Please look twice for motorcycles

[Opsimath]

My buddy was giving me a ride on the back of his Kaw 900 Z1 in about '74. He opened it up, and when I looked over his shoulder I saw we were going 120 mph. There were big Douglas firs on both sides of the road, it reminded me of "Hot Rod Lincoln," the trees looked like a picket fence.

I'm glad to be here to tell this story.

120 is way too fast!!!!

 

[Opsimath]

I recall going to a restaurant and outside was parked a great big motorcycle, looked fully decked out. I had an interest so stopped to look it over. I remember laughing out loud when I saw it had air conditioning. It just didn't make sense to me to air condition a motorcycle.

I was told that cold air blowing on a hot day offered some relief but I still find the idea of air conditioning a motorcycle a bit entertaining.

 

[Opsimath]

Opsimath No one should ever start riding later in life

Just what exactly do you mean, " later in life"? Per your own recommendation I am going to eat peppers and live to be at least 125, so that would put me right around middle age at present.

Or, maybe that's a challenge?

 

[bluesypicky]

Opsimath No one should ever start riding later in life, I believe. The reflexes aren't there, the ones that save your life in a split second.

So true.
This, coupled with the fact that these old folks who all of a sudden decide to buy into the Harley "Big bad boy" image, start with the heaviest, vibrating, most unstable and user unfriendly 2 wheel thing ever made.... oh and of course a bad boy doesn't need no damn helmet. A bandana will do.
I rode bikes my whole life, started in my teens by racing motocross machines, which, while not for everyone, will teach you how to handle (and respect) a bike pretty well.
The track, be it dirt or road, is the safest environment, and the only one, that will allow one to push a bike to its limits.
I quit riding here, after realizing that every time I was getting on either my Triumph Daytona 955 or Suzuki GSXR 1000, getting past 2nd gear was putting my license (and freedom) on the line.
Not to mention that there are very few things more boring than riding a bike on a highway (unless you're not into riding bikes), and that's pretty much all there is in flawda...

JP, that 750 four remains one of the prettiest machine ever made. Had one, not as pretty as the one you pictured though.
Love dual sport, practiced this for many years after I got too old the the motocross track.... lol

 

[Opsimath]

How did getting past 2nd gear put your license on the line?

 

[bluesypicky]

120 is way too fast!!!!

Try 175....

 

[Opsimath]

Try 175....

NO!
But thank you anyway.

 

[bluesypicky]

How did getting past 2nd gear put your license on the line?

Because when pushing gears to their normal revving range, the GSXR will put you over the 65mph speed limit somewhere around 3rd gear.

 

[Opsimath]

Because when pushing gears to their normal revving range, the GSXR will put you over the 65mph speed limit somewhere around 3rd gear.

Oh!

 

[Guildedagain]

By later in life I mean your out of shape 60 something year old neighbor who probably can't even ride a bicycle and tells you "he's buying a Harley", cringe...

If you're serious about biking, by all means ride a bicycle and get a feel for your balance, mountain bike some trails and get a feel for sliding, skidding, etc.

Then start small on the bike, ride around town, get a feel for it, and of course get a motorcycle endorsement.

"Can I drive a motorcycle with a car license in Florida?

Can I ride a motorcycle with a car license? Unless you have obtained a motorcycle endorsement for your Class E operator's license, you cannot ride a motorcycle with only a car license. However, if you are riding a scooter with a motor that is under 50 cc, you can legally operate it with only a Florida Class E license."

When I took my last endorsement, after some yayhoo at licensing didn't automatically renew it, and I had to do the tests all over again after riding for 20 years, I was surprised by the amount of hot shot riders on Ninjas/GSXR's that failed the riding test.

If I told you half the horror stories, and fatalities, I've seen or heard of in my 40 years of riding, you wouldn't even consider it.

Like the guy riding with a pack of bikers, helmetless in Idaho, who's glasses flew off his head, so he stomps on the back brake, "pulls over", sending five other bikes into the ditch, including a personal friend of mine, a middle aged woman who broke both of her wrists, shattered her femur on the right leg, and more. She never quite recovered.

I'm totally a lone rider and always have been. Riding with others always bad news.

