A guy a work has a thirty year old Harley with a handicap tag. It does raise the question of what kind of handicap would qualify for a tag yet not prevent the biker from riding. My wife and I have both seen huge SUV’s in handicap spaces. We both had the same thought — how does someone who’s handicapped enough to need a tag can possible get into those suckers?
bassetsaid on November 12th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
You’d be surprised. I spent one whole summer wearing an immobilizer after knee surgery – essentially a big plastic and velcro splint from hip to ankle. We had a manual-shift Honda Civic and a manual-shift Jeep Cherokee, and I managed to get around in both of them.
And how could you be handicapped and still ride a Harley? Something that would keep you from walking any distance would work; why don’t you ask him?
Julie Robinsonsaid on November 12th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Not to defend handicap tag scofflaws; but among my physical problems is a crummy left knee. Stepping up to a van is much easier than twisting in and out of a car.
Dextersaid on November 12th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I used to work with a man who had chopped the tip of a finger off in a machine. He had gotten his doc to write up the handicapped plate. It was legit by law but gee, was it worth all the loogies on the windshield every day?
alexsaid on November 12th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I work for insurance companies that sic surveillance on people like that. This guy probably already got his disability settlement, though. Bet he’s got a nice place on the lake to go windsurfing every day, monogrammed crystal pitchers full of cocktails at twilight on a magnificent deck with polished granite islands, drugs on demand from the best pain management M.D.s in town, and all the time in the world to enjoy it.
Meanwhile, the poor fucker with a legitimate disabling disease who hasn’t been out of bed for the last ten years has been denied his umpteenth Social Security disability appeal.
calibansaid on November 12th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I’ve got a ’67 Triumph. There is a great motorcycle song. I’ll be damned, and Brit bikes leak oil, but I’m going to get a Vincent. If you’re riding a Harley, you’re a moron.
Thing is, that sort of disability just makes you a Republican, not a justified handicapped parker.
LA Marysaid on November 12th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
We regularly have doctors here in LA busted for essentially selling handicapped plates. It is pretty striking how often the cars in the handicapped spots seem to be the most expensive wheels on the lot, by far. One time the kids and I pulled up in front of Souplantation next to a BMW convertible full of people who were not more than 25, all wearing tennis clothes.
Dextersaid on November 13th, 2008 at 12:01 am
calibansaid on November 13th, 2008 at 1:01 am
I hate to say this, because parking in a handicapped spot when you aren’t is something I consider deserving of a whole circle in hell, but you can ride a motorcycle with a full leg prosthesis.
Mostly, mildly fat Republican people feeling entitled that claim glandular disorders do this sort of thing, and they’re usually driving Beamers. Slap a bumper sicker in the middle of their windshield.
Meanwhile, nutcases buying guns worries me more. Actually, anybody buying guns worries me.
Please take a look at this. I know Ron Paul wouldn’t condone this, but this asshole was a campaign adviser. If anybody doubts Barack is a potential target of whack-jobs, think again.
Dave K.said on November 13th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Caliban, I’m sure you have lots of fun on your Triumph, and Vincents are cool. I am riding my THIRD Harley Davidson, a 2008 FLSTC. She, (and I), survived a collision with a 200 lb. white-tail buck recently. We didn’t go down and now I have a new chrome front end for my trouble. My son-in-law just bought my 1998 Dyna-Glide, and my first was a 1970 FLH Electra-Glide. I wish I still had her, but impaired judgement and several (many) drug-related incidents took care of that. I was able to ride that Hog after knee surgery and wearing an immobilizer, but only due to an emergency. I had run out of beer and did not have a car! Life’s a lot better, for me, clean and sober.
By the way, I really don’t care if you think I’m a moron. “Live to Ride, Ride to Live”.
Dave K,
I bet caliban really has a honda 90, red with white faring.
just got back from Beuford S.C.. Yesterday was Auburn to Farmington N.C. Then Brigport Conn then home in the King Air and today was Dupage Ill to Auburn to Cinncy to Auburn in the King air, then Logandsport to Beuford to Auburn in the 310 18hr of flying in 2-days.
