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After reading comments and such from readers, I'm curious as to how many ride motorcycles and if you still ride. Me, I raced them for over twenty-five years. I'm a charter member of the AMA and darn proud of it too. I started racing on triumphs in the 500cc class. I started by riding enduros on a ridgid frame 500 and finally got suspension a year later on my 1965 500. Next I raced mostly smooth scrambles with an occational rough scramble. I stopped racing for maybe two years until a friend told me about cross country racing. Those are the ones that last for at least an hour and a half to over five hours, all off road. My longest was the first Fronteir Five Hundred which went from Las Veges to Reno. Never did finish the race, but do I have memories. I've raced in events from Mexico to Idaho, and most of the western states between. I advanced from novice to expert over the years, but haven't raced now for I guess 15 years, the body can't take it anymore, and long races are becoming harder to find. I think what happened was someone saw how much fun it was and past a law to outlaw it. Oh well, at least I have my dreams, Arecee
Comments
Back in the 80s
I rode a commuter bike twelve miles each way in heavy traffic five times a week for six months. Cured me completely. :)
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
There's a cure ???
Strange, I never found it. Even during the following:
2 years couriering in London
2 1/2 years commuting from East London to Mayfair.
And come to think of it, I glad I never found it ;)
Sam
the only cure
The only surefire cure is when the bike is broken, other than that it's hopeless Arecee
Never raced but..........
I've ridden on the road for the last 21 years, I've had big bikes and small, Currently terrorising my local area with my NTV600.
Sam
All my stuff is broken
I have several projects in the garage. The 650 Triumph, a 1983 Yamaha 750 Seca, and an old 500 BSA to get running. All I need is time, Arecee
I have an appreciation for bikes
and have road off and on.Currently I have a polaris predator 500 type S quad but haven't been using it much lately.It's scary fast and more than satisfys any need for speed I have.Being Back East now there really isn't anywhere to ride it like there is on the West Coast so it mostly sits.Amy
Motoring on and off
I rode out of nessessity in the early 60's and then Dirt Biked in the mid 80's. It was part of my "Super Macho" phase. I would only get on one now, side saddle, behind some "big hunk a man". Of course I would expect him to punish me in a most delicious manner. giggle :)
Gwen Brown
I ride and have ridden off
I ride and have ridden off and on for about 20 years.
My current ride is a 1988 Goldwing 1500. It's my second Goldwing and I don't think I'd trade for any other style of bike, just MHO. I'd never dish anyone elses ride. Bikes are an expression of the personality and everyone's is different, not better or worse, just different
You know what I love about riding a big bike; the sound of a Corvett's V-8 wound up as tight as it can go, trying to catch you.
Penny
Good Topic, Arecee!
After my sophomore year at MIT, I bought an old Plymouth Valiant to take me and my stuff back to school, from Buffalo NY to Cambridge, MA. The next summer, 1970, I bought a '68 Triumph Daytona 500, since a bunch of my friends had motorcycles and told me how much fun they were. In the fall, I drove to school, by car, then hitched home and rode my bike back. 2 years later, I had the bike chained up behind the apartment building that my MIT gf and I were staying in for the summer, but unknowns cut the chain and stole the bike.
The next year, I was going to grad school at State U of NY at Buffalo. I was living in a rental house with a bunch of other students. One guy went bankrupt and left a '71 Norton Commando in the basement. I bought it from the bank that was going to repo it. I went back to MIT, married the gf and had the bike while we lived in Maine and CT. I sold it before moving to the Phoenix area in '79. I decided it was better for me to run and bicycle.
In '93, post-op, I legally married Kim, who I'm still with, while she was pre-op, then paid for her surgery later in the year. In '94 we decided to buy some motorcycles. We had some 440s or something, but they were too small. We joined the local lesbian motorcycle club. I got a '89 Kow' Vulcan 750 and Kim ended up with a '91 Vulcan 1500. The monthly rides were really cool. Half of us wore holstered pistols so rednecks in pickups wouldn't run us off the road. By 2000 or so the Vulcans had broken down and we didn't have money to fix them. We were both having some more severe depression and didn't care very much.
We still have the bikes. We have more money left over each month since March because I paid off the mortgage on our house. Probably, in the fall, If Kim's feeling better, she will get the 1500 back on the road. In that case, I might feel like getting my bike back together.
Renee
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
I had a bike--
...a '71 Honda CB550 Super Sport, for a few years in the late '80s. I never raced it and certainly never took it off-road--not taking a spill on a bit of gravel in a parking lot was about the limit of my ability--but I really enjoyed riding it along scenic highways, especially through forests. I sold it the day my oldest was born and shortly after that got an '81 Fiat Spider convertible. I know a lot of bikers object to helmets, but frankly that was one thing I preferred about the bike over the ragtop--the wind on your face can be nice, but in your hair at anything over about 30mph it's highly overrated if you ask me.
