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Etymology: Sportbikes="streetbikes"

Gabe

Gabe

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I've noticed in the last year or two that riders--especially those new to the sport--call sportbikes "streetbikes." Anybody else notice this and has any ideas how the meaning merged from any street-legal motorcycle to what used to be called a "sportbike"? Example (a guy was asking about my moto-school and told me this):

"I've always wanted to ride a streetbike, but I thought I might kill myself on one of those, so I bought a Harley instead."

Or (from a BARF ad for GSXR) "Got this bike in a trade and I am just not into street bikes anymore after being on a standard."

What's up with this? Anybody else notice this happening?
 
Because street-anything comes with more street cred than sport-anything.

Like, "Yo, I got maaad street-skillz, yo!"
As opposed to, "Kind sir, may I show you my sport skills, sir?"
 
Because most "sport" bike owners only street them over to their nearest Starbucks for a Venti Vanilla Latte.
 
I had the opposite experience a couple times. People referring to cruisers as "streetbike". I bought a gixxer from a guy who was going to get a Harley. He said he is selling the gsxr to get a "streetbike". The mechanic at a new shop that opened here called his Yamaha vstar a street-bike. I was selling a ninja 250 and was there with the buyer who was getting it inspected there. The mechanic told him the ninja is good bike to learn and practice before he got a streetbike like the vstar
 
RickM said:
I had the opposite experience a couple times. People referring to cruisers as "streetbike". I bought a gixxer from a guy who was going to get a Harley. He said he is selling the gsxr to get a "streetbike". The mechanic at a new shop that opened here called his Yamaha vstar a street-bike. I was selling a ninja 250 and was there with the buyer who was getting it inspected there. The mechanic told him the ninja is good bike to learn and practice before he got a streetbike like the vstar
Click to expand...

Now my head is spinning!
 
They're the same, but different. Like Tina and Ike. Differentially similar in all respects. Like cocaine and waffles. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not sure.
 
Streetbikes (ok, just my opinion, but not without good reason) are a very wide category which encompasses several more specific classes.




If it was intended to be used primarily on paved public roads, it's a streetbike.

Obviously, there are grey areas. Sportbikes are really designed for the track, but 90% of them are used exclusively on public roads, so technically, we should include them in the greater set we call streetbikes. Same applies to dual sport, etc. etc.
 
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This phenomena has been going on for much longer than 2 years. I've been passive-aggressively correcting people since I started riding in 2002.

"Oh, you have a streetbike?"
"Well, I have several motorcycles, including a sportbike, a dirtbike, and a supermoto."
"WTF is a supermoto?"
"It's like a dirtbike, but with streetbike tires. :laughing"
":wtf"
 
I used to hate the term streetbike. It just sounds like someone who doesn't have any idea what they are talking about trying to sound cool.

But....then I started using the term to distinguish between my motorcycles that are legal for and ridden on the road as opposed to those for off road or race track use.

It doesn't have anything to do with the type of motorcycle, to me. It's simply a descriptive term in front of "bike" indicating it's intended use. e.g. street bike vs track bike vs dirt bike.
 
:thumbup:thumbup
thedub said:
I used to hate the term streetbike. It just sounds like someone who doesn't have any idea what they are talking about trying to sound cool.

But....then I started using the term to distinguish between my motorcycles that are legal for and ridden on the road as opposed to those for off road or race track use.

It doesn't have anything to do with the type of motorcycle, to me. It's simply a descriptive term in front of "bike" indicating it's intended use. e.g. street bike vs track bike vs dirt bike.
Click to expand...

+1

But when I started riding, there were only streetbikes and dirtbikes.
 
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thedub said:
I used to hate the term streetbike. It just sounds like someone who doesn't have any idea what they are talking about trying to sound cool.........

It doesn't have anything to do with the type of motorcycle, to me. It's simply a descriptive term in front of "bike" indicating it's intended use. e.g. street bike vs track bike vs dirt bike.
Click to expand...
Hmmm. How would "streetbike" make you cool? Or how didn't it to you?

We could call them all asphalt bikes or dirt bikes. Maybe then people would be happy.
Carlo said:
But when I started riding, there were only streetbikes and dirtbikes.
Click to expand...
Which is why this whole word premise may be backwards. Dirt bikes had more designations that street bikes at one time. And a flattrack bike is more different than a motocross bike than most street bikes are different from each other. But people call them all "dirt bikes".
 
"Streetbike" is anything that is plated. It's not nearly as cringeworthy as "crotch rocket" though.
 
I've also heard it both ways for some time now: streetbike=cruiser and streetbike=sportbike.

I'm not sure if it's stores reflecting how people talk, or stores influencing how people talk (probably the former) but shops like Revzilla and Motorcycle Superstore use the street=sport in their taxonomy. Revzilla has "Harley" in their navigation, whereas MS uses "cruiser" in theirs. Both also break out "adventure."
 
is a street bike like a street person, you know the homeless appearing folks that hang out on the street all day bumming money, food or drugs.
 
thedub said:
This is actually a good example: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=streetbike
Click to expand...
I heart the pic of the "street bike". :laughing
So, all those clowns doing wheelies around Philadelphia and such are really on street bikes because they don't ride in the dirt. Or are they on dirt bikes because they aren't registered for the street? Da-amn, this stuff is getting confusing. I wish people would just ride the right bike in the right place, already. :mad
 
I call the KLR my streetbike because it rarely gets off city streets. The VFR is my roadbike because I rarely ride it in town, and it's definitely not a sportbike.
 
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