Motorcycles

[eastbound]

first bike i had was a honda street 90--early 70's--total beater--rode it around millbrook ny for a summer, dodging tim leary hippies, no license, etc.

was flying around on the country club golf course when the front wheel dissappeared into a hidden hole. bike flipped twice, throwing me over the handlebars, which were found broken/bent by both grips. luckily, i walked away from a "nice lie" on the fairway. game over for that bike!

as we age, injury avoidance becomes critical. rather be injured engaging a sport i care about--a sport that makes me feel alive. tooling around brooklyn on a vespa aint worth the risk to me.

[1tuberider]

I have ridden m/c regularly since I was 13. My first experience was around 8 when we had a track to race.

I still have 2 big bikes. An electra glide anniversary model and a night train with ape hangers and a wicked sissy bar.

Around 10 years ago riding thru Eureka I had a rv hauler (peter built) run a red light on me. I was in control to prevent him from t boning me but still got slammed. Lucky to be here. Time heals. But the next ride I was testing my repaired bike and anticipated a car cutting me off emerging on the freeway. He did and because I was expecting the move he missed my front tire by inches.

Lately my lower back hates to ride. I should look into a seat back. My trip to Dead Wood SD and having buffalo surround me riding thru yellowstone will always be with me. That was just after the 4 grizzly encounter. Kinda of scary having 20 buf completely surround you with a big male tossing his head with his tounge dangling just a few feet away. I just flowed with them until they passed.

It would be nice to do a zoner bike run. It would have to be on the coast and Beasho may need to make us some board racks. I can't go anywhere without my board.

[PonoBill]

I wrote what I own today, not what kind of bike freak I am, though in some ways the collection speaks for itself. I've been riding since I could get a license, and being broke but owning a 1958 BSA A10 (a 650cc British vertical twin) meant I need to learn to fix it myself. It was a rolling basket case, meaning it was together but shouldn't have been. I spent more time working on it than riding it, but I learned a certain fearlessness when it came to working on my own stuff. You just keep going until the job is done, even if you have to do it ten times because you did it wrong the first nine.

After the navy I became a motorcycle mechanic because I didn't want to work as a nuke. Did that for about ten years until the better pay of working in a nuke plant control room overcame my aversion to the amount of study required to maintain a license. I accumulated a few great bikes when I was wrenching, and I kept riding and working on my own bikes up to the present. I suspect I'll be back into riding fairly soon--perhaps this year. I'm pretty good at avoiding accidents except for ones I cause myself. I consider that every driver is either moronic or stupid. I look at my mirrors before I hit the brakes--even in a car, which has my wife screaming at me more than a few times. I always have alternate paths in mind. I split traffic in SoCal and NoCal for years without a scratch. I watch the hands, head and front wheel of the drivers I'm passing. I assume the person stopping in an intersection is going to turn left in front of me. I expect people to run stop signs.

I tell people who are having their midlife crisis and want a Harley that they're going to die if they do that. They don't have the odd reflex behavior and techniques from many years of riding while healing was fast and feasible. And they inevitably want a Harley, with poor handling, mediocre brakes, and no performance. And then they want to ride it in decorative leathers with a minimal or no helmet. I think that's all OK as long as you sign up to be an organ donor and you have a nice life insurance policy for the wife and kids.

[stoneaxe]

I think I have a solution....wait to get a bike until diagnosed with whatever is going to kill me. It won't be a Harley...

Coolest bike I ever rode was Bills old 500cc Matchless single that he had me using when I lived with him for a short stint in the 70's....I swear the bike lifted a couple inches with each piston stroke.

[Old School 213]

First bike was a Yamaha RD250 I bought for $40. I got a manual, a frame, a seat, two wheels and two boxes of parts. What else would a 16 year old ever need?!? Much to the consternation of my parents I did get it back together and rode it for a time before selling it off.

Second bike, Yamaha FJ600 rode this one much longer, 3 years. Had a few friends go down during this time and sold it on before I joined them. During this time I also rode friends other bikes a lot, GSXR1100, RZ350(runaway chainsaw), Honda CBR. Still have never ridden anything V-twin (other than a honda interceptor 500 but that does not count.)

Reading PB's *Assumptions* regarding other drivers behavior I think we were thinking the same thing and yes, those assumptions saved me more than once.