Or a buddy of mine with the same BMW "Bumblebee" 1000 GS as mine who hit a deer in the early hours 5 miles from town and lay in the ditch with a punctured lung until it was light enough for somebody to see him and call 911. He survived but two years later he still wasn't fully recovered.

A friend of mine from the Ford dealership up on Division St out on his lunch hour on his Auto Boat & Speed Show trophy winning 1950's vintage Triumph hardtail who had a guy turn left in front of him at a light (the most common fatality for riders). As George is laying there all broken up with motorcycle laying on him, the guy that hit him walked up and asked him "how old is your bike?" George replies "1951" and the a-hole says "Good, then it won't cost my insurance very much". Unreal.

A very close personal friend of ours' son Larry, 21 year old, bought his 1st bike, hit a telephone pole and died.

On night about midnight, there was a ruckus at the red light just up the hill by the 7-Eleven. I walk up there and it's a girl I was sweet on, laying there, hit and run driver nowhere in sight had run a red light, a thick wide solid stream of blood going all the way from her head to the curb, and people standing there cracking jokes like "it's a dead Fred" and laughing. Aren't people great? I couldn't even sleep right for a while after that... and all I did in my spare time was restore an old Matchless 600 single "Typhoon Competition Scrambler" that had belonged to Evel Knievel, and had been sitting for 17 years since he'd crashed it.

The way I found that bike was a guy just up the street by the 7-Eleven had a whole yard full of vintage BMW's for sale. R27, R69S, and others. I says "why you selling your bikes?" He says "I was riding down by the college, a guy turned left in front of me, knocked me off his bike and practically ripped my left arm off". He was still recovering, and no more riding. This guy had grown up in Butte MT with Evel Knievel, in the 1950's, a pack of them all "had their Harleys geared up as fast as they could so they could go from town to town, from bar to bar, at 120mph". I already had my Victor, so I wasn't interested in the BMW's, too much money anyway, but then I saw the Matchless leaning against the wall in this little shed...

I personally quit riding for several years at a time on accounts of insane personal close calls, but always restarted because of my love for motorcycles, and riding, really clears your head out.

Country roads only for me, even better the "Primitive field roads" without a car in sight anywhere.

Like this.

This is my last bike, and I'm selling it. My right knee can't handle any more kickstarting, not if I want to keep walking.

 

[jp]

So true.
This, coupled with the fact that these old folks who all of a sudden decide to buy into the Harley "Big bad boy" image, start with the heaviest, vibrating, most unstable and user unfriendly 2 wheel thing ever made.... oh and of course a bad boy doesn't need no damn helmet. A bandana will do.
I rode bikes my whole life, started in my teens by racing motocross machines, which, while not for everyone, will teach you how to handle (and respect) a bike pretty well.
The track, be it dirt or road, is the safest environment, and the only one, that will allow one to push a bike to its limits.
I quit riding here, after realizing that every time I was getting on either my Triumph Daytona 955 or Suzuki GSXR 1000, getting past 2nd gear was putting my license (and freedom) on the line.
Not to mention that there are very few things more boring than riding a bike on a highway (unless you're not into riding bikes), and that's pretty much all there is in flawda...

I remember when I took the Motorcycle Safety Course in my early 20s after riding mini bikes and small dirt bikes as a kid. A lot of new middle-aged riders brought their fully dressed Harleys. And despite the instructors warnings, they used them instead of the small starter bikes and dumped constantly. To make matters worse, this course always proceeded, rain or shine. and it just happened to downpour every single day. It was painful to watch.

There's also this notion that a middle weight like a 600 is a starter bike, which I think is nuts. This makes many inexperienced riders think they need to get to a 1000cc bike as fast as possible. This breeds the riders I see tailing me on a Ducati in shorts, flip flops, and Oakleys for head protection, zig-zagging between cars with six feet to spare at plus 90 MPH. Uggh! I actually prefer smaller bikes.

I have three of these in my garage right now, including a rare example with a sidecar.

JP, that 750 four remains one of the prettiest machine ever made. Had one, not as pretty as the one you pictured though.
Love dual sport, practiced this for many years after I got too old the the motocross track.... lol

I think so too. My dream bike has always been a Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans.

