What would you do?

[PhoenixRizing]

So I park my bike in front of my neighbors house cause there is no room in front of my house and I take my truck to work cause the weather said it was gonna rain while I was at work. I get off work at 3:30 am and come home to find my neighbor had parked their car in front of my bike. No big deal right?


This is how close to my bike they came. Needless to say I'm pretty hot right now.
Curious on what others would do if they found someone that close to their bikes?

[Robert]

Well I would be kinda hot also, but dont know the situation of how your house is laid out next to your neighbors or how the situation is as far as cars or parking, but the rule of thumb is try not to park in front of the neighbors house for me. I do what I have to make sure I can park at my house. Some can get pretty pissy about things like this and obviously it bothers your neighbor. You didnt mention why you couldn't park in your own driveway or in front of your own house either. I have seen some that have had to many vehicles at their house so the house next door was alternate parking. I also have to ask what kind of relationship do you have with your neighbor? So a bit more info would be nice before we condemn your neighbor.

I think I remember 2 posts of yours one is what my neighbor thinks when I start my bike, is this the same neighbor? Also a reference to church and naming your bike.

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,94882.msg942462.html#msg942462

Hooter was the last response to that message and it was good. Pray and ask God what you should do would be the other solution I would say.

[Gavin_Sons]

I would never park my bike anywhere but on my property, unless i'm out on a trip or out riding of course. Long term parking 1 day or more it is on my property, inside my garage. Apparently your neighbor is pissed you are using their parking in front of their house. Do you have room to park it on your sidewalk? Maybe beside your house? Maybe you live in a HOA where they restrict you from parking anywhere but on the street or in your driveway. Maybe you could park it in front of a car in your driveway sideways. Bikes only take up 3 or so feet sideways. I would not be happy if i came home to find this either. But i also wouldn't have parked in front of someone's house either.

[Earl43P]

I see a nice strip of grass adjacent to your bike. Suspect there is no sidewalk.
If it were me, I'd have a direct line of sight from MY house to MY bike straight out of MY front window. I'd have a semi-permanent kickstand paver block in that grass or in MY front yard and MY bike would not be in the street OR in front of my neighbor's house.

Clearly, anyone can park anywhere (legally) on the public street. Obviously, your neighbor takes exception to you parking your admittedly loud bike in front of his house on that public street. So, in my opinion, he sent you a passive aggressive message that you ought to respond to positively. It doesn't take much to "get along" with people when you make the effort.

The opposite can also be true. It's your blood pressure, your attitude with your neighbor, your bike, your parking decision, etc.  I'd make different choices if I were you.  I would NOT be at all upset with that parking job of your neighbors.  I'd accept it as the message sent, delivered, understood and I'd correct the situation to the best of my ability to appease the irritated neighbor.

My neighbor has a Camaro Z28 with a really obnoxious exhaust. He works odd shifts at the shipyard and his noise was making my dogs bark which upsets my wife and at some times it wakes her up.  I simply asked him to stop backing it into his driveway which greatly lessened the roar. He said no problem and my wife quit carping about it.  Man up, TALK to the neighbor and fix the problem, which in my opinion, is YOU.

[Jess Tolbirt]

with back up cameras you can get right up to the vehicle with the back bumper and not touch it...

[Chrisj CMA]

What would I do.  Well I wouldn't park where you do.  BUT, if I did and someone parked that close but DIDN'T hit my bike I'd be happy and relieved and THEN find a safe place to park.

I certainly wouldn't whine in here about it. Find a place to park and be done with it

[da prez]

No laws , only common courtesy. If there was room in front of the car , then it was done out of spite. It may be their way of saying no parking here. If you have other options , then use them. Remember , sometimes payback occurs. I have been on both sides.

                                                              da prez

[Hooter]

Pull your truck out, and pull your bike in. Hassle,  yes, but beats this situation.

[Willow]

No harm; no foul.  If it didn't touch  you're not hurt.

I, too, wouldn't park in front of someone else's house but when I do park a motorcycle on a curb it's at near perpendicular.

[Wizzard]

I would not park there to start with. I only park on my own property. They did not hit it , so no damage. They are probably trying to send you a message.  Thankfully I respect and get along great with my neighbors,, and they show me respect as well. Life is easier that way.

