Skip to main content

Man’s best friend

Film of a motorcyclist in the southern US taking his dog with him to work on his Harley Davidson motorcycle has now been viewed widely on the internet. The man, a pistol-packing machinist, claims that the animal enjoys the journey. The dog, named Dog (pronounced Dawg in the biker’s southern drawl) has the important job of guarding the Hog (Hawg) until the end of the shift when the two return home. The wild ones are a frequent sight on the roads of the small town where they live, with small children waving a
June 20, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Film of a motorcyclist in the southern US taking his dog with him to work on his Harley Davidson motorcycle has now been viewed widely on the internet. The man, a pistol-packing machinist, claims that the animal enjoys the journey. The dog, named Dog (pronounced Dawg in the biker’s southern drawl) has the important job of guarding the Hog (Hawg) until the end of the shift when the two return home. The wild ones are a frequent sight on the roads of the small town where they live, with small children waving at the pair as they pass, rather than being scared of the motorcycle with its slash cut pipes. The machinist taught Dog to hold on to him tightly with its paws the hard way. In a few early runs the man deliberately braked hard while at low speed, causing the animal to tumble from the Hog (Hawg). Dog (Dawg) was uninjured but was clearly born to be wild and soon learned the importance of holding on securely to the easy rider on his Hog. And despite the rough and tumble of those early Hog rides, Dog has learned to rely on his master. The motorcyclist has also joked that his canine friend is more loyal, and also less expensive, than having a lady friend to join him on his Hog. The biker came by his best friend Dog in a California bar, where he bought the animal for the price of a beer. Caring for Dog’s welfare, the man has given his canine a pair of goggles to wear while riding. However he has not so far provided Dog with a dog-sized helmet as the authorities have not yet ruled that these are necessary requirements for canine pillion passengers in the state.

Related Content

  • Improving safety barriers for motorcyclists
    February 20, 2012
    Delays to better barrier safety pose further risks for Europe's powered two wheeled riders. The issue of safety for powered two wheeler riders (PTWRs) is a matter of some debate in Europe. Although Europe's PTWRs make up a mere fraction of the vehicle population, they figure highly in accident statistics. Safety provisions could be improved using available technology but a recent political decision has downgraded the importance of such a move.
  • Sight unseen
    December 2, 2013
    Two British men are now counting the cost of a rather foolish idea they had. One of the men was keen to drive a powerful Subaru Impreza, despite the fact that he was legally blind, due to suffering a degenerative condition that has resulted in almost total loss of sight. With his friend sitting beside him giving him instructions, the blind man set off driving the high performance car along a public road. Somewhat predictably the car crashed when the blind driver failed to negotiate a large obstacle by the s
  • WHEELS
    March 6, 2012
    A 23 year old man in Queensland, Australia has been fined for driving a beer cooler while under the influence of alcohol. The man bought the motorised cool box for A$600 and, having assembled it, was so proud of his handiwork that he could not resist taking it for a midnight test run to demonstrate its performance to his friends However, the man had been drinking during the assembly process and his progress was somewhat erratic. When police stopped the man on his somewhat unusual vehicle, he was breathteste
  • Rebuilding the Human Dimension
    June 18, 2012
    We meet with Dr. Essam Sharaf, the former Prime Minister of Egypt, who has been honoured as IRF Personality of the Year for 2011 On 28 March, at a moving ceremony packed with IRF friends and delegates from all over the world, the IRF Personality of the Year Award for 2011 was formally presented to Dr. Essam Abdel-Aziz Sharaf. Discerned annually since 1951, the Award honours individuals universally acknowledged as having made particularly inspirational contributions to the fields of road infrastructure and