I think there is more an element of jealousy for RV than hate around here.
More like an element of RV owners thinks their **** doesn't stink.
Look, here's the deal, and I think it's a perfect analogy:
We (as pilots) are all motorcycle riders and the rest of the world cagers. And it doesn't matter if we are riding a
GS500 (152)
DR350 (170/180/185/205)
Harley/Victory/Indian (SE/FG/FP Cessna, Piper, Beech)
Goldwing (Seneca/Baron)
VMax (Comanche, Mooney, Bonanza)
Canam (Rutan design), or a
GSXR/CBR/ZX/YZF (RV-n)
Some of the cagers look at us and think, that freedom would be nice. Some cagers will look at us no matter what we are riding and want us off the roads, or want them outlawed. And some cagers want us to crash so we never ride again. Now most of the bike riders from each group are going to be pretty good about all the rules of the road and blending in with other bikes and traffic, and never cause any problems.
Now every once in a while you're going to see someone on that beginner bike (the 152) do something stupid, because they are just learning, and mistakes happen, and the rest of us bikers go what an idiot, good thing he's on a 500, he would have been in trouble with anything bigger or faster. But you aren't going to see vast numbers of GS500s weaving in and out of traffic, riding wheelies on the interstate or other shenanigans that make all of us bikers look like morons.
Then you've got the times where all us bikers are stuck in traffic with no where to go, and the DR rider just pulls off the highway, runs through the grass for a while, and avoids the whole mess. The cagers look at them, and think "you lucky bastard" as do the rest of us, and for a bit we think, "man, would be nice to have one of those and avoid all this pavement." And sure once in a while when they can't get off road, they might snake their way through a traffic jam, but they still aren't white-lining at 125mph.
And we've also got the Harley riders. This is what most cagers associate with motorcycles. You tell someone, I've got a bike, and they ask "Is it a Harley?" These are common, and they are seen everywhere. Sometimes you see them in large groups, and sometimes you see them out on the road all by themselves, and yes, they probably account for a good number of accidents because there are so many of them out there. You're not usually going to see them white-lining, cutting in and out of traffic, and if they try the wheelies, they usually end up paying for it with a crash.
Then we got the travelers. The Goldwings. You rarely, if ever, see them in town. They are always out on the road, by themselves, loaded up for a weekend trip, or taking a big trip in comfort and style. You'll never see them weaving in and out of traffic, never white-lining, and never ever trying to lift the front wheel off the ground, or doing a wheel stand. But yep, sometimes you get that guy that has too much money, not enough brains or experience, gets in way over his head, and ends up with 1000lbs of metal on top of him. You'll see that with all the bikes, but usually problem with this group, is too much money, not enough discipline, not because they were showing off.
Then we've got the straight line screamer. The VMax. Oh, it goes fast, and once in a while you will see one haulin' ass on the highway. But they aren't made to weave, and dart, are a bit too big to squeeze between the two semi trucks, and a bit too heavy to really get into close quarters with the rest of the cagers. They can go fast, well, and most riders know that's the limits. They go fast in straight lines, and if you want them to turn or slow down, they're gonna need some room to do it. So for the most part, they stick to themselves, and get out of the way, but yeah, once in a while, some dumbass tries doing something the bike shouldn't do on purpose, and wrecks it.
And we see the Canams around and think, "WTF is that weird looking thing?" That might be fun to ride once, but that's not a real bike, everything is just pure backwards about it. You never see them do anything crazy, because they are already afraid the thing is going to just do it's own thing anyway.
Then of course we have the crotch rockets. And yes, I own one. Most people that ride them take off fast from lights to get out of the way of the cagers. They accelerate quick, they stop quick, they turn on a dime. They are light, they are nimble, they are capable of just about anything, and in the wrong hands they are a lot of trouble. You can race them on the track with some modifications, and they are a blast to ride. You will see about an equal number of them solo as you will in groups of five or six. Most of the crotch-rocketeers are just trying to stay out of the way of the cars and trucks, and yeah, it might look unsafe to someone that doesn't ride one, but it's generall operated within the envelope of the bike, and the rider. But this group of bikes has a higher percentage of riders performing stupid bike tricks than any other group. They do wheel stands, they white-line at 100+ mph, they ride on one wheel on the interstate, they race each other on the highway, in neighborhoods, and on busy city streets. And the idiots that are riding this way see absolutely nothing wrong with what they are doing. Even though quite a few know for a fact what they do ****es off the drivers and the other riders because it gives not only the crotch-rocketeers a bad name, it gives ALL the bikers a bad name. They can be ridden in a completely normal manner, but they aren't by this subset. Quite a few of the rocketeers, ever if they don't perform the tricks themselves will say, "well that's what the bike is made to do, if you don't like it and you see one, stay out of the way." Most of us in this group shake our heads, and say, "there isn't a lot we can do, they aren't going to listen anyway, we can just hope they only kill themselves and no one else when they do it." A few of us try to change them, but it's a lost cause.
But the biggest problem with the rocketeers, is not that the majority of them are bad riders, or discourteous riders, but they have a disproportionate amount of wannabes in their group. They treat the public roads like a race track, and to hell with the consequences, or if they cause problems for anyone else.
In between...