I ended up selling the convertible a few years later to pay lawyer bills. Otherwise I'm sure I'd still have it. I loved that little car....
Way back when
in my pre-teens I lived in Europe and within our group of kids you were just not cool unless you had a motorbike, if you could pass the test you could get a license. All I needed to do was sell my parents on the idea. Good grades for a bike. So I became a scholastic whore, do you blame me?
It made returning to the US very difficult when I knew I would have to wait two years before I could legally drive again. I was lucky in that my father was cool and would give me the car keys and tell me to just be careful.
I had a few off and on and eventually designed and built the first VW trike (before Ed Roth)
Awhile ago I was dating a biker and though I was very comfy on the back of his dresser I found a nice 1200 sportster. It vibrates, my fillings may fall out and it is hot. Sort of like riding with a BBQ grill in your crotch.
Its the summer evenings that make you appreciate why dogs love to ride in cars, its an olfactory smorgasborde!
For my own amusement
I have thought of building a bike with that little buick v-8 in it, not because it makes sense but I think it would be cute. I'd have to figure out a low entry to accomodate my skirts, and where to put my makeup mirror?
Gee maybe a v-8 on either side of the back tire, then a scooter seat? :)
I prefer bikes you pedal.
I once illegally rode a friends Honda fifty and thought it was kewl, however, sitting on the back of a friends bike - a 450 I think, frightened me so much, I didn't repeat the experience. My legs still tremble at the memory.
Angharad
Angharad
The Boss Hoss
Now this is the bike to ride. This is just one of their models.
http://www.bosshoss.net/view_bike.asp?x=BHC3ZZ4SS
Boss Hoss, Cool but..............
This is cooler ................
Rolls Royce Turbine Y2K Superbike :)
Now would I like a go on one of these .......
Sam
Have you seen those cute little...
Bicycles with the tiny Doodle bug engines? I want one so bad! I live in the city and the police would be really unamused.
Gwen
Sidecar
I ride a funky old Soviet Military motorcycle with a sidecar. Top speed is 60 mph, but it likes 50, so riding it on freeways is out. It's a workhorse, designed to carry two soldiers and 600 lbs of gear. It is not real aerodynamic, so it doesn't get great mileage,about 35 mpg, but that is better than my car, so the motorcycle is my main transportation. It is very reliable and always starts on the first kick. Parts are just a mouse click away.
I once went to a hardware store for materials to build a shed. I was wearing my riding gear and pushing a loaded cart, an older gentleman followed me out to the parking lot, he said he wanted to see how I was going to get, "All that stuff home on a motorcycle!" He was impressed that I was able to load everything.
Mr. Ram
I was obsessed ...
... with motorcycles from the age of 15 and for the 30 years following. I used to ride sporting and semi-sporting trials on Greeves, Ariel, BSA, Triumphs and BMWs as well as extensive touring and commuting. I loved sidecar outfits and my beloved and I competed and toured for several years. Not sure I could cope with a 'chair' on the righthand side though :)
Strangely what stopped my powered 2/3 wheel exploits was a serious pedal cycle accident. Now I just pedal though I find it too painful to ride long distances and 100km is about my limit nowadays. I'm thinking seriously about getting my barrow (racing pedal tricycle) sorted out and on the road again despite its great age (over 50 years) but it's very light.
Geoff
WOW that's a name I haven't heard for years
I can't remember the last time anyone mentioned a Greeves. I remember the first time I saw and heard one though. The springer front end worked like a charm, but the blooey pipe ruined more than one set of ears. Ariel is another. I believe they and Matchless were made by the same company. I bought a bunch of Matchless parts with the hope of building a complete bike, but it never happened. I didn't have enough parts so I sold the lot. Arecee
I think you mean ...
... AJS rather than Ariel. AJS and Matchless were part of Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) which eventually included Norton. Ariel became part of the BSA group with Triumph as the British motor cycle industry eventually collapsed on itself as the (sadly) much superior Japanese machines came onto the market in the 1960s.
Geoff
Thanks
Thank you for the correction. I forgot all about AJS. I do remember Ariel having a square four if I'm not mistaken. The thing about Japanese bikes is they are so reliable, but the old British bikes felt like motorcycles. My Yamaha rides nice, but I like the Triumph better. The old iron is a lot easier to work on too. I can tune a Triumph with a screwdriver, a plug wrench and a piece of wire, where as with the Yamaha you'd better have lights and guages. Ah the simplicity of the past, Arecee
bit of a girl with engines
I'm afraid I'm a bit of a girl when it comes to engines, of anykind. However, I rode a Honda Nighthawk while living in Los Angeles. It was a royal blue, metalic flake paint job. Gorgeous. and in girl like fashion, I found shoes to go with my bike. they wre L.A. Gear hightops that were the exact color as the bike. when walking about, people would look at my shoes wondering why I was wearing them. AS soon as they saw me with or on my bike, they smiled in understanding.
