Please look twice for motorcycles

[jp]

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

There are still a lot of possibilities for barn finds out here in Oregon, but this was kind of a fluke.

My wife actually found them and bought them from one guy in a bundle. One '66 was a parts bike. The story behind the one with the sidecar is that a dealer in CA outfitted a couple of hundred CM91s with aftermarket sidecars. Apparently, buyers kept returning them after realizing the learning curve of riding with a sidecar and flipping them on their sides. The dealer fearing litigation immediately cut off sales, so only a few exist out in the wild.

 

[geoguy]

Some helpful tips re: handling a sidecar motorcycle:

 

[bluesypicky]

Some helpful tips re: handling a sidecar motorcycle:

lol....
Since we've landed on the side car handling topic now, and after mentioning my early years of motocross racing, let me tell you one thing: The REAL men are these guys:



I'm telling you.... motocross is the best way to learn handling!

 

[gjmalcyon]

Speaking of sidecars, these guys cause me much puckerage whenever I see them racing:

 

[jp]

In my younger years, I would have loved to have been the monkey!

 

[Guildedagain]

I went to a BMW meet in a small town south of here in the wheat fields when I had my GS1000. The guy hosting the meet had a Ural with sidecar. He said go ahead and take it for a spin around town. Wow, absolutely the worst feeling on a bike, evil handling, but I could see the uses out here around a farm. I actually wanted one of these bad, there was one at the Yamaha shop, but then the shop mysteriously burned down, bummer. Lots of folks in the area suspected it had something to do with the owner's coke habit and bikes not selling...

With driven sidecar wheel.

 

[FNG]

My last scooter, Husqvarna 510 4 stroke prior to the 1987 Barstow to Vegas. Finished 120 mile course in about 4 hrs, the pros ran about a 140 mile course in around 2.5 hours.

 

[bluesypicky]

This thread woke up tons of memories..... this is a training session sometimes in the 80's in the woods outside Le Mans (I'm the one with the white KTM shirt and yellow pants walking like I'm hot s#$T..... lmao)

 

[Guildedagain]

I want an old KTM or Zundapp powered ISDT bike ;]

 

[FNG]

This thread woke up tons of memories..... this is a training session sometimes in the 80's in the woods outside Le Mans (I'm the one with the white KTM shirt and yellow pants walking like I'm hot s#$T..... lmao)

Still have my leather Hi-point boots. And a sporty Malcom Smith goretex jacket.. of course it doesn't fit anymore.

Loved the 4 stoke,no need to mix oil with the gas. Used to run 100LL Avgas. They sold "racing fuel" at the shop, but I asked the guy, is that Avgas? He said no while shaking his head yes, lol. So I would just go to the local airport and buy it at half the price.

We raced in the beginners class, and the pro quad runners would start about 20 minutes behind us. They all had squeeze type bicycle horns mounted, and when you heard them honking, pull over and let them by! Those fellas were pretty fast.

 

[bluesypicky]

Funny story about this practice area where the pic above was taken:
A few years after that pic was taken, we were riding an enduro course in that very same area, when out of nowhere, a kid that looked like he needed a 3 step ladder to get on his bike, passed us all making us look like we were standing still. Within seconds, all we could hear (because he was already out of sight) was the sound of his throttle attacks from his exhaust pipe.
So back at the parking area as we were talking about the kid with extra terrestrial skills, we inquired around about him..... someone told us "Yeah he's a local kid, his father took him here for practice, he's coaching him and is pretty hard on him actually. His name is Michael Pichon".
For those not too familiar with the dirt bike world, fast forward a decade or so, and the "kid" would snatch 4 world championship titles....
2 in Europe under the FIM, and 2 AMA championships here in the US (supercross racing).
I had already left France by then, but Michael became my best childhood friend's buddy after his racing days were over (the guy in white and red sitting on the KTM in the picture).
Yep, a homie from Le Mans at the top of the motocross/supercross world!

 

[F312]

I remember too many bad stories while riding and gave it up in the 60s.

Ralph

 

[crank]

Also.... Please.... Watch out for bicycles!

I ride both road and mountain bikes. Much more dangerous on the road. At intersections I always try to catch eye contact with drivers before crossing.

Re. windsurfing and balance. I used to windsurf and I remember if I had just 1 beer it would throw my balance off enough that I fell quite a lot. Skiing and snowboarding I can do half in the bag. Windsurfing not so much.

 

[Guildedagain]

A bicycle rider was killed here in the last month. Turns out he was a well known Triathlete so no stranger to riding. What a sad tragic waste.

"Share The Road"

 

[bluesypicky]

"Share The Road"

Love the concept.
Call me cycnical, because I am, but it will never happen.
Too many idiots behind the wheel, completely oblivious to their surroundings for whatever reason, (on meds, on the phone, senile, drunk, high or simply just plain incompetent) are enough reasons why I would never even entertain the thought of bicycling on urban or suburban roads with car traffic.
A country road with one car passing by every 5mns ok.

 

[gjmalcyon]

Also.... Please.... Watch out for bicycles!

I ride both road and mountain bikes. Much more dangerous on the road. At intersections I always try to catch eye contact with drivers before crossing.

Notwithstanding my hard-to-ignore strobes on the bars and seat post, I'm getting more uncomfortable riding on the road with each passing year. That's why my summer-time weekend rides start at 7am.

I also think the car vs. bike carnage is one of the reasons for the rapid growth of gravel bikes and biking.

 

[Guildedagain]

Here is the article where he's demonized for not paying any attention to signs, way to go newspaper.

The paper doesn't mention that WA passed a law that riders don't have to stop for red lights anymore if they don't have to.

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article250870704.html

 

[davismanLV]

Never had my own motorcycle, but used to borrow Don's back in the 80's in Los Angeles when I was going somewhere where parking was an issue, like going to the beach and such. He had a Yamaha 650 Maxim which was a great bike for around town. Of course, back then I had a few really close calls even BEFORE cell phones and texting!! These days, I just can't imagine. People drive so poorly and do too many stupid things. Riding my bicycle around here is terrifying. You can make eye contact with people and then they try to kill you. It's almost a game to them. Don rode his bike to work every day and has been hit THREE TIMES!!

 

[Opsimath]

During the '79 gas shortage on weekends I could ride my bicycle on the main roads in town with no cars in sight.

Now I will not even think of joining traffic on fewer than 4 wheels.

 

[dreadnut]

Here in Michigan, bicycle riders legally own the entire lane, when passing them you need to afford them the same courtesy as an automobile, i.e., go into the other lane to pass, and if cars are coming the opposite direction you need to wait. Too many people just zoom by bikers with little room to spare, that is both rude and dangerous.