Fish might get jealous with my new hobby

[Oldspartan]

Ah, motorbikes. Conner, that's a nice one. Have fun but be super safe.

What is it about motorcycles that sets us more seasoned people to reminiscing? The bike of my youth was a Honda Trail 90 my dad and I fixed up. Looked like a moped, because it was built so you could step off it in a hurry. Wasn't fast, but man, that thing would go ANYWHERE. Steep trails, wild canyons, creek crossings, boulder fields, high sagebrush, you name it. In low gear it would just about climb trees. And if you got stuck, you could just pick it up and move it. My great uncle used one on his ranch to move cows and horses around. Not the best rig for packing an antelope out, but it worked for that too.

Sometimes I think about getting a road bike, but Mrs. Badger would never go for it; perhaps she realizes better than I do that reflexes aren't quite what they used to be. Besides, I reached the age about ten years ago where a motorcycle screams "Midlife Crisis!" I look terrible in gaudy gold chains, and I like Mrs. Badger far too much to pursue a younger mistress, so I'll just stick with my pickup and walking shoes.

Mrs Badger must be related to Linda ... She insisted I give up the habit about 10 years ago after a car pulled in front of us and I had to lay the bike on its side. Road rash is a XXXXXXX when you are an elder.

Started riding when I was 12 with a 58 Bultaco. My last bike was a 2012 Gold Wing. The Wing was like driving a car. In between I owned Virago, Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda and of course a Harley. The Harley was from when AMF owned them and was the most unreliable vehicle I ever owned. I had to learn how to work on it because it needed work every 1000 or less miles. Most reliable bike was the Virago 900.

Loved riding and hated to give it up but Linda was right, the reflexes were inadequate for safety.

 

[jaylach]

Mrs Badger must be related to Linda ... She insisted I give up the habit about 10 years ago after a car pulled in front of us and I had to lay the bike on its side. Road rash is a XXXXXXX when you are an elder.

Started riding when I was 12 with a 58 Bultaco. My last bike was a 2012 Gold Wing. The Wing was like driving a car. In between I owned Virago, Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda and of course a Harley. The Harley was from when AMF owned them and was the most unreliable vehicle I ever owned. I had to learn how to work on it because it needed work every 1000 or less miles. Most reliable bike was the Virago 900.

Loved riding and hated to give it up but Linda was right, the reflexes were inadequate for safety.

One of the reasons I don't get another bike is that I figure I've already pushed my luck. I have around a quarter million miles on a bike and have only gone down twice. In both cases I was able to pick up the bike and ride it home. LOL! I figure that I don't have much such luck left.

My decision as to not getting another motorcycle concerns my body. I'm 70 years old and my reactions and balance are just not the same as when I was younger. Even with a peddle type bicycle I find that I have to be careful doing an even fairly tight turn. That would not be a good thing on a large scooter.

LOL! LOL! Actually there was a third time I went down but it is actually a bit embarrassing. Before I left Ohio in 1987 there was a road I loved to cruise on my VT100 Shadow. The problem was that the road went nowhere but farm and forest with a lot of hills. MAN, it was a wonderful ride. There were even a lot of shallow hills that, early Spring and late fall would fill with fog. It was like riding in and out of clouds, I loved it!

Anyway, as said, this road really went nowhere. Along this road was a condemned gas station that was just like the ruins of a building. For an afternoon/evening ride it was a great ride and the old gas station was s a good place to turn around and repeat the ride in reverse.

Long story made short I turned around in the lot and stopped at the road to be sure as to safe. The thing was that there was a pretty big pot hole. Hey, I saw the pot hole but not by enough. Stopped at the road and put my foot down in the pot hole and went down soft

 

[Connershawzz]

Wife has been coming along! Finally got her on it promised I wouldn’t go over 20 mph tho!

 

[jaylach]

Wife has been coming along! Finally got her on it promised I wouldn’t go over 20 mph tho!

Just remember something. When you ride solo you can play but, when you have a passenger, you are responsible for their life. Ride accordingly.

 

[Fishmanic]

Why aren’t YOU wearing a helmet… that beanie cap wont protect you if you should crash

 

[Connershawzz]

Why aren’t YOU wearing a helmet… that beanie cap wont protect you if you should crash

Just remember something. When you ride solo you can play but, when you have a passenger, you are responsible for their life. Ride accordingly.

Oh ya I’d never put her in harms way , we didn’t leave the neighborhood lol. And her helmet is in the mail but she was ready for a ride so I couldn’t resist lol

 

[jaylach]

Oh ya I’d never put her in harms way , we didn’t leave the neighborhood lol. And her helmet is in the mail but she was ready for a ride so I couldn’t resist lol

Personally I didn't use a helmet unless dictated by the state I was in. Especially with being blind in one eye a helmet just cut down too much of my vision. They also cut down on what you can hear around you.

I'm not at all putting down helmets. I'm just saying to be careful about the ones you choose. For instance I'd use a 3/4 helmet over a full face. The reason for this is that too many full face helmets are, or at least were when I rode, badly designed. The problem was/is that the impact from a direct hit on the chin guard was directed around to the back of the helmet often causing a base line skull fracture which is just about 100% fatal.

The main safety factor on and cycle is yourself. As I said before always practice looking for an escape route. Always be aware of what is around you and anticipate what some fool in a cage (car) in front or next to you may do and get in the habit of always knowing what to do when someone else screws up. Also always ride on the defensive. Ride like every car around you is out to kill you and the only reason they don't is they don't see you. If you start out practicing this you end up not even thinking about it as it becomes natural. I'm not talking stats but, rather, experience. With a quarter million miles on a bike and never even getting road rash I must have done something right...

An odd thing with bikes is, as mentioned before, the wheels act like gyroscopes. As long as within the stress levels of the frame the faster a bike is going the harder it is to knock over as they gyroscope effect of the wheels increases with speed. A gyroscope will always resist a change in attitude. Of course, if an impact causes a wheel to lose contact with the road that is all out the window as the gyroscope affect has nothing to work against.

Just please be smart. Most bike fatalities happen within the first year of riding due to lack of experience. Also be sure to keep up the safety stuff when close to home. A high percentage of road accidents actually happen close to home as we tend to become more chill about driving and become less aware of what is going on. Whether in a car or on a bike NEVER allow this to happen; ALWAYS be aware.