Touring bikes have got to be the ugliest motorcycles on the road...

[Mr. T]

The funny thing is there are some people that ride these things act like they're a big deal and then I see their bike and I'm like "Serious???".  One guy in the group I used to ride with is sitting there going on and on about his bike and I aske what he rides and he informs me it's a V-Strom. I look at him puzzled and he was surprised I didn't know what it was.  So he shows me. YUCK!!!   They may perform well. They may be durable, but they certainly aren't something I want to show off.  It's just a bike covered in plastic as far as I'm concerned.

First of all, this is a dumb post! Let's keep the bike bashing to HD's. Not all bikes were made to show off. If you've ever gone off-road on a camping trip or traveled for long periods of time, you would have enjoyed being on these bikes regardless of how they look. The metal boxes hold a lot and are waterproof.

Ares X... like everyone else on this forum is entitled to his opinion and free to voice it on this forum. 

Attacking the person with the opinion will not  be tolerated.  

One of my best friends own's a bike like this... took it to Maggie Valley last year with me.  We did an Iron Butt ride home.... 1000+ miles in 16 hours.   By the time we got home... he was in much worse shape (butt sore, body achy) than I was... and he's 12 years younger than I am.

[ROADKILL]

The funny thing is there are some people that ride these things act like they're a big deal and then I see their bike and I'm like "Serious???".  One guy in the group I used to ride with is sitting there going on and on about his bike and I aske what he rides and he informs me it's a V-Strom. I look at him puzzled and he was surprised I didn't know what it was.  So he shows me. YUCK!!!   They may perform well. They may be durable, but they certainly aren't something I want to show off.  It's just a bike covered in plastic as far as I'm concerned.

First of all, this is a dumb post! Let's keep the bike bashing to HD's. Not all bikes were made to show off. If you've ever gone off-road on a camping trip or traveled for long periods of time, you would have enjoyed being on these bikes regardless of how they look. The metal boxes hold a lot and are waterproof.

Ares X... like everyone else on this forum is entitled to his opinion and free to voice it on this forum. 

Attacking the person with the opinion will not  be tolerated.  

One of my best friends own's a bike like this... took it to Maggie Valley last year with me.  We did an Iron Butt ride home.... 1000+ miles in 16 hours.   By the time we got home... he was in much worse shape (butt sore, body achy) than I was... and he's 12 years younger than I am.

Wow your buddy looked pretty good for being 78.....

[Ares X]

Not all touring bikes are ugly I just bought a 2000 Royal Star Venture MM

I'm not including those types of bikes.  I think the Venture can be a sharp looking bike.  It's not my style, but still nice looking. 

I was focusing on the sport tourer style bike.

[Ares X]

GaGator- Sorry if I ruffled your feathers.  This was not intent to make anyone mad.  Just stating something I felt. This morning I was riding next to one of these with the big, boxy saddlebags and on top of it he added some bad looking reflective tape that made it even worse.

I never once bashed them being functional, fun or a decent bike.  This was all based on aesthetics.

[luvmy68]

I'm gonna weigh in on Ares X side on this one...hate those square aluminum saddlebags.  As for the various m/c used in argument, obviously those guys are making a different kind of statement with their rides.  IMO, don't like them but to each their own.  Some m/c I've seen look like a homeless guy's shopping cart but when I talk with them, usually it was about adding something significant from each memorable ride - doesn't take long to run out of room to display it on a m/c.  Me personally, Ruby's gonna stay clean looking but y'all do whatever ya want to with your scoots, just don't have stuff flying off while you're cruising down the road.

[chalomalo]

Yeah, I wouldn't put side saddle bags on my Raider, they totally kill the side profile lines. This bike is all about angles, I love those rear fender brackets.

I can't remember where I either read or watched a video that this bike has a black art touch? For that matter, I really dig the triangular headlight set from the Victory bike. It really enhances that cross bar on the forks. Maybe a T bag and only when riding long distance purposes like the the rally in Wyoming.

[Bill L]

Hey, the guy's riding. That's all that matters. Gator, did yountake the picture? There are a bunch of Raiders in the background.

I think it's great that he is riding and I could care less what anyone rides, even an HD.  If it's got two wheels fill it up, point it in any direction and ride to your hearts content.  I just don't understand letting it get as dirty as those are in the pics.

[michael t]

6 friends of mine  4 in their  60's and 3 early 70's  took their dual purpose bikes with  ammo cans and all. From Central ky  across Canada. In to Ak   and far up as they could go in AK .   They were gone over 6 wks  camped out most of the trip . No break downs and only the 1000cc bike needed a rear tire and that bought   about 700 miles from Ky on return . The 650cc went up and back on same tires.  Their talking about doing it again next spring  .

[gostr8r]

This is those that don’t understand Smitty’s rat bike mentality. Despite his country accent and attire he is very wise, practical and humble man, that lives off the land that he and all his brothers and sisters were born on. He has other things he would rather do than clean, polish or repaint any of his 2 dozen antique bikes. He feels that the road grime, oil leaks, and visible make shift repairs tell a story without words on the bikes behalf. I’ve seen at least 20 of his dinosaurs and he is truly into leaving them like they are at the end of the day as long as they run, and they do run. I’ve ridden many miles with him on his vintage machines and seen his passion to ride, not to shine. He rode round trip to Fairbanks Alaska from south east Kentucky, which is more than 98% of the so called bikers that I know have done. I can speak about what I know of him because our friendship goes back more than 30 years. I have never met a kinder, more gentle spoken and honest man in my life either. I am honored to know him!

