Irate Neighbor Situation, Overreaction on my part?

[Tyrone Biggums]

You didn't over react. I also wouldn't have committed the act that got him so riled up in the first place. There is a time and a place for a bike like that and your nice neighborhood late at night isn't one of them.

[Big A]

It is awkward setting down your steel pipe to shake the guys hand whom you were planning to hit with it.

Awkward or not, you did nothing wrong in assuming that he was back and even madder and armed. I personally wouldn't assume that he was back with a gun, but had he been back to fight, the pipe would have him giving second thoughts.

[dville_gt]

mine either, we have an alleyway

we do not have an alley, but the driveway comes up to a sort of landing area at the top and the driveway faces to the side of the house I guess, perpendicular to the street, so he couldn't have seen into the garage when he pulled up in front of the house, but there is a window on the side of the garage that faces out to the street so that's how i saw him making his way up my driveway.

[Stunter Bob]

He was probably coming to whip your butt til he saw that pipe. He made the right choice to shake your hand instead.

[stangin4lyfe]

It is awkward setting down your steel pipe to shake the guys hand whom you were planning to hit with it.

I would have done the same.
You did no wrong.
Treat people how they treat you.

[bcoop]

You didn't over react. I also wouldn't have committed the act that got him so riled up in the first place. There is a time and a place for a bike like that and your nice neighborhood late at night isn't one of them.

If someone gets riled up over a relatively quiet, small cc four stroke bike running through the neighborhood, you're wound too damn tight. I ride Kenny's 65cc 2 stroke through every other week or so. And it's ten times more loud than a 50cc (four stroke) pit bike with a muffler. None of my neighbors complain, but then again, they have more important shit to worry about or aren't concerned with such petty things.


I may have missed it, but where did you get "late at night"?

[347Mike]

Some neighborhoods are weird. I remember when I first got my '66 and I went to my uncles place (houses are 500k+) and I drove around the block 2 maybe 3 times and everyone and their momma was staring me down as if I was committing lude acts in public.

[KBScobravert]

You acted accordingly.

My neighbors are very polite to me. Then again they have seen me carry enough armfulls of AR15s and long gun cases out to my car to remind themselves to wave and smile.

[dville_gt]

If someone gets riled up over a relatively quiet, small cc four stroke bike running through the neighborhood, you're wound too damn tight. I ride Kenny's 65cc 2 stroke through every other week or so. And it's ten times more loud than a 50cc (four stroke) pit bike with a muffler. None of my neighbors complain, but then again, they have more important shit to worry about or aren't concerned with such petty things.


I may have missed it, but where did you get "late at night"?

Ya, this was at like noon on Saturday, definitely not "late at night". I did my best to retroactively try to rationalize this guys anger, but something else must have been pissing him off because the bike is quiet, rarely ridden, and the guy riding it is a good guy who was 99% most likely just cruising around the neighborhood (albeit possibly over the speed limit).

[dville_gt]

Some neighborhoods are weird. I remember when I first got my '66 and I went to my uncles place (houses are 500k+) and I drove around the block 2 maybe 3 times and everyone and their momma was staring me down as if I was committing lude acts in public.

See, we have some $600-1mil homes that are in our neighborhood (our home is nowhere near those numbers FYI), but this guy told me where he lived and it was not in that part of the neighborhood. Not that just because your home doesn't cost half a million dollars you shouldn't want to keep it nice, but IMO a pit bike running a few laps around the block doesn't deteriorate the property value. Maybe I am being naive.

[KBScobravert]

Some neighborhoods are weird. I remember when I first got my '66 and I went to my uncles place (houses are 500k+) and I drove around the block 2 maybe 3 times and everyone and their momma was staring me down as if I was committing lude acts in public.

When the weather is nice, you can always hear the go-carts, pit bikes and full fledged dirt bikes rolling down our streets. We are unincorporated Ft Worth so our governance is mostly HOA and self correcting.

[Tyrone Biggums]

If someone gets riled up over a relatively quiet, small cc four stroke bike running through the neighborhood, you're wound too damn tight. I ride Kenny's 65cc 2 stroke through every other week or so. And it's ten times more loud than a 50cc (four stroke) pit bike with a muffler. None of my neighbors complain, but then again, they have more important shit to worry about or aren't concerned with such petty things.


I may have missed it, but where did you get "late at night"?

Evidently that's just the way it went in my head. I had to go back and re-read. But otherwise, even if it was broad daylight, it's still not something I would have done. I live in a neighborhood full of old folks and empty nesters and don't really see the neighborhood streets as the best place for something like that.

[Big A]

He ended up telling me that his brother was really hurt on one and I guess the mere sight of a pit bike makes him so mad he's willing to chase one down and go nuts on the home owner?

This is the only thing that makes sense for him to be so mad, and probably why he wanted to talk to your buddy, and not you. If it was just the noise/nuisance, he would have gone off on you for allowing it, but instead he was wanting to give your friend a little piece of not-so-friendly advice.

Perhaps his brother was so mangled that it really scarred him, I dunno. I still don't see getting so upset like that.

[dville_gt]

Evidently that's just the way it went in my head. I had to go back and re-read. But otherwise, even if it was broad daylight, it's still not something I would have done. I live in a neighborhood full of old folks and empty nesters and don't really see the neighborhood streets as the best place for something like that.

You make a good point, and like I said, I am not innocent here. When I went down to chat with him I planned to apologize, but after only making it half way down the drive before being screamed at my demeanor probably began it's rapid change. Then once the name calling began I was really having to level myself out not to say or do something that might cause me more grief. My question here is not "is it okay to ride a pit bike through the neighborhood", rather, "is it okay/normal to feel the need to grab a weapon when someone approaches your home, especially if you know that person was upset when they last left your home". It seems that the general consensus is that it is normal, which is reassuring because it was my natural instinct. I just really hope that none of my immediate neighbors saw either of the exchanges!

[dville_gt]

This is the only thing that makes sense for him to be so mad, and probably why he wanted to talk to your buddy, and not you. If it was just the noise/nuisance, he would have gone off on you for allowing it, but instead he was wanting to give your friend a little piece of not-so-friendly advice.

Perhaps his brother was so mangled that it really scarred him, I dunno. I still don't see getting so upset like that.

He said that his brother got royally screwed by insurance since he was on a vehicle that was not street legal. Apparently a car ran a stop sign and hit him and he got stuck with the bill. Granted, that really sucks, but for him to chase my buddy down seems counter-productive to his cause?