 

[jp]

I'm totally a lone rider and always have been. Riding with others always bad news. . . .

Country roads only for me, even better the "Primitive field roads" without a car in sight anywhere.

I'm headed in that direction. Country roads and back woods forest trails. No people.

 

[gjmalcyon]

This breeds the riders I see tailing me on a Ducati in shorts, flip flops, and Oakleys for head protection, zig-zagging between cars with six feet to spare at plus 90 MPH.

My apologies if you find this offensive, but I callously call riders like that "future organ donors."

 

[bluesypicky]

This breeds the riders I see tailing me on a Ducati in shorts, flip flops, and Oakleys for head protection

Idiots ride all kinds of bikes, but you will see many more Harley riders with no helmet on, than sports/touring bike riders.
Because again, most of these folks don't buy a bike, they buy an image, and one that says helmets are for sissies.

I would have never ever put a bike in gear and started moving without the full gear on, and that included a jacket with an inner shell for thorax, back & ribs protection, leather gloves and a full face helmet.
This is a concept I grew up with, thanks to my early years racing experience, and the reason why I shake my head so often on the road when I see a wanna be biker of the kind you describe up here.

Cool moped JP. C60? C70?
A buddy of mine had one of these in France, (back in the early 80's), I believe he still has it today. Those things are indestructible.

 

[jp]

My apologies if you find this offensive, but I callously call riders like that "future organ donors."

Exactly!

Idiots ride all kinds of bikes, but you will see many more Harley riders with no helmet on, than sports/touring bike riders.
Because again, most of these folks don't buy a bike, they buy an image, and one that says helmets are for sissies.

Actually, that's very true -- I agree completely with you on this.

Cool moped JP. C60? C70?
A buddy of mine had one of these in France, (back in the early 80's), I believe he still has it today. Those things are indestructible.

All CM91 Super Cubs with the 90cc engine. Two red 1966s and a black 1969.

 

[bluesypicky]

All CM91 Super Cubs with the 90cc engine. Two red 1966s and a black 1969.

Curious about where you find those things (especially the side car one!), they are so rare in the US?

 

[Opsimath]

The motorcycle talk is very interesting but in complete honesty I have no current plans to get a bike. If I got one, and that "if" is quite large, it would be a dirt type, small enough for me to pick up, and would only be ridden on the farm. It would not have air conditioning. I do not have a death wish and therefore would not even consider riding in traffic.

I like to think I would have no balance problems having a history of horseback riding, windsurfing, and ballet, but I won't know until I try, and I'll likely never try.

That being said, I do want to mount my windsurfing sails on a couple of all terrain mountain boards. That has been a plan on the back burner for a while now, but when I finally get around to it I'll let you know how it went. I think the ER has internet.

 

[Opsimath]

By later in life I mean your out of shape 60 something year old neighbor who probably can't even ride a bicycle and tells you "he's buying a Harley", cringe...

If you're serious about biking, by all means ride a bicycle and get a feel for your balance, mountain bike some trails and get a feel for sliding, skidding, etc.

Then start small on the bike, ride around town, get a feel for it, and of course get a motorcycle endorsement.

"Can I drive a motorcycle with a car license in Florida?

Can I ride a motorcycle with a car license? Unless you have obtained a motorcycle endorsement for your Class E operator's license, you cannot ride a motorcycle with only a car license. However, if you are riding a scooter with a motor that is under 50 cc, you can legally operate it with only a Florida Class E license."

When I took my last endorsement, after some yayhoo at licensing didn't automatically renew it, and I had to do the tests all over again after riding for 20 years, I was surprised by the amount of hot shot riders on Ninjas/GSXR's that failed the riding test.

If I told you half the horror stories, and fatalities, I've seen or heard of in my 40 years of riding, you wouldn't even consider it.

Like the guy riding with a pack of bikers, helmetless in Idaho, who's glasses flew off his head, so he stomps on the back brake, "pulls over", sending five other bikes into the ditch, including a personal friend of mine, a middle aged woman who broke both of her wrists, shattered her femur on the right leg, and more. She never quite recovered.

I'm totally a lone rider and always have been. Riding with others always bad news.