[johnysmoke]

Mid seventies Honda cb-500\550, never really knew. Went in on it in my early 20's with room mates. Learned to ride on that thing, luckily it was a complete marshmallow.
78 Kawasaki kz 650 with a broken petcock. Too stupid to track miles or keep it full, I ran out of gas on late after work rides on many a back road. Many a Samaritan stopped with gas cans to get me to the closest station.
84? Kawasaki Gpz turbo, but was probably a conversion from a non-turbo. Exhaust glowed red on long rides. Had my first serious accident on that thing run off the road by a drunk. Bounced out of the saddle above the windscreen and landed on my feet, doubt I could pull it off again at my current age.
My last bike was a 2000 Triumph Sprint RS, bought it new and constantly parking lot dropped it for some reason my first season. Painted the lower fairing matt black and called it good. Had a ton of fun on that bike, lived in a blue collar city and people seemed to give bikes more space there. Was also not too far from Vermont and blazed around that state quite quickly. Passing on the double yellow being legal and leo few and far between. By that point had good gear and had got some training. Was also pre-texting craze.
Loved to ride but went through a messy breakup and spent a lot of time at the bar, never mixed anything with riding. Decided to part ways with the bike and go back to school. School didn't take but looking to replace riding got into sea kayaking, that took me on an interesting journey for a few years, lately been suping now I split my time between the two.
Still itch for a bike but with a wife and toddler, and the moronic state of people phoning while happening to be in the driver's seat, I shrug it off.

[PonoBill]

I meant to say Moronic or homicidal, but the department of redundancy department edited my post.

[SUPcheat]

I'm sure I'm not supposed to be on one.  When I was a chemist working at a gov lab before professional school, saw a guy speeding up behind me in the rear view weaving on a motorcycle at high speed.  No helmet, got brushed by a car, took a terrible spill skidding, which mercifully, I didn't see except the primary event because he was lost in the rear view at highway speeds.  Never found out what happened to him, no internet in those days and I couldn't find anything in the papers.

I was at UCLA when and up and coming TV star took a spill on his motorcycle on the 405, killing his girlfriend and him losing a leg and arm.  They brought him into UCLA emergency.

My daily commute for eleven years between Sunol and Fremont was highway 84, a twisty, windy two lane that was favored by bikers.  It seemed a regular thing to hear about 50 somethings biting the dust there on their bikes.  I had the misfortune to witness one.  I came around a corner, saw an SUV with a big dent in its nose stopped in the opposite lane, and an older biker was flailing like a broken robot on the side of the road with a woman and some cohorts standing around him.  I later heard that he died.

I was browsing craigslist about two weeks later for sunglasses, and just happened to fall upon several ads by the deceased guy's wife, selling all of his motorcycle clothes and paraphernalia.

[SlatchJim]

I don't own one and you will laugh but I actually like Vespas.  I like motorcycle too, especially the retro cafe racers that have become pretty popular lately.

Rode a vespa for 7 years and about 18k miles.  Work location changed and I sold it, but it was fun while it lasted. No real interest in getting another bike, because my board budget now absorbs that portion of my income.

[TallDude]

I grew-up riding on the weekends with my Dad, my Uncle and my older brother. We'd load the trailer up and head to the Anza Borrego desert, Baja or a motorcycle park (Saddleback or Escape Country). At first, I would ride on the tank of my dads bike. When I was about 5 yrs old, I could just barely reach the ground enough to ride a modified 1960's Honda  50 Cub. The back fender was cut-off to allow for a knobby tire and a big hill climbing sprocket. One day out of the blue, my dad supersized me with a brand new 1969 Yamaha mini enduro 60. I beat the hell out of that thing. I seized the engine in the desert. I got my next dream bike, a Honda XR75 (4-stroke) J&B racer. I loved that bike. We moved to the beach, and surfing took over. We could ride in the hills of San Clemente, but about 1974 they made most of Orange County off-limits. We had a 1968 Suzuki TS185 that I rode to high school. I would still hop the curb when I saw a dirt berm that needed to be ridden on:)
I've only ridden a 750 Ninja around Big Bear Lake once about 28 years ago. It scared the hell out of me. I don't like the feeling of having to lean ahead of time to make a corner. There is almost no steering, the front wheel moves about 2" either way. Anyway, I haven't ridden a motorcycle for about 28 yrs. My wife used to ride and we've talked about getting some dual sports to play with in the mountains someday. I've always liked thumpers ever since my first 4-stroke.

[covesurfer]

Every driveway, alley and other intersection is a potential wreck. You have to be covering your front brake and clutch and expecting your ROW to get violated. If you ride like everyone is trying to kill you, you have better odds of avoiding the ones that actually will.