[old2soon]

Non issue as he did NOT hit yer bike. I am VERY Particular and Careful WHERE I choose to put my kick stand down. A picture of the backside would have shed a tad more light on the subject at hand. Phatt Ghurl HAS taken over the garage here for HER cave. NOT a Law but generally speaking the space(s) in front of a persons house are for that persons guests or family members. Term mountain out of a molehill comes to mind. RIDE SAFE.

[Daniel Meyer]

I dunno...street/parallel parking has always been sort of "as long as nobody hit anything and everybody can get out, anything goes"...

[PhoenixRizing]

First I wasn't whining, just simply asking a question. Second I didn't say because for personal reasons it was in front of my parents house. I left plenty of room for him to park still in front of his house. He had at least three feet in front of his car before he got to his driveway. I am the same way as everyone pointed out when it comes to parking in front of my house so I respect that when I park someone where else. I tried to park as close to my parents driveway as I could. Also I did move my bike and parked it perpendicularly in front of my truck after seeing this and took the hint. I am on good terms with the neighbor and that is why this bothered me so much. There was no more room at the time I parked it there to park anywhere else as we have a dentist office on the corner with a tiny parking lot so everyone likes to take up parking on the street including in front of everyone's houses. I didn't park in the driveway out of respect for my parents. I will however next time if I have to move the truck out and replace it with my bike. And I did put my baffles back in my bike to quite it down out of respect for neighbors and people sleeping so I don't disturb them when I come home at odd hours of the morning.

[RainMaker]

The details you've added certainly help to better define the situation, but not sure what type of answer you were looking for when you posted the question.   Sounds like you had enough room to get the bike out of the spot.  They didn't hit your bike.  So no harm, no foul.  I would not have been upset.

[Gavin_Sons]

One time i came out of the Wal-Mart and found 2 harleys parked as close as they could get to my bike. one on either side. Didn't even have room to stand my bike up straight. I pushed one about 6 rows over between 2 cars and went and got on mine and took off. I'm sure he thought someone stole it. 

[..]

Go knock on the door. Tell them it was raining and you had to take the truck blah blah blah.

Hopefully you'll be told no problem and everything and no disturbance in the force.

[Willow]

So I park my bike in front of my neighbors house cause there is no room in front of my house ...

First I wasn't whining, just simply asking a question. Second I didn't say because for personal reasons it was in front of my parents house. ...

I guess there's a contradiction that I'm having a hard time reconciling.         ???                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[Robert]

Thanks for clarifying parking is in fact an issue in the neighborhood. Plus a whole 3 feet clearance to his driveway, what if he has to turn out of his driveway or is not a good judge of distance. All in all alot of potential issues that could have been mitigated easily. 

[signart]

It ain't like it was a harley

[Wizzard]

One time i came out of the Wal-Mart and found 2 harleys parked as close as they could get to my bike. one on either side. Didn't even have room to stand my bike up straight. I pushed one about 6 rows over between 2 cars and went and got on mine and took off. I'm sure he thought someone stole it.  

I think I would have went back into Walmart and bought a nice potato or two and crammed them into their pipes.  

Sometimes I carry M-80's for situations like that also,, stuff an m80 in the pipe and use a screwdriver from your tool kit to push it way up there. About 3 miles down the road,, kaboom.

[Gryphon Rider]

If it were in Alberta, I could see why the neighbor did what he did. First, we can't park within 1.5m (5') of a driveway, so even at 3' he would be risking a ticket. Second, motorcycles must be angle-parked between 45° and 90° from the curb. You were taking up more curb space than needed and would be parked illegally here.

So what would I do? Ignore the perceived affront and park in a better place in the future.

[Firefighter]

I wouldn't park in the rain.

[Chrisj CMA]

I didn't really say you were whining before (but you were) so, since you brought it up...This whole thread reminds me of the drama and whining that is spewed across Facebook daily.  I don't have a Facebook thing, my wife does and it's usually rediculous like this whole non issue of a problem.  No Valkyrie deserves to be parked on the side of a street where little care is taken much of the time.  Had you just figured out better accommodations for your bike we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[The emperor has no clothes]

So what would I do? Ignore the perceived affront and park in a better place in the future.

Ding Ding, finally we have a winner. 

