When I'm riding with friends we always park several bikes in each parking space. However, I would never park my bike in a space that already contains another bike if I didn't know that rider.

I feel the same way about lane-sharing. I might pull up next to a friend at a stoplight or stop sign, but I will not do it to someone I don't know.

I guess it's kind of a "personal space" issue.

Tim

 

Tim,
I think it's a common sense issue more than anything. Nowadays you can never guess what someone will think or do. The best thing to do to protect yourself and your bike is to give the same respect to someone else like you would a friend.
CD

 

Always wear protection if you park with a stranger.

 

hahah thats great
id probly care if there bike was worth more than mine

 

Yeah, I'll park in the same slot as another bike providing that rider has left plenty of room to do so. If that rider doesn't want somebody parking next to his/her ride then don't leave any room and park the bike in the middle. In bike parking it is generally accepted more than one bike will fit in a stall and with plenty of room. No, I don't consider it bad manners at all unless I have purposely parked in a manner that would suggest I want the whole slot to myself. The rider you encounter would have had a problem had I been the guy he/she was going off on because that individual needed an attitude adjustment.

 

I wouldn't have a problem with someone parking in a spot that I was in, but thats just me. You never know, theres a lot of anal a$$holes out there that might not like it. I have done that once before, but it was the only spot without walking all the way accross the lot.

My thing is that I don't like parking way back in a lot with hardly any visability from the front door of the place I'm going to. So if theres not an open spot up front , I'm either shareing with another bike, parking in the spot with the diagnal yellow lines, or finding a spot on the sidewalk.

 

When I park in a front-in space, I will park smack in the middle of the spot. I don't want someone I don't know parking thier bike next to mine in a crowded space. But if it's a parallel spot (ie, with a meter), I will usually park far enough forward to allow another bike to back in, but not leave enough room for someone with a small car to try and wedge themselves in. Likewise, I wouldn't park next to someone else's bike.

I may pull up next to another bike in the same lane at a stop, and don't mind if they do that to me, but I won't 'pass' them like this while moving. Also, if I'm stopped next to them and they were in front, I wouldn't try to beat them off the line. Someone did that to me last week, and for some reason it just ticked me off a bit, so I try to avoid doing it to others.

 

at work several of us share a spot and half that is at the end of our parking area. i will also share if im out with someone. i wouldnt be upset if someone i didnt know parked next to me in a spot, however i wouldnt be the second bike in a spot if i didnt know the person..no way to judge how they may fell as you can tell by this thread there is a difference of opinion.

I was pissed at work the other day when i parked in the spot by myself and a transport deputy came in and moved my bike to the half spot so he could park in the spot i was in. This was totally uncool and we had a discussion, he reasoned that since i could fit in the half spot it was no big deal. i explained that he wouldnt move someone elses car w/o permission and most bike drops seem to be casual moves around home/driveways/parking lots that it was totally inappropriate for him to move my bike..btw he also is not a rider. was i out of line with this?

Mike

 

Was i out of line with this?

No, you weren't out of line. He probably would not have been happy if someone did the same thing with his car. The bike should be treated the same.

I'll share a spot with friends, but never take one a stranger has his bike in. People are hyper-thin-skinned nowadays and I can see some jerk pushing my bike over on it's side because it was "too close" to his.

 

Still without a bike, but I figured I would answer anyway.....

Depends on the area for me. The city in which I live just outside of has AWFUL drivers. My Nova's been hit in a parking lot before, leaving some fender and chrome trim damage. My car was parked well within the lines. I have no idea who did it and no way of contacting them. I'm still mad about it, but I'm grateful that I hadn't had body work done on it yet. I'm very cautious about where I park in the city. My thinking is that I'll be wary of where I park my bike also, and I definitely would be a little on edge if someone rolled into my spot to share. If the lot's packed, I guess I wouldn't mind.
However, in my humble little country town, where everyone waves to each other and is respectful of other's property, I don't think I'd mind so much sharing a spot with someone. Shoot, I've left my lights on one time in my car and someone turned them off for me. Gotta share the small-town love

 

I wouldn't care at all if someone parked in the same spot as me, I leave room because I expect other riders to. I usually will have no shame parking in the same spot as someone else, but I don't do it for the sake of doing it, if there's plenty of spots around I'll just take my own.

I also always fall in behind other bikes on the road, or invite others to fall in behind me. I've never had someone get visibly angry at me for it. I've fallen in to big groups of harley's on my ninja 500 and whoever I fell in next to would give me a peace sign. Did it once with a very large group of custom choppers, too.

 

Sometimes I park in the same space as another bike and sometimes I don't. Just be careful and courteous as you never know how other people will react. Maybe the rider who jumped on you just got fired or his wife split or something. You just never know. If someone is feeling threatened they will act out on the first person that walks by.

 

Glad to see so much discussion. Seems like opinions differ.

Just be careful and courteous as you never know how other people will react.

A couple of people have made this comment and I think it's a good one. Not everyone feels the biker comradery.

 

I guess it depends on the mood too

If I see plenty of parking spots I will:
- take my own place because another biker can do the same
- take another spot if one is taken by another biker I don't know.

AND, here's the truth about when it's cramped: I park in the middle of the spot anyway (unless there is another biker coming) with my bike visible by other vehicles. Reasons:
- when it's cramped you don't know which car might try to pull in fast and hit your bike, so make sure that driver can see your bike BEFORE they pull in.
- vehicles (mostly cagers) backing out from the spot next to you might hit your bike if you park too close to them (blue hair/no hair anyone?).

