???
But sadly life isnt like that and there will always be a lack of diversity in the world and wars will still happen 'cos one 'god' is better than another......
sorry went off on a tangent but thats just the way the world is i guess :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/

Well put!
The road to true tolerance is not achieved through merely ticking boxes.

[wiltshire builders]

BladeTriple was just making an observation, and putting it to the rest of us. That's all.

[Beamer]

Oh I know that WB ...it wasnt meant as a moan, groan or anything like that.... I couldnt agree more with what she said. :) :)

[R1chie]

Err Wiltshire, not really a diverse county is it? Go live in Lahndun and see how many black guys you see on R1's, loads innit.

The answer.

[6T]

it may just be us brits have been riding motocycles for 100years or more,we may have parents grandparents or even great grandparents that rode bikes,in the 50s alot of families got about by motocycle/side car and there was probably more bikes than cars on the road so its deeply ingrained in our culture. it may just be that british citizens from other ethnic cultures just dont have such a long history with the motorcyle so the interest and desire to ride a bike is just not there

[R1chie]

Never visited India then?

[6T]

Never visited India then?
Thats now! i bet it wasnt that busy in 50s when we were driving around in morris oxfords or riding a royal enfield or a lambretta, didnt they take on those designs to provide cheap transport for the masses ?

[Taylor86]

Lets not forget that we have a South African and a Spaniard that are regular attendees of meets and ride-outs... :) Nice to see we can attract members from that far away! lol :D

[BladeTriple]

I'm glad the Beemer and WB can both see it was a question more that we have a large section missing from the biking community and not about lablelling and skin colours. I've got some great mates who are of afro carribean origin partly due to playing army basketball and some from the various units I've worked at. That said the guys I know are over 6ft6 so would look silly cramped on a little sports 1000.

I hope nobody thought it was in anyway being derogatory towards anyones race or skin colour it was a genuine question and observation some people have attempted sensible genuine answers without taking it to heart.


Over in Thailand we saw the school run being done on scooters and yes I guess it is seen as a poor option but thats a 125cc scooter to take a family of 5 on not a powerful 120+ BHP modern motorbike who will do 0-60 in under 3 seconds ..... hardly a poor persons choice , a machine that gets serviced every 4000 miles and 2 tyres cost a fortune to replace and run , we all know how bloody expensive bikes are to run ! :(

Anyway I had no intention of offending anyone in any way shape or form , I was merely making an observation.

[CBRowner]

If it helps, I was born in Hong Kong and have lived abroad for more than half my life??

And I seem to spend most of my time in the Middle East at the moment :D

[wiltshire builders]

I'm glad the Beemer and WB can both see it was a question more that we have a large section missing from the biking community and not about lablelling and skin colours. I've got some great mates who are of afro carribean origin partly due to playing army basketball and some from the various units I've worked at. That said the guys I know are over 6ft6 so would look silly cramped on a little sports 1000.

I hope nobody thought it was in anyway being derogatory towards anyones race or skin colour it was a genuine question and observation some people have attempted sensible genuine answers without taking it to heart.


Over in Thailand we saw the school run being done on scooters and yes I guess it is seen as a poor option but thats a 125cc scooter to take a family of 5 on not a powerful 120+ BHP modern motorbike who will do 0-60 in under 3 seconds ..... hardly a poor persons choice , a machine that gets serviced every 4000 miles and 2 tyres cost a fortune to replace and run , we all know how bloody expensive bikes are to run ! :(

Anyway I had no intention of offending anyone in any way shape or form , I was merely making an observation.
It was a good point, well raised. Sorry it didn't get the desired response and we're all left none the wiser. People of colour do not embrace biking in the same way that white western Europeans do. That is a fact. I've been riding for 22 years and only ever known 1 black biker, this isn't a problem, but like Blade Triple I'm interested to know why.

[Mitch9128]

Perhaps another reason is that 'they' (non-white British) don't have the desire to join clubs, go to meetings etc It's always struck me as a very British thing to do?

[6T]

i think bikes in this country have become more of a social and cultural item to us, we dont see them as just a way of getting from a to b. it is interesting that one of hondas main markets is now in asia (low capacity machines)

[Davey]

I have wondered this in the past - at GW's we sold approx 200 bikes a month and in almost 2 years I can only think of a handful that bought bikes.

[Scotty]

If it helps, I was born in Hong Kong and have lived abroad for more than half my life??

And I seem to spend most of my time in the Middle East at the moment :D
You're missing the point Emlyn, in case you haven't noticed, you's a white boy! ::) ::) ::)

[Nooj]

I know a black guy who rides and I've had a few Asian customers in, they are out there. They are a minority of a minority in this country though, so you won't see many about.

[Morticia]

Or it could be that the weather is so ****. Pretty much every household where I come from owes a bike. Maybe just a moped, but even Nana will use it.

[redken1]

I know I am veering off the subject matter course, but despite the fact that there is approx a 50/50 gender split in the UK population, there is a huge differential in gender ownership of motorcycles. It is beyond my comprehension, but in my view the motorcycle industry has for decades targeted white males. How many blokes did you see wearing thongs, sprawled across the latest metal at last year's bike show? Plenty of sexy women Though!

[BladeTriple]

Ken.... You won't see Kaz and I complaining about the models ;-) we just ignore the skinny bints and look at the bikes ! Dollies never did much for us.... Not athletic enough

[BladeTriple]

Does caked on makeup and Lycra holding in saggy bits with cellulite disguising tights count as sexy these day btw? That's what most of the 'models' at the NEC looked like ::)

[redken1]

I'm not complaining either Lisa, merely an observation. Apologies in advance for being blunt, but I would not allow my penis to influence my choice of motorcycle. Unless the model in question was buying it for me of course. ;D ;D ;D

[redken1]

Does caked on makeup and Lycra holding in saggy bits with cellulite disguising tights count as sexy these day btw? That's what most of the 'models' at the NEC looked like ::)

I suppose it's a case of 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.

[wiltshire builders]

I must admit the bike show models don't do it for me either. I feel sorry for the trade stand girls with their muffin tops who've obviously been told to flash the flesh while working.
I just wanna see some bikes.

[Nooj]

I find models on bikes annoying. Most aren't very attractive and they get in the way. BMW did have the only guy modelling on their concept scooter at Milan last year, together with the nicest looking female model, she was just dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Lycra is nasty.

A lot of the women walking around the Milan show as visitors were better looking than the models, so I'm not sure how the models were picked. I guess the manufacturers tried to get the most painfully thin, bored looking, trout lipped, overly made-up tarts they could find. Better off without them.