[wiggydotcom]

Well I would be kinda hot also, but dont know the situation of how your house is laid out next to your neighbors or how the situation is as far as cars or parking, but the rule of thumb is try not to park in front of the neighbors house for me. I do what I have to make sure I can park at my house. Some can get pretty pissy about things like this and obviously it bothers your neighbor. You didnt mention why you couldn't park in your own driveway or in front of your own house either. I have seen some that have had to many vehicles at their house so the house next door was alternate parking. I also have to ask what kind of relationship do you have with your neighbor? So a bit more info would be nice before we condemn your neighbor.

I think I remember 2 posts of yours one is what my neighbor thinks when I start my bike, is this the same neighbor? Also a reference to church and naming your bike.

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,94882.msg942462.html#msg942462

Hooter was the last response to that message and it was good. Pray and ask God what you should do would be the other solution I would say.

+1 Robert summed it up to everything I would be thinking. Was it right what your neighbor did? Probably not. But maybe that was a message to you to not park in front of his house.  Communication with your neighbor would answer more questions than asking us. You have a right to be ticked, but we just don't have enough info without your neighbors viewpoint to offer a reason.

[Moonshot_1]

What would I do? In this case, nothing. Nothing to get riled up about really.

The way I see it...

You parallel parked your bike.
You parallel parked your bike and in doing so took as much space as your bike could possibly take in a space you readily admit was typically for your neighbor's use as it was in front of their house.
You are upset that he parked close to your bike in a space typically reserved for their use and their guests.

What would I do? Thank God I got good neighbors. I'da parked a little closer.

[t-man403]

You should go to your neighbor and tell them to get the weed whip out!!! 

You wouldn't want to live on my block when it comes to parking ...... or no parking!

[MarkT]

Without addressing the affrontage here, or the foolishness or not of both parties involved:

I think it's silly and even risky to use your vehicle to send a message - and then not be there when the recipient is offended and responds by vandalizing your property. I don't even use bumper stickers - ASKING to get keyed. Though I was sorely tempted over the last 8 years - I wore liberal-offending T shirts instead -I'm there to deal with any liberal with the balls to challenge me - there weren't any.  I never argue over a parking space anywhere.  And fools that do that to me might very well regret it.  Ever hear of caltrops? Google it.  Never mind I'll do it for you.  These are for sale at ebay, amazon, and dozens of other places. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltrop  I know a guy who carries them just for such parking awards.  The poetic part - is the offender hurts himself when he moves his vehicle.

Remember the scene in Fried Green Tomatos?  To refresh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx0z9FjxP-Y

Check out these parking revenge pics:  http://twentytwowords.com/parking-lot-revenge/

[PhoenixRizing]

People are starting to get this all twisted up, I didn't park there to piss the guy off or offend or be a jerk, I simply parked there because it was the only available space at that time. It's obvious that I should not have and that he was ticked that I did. Trust me I won't be making that mistake again. Was I mad yes, I thought it was rude of him to get that close to my bike. If I would've purposely doing it out of spite or to be a jerk than by all means get as close as you like. Regardless, I just wanted to get the feeling of those that have bikes and how they would respond to it if it had happened to them. I got a lot of those and that's all I wanted. Sorry if it sounded as if I was whining to some, I don't believe I was and sorry if I offended anyone, I'm just typically a laid back dude who likes to help people. Just wanted to vent a little. Take care all and ride safe

[cookiedough]

If in front of your own house,  I would be upset but if no harm, no foul, just better not happen again is all.  

speaking of parking issues, my lovely neighbors now have their 35 year old kid and wife/kid moved in for next 4 months until their new house is built.  The kid/wife have 2 cars and he has 3 cars and ONLY 2 fit in the driveway.  Where do you think the other 3 cars will be next 4 months???????????????

I can deal with ONE car of theirs parked somewhat in front of my house since still can get ONE car of mine on the street if need be, but 3 cars is going to PISS ME off am sure more often then NOT NO parking in front of my own house.  Luckily my other neighbor is selling his trailer and sleds since they park on other side of my driveway which is technically mostly in front of their house.  

