Who rides motorcycles?

[JasperFrank]

How many times has a motorcycle Saved My Life? More times than I can count. The best, safe, auto drivers, are also long time motorcycle drivers.

 

[CalG]

I'm sure I have made this comment previously, but...

I ride two wheels BECAUSE it requires 100% attention and a fair bit of concentration to do so.

That IS the enjoyment.

 

[LouNY]

I can certainly agree some people should not own a motorcycle.
I,m 76 years old, and have owned and driven many very powerful bikes over my years of owning them. I have never had an accident, or even any incedent I would say was a close call. I was a very very cautious and alert driver, always leaving enough room so i had an escape area of some kind, even while driving in Montreal.

My self I sure can't say I've never had an incident or accident.
I rode for a great many years starting at about 14 till 70, I had to stop because of balance issues and knees that couldn't hold the bike up. I was never seriously injured and never missed a day of work from my incidents. I've laid a couple down including a full dress in my driveway, been tagged by an auto once, and actually took out a deer one night.

 

[JasperFrank]

Liability Coverage on my 1980, Yam, SR500, is $140 a year, through Progressive. Cool thing is, its really 499.5 CCs. Just below the next jump of displacement category to insure.

 

[mrmikey]

PL, PD and collision on my '15 Spyder is CAN$ 1,200

 

[subhunter]

I wanted something small, light and easy to work on.
I bought this used with 108 miles on it. It's fun to take
the back roads over to my friends house. The stock bars
were terrible so I switched to Protaper Mini's with Oury
Road grips. I couldn't use the stock bar end weights with
the alloy bars. The grips had a little more vibration than
what I like so I filled the bars with BB's. The added weight
of the BB's and them bouncing around a little, kind of
turned the bars in to a big dead blow hammer. The bars
are really smooth now. A 1/2" x 1/2" slice of wooden
dowel was added to the end of the bars.
The dash says 47.1 gallons used , 6570 miles ( 139.4 mpg ).
Toggle to the other info and it says 124.3 mpg.

 

[CalG]

On the practical side of two wheeling

I mounted a new rear tire on the Vespa today.

Breaking down tires is a ROYAL pia! And hard work that cost me blood when the tire iron slipped out! ;-)

The new rear tire on a scooter?

A Michelin XZX 145/70R12

To replace a 15 year old Kenda 130/70-12

The car tire "corners" with an edge, but I read the service life is worth it!

110/90-12 front is on it's way
to replace the 120/70-12

I'm going to add an inch to the rolling diameter both front and rear.

There dirt back roads are brutal!

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Cracks me up that a person would buy an 800 pound bike with over 1000cc to learn on.

That is likely just a flex. It's pride. It's to look a certain way.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Cracks me up that a person would buy an 800 pound bike with over 1000cc to learn on.

That is likely just a flex. It's pride. It's to look a certain way.

not only that the dud doesn't even seem to understand the concept of breaking never mind a clutch

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

not only that the dud doesn't even seem to understand the concept of breaking never mind a clutch

The first thing I taught my son was clutch work. He had to prove to me that he could ride the bike at any speed, regardless of throttle setting. You should be able to ride a motorcycle at 5mph with the throttle wide open.

The entire first day of most motorcycle training courses, is simply walking the bike back and forth across a parking lot by slipping the clutch and modulating throttle.

Speed is clutch based, power is throttle. Many people see a clutch as an on/off switch, when it's actually a dimmer. If you can't use a clutch as speed control by slipping it, you'll be a shitty rider for sure.