[CBird]

The funny thing is there are some people that ride these things act like they're a big deal and then I see their bike and I'm like "Serious???".  One guy in the group I used to ride with is sitting there going on and on about his bike and I aske what he rides and he informs me it's a V-Strom. I look at him puzzled and he was surprised I didn't know what it was.  So he shows me. YUCK!!!   They may perform well. They may be durable, but they certainly aren't something I want to show off.  It's just a bike covered in plastic as far as I'm concerned.

First of all, this is a dumb post! Let's keep the bike bashing to HD's. Not all bikes were made to show off. If you've ever gone off-road on a camping trip or traveled for long periods of time, you would have enjoyed being on these bikes regardless of how they look. The metal boxes hold a lot and are waterproof.

To each their own. Our breed of biker likes a motorcycle that is functional, fast (sometimes) and eye-catching that we can continue to modify to our personality. The ADV riders care more about what kind of machine can get them where they want to go with the least amount of trouble and the maximum amount of fun. While I do find dirt bikes and dual sport bikes fun, I wouldn't spend any time at all trying to make them look good. Those kinds of machines are all about the FUNction. It's just a different mindset.
GaGator, I don't think Ares is bashing the bikes necessarily. Just voicing an opinion based on visual preference. And I agree the aluminum panniers are completely ugly, but you sure can cram a lot into them and they're very durable.

And it's not nice to call someone's post dumb. 

The above says it all, these guys build there bikes for function, not looks.

[Ares X]

As far as the two bikes posted up... They are definitely not for me. Zero appeal, but if the guys that own them love them and ride them, then my opinion doesn't matter.  Besides those bikes had nothing to do with the topic I brought up in the first place anyway.

[GaGator]

Nothing wrong with a little controversy on this forum. Someone needs to stir things up, it can make for interesting reading. But I guess we've become too PC. So I'll make my last comments on this topic.
Mr T: I was not attacking the poster just the post with my opinion. I did retract my "dumb" comment (in my own way).
Ares: You did not ruffle my feathers. When I ride on long trips, I have reflective tape on my bag covers. I want people to see me and could care less how it looks.
Ghost: I met Smitty a couple of years ago and he stayed with me - great guy. Once I brought his name up, I figured you would chime in and give a better description of him.
Michael T: that's what I was referring to about these bikes.

I don't think there is a moral to the story. It just looked like this post was going to go the usual route of putting others choice of bikes down for how they looked, how much they cost, what color is faster, etc... It gets boring after awhile so I hope I don't get a time out for my comments.

[Ares X]

GaGator- No hard feelings here.   You're welcome to your feelings as much as I am.

[Mr. T]

Nothing wrong with a little controversy on this forum. Someone needs to stir things up, it can make for interesting reading. But I guess we've become too PC. So I'll make my last comments on this topic.
Mr T: I was not attacking the poster just the post with my opinion. I did retract my "dumb" comment (in my own way).
Ares: You did not ruffle my feathers. When I ride on long trips, I have reflective tape on my bag covers. I want people to see me and could care less how it looks.
Ghost: I met Smitty a couple of years ago and he stayed with me - great guy. Once I brought his name up, I figured you would chime in and give a better description of him.
Michael T: that's what I was referring to about these bikes.

I don't think there is a moral to the story. It just looked like this post was going to go the usual route of putting others choice of bikes down for how they looked, how much they cost, what color is faster, etc... It gets boring after awhile so I hope I don't get a time out for my comments.

I didn't accuse you of attacking the poster... or at least that was not my intention.... that piece wasn't highlight in your post.

That was said to all - as a reminder.  I guess it wasn't that clear... sorry.

[biker42lue]

This is those that don’t understand Smitty’s rat bike mentality. Despite his country accent and attire he is very wise, practical and humble man, that lives off the land that he and all his brothers and sisters were born on. He has other things he would rather do than clean, polish or repaint any of his 2 dozen antique bikes. He feels that the road grime, oil leaks, and visible make shift repairs tell a story without words on the bikes behalf. I’ve seen at least 20 of his dinosaurs and he is truly into leaving them like they are at the end of the day as long as they run, and they do run. I’ve ridden many miles with him on his vintage machines and seen his passion to ride, not to shine. He rode round trip to Fairbanks Alaska from south east Kentucky, which is more than 98% of the so called bikers that I know have done. I can speak about what I know of him because our friendship goes back more than 30 years. I have never met a kinder, more gentle spoken and honest man in my life either. I am honored to know him!

As an art appreciator and artist myself, I see Smitty's bikes as functional masterpieces. There's a type of art referred to as "process art" which is created over a long period of time using the elements, happy accidents or even intentional wear. Some of these pieces have no overall strategy, other than creating something over time to show the artistic nature of the process. That's what I've always seen when I see Smitty's "junk bikes." They're works of art that tell a story, like you said Ray. And they really have nothing to do with Ares' statements of opinion, which has been pointed out already.

But it does further prove what has already been said here: every type of motorcycle has it's own purpose, and each rider has their own preferences and expectations of those bikes.

and aluminum panniers are ugly.