What retirement???
Joe K
calibansaid on November 13th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Nope. Triumph Bonneville 650, seeping oil. And, damn it’s fast, but it skids in the eighties and the rain, and I have to admit its starting to feel heavy. I don’t like to think I might have to consider something befitting older age. I could not abide a Honda, but Yamahas seem like good bike for back country and the beach. Used to have an Indian with a sidecar. Some dumbass GA State trooper made me parallel park it to get a sickle license.
And I can imagine your plastic pocket protector and your recreational vehicle, Joe. You know, you don’t know me from Adam. It’s the internets and they lead us to lies and recriminations. There is no such thing as Beuford, bud. That’s Beaufort. It’s one incredibly beautiful ante-bellum town lost in time 3.5 miles from here by kayak. Next to Parris Island, where they train marines and FBI agents. We invade regularly by swimming Port Royal Sound, three or four times a year. I could do it in two hours, but my companion slows to observe fauna, and she draws me into the fantasia. Excuse me. But rutting dolphins, that’s inspiring when you’re almost naked in the first place.
I rode a Honda 50 once. When I was a kid, in the Bahamas. Serious juice. I hit something on the beach and the front wheel went off toward the ocean. The fork buried in the sand. I’ve got scars. I wouldn’t get on a Honda if somebody in a James Bond movie held a gun to my head.
Good luck in Brigport, Joe, in whatever altered state that might reside. Dave K. If I ever said you were a moron, I apologize, abjectly. Mostly, these days, I scare the shit out of myself on the bike, to tell the truth. I scare the shit out of myself crossing the street on my bicycle. And I think about mortality. Odds are seriously good I shouldn’t be alive at this point. Always makes me think of my hero, Ray Davies. No matter how hard I try it seems I’m too young to die. Life goes on.
And if anybody listened to that Richard Thompson song about the Vincent Black Lightning and doesn’t want one, well, you’ve never ridden a motorcycle and you probably think Shane McGowan’s just a sot..
And, Dave, you hit a deer and lived to tell? Holy crap. I hit a deer driving a ’69 Cougar that had to weigh 4000 lbs. and barely made it out alive.
bebsaid on November 13th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Julie Robinson on November 12th, 2008 at 9:24 pm wrote: Not to defend handicap tag scofflaws; but among my physical problems is a crummy left knee. Stepping up to a van is much easier than twisting in and out of a car.
When I wrote “huge SUVs” above, I meant the likes of Expeditions where you need a two or three step ladder to get into the cab. Minivans are a delight because they are so ease to get in and out of.
And Caliban wrote: And, Dave, you hit a deer and lived to tell? Holy crap. I hit a deer driving a ‘69 Cougar that had to weigh 4000 lbs. and barely made it out alive.
Odds are it was the ’69 Cougar trying to kill you than the deer. The bike probably deflected off the deer instead of coming to an abrupt stop, allowing Dave and his bike to tumble to a slower stop.
Caliban, Dave: I don’t even drive at night anymore, especially in southside Virginia, where the secondary roads look like the old native tracks in Britain, and they aren’t marked with dividers.
When we had a television, we were always seeing reports of deer-truck collisions where the deer had blown through the cab entirely, and taken the occupants with it.
A 4000 lb. ’69 Cougar? You need sideburns and a mustache to drive that.
Timing is everything. Driving down to DC Friday night on I-95, we followed a motorcycle (I don’t know what kind) with a handicapped tag and my husband and I had the whole “how handicapped are you if you can drive a motorcycle, but need a tag to park in the front row at the grocery store” conversation.
Later, we followed another motorcycle, although I use the term loosely. It looked like a three-wheeler ATV, but instead of 1 wheel in the front and 2 in the back (which I seem to see a lot more of these days), it was flipped around with 2 wheels in the front and 1 in the back. Very strange looking!
