akbeemer
SURVIVOR
I think you nailed it. Excellent post.
I think the born or made question is actually quite simple. It becomes a peer group and peer pressure kind of thing. A person buys a bike and might or might not identify with a group of like minded riders. Recently I have read several posts from people saying I have had a BMW for several years and am finally joining the BMW MOA.
"Joiners" enter a peer group and many, over time, adopt the norms for that group. BMW riders most often adopt an ATGATT attitude. Other peer groups have different norms that joiners adopt. Helmet wear when required but take it off at the state line where not required is one such group norm. So are loud pipes. So are leather vests with patches and engineer boots.
Dedicated LD (long distance) rally riders for the most part have adopted norms similar to many BMW riders: not inexpensive textile riding gear, quality helmets, motorcycle riding boots, expensive GPSs, and other similar norms, regardless of the brand of bike they are riding.
Some riders are part of more than one peer group and conform differently depending on which group they are with at that moment.
In many respects it is no different than jocks and nerds in high school. People find and identify with an affinity group and for better or for worse adopt the norms of that group. Guys who are on both the football team and the debate squad are a rare breed.
In the end I am reminded of a letter to the editor of a cruiser style magazine. The letter was written by a BMW rider whose main point was that riders are riders and have many things in common. But he added, "You dress like pirates. We dress like armadillos."
Much truth in the human nature aspect of this analysis, most of us join a group and adopt their behaviors, but it does not address the reality of the consequences of the choices made. Adopting the behaviors of one peer group may mean adopting behaviors that mean greater risks. Riding without a helmet, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, using ape hangers and bar hopping are not just fitting-in choices, they are potentially life altering choices.