Or a buddy of mine with the same BMW "Bumblebee" 1000 GS as mine who hit a deer in the early hours 5 miles from town and lay in the ditch with a punctured lung until it was light enough for somebody to see him and call 911. He survived but two years later he still wasn't fully recovered.

A friend of mine from the Ford dealership up on Division St out on his lunch hour on his Auto Boat & Speed Show trophy winning 1950's vintage Triumph hardtail who had a guy turn left in front of him at a light (the most common fatality for riders). As George is laying there all broken up with motorcycle laying on him, the guy that hit him walked up and asked him "how old is your bike?" George replies "1951" and the a-hole says "Good, then it won't cost my insurance very much". Unreal.

A very close personal friend of ours' son Larry, 21 year old, bought his 1st bike, hit a telephone pole and died.

On night about midnight, there was a ruckus at the red light just up the hill by the 7-Eleven. I walk up there and it's a girl I was sweet on, laying there, hit and run driver nowhere in sight had run a red light, a thick wide solid stream of blood going all the way from her head to the curb, and people standing there cracking jokes like "it's a dead Fred" and laughing. Aren't people great? I couldn't even sleep right for a while after that... and all I did in my spare time was restore an old Matchless 600 single "Typhoon Competition Scrambler" that had belonged to Evel Knievel, and had been sitting for 17 years since he'd crashed it.

The way I found that bike was a guy just up the street by the 7-Eleven had a whole yard full of vintage BMW's for sale. R27, R69S, and others. I says "why you selling your bikes?" He says "I was riding down by the college, a guy turned left in front of me, knocked me off his bike and practically ripped my left arm off". He was still recovering, and no more riding. This guy had grown up in Butte MT with Evel Knievel, in the 1950's, a pack of them all "had their Harleys geared up as fast as they could so they could go from town to town, from bar to bar, at 120mph". I already had my Victor, so I wasn't interested in the BMW's, too much money anyway, but then I saw the Matchless leaning against the wall in this little shed...

I personally quit riding for several years at a time on accounts of insane personal close calls, but always restarted because of my love for motorcycles, and riding, really clears your head out.

Country roads only for me, even better the "Primitive field roads" without a car in sight anywhere.

Like this.

This is my last bike, and I'm selling it. My right knee can't handle any more kickstarting, not if I want to keep walking.

So sorry for all the stories that didn't go well. Cannot believe people were making jokes while someone was injured! Husband and I also know some unhappy ending bike stories and that could have something to do with why we don't have one. They really do look like they could be fun, though. Just not on the road.

 

[bluesypicky]

The motorcycle talk is very interesting but in complete honesty I have no current plans to get a bike. If I got one, and that "if" is quite large, it would be a dirt type, small enough for me to pick up, and would only be ridden on the farm. It would not have air conditioning. I do not have a death wish and therefore would not even consider riding in traffic.

I like to think I would have no balance problems having a history of horseback riding, windsurfing, and ballet, but I won't know until I try, and I'll likely never try.

That being said, I do want to mount my windsurfing sails on a couple of all terrain mountain boards. That has been a plan on the back burner for a while now, but when I finally get around to it I'll let you know how it went. I think the ER has internet.

Sounds like fun!... no, not surfing the net in the ER, but the windsurfing part.
And if I were living on farm land, I would most definitely still own a dirt bike.
Actually the funny thing about this is that many a motocross / supercross champion past and present, grew up on a farm land and started dirt biking at about the same time they could walk....

 

[Opsimath]

Sounds like fun!... no, not surfing the net in the ER, but the windsurfing part.
And if I were living on farm land, I would most definitely still own a dirt bike.
Actually the funny thing about this is that many a motocross / supercross champion past and present, grew up on a farm land and started dirt biking at about the same time they could walk....

Windsurfing is so much fun. I don't think it enjoys the popularity it did about 25 or so years ago. Maybe you can find someone with a board to let you give it a try. It's all about balance, very little strength required. People who didn't windsurf used to wonder how my 105 pound self could manage it. The hardest part was getting the 40 pound board onto the top of the Bronco.

Keep in mind that when you fall the water will catch you. Very refreshing in the Florida heat!