On the other side of the coin, I can't think of too many young guys (and even some gals) on sport bikes that AREN'T doing all the things this guy's bitching about. It ain't no 1%, either. Time for a reality check. I don't care how much of an old man I sound about this, we need to take a good look in the mirror.
At the recent Motorcycle Expo, I saw a multitude of stands selling videos that glamorize all this kind of dangerous behaviour on public roads, and all these video guys were looking for "new footage" and were willing to pay anyone that could supply them with it, perpectuating and expanding the problem further and further.
It's becoming quite an alarming trend with groups like this pushing all the right testosterone and ego buttons on young guys (and even gals) to go and do this kind of stuff on public roads. They're PAYING them to do so. So no matter what happens to these kids, they're not legally held accountable for it.
Of course, you can always point the finger at the kids that are doing it, and yes, they do need to be held responsible for their actions, but it's way too easy for people like this to corrupt a young mind into doing these kind of things, for their own financial gains. Let's face, young kids simply don't know better. These videos guys aren't working in a vacuum, either.
Remember, these people are promoting these videos at the premiere motorcycle show in this country (and possibly the world). Which means the bike manufacturers are indirectly helping to promote this behaviour (regardless of all the disclaimers you see on their product ads) because they know it allows them to sell their bikes to these kids. I've also seen these videos at EVERY motorcycle dealer I've been to.
So the problem doesn't really lie with guys like this newspaper editor making soapbox rants about this issue, it's the motorcycle industry (and these video publishers are a subset of that industry) and the riders that's at the core of this problem. The motorcycle industry could care less what happens to not only these kids, but any innocent bystanders in unfortunate mishaps that occur as a result of such actions, because there's big money to be made. The motorcycle industry has even gone out of their way in recent years to weaken MSF motorcycle training to make it easier for people who shouldn't be riding bikes in the first place to be handed a "license to self-distruct".
So while this guy is obviously out of line in his rant, he's not the problem here. As much as he needs to be put in check for some of his comments, the motorcycle industry, and the kids who ride these bikes in this manner need to be put in check, and more importantly held accountable, for their actions.
Unfortunately I don't see this happening anytime soon. I don't know what the numbers are, but the sport bike industry is probably the largest, or one of the largest sectors of the motorcycle industry. I'm sure it's going to keep growing too. So you're going to be seeing a lot more of that "1%" on the road. You can also expect to see more and more rants like that editor's, and sooner or later, you're going to see restrictions placed on our riding freedom. Who are you going to blame then, that editor?
