Motorcycles & Rural Living

[KYErik]

When we were dating and first married, we enjoyed rides out in the country on my 84 Honda Nighthawk 650. I sold that bike and we now have a smaller 87 Kawasaki 305 that we take rides on. My wife can handle this one by herself and she has been practicing on it with her motorcycle permit since summer.

 

[RobertN]

I had the good fortune of meeting "Magoo" back before his injury. Talk about "driven". He reminded me of drag racer John Force with his enthusiasm for his sport.

His "accident" was not of his doing. He went over a big jump. When he cleared it, and was landing, a TV camera man went out on the track to get a closer shot of Magoo flying over. He landed ON the camera man and his equipment.

I met Danny Chandler once, but it was after his accident. An old friend of mine, that built a couple dirt bike engines after I broke them used to race the California and west coast circuit with Danny, doing pretty well for himself. He backed out to start a family. Anyways, he talked very highly of Danny. Also used to build some of his race engines.

Danny Chandler really branched out after his accident. His web site is Danny Magoo Chandler

The other site I had in my other post didn't look right. It is Fast Fridays. Those races are awesome to watch! It is amazing how fast these guys go on such a short track.

 

[Regal]

Nicest part about riding in IOWA is " No Helmet laws!!".

 

[cp1969]

My first bike was a Triumph T-120 (that dates me). The best part of that bike was that you never got lost as you could always follow the oil slick and line of fallen parts directly back home!

Me, too...I think. Was that the same as a Bonneville except single carb? That's what I had. Broken clutch cables, burned out headlights if you missed a shift...ah, the good old days.

Before the Triumph a friend gave me his Harley knucklehead to use as my own. The gas tank caught fire going down the road at about 30mph...I let go of the handlebars and leaned back as far as I could to escape the flames, thinking I've got to bail off this thing, soon...and the fire went out. The Knucklehead went back to its owner.

But as junky and unreliable as the motorcycles were, the ones I have today do not match the thrill of riding like they did.

 

[capt_met]

my wife and i both ride kawasaki klr's. love to find dirt roads and follow them till i get lost. then find my way home another way.
when i was younger (mid 70's nashville tn.) i lived down the street from an active enduro rider. got to help on some races in tennessee with him. favorite motocrosser was brad lackey.
in the evenings when i saw the neighbor was home, i would go down and talk with him while he worked on bikes in the garage. one evening a dream came true. turned the corner into his garage and jack penton and malcolm smith were sitting there handing tools over. one of the few times in my life i was speechless. i stayed in the garage listening to stories till my parents called the 3rd time to come home. great times.

 

[KentT]

Well, if curves are your thing and you're ever in the Southern Appalachians, you owe it to yourself to check out the Tail of the Dragon on US 129 the TN/NC line...

It's on the south end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Cherohola Skyway (southern leg of the common roundtrip) is in the Cherokee National Forest. Here's the website for it.

Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap and Cherohala Skyway, Graham Co, NC

 

[Thomas]

Nicest part about riding in IOWA is " No Helmet laws!!".

Nor does NH & ME...but you better make sure the head light on in the state of ME. $$$"s

 

[K7147]

Me, too...I think. Was that the same as a Bonneville except single carb? That's what I had. Broken clutch cables, burned out headlights if you missed a shift...ah, the good old days.

Before the Triumph a friend gave me his Harley knucklehead to use as my own. The gas tank caught fire going down the road at about 30mph...I let go of the handlebars and leaned back as far as I could to escape the flames, thinking I've got to bail off this thing, soon...and the fire went out. The Knucklehead went back to its owner.

But as junky and unreliable as the motorcycles were, the ones I have today do not match the thrill of riding like they did.

Hi CP1969!

Yeah, the T-120 was the Bonneville or two carb version. Mine was a 1964 with the gold and white paint scheme. With two carbs you could drip much more fuel on the pavement than with one carb! Hey, with an electrical system manufactured by the “Prince of Darkness”…Lucas…you had no real expectation of the system actually working! As I remember the light switch had three positions: Off, Dim, and Shorted! It’s the only bike that I’ve ever had that you went through four drive sprockets for every chain! However, on the odd occasion that the thing was actually upright and retained sufficient fluids for it not to seize ….it was very quick for that era.

In my youth, it did provide one tremendous advantage that none of the modern bikes provides. With that long flat seat it was actually possible to ……hmmm…. I guess with politics and religion being “out of bounds” on this site…..this subject probably is as well? I’ll change gear…..

About eight years ago I bought a 1965 T-120 as a basket case with the intention of rebuilding it and re-living my youth……actually it’s still in a moldy old basket …..along with my youth!!

Ken

 

[K7147]

Well, if curves are your thing and you're ever in the Southern Appalachians, you owe it to yourself to check out the Tail of the Dragon on US 129 the TN/NC line...

It's on the south end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Cherohola Skyway (southern leg of the common roundtrip) is in the Cherokee National Forest. Here's the website for it.

Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap and Cherohala Skyway, Graham Co, NC

Hi KentT!!

You call that a “twisty” road? We have roads up here that are more crooked than a rattler trying to cross hot railroad tracks in a Texas mid-summer sun! Our northern New England roads are soooo twisty they are actually more like convoluted! I’ve made note of your boast of 318 curves in eleven miles. Why, up here we usually encounter 318 curves just getting the bike out the drive!

Kidding aside, I have to admit that I rode that route on a “ZAP-SPLAT” Suzuki about two years ago and it is a real beautiful ride. Riding anywhere is a beautiful ride….and I mean anywhere!

As to wearing helmets while riding…. Well, I’d not mind a quick death, however, a quick sentence of immediate stupidity caused by crushing my noggin causes me to always wear a brain bucket.

Ken

 

[cp1969]

Hi CP1969!

However, on the odd occasion that the thing was actually upright and retained sufficient fluids for it not to seize ….it was very quick for that era.
Ken

Mine seized up on a few occasions. It only started seizing after I had it bored out; the first time was at about 65mph. It's fun to come to a stop, not knowing what's wrong, other than the rear wheel is locked up. I got to the point that I could tell from the sound of the engine when it was going to lock and could clutch it quickly, coast to a stop, and wait a few minutes for it to cool off and go on. I would imagine the cylinders and pistons looked a mess after that but I never took it apart again. I sold it to a guy with the express warning that it would try to kill him the first opportunity it got but he bought it anyway.

Mine was a '64 and was orange when I got it. The tank developed a leak and after brazing it needed paint so it got a beautiful metallic blue paint job. With megaphones with the baffles removed, it made music when when you wound it up. I wish I would have at least taken a picture of it.