I live in the Pacific N.W. now, and it only has riding weather maby 60 days a year. it isn't worth the cost of keeping one. BUT as soon as I move to Sunny South Utah next year, one of the first things I'm getting is a motorcycle.
DAMN!! I miss riding.
A.A.
Am I allowed to take exception?
Having learned everything I know about motors/engines/cars in general from my _MOTHER_. I can tell you that some girls know a boatload about cars.
To this day I take my car to my mother to get it fixed. She doesn't actually do the repairs anymore... but she knows the man jargon so much better than I do.
She taught all us girls everything she could so we couldn't be taken advantage of by disreputable mechanics.
Dayna.
Rode for a Long Time
First bike was a 1968 white tank Yamaha DT-1 (first semi serious Japanese off road bike). Last bike was a 1983 Honda 750 Interceptor with maybe 4 other bikes in between. I had a Honda 550 four for several years that was really a sweet bike. Haven't ridden in 18 years (call it a realization of my lack of talent relative to the risk). Never raced, but have attended lots of races including early European motocross, AMA pro road race and amateur road races, speedway, and TT scrambles. I still vividly remember Yvon Duhamel falling off his factory Kawasaki in the cork screw at Laguna 2 years in a row (while in the lead or darn near it) in the early '70's. The first year we were on our honeymoon (amazingly still married).
Years ago there was a classic and antique motorcycle show in Visalia (Central California)in the spring. It got to be a very big deal with well over 100 very high quality restored bikes on display. it was a great oportunity to see bikes you had only heard of (and many you hadn't heard of). I think it eventually stopped. The motorcycle hobby is very strong in California, and there are lots of restored bikes. My guess is that they are being shown somewhere. I looked on the net just now a saw that there is a show in Hanford in May.
Thanks for the topic. It's good to remember things I haven't thought about for a while.
Calimesa, Ca
They have a Classic Bike day here at Bob's Big Boy but I'm not sure how often. I was there one morning and there must have been over 50 bikes, Harleys, Indians, Nortons, Hondas, etc. I think they probably had more bikes later in the day.
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I still remember
my first glimps of the europeans. It was at Santa Cruz I think in the early 70s. Wow, was I impressed. I raced on the coarse a year or two earlier. It was a TT scramble coarse at the time. One of my friends went riding with the Bultaco team rider at Uvis dam and brought him to the top of a very steep and long down hill. He turned and rode off to the bottom. The team rider thought he was crazy and didn't follow. His name is Mark Brelsford and won the number one plate in the AMA series the next year. His career was cut short by a horrific crash at Dayton. One of his team mates pulled in front if him and the bike blew up if flames. It's a famous poster. Mark moved to Alaska and has a trucking company. Arecee
uhm...<blush>
I had a moped does that count? I loved it. We bought it in arizona and rode it there and in mexico and in SoCalifornia then we strapped it onto the front of our truck/camper and drove back to canada where when crossing the border... when asked "Do you have anything to declare?" (I was driving) Mom put her hand on my arm and leaned over and smiled while saying "Just some religious books..." I prayed our cat wouldn't jump through the camper to truck window... and tried to look innocent.
I rode it for one summer after that when I got ran off the road into 10cm deep soft sand... the front tire sunk in and I went over the handlebars... broke two ribs and totalled the moped.
*sigh* that was a fun bike.
Dayna.
It's all about riding
Any bike with a motor qualifies. The love of riding is something no one that hasn't ridden can understand. When you ride there is a feeling one can't describe. The worse day on a motorcycle can be better than the best day off of a bike. Unless you've ridden, you'll never understand, Arecee
Riding
I grew up riding dirt bikes. 1984 was the last time I have riden on dirt bikes. Now I'm on my second street bike, which is a Kawasaki Vulcan 500. I actually have not rode much this year since my brother was killed on a scooter this past Feb. My wife and children have really been against me riding since the loss of my brother. Now my bike just sits in the garage.
I know how you feel
My friend died in a car crash and now my wife won't let me drive a car. She's fine with the motorcycles, but God forgive that I drive a car. I'm just kidding. If you ride safe, then there shouldn't be a problem. Be alert, watch around you and remember the car driver doesn't see what you do. Make him aware that you are near him, but ride. Riding is better than sex,maybe she's jealous, and before you all take me to task, there was a poll about this and sex was number ten, Arecee