The other idiot neighbor though has 4-5 car lengths on his OTHER side of his driveway but feels compelled to park at least one (now going to be for sure 2) in front of MY OWN YARD leaving me nowhere to park in front of my own house daily all summer long.   Same neighbor who I and WIFE got into pissing match on when he built his stupid 1 car garage way in backyard by my lot line.  If he had 1/2 a brain, he has another empty useless city lot not buildable on and is on other side of his house with ACCESS to main street he should have built a 2 car garage over on other side of his house - IDIOT!  Who builds a small one car garage way in back yard angled into my lot line and barely has room to swing much besides lawn tractors in there???  IDIOT.  He has several times driven his old pickup truck 2-3 feet onto my lot to back up his fishing boat into that one car garage - IDIOT!

[RainMaker]

If in front of your own house,  I would be upset but if no harm, no foul, just better not happen again is all.  

speaking of parking issues, my lovely neighbors now have their 35 year old kid and wife/kid moved in for next 4 months until their new house is built.  The kid/wife have 2 cars and he has 3 cars and ONLY 2 fit in the driveway.  Where do you think the other 3 cars will be next 4 months???????????????

I can deal with ONE car of theirs parked somewhat in front of my house since still can get ONE car of mine on the street if need be, but 3 cars is going to PISS ME off am sure more often then NOT NO parking in front of my own house.  Luckily my other neighbor is selling his trailer and sleds since they park on other side of my driveway which is technically mostly in front of their house.  

The other idiot neighbor though has 4-5 car lengths on his OTHER side of his driveway but feels compelled to park at least one (now going to be for sure 2) in front of MY OWN YARD leaving me nowhere to park in front of my own house daily all summer long.   Same neighbor who I and WIFE got into pissing match on when he built his stupid 1 car garage way in backyard by my lot line.  If he had 1/2 a brain, he has another empty useless city lot not buildable on and is on other side of his house with ACCESS to main street he should have built a 2 car garage over on other side of his house - IDIOT!  Who builds a small one car garage way in back yard angled into my lot line and barely has room to swing much besides lawn tractors in there???  IDIOT.  He has several times driven his old pickup truck 2-3 feet onto my lot to back up his fishing boat into that one car garage - IDIOT!

Sounds like you are handling it well.

[phideux]

If in front of your own house,  I would be upset but if no harm, no foul, just better not happen again is all.  

speaking of parking issues, my lovely neighbors now have their 35 year old kid and wife/kid moved in for next 4 months until their new house is built.  The kid/wife have 2 cars and he has 3 cars and ONLY 2 fit in the driveway.  Where do you think the other 3 cars will be next 4 months???????????????

I can deal with ONE car of theirs parked somewhat in front of my house since still can get ONE car of mine on the street if need be, but 3 cars is going to PISS ME off am sure more often then NOT NO parking in front of my own house.  Luckily my other neighbor is selling his trailer and sleds since they park on other side of my driveway which is technically mostly in front of their house.  

The other idiot neighbor though has 4-5 car lengths on his OTHER side of his driveway but feels compelled to park at least one (now going to be for sure 2) in front of MY OWN YARD leaving me nowhere to park in front of my own house daily all summer long.   Same neighbor who I and WIFE got into pissing match on when he built his stupid 1 car garage way in backyard by my lot line.  If he had 1/2 a brain, he has another empty useless city lot not buildable on and is on other side of his house with ACCESS to main street he should have built a 2 car garage over on other side of his house - IDIOT!  Who builds a small one car garage way in back yard angled into my lot line and barely has room to swing much besides lawn tractors in there???  IDIOT.  He has several times driven his old pickup truck 2-3 feet onto my lot to back up his fishing boat into that one car garage - IDIOT!

Damn man, take a Valium. Streets are a public conveyance, anyone is entitled to park on them, you don't own the street in front of your house, your neighbor doesn't own the street in front of his house, etc, etc. Sometimes common courtesy, usually in not busy, residential neighborhoods, people try to avoid parking in front of their neighbors house, but still, on the street is first come first served.
It really seems like you get along great with the neighbors??? If one guy built his garage on his property, it doesn't matter if you like it or not, maybe he didn't want a 2 car garage on the other side, he built what he wanted, as long as it follows zoning and setbacks, whatever. You can build stuff on your property too, without your neighbors permission. I suggest you put up a nice fence, or move to the country where you can park all your cars, trucks, bikes, whatever, wherever you want.

To the OP, take a Valium too, you parked on a busy public street. If I remember right, where there is a driveway there is a 3 foot limit to how close you can be to a driveway. So he parked a foot from your bike, he didn't hit it, chill out.