I talked to the local Harley dealer who said an “older gentleman” he knows bought one but traded it soon after. Very different handling with no leaning, and it wasn’t much fun to ride with others because the width takes up a full lane. This one is manufactured by Bombardier, who also produces Sea-Doo jet skis, Ski-Doo snowmobiles, and Evinrude and Johnson marine motors. Harley has a factory 3-wheeler for 2009. Local guy has sold the only two he had and is waiting on a third, already sold.
MichaelGsaid on November 13th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Was in Hollywood yesterday. There’s room for another star on the sidewalk. I’ll watch the movie when I get home this evening. Who are all these people at the airport talking to on their cell phones at 5:30 in the morning?
There’s a guy who parks one of those Bombardier Can-Am trikes next to me at work. I guess it would make a pretty decent commuter although I prefer four wheels and a roof. To handle properly a trike needs to have the two wheels in the front and the single in the back. A trike with the single wheel in front is a death trap.
Yes, it looked like that, but not nearly as nice! The wheels were more open, like on an ATV. WIth Harley coming out with one, I guess we can expect to see a lot more of this style.
crinoidgirlsaid on November 13th, 2008 at 10:58 am
“I hit a deer driving a ‘69 Cougar that had to weigh 4000 lbs.”
Been a while since I saw a deer driving…
Halloween Jacksaid on November 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I think that the whole bogus handicapped-plate thing is a matter of local culture and government. I saw a ton of people in Memphis who had handicapped plates, and even more with “temporary” rear-view mirror handicapped hang-tags, whose only disability seemed to be that they were old enough to be in AARP. Up here in Peoria, not so much.
(Order your Amazon through me and I earn 4 percent. Click the “powered by Amazon” logo.)
Dave K. said on November 12th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Maybe it belongs to Dr. House.
beb said on November 12th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
A guy a work has a thirty year old Harley with a handicap tag. It does raise the question of what kind of handicap would qualify for a tag yet not prevent the biker from riding. My wife and I have both seen huge SUV’s in handicap spaces. We both had the same thought — how does someone who’s handicapped enough to need a tag can possible get into those suckers?
basset said on November 12th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
You’d be surprised. I spent one whole summer wearing an immobilizer after knee surgery – essentially a big plastic and velcro splint from hip to ankle. We had a manual-shift Honda Civic and a manual-shift Jeep Cherokee, and I managed to get around in both of them.
And how could you be handicapped and still ride a Harley? Something that would keep you from walking any distance would work; why don’t you ask him?
Julie Robinson said on November 12th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Not to defend handicap tag scofflaws; but among my physical problems is a crummy left knee. Stepping up to a van is much easier than twisting in and out of a car.
Dexter said on November 12th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I used to work with a man who had chopped the tip of a finger off in a machine. He had gotten his doc to write up the handicapped plate. It was legit by law but gee, was it worth all the loogies on the windshield every day?
alex said on November 12th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I work for insurance companies that sic surveillance on people like that. This guy probably already got his disability settlement, though. Bet he’s got a nice place on the lake to go windsurfing every day, monogrammed crystal pitchers full of cocktails at twilight on a magnificent deck with polished granite islands, drugs on demand from the best pain management M.D.s in town, and all the time in the world to enjoy it.
Meanwhile, the poor fucker with a legitimate disabling disease who hasn’t been out of bed for the last ten years has been denied his umpteenth Social Security disability appeal.
caliban said on November 12th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I’ve got a ’67 Triumph. There is a great motorcycle song. I’ll be damned, and Brit bikes leak oil, but I’m going to get a Vincent. If you’re riding a Harley, you’re a moron.
Thing is, that sort of disability just makes you a Republican, not a justified handicapped parker.