Even if you're not moving they're going try and kill you. Riding to work one day at least 15 or more years ago, waiting at a red light, on the very far edges of the city, had some moron almost kill me from behind. Fortunately, I was watching my mirrors and got the f*&# outta the way before he blew through the intersection going at least 45 mph.  I bet if you'd peeled off my helmet, I was probably white as a ghost.

Going home to Hood River on I84 in Portland, I had some sociopathic lunatic start harassing me. He was a middle aged weenie in a silver Mazda Miata. I hadn't cut him off, wasn't riding like a jerk and had done absolutely nothing to provoke him. He just starts cussing at me and literally trying to hit me. I dropped back into the heavy traffic and let him continue ranting and carrying on, maybe at someone better protected than me. At the time, my daughter was about 2 years old. Really shook me up.

Kept most of my riding confined to the less populated areas and that helps some. Still, the number of potential hazards on any given ride is mind boggling. The faster you go, the more that multiplies as your ability to deal with stuff decreases kind of exponentially. Dogs, deer, tractors, diesel fuel, gravel, sun in your eyes, unseen driveways, drunks, and much more. Every single one of those things I just named has been an actual hazard that I encountered on various rides. It's all about risk management but the feeling of piloting a great bike on a great road is pretty much one of the best things in the world.

[Easy Rider]

Wow - wan't expecting so many "you're all going to die" posts. 

I started riding on a Honda CT70 when I was 10.  Then rode / raced dirt bikes up until about age 18. 
Got into cars / girls / work / marriage / kids / house / etc.
 
About 14 years ago was in Florida with a buddy to wakeboard for a few days.  First day I get there he says "lets go to the dirt bike track tonight".  I few hours later after coming off the back on a set of doubles - I had broken my back.   
Made it back home to Canada and spent the next year rehabbing it. 

Did a major home reno for the wife 4 years ago - and when finished I got my big ADV bike for myself. 
Took a couple courses and got my street license.   Have almost 18,000km on it in 2 summers - 90% of it on gravel roads. 

Bought a KTM enduro bike this winter for myself as I was finding myself on trails way to tight for a 1200cc / 600+ lb. ADV bike. 

Only ride on the street on my way to or from dirt. 

After the large gap of not riding bikes - I can not imagine not riding anymore.  It is such a release for me. 

[hbsteve]

Back in the 70's, I rode a Bull Taco 250 Enduro.  My favorite place to ride was on the Cleveland National Forest roads, where Santiago Peak is located.  I knew the road to Santiago Peak.  I had the Forest map and loved to take different roads also.
This one time I was riding downhill on a small road/trail.  It connected with a regular size dirt road at an angle.  The problem was that they had graded the connecting road. It was several feet lower than the road I was on.  Plus, the other side was a steep slope. 
I managed to slow down enough not to fly off the other side.  But, the bike stopped completely once the front wheel hit the lower road, sending me over the handle bars.  Being young and flexible, I just rolled out of it. 
 

[headmount]

Wow - wan't expecting so many "you're all going to die" posts. 

I started riding on a Honda CT70 when I was 10.  Then rode / raced dirt bikes up until about age 18. 
Got into cars / girls / work / marriage / kids / house / etc.
 
About 14 years ago was in Florida with a buddy to wakeboard for a few days.  First day I get there he says "lets go to the dirt bike track tonight".  I few hours later after coming off the back on a set of doubles - I had broken my back.   
Made it back home to Canada and spent the next year rehabbing it. 

Did a major home reno for the wife 4 years ago - and when finished I got my big ADV bike for myself. 
Took a couple courses and got my street license.   Have almost 18,000km on it in 2 summers - 90% of it on gravel roads. 

Bought a KTM enduro bike this winter for myself as I was finding myself on trails way to tight for a 1200cc / 600+ lb. ADV bike. 

Only ride on the street on my way to or from dirt. 

After the large gap of not riding bikes - I can not imagine not riding anymore.  It is such a release for me.

Dying is not an issue.  It's just living the injuries that create bummers.  My brother laid our bike down in the sand once with me on the back.  Leg was trapped under the muffler, sizzling my calf.  Of course it infected and almost lost my leg... in Bali.  Saw so many hamburger scenes on the road to Uluwatu, all on motos.   Loved bikes before that but never got the thrill after  even tho it was my brother's screw up and my screw up for getting on the same bike as him.  Kind of a metaphor for my life with him.

[covesurfer]

Dying is not an issue.  It's just living the injuries that create bummers. 

That is absolutely the issue. There's things worse than dying.