So, if you're coming my way sure thing, share it, but if not sorry dude!

And of course I don't give a damn if I come out, see another bike right next to mine, my bike is still in same shape, as long as it's not blocking my way out.

 

YamahaFan almost wrote verbatim what I was planning to write....

Though with today's parking spots getting narrower and narrower, I don't think that we'll able to get two bikes in the same spot in the near future.

 

I like the idea of sharing spots. Hell, I always considered that to be one of the advantages of riding. Friend or stranger, it don't matter to me. If you wanna park next to me then no problem. Go for it.

I always leave space for other riders to do just that. It's actually kind of cool to consider four bikes, each with a passenger for a total of eight people, can fit into one parking spot. But I'll only do the more than two to a spot with riders that I already know. Otherwise, two to a spot max.

 

I always share spots at work, and I always park to where at least one if not two more bikes can park in the same spot as me. I never would have a problem with another bike parking next to me, after all we both ride. I have strangers park next to me all the time but I do the same, I could care less. I think it would piss off a car more if there were 3 bike taking up 3 spots as opposed to us sharing one spot and being more visible.

 

I would never share a spot with someone that I don't know.

 

hygog: Recently, though, some guy went aggro on me for sharing a spot with him.

WoW?

One of my shift chiefs parked in the same spot as me and I thought it was cool. As if he were saying he thought enough of me as an employee and fellow motorcyclist to share my spot without me wrecking into him when I got off shift before him.

I generally park in the middle of a spot not to stop another bike from sharing with me, but rather to discourage cages from parking too close, like trying to squeeze in between me and the cage in the next spot or just double parking and being half in my spot. I don't want my bike knocked over by a car door because of that.

A spot next to a pole is my first choice. That pole offers protection to one side.

If a bike shared with me, so long as there was room, I'd be fine with it. I'd even think it was cool. Hey buddy, we sure got one over on the cagers, huh? Yes, we did. Or just biker comradery. I am and you are too. Cool.

If there were no other spots or no other spots worth parking in (like a spot in a puddle of water or a bunch of mud or all full of debris) I would be the second bike to a stranger if there were room. The type of bike would influence my decision though. If it looked way more expensive than mine, I probably wouldn't. That guy might be a little anal... er... concerned about his property. If it were a beat up hunk-o-junk, maybe I'd pass. I might be a little, you know, concerned too.

 

Tdubb, I know the feeling. I saw a couple kids flipping all the switches on my handle bars one day. I went out and asked them to get away from my bike. One of them went right on, and I had to threaten to kick his rear before he moved away.

I sure don't mind sharing a parking space with another biker whether I know him or not, but one thing I DON'T like is a bunch of them using my same space and blocking me in. I've had that happen a few times.

 

Several years ago at a parking lot in Arizona, I was in my van waiting for my son to get off work, and I saw a fellow park his bike in a spot with a bike that was already there.

A few minutes later the couple from the first bke came out and saw the second bike and the guy went postal. After cussing loud and long, he rolled his bike out of the space, and then went back, raised the kickstand on the second bike and let it drop.

 

A few minutes later the couple from the first bke came out and saw the second bike and the guy went postal. After cussing loud and long, he rolled his bike out of the space, and then went back, raised the kickstand on the second bike and let it drop.

wow, I have a few words to describe that individual and none of them are board appropriate.

Anyway, when I ride I don't mind sharing a space as long as I don't get blocked in. But most of the time I won't park in a spot if another bike is there. Just in case it belongs to some a-hole like the guy Nick is talking about.

 

you know i see other bikes on the road and sometimes i wish they would get in formation behind me but no one ever dose. i must look to green of a rider. or maybe i just look like a loaner on my bike.

 

--
Well, Clay, judging from your photo with the green hat on, I wouldn't want to be in your formation, either.

LoL

RonK

 

lol thanks ronk. it seems like it always comes back to the avatar with the cat with the lime on its head. but no i am very responsable on my bike.

 

It seems like it always comes back to the avatar with the cat with the lime on its head.

That is exactly the reason I would form up with you on the road.

 

Well, I am a new rider and have always thought it was an accepted practice to share parking spaces. I thought it was the whole comradery thing and that all bikers are open to it.

After having read this thread and some of the opinions and incidents, I won't park my bike in an already occupied spot unless I know the rider and know they're ok with it.

On the other hand, I don't mind sharing with other riders, provided there's a mutual respect for the bikes and the space we are sharing.

 

I don't mind if someone parks beside mine, as long as I have room still, but I wouldn't park next to someone I don't know unless they are there and say it's ok (I am just enough of a dork to ask too )

 

If it is crowded, I think it is a good idea to double up, however.... I would never presume to say it is OK if you don't know the bike you are sharing with.... it is just a matter of personal space.

BUT, if you are riding with a buddy, I think you SHOULD share.

 

Super32: He got on it pulled the kick stand up and when I told him to get off I was wlking up to the bike and as he was getting off I was at the back of the bike , when it started falling it fell against my leg and thats what bent the plate all up. If I wasnt right there the bike would have fell.

Believe me between someone being on my bike and then basically dropping it on me I was pritty pissed, but it was at work, and I do like my job, so what do I do. I guess I could have accidentally thrown an elbo to the face, or kicked him in the Jimmy as I threw my leg over the bike LOL KICK HIM IN THE JIMMY. What movie is that from , anyone?

 

KICK HIM IN THE JIMMY. What movie is that from , anyone?

Beavis and Butthead?