LA Mary said on November 12th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
We regularly have doctors here in LA busted for essentially selling handicapped plates. It is pretty striking how often the cars in the handicapped spots seem to be the most expensive wheels on the lot, by far. One time the kids and I pulled up in front of Souplantation next to a BMW convertible full of people who were not more than 25, all wearing tennis clothes.
Dexter said on November 13th, 2008 at 12:01 am
caliban said on November 13th, 2008 at 1:01 am
I hate to say this, because parking in a handicapped spot when you aren’t is something I consider deserving of a whole circle in hell, but you can ride a motorcycle with a full leg prosthesis.
Mostly, mildly fat Republican people feeling entitled that claim glandular disorders do this sort of thing, and they’re usually driving Beamers. Slap a bumper sicker in the middle of their windshield.
Meanwhile, nutcases buying guns worries me more. Actually, anybody buying guns worries me.
Please take a look at this. I know Ron Paul wouldn’t condone this, but this asshole was a campaign adviser. If anybody doubts Barack is a potential target of whack-jobs, think again.
Dave K. said on November 13th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Caliban, I’m sure you have lots of fun on your Triumph, and Vincents are cool. I am riding my THIRD Harley Davidson, a 2008 FLSTC. She, (and I), survived a collision with a 200 lb. white-tail buck recently. We didn’t go down and now I have a new chrome front end for my trouble. My son-in-law just bought my 1998 Dyna-Glide, and my first was a 1970 FLH Electra-Glide. I wish I still had her, but impaired judgement and several (many) drug-related incidents took care of that. I was able to ride that Hog after knee surgery and wearing an immobilizer, but only due to an emergency. I had run out of beer and did not have a car! Life’s a lot better, for me, clean and sober.
By the way, I really don’t care if you think I’m a moron. “Live to Ride, Ride to Live”.
Dexter said on November 13th, 2008 at 1:42 am
Proof
http://www.mtb-amputee.com/images/Sean%20Mizlo100_0585.jpg
Joe Kobiela said on November 13th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Dave K,
I bet caliban really has a honda 90, red with white faring.
just got back from Beuford S.C.. Yesterday was Auburn to Farmington N.C. Then Brigport Conn then home in the King Air and today was Dupage Ill to Auburn to Cinncy to Auburn in the King air, then Logandsport to Beuford to Auburn in the 310 18hr of flying in 2-days.
What retirement???
Joe K
caliban said on November 13th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Nope. Triumph Bonneville 650, seeping oil. And, damn it’s fast, but it skids in the eighties and the rain, and I have to admit its starting to feel heavy. I don’t like to think I might have to consider something befitting older age. I could not abide a Honda, but Yamahas seem like good bike for back country and the beach. Used to have an Indian with a sidecar. Some dumbass GA State trooper made me parallel park it to get a sickle license.
And I can imagine your plastic pocket protector and your recreational vehicle, Joe. You know, you don’t know me from Adam. It’s the internets and they lead us to lies and recriminations. There is no such thing as Beuford, bud. That’s Beaufort. It’s one incredibly beautiful ante-bellum town lost in time 3.5 miles from here by kayak. Next to Parris Island, where they train marines and FBI agents. We invade regularly by swimming Port Royal Sound, three or four times a year. I could do it in two hours, but my companion slows to observe fauna, and she draws me into the fantasia. Excuse me. But rutting dolphins, that’s inspiring when you’re almost naked in the first place.
I rode a Honda 50 once. When I was a kid, in the Bahamas. Serious juice. I hit something on the beach and the front wheel went off toward the ocean. The fork buried in the sand. I’ve got scars. I wouldn’t get on a Honda if somebody in a James Bond movie held a gun to my head.
Good luck in Brigport, Joe, in whatever altered state that might reside. Dave K. If I ever said you were a moron, I apologize, abjectly. Mostly, these days, I scare the shit out of myself on the bike, to tell the truth. I scare the shit out of myself crossing the street on my bicycle. And I think about mortality. Odds are seriously good I shouldn’t be alive at this point. Always makes me think of my hero, Ray Davies. No matter how hard I try it seems I’m too young to die. Life goes on.
