quote:

Originally posted by muzza:I dont intend making it to old age with no interesting or terrifying tales to tell, so I shall continue to ride motorcycles as and when I wish. I dont need to go as fast as the bike will go anymore , but I will continue to ride at a pace that I am happy with , in a manner that I consider safe and courteous to other road users , and will have a lot of fun doing it . If I have the misfortune of crashing - so be it .

Most people die in their own bed , so I have also decided not to sleep in my own bed any more so that I may have a long and happy dotage , astride my motorcycle , thinking how much more fun this is than being sensible and BORING ...

I have plenty of terrifying tales to tell. Not knocking your choices. We all have to make our own decisions. I don't fear the skill of the rider as much as I do the blue hair who can barely see over the dashboard of the car, let alone here mirrors.

I retired from 20 years in fire/ems. I've seen people die in motorcycle accidents. But then again, I've seen people die in car accidents as well. Whether you're on a bike or in a Barracuda, speed kills, period!

I've been riding and racing bikes since I was 11 (I'm now 53) and I don't really see a whole lot of difference in dying wrapped in leather, or wrapped in the steel of a car. Dead is dead.

And it's going to happen to all of us some day. If it happens while doing something you enjoy doing, then that's all right.

If the OP wants to get a bike, then cheer him on and applaud his decision. He's a big boy, he knows the danger of riding and he's fully capable of deciding how he wants to go out of this life should it happen.

Shof, I have a ten-point roll cage protecting my sorry self. I can safely say that my chances of surving a crash at speed are much, much greater than those of someone riding a bike.

I am not being critical of his decision but I am critical of his not being open to the opinions of others when the point of the thread was to seek opinions. I gave mine, and was rewarded by being called a fool.

I get a thrill out of speed just like the next guy. I love to get out on my bike on a sunny 75 F day.
I have to say that the last 3-4 years have changed my perspective on riding. People no longer drive friendly and as has mentioned, the texters really scare me. Drop your bike and you get some broken bones and road rash. Peddle through a green light and a texter runs a red one and it is probably curtains! Riding a bike was a way of stress relief but now it creates some anxiety in the city. I have thought many times about selling my old bike and getting a rag top.
Not the same, but I still have some wind in my hair.

Actually, that is what I wound up doing. I sold my Honda ST1100 and bought a Mazda Miata. At the time, a good trade as the Miata was a lot of fun.
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:

Whitworth,you do not have to act a fool all the time.

Rich

The logic of this statement escapes me

Whitworth, et al,

SOMEONE read into the comment something wrong.

the comment was in reference to riding the motorcycle. IE, when you are out riding your motorcycle you do NOT "have to act the fool" 100% of the time. The Beemer will happily devour miles at triple the speed limit, or at the posted speed.

My apologies if I offended anyone here.

I have a rather fast car, according to the Nevada State Police (January of this year) it will top 150mph. There are times and places for everything. I have driven roads here in Idaho and Nevada where I might go fifteen or twenty minutes without encountering another motorist. I take advantage of that from time to time.

Despite the increasing "Nannyism" of governments across this land, some of us still enjoy fast street cars and bikes. Somewhere along the line, the FedGuv reinterpreted its powers in the Constitution to make the leap from protecting us from all enemies, domestic and foreign to include protecting us from ourselves.

I go to the VA Nursing home about every other week and visit with some of the guys there. Two years ago, I met a gentleman who had served in my unit, the 23rd Inf Div (Americal) when it was formed in WWII. Americal; AMERicans In Caledonia. Great guy, he died this summer. Sometimes I "sneak" one of them out for a ride in the Jag with the top down. I actually had a unit supervisor complain that I was "recklessly endangering the health" of one by taking him off grounds. That went nowhere. It's the only really fun some of them have had in years.

Here's the deal:

I have always liked fast cars and motorcycles. Almost always owned one of each. I like to drive fast when I deem it safe to do so. You might even characterize me as an "Adrenaline Junkie". The shrink at the Vet Center does. Many Combat Vets started to like that living on the edge feeling. I am one of them. I just skipped the artificial high with drugs or alcohol, and went for triple-digit speed and brute force acceleration.

As Whitworth if he feels just a little bit more alive about the time he hits that first timing light at about 140 or so. That's the point where his skills keep him alive.

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!

regards,

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Strut10:
Gotta give you credit.

The older I get (and I'm not nearly so old as you) the bigger my sense of self-preservation becomes.

I'll still drive a car as quick or as fast as you can put me in. But f**k those two wheelers. I gotta have more between me and the Lord than my Levis. Wrap some steel around me and I'm fine.

Might come from driving a truck every day. I see how many people can't see something that's 11 feet tall, weighs 13 tons and is covered with lights. Just had two cousins in Kalifornia have the rest of their lives ruined by a douche in a Wrangler who looked right at them coming then pulled out.

Ride safe and enjoy them crotch rockets.

Ahhh....the older I get the more I appreciate the power. The only thing about living in Alaska that pisses me off is my C6 Corvette and Yamaha FZ1 have to sit in storage for 5 months each winter.
57 years old and been riding since I was 16 and never been in a bike accident.
Two weeks ago I was out walking my 5 mile exercise route when a strap on my ice gripper broke causing me to hit the ice, breaking the ball on my upper humerus. If its meant to be, it is going to happen.
Enjoy life with no regrets.
Rich, buy the Beemer

I am working on it.

Rich

Now I fully sypathise with both sides here, still missing my 916 sps after five years.

So get a bike, but be careful.

Coming to think of it track down an 916 or 996 for half the money, sink a little into some even louder cans and have the same fun for less cash and on a slower, but louder and more dangerous feeling bike!

yeah right! I only know one person good enough to ground the foot pegs on an 1198R. Hint: it ain't me. They exposed me for the rider I was thirty years ago.

Rich

Actually,neither the Duc,or the Beemer made the podium often in this years World Superbike Series ,where Aprilia took top honors,and Yamaha took runner up.

noted, but Beemer and Duck dealer is 28 miles from the house here; dealer has handled both brands since the late seventies. I took my old R100S there for service for several years before being seduced by serious fast jap bikes.

Rich

nobody lives forever...

Yep - 3 weeks ago I saw about a quart of blood running down the street where they picked up what was left of a 23 yr old.....DOA

another scooter fatality

Nobody takes scooters seriously here.

As an aside, the paper had an eighty-nine year old man (28 years older than I am) who died last week in the nursing home he had resided in for "several" years. Three family members listed, all on the east coast. I'll take a wild road out, not like that.

Rich
while we live, let us live..

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Peter,

just a short blast on a four mile straight about ten miles east of Boise. It was a near religious experience. All that remains is sneaking one home and getting back to Africa during 2011.

Rich

3 word for you...
Bogus Basin Road!

When I was young I rode bikes ... generally not my skill level that was the real danger. Other drivers don't seem to see the person on the machine.

Two such incidents sobered me on the two wheel thing. Went with fast 4's instead.

Ended up with a 425 hp convertible that weighs 2200 pounds. Lots of fun and wonderful sounds. Must admit though that the current crop of super bikes make my equipment fit for doddering old men. Just amazing!

Congrats to those that have the finances, skill and self-restraint to survive owning them!

I have the money. I guess one out of three ain't too bad!

Rich

Rich, I hear ya on the "ride". I have a 2000 Hayabusa with a 1396 kit. it makes 227hp 