And if anybody listened to that Richard Thompson song about the Vincent Black Lightning and doesn’t want one, well, you’ve never ridden a motorcycle and you probably think Shane McGowan’s just a sot..
And, Dave, you hit a deer and lived to tell? Holy crap. I hit a deer driving a ’69 Cougar that had to weigh 4000 lbs. and barely made it out alive.
beb said on November 13th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Julie Robinson on November 12th, 2008 at 9:24 pm wrote:
Not to defend handicap tag scofflaws; but among my physical problems is a crummy left knee. Stepping up to a van is much easier than twisting in and out of a car.
When I wrote “huge SUVs” above, I meant the likes of Expeditions where you need a two or three step ladder to get into the cab. Minivans are a delight because they are so ease to get in and out of.
And Caliban wrote:
And, Dave, you hit a deer and lived to tell? Holy crap. I hit a deer driving a ‘69 Cougar that had to weigh 4000 lbs. and barely made it out alive.
Odds are it was the ’69 Cougar trying to kill you than the deer. The bike probably deflected off the deer instead of coming to an abrupt stop, allowing Dave and his bike to tumble to a slower stop.
coozledad said on November 13th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Caliban, Dave: I don’t even drive at night anymore, especially in southside Virginia, where the secondary roads look like the old native tracks in Britain, and they aren’t marked with dividers.
When we had a television, we were always seeing reports of deer-truck collisions where the deer had blown through the cab entirely, and taken the occupants with it.
A 4000 lb. ’69 Cougar? You need sideburns and a mustache to drive that.
Andrea said on November 13th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Timing is everything. Driving down to DC Friday night on I-95, we followed a motorcycle (I don’t know what kind) with a handicapped tag and my husband and I had the whole “how handicapped are you if you can drive a motorcycle, but need a tag to park in the front row at the grocery store” conversation.
Later, we followed another motorcycle, although I use the term loosely. It looked like a three-wheeler ATV, but instead of 1 wheel in the front and 2 in the back (which I seem to see a lot more of these days), it was flipped around with 2 wheels in the front and 1 in the back. Very strange looking!
Dave K. said on November 13th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Andrea, did it look like this?
http://www.gizmag.com/go/6823/picture/31402/
I talked to the local Harley dealer who said an “older gentleman” he knows bought one but traded it soon after. Very different handling with no leaning, and it wasn’t much fun to ride with others because the width takes up a full lane. This one is manufactured by Bombardier, who also produces Sea-Doo jet skis, Ski-Doo snowmobiles, and Evinrude and Johnson marine motors. Harley has a factory 3-wheeler for 2009. Local guy has sold the only two he had and is waiting on a third, already sold.
MichaelG said on November 13th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Was in Hollywood yesterday. There’s room for another star on the sidewalk. I’ll watch the movie when I get home this evening. Who are all these people at the airport talking to on their cell phones at 5:30 in the morning?
There’s a guy who parks one of those Bombardier Can-Am trikes next to me at work. I guess it would make a pretty decent commuter although I prefer four wheels and a roof. To handle properly a trike needs to have the two wheels in the front and the single in the back. A trike with the single wheel in front is a death trap.
Andrea said on November 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Dave K,
Yes, it looked like that, but not nearly as nice! The wheels were more open, like on an ATV. WIth Harley coming out with one, I guess we can expect to see a lot more of this style.
crinoidgirl said on November 13th, 2008 at 10:58 am
“I hit a deer driving a ‘69 Cougar that had to weigh 4000 lbs.”
Been a while since I saw a deer driving…
Halloween Jack said on November 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I think that the whole bogus handicapped-plate thing is a matter of local culture and government. I saw a ton of people in Memphis who had handicapped plates, and even more with “temporary” rear-view mirror handicapped hang-tags, whose only disability seemed to be that they were old enough to be in AARP. Up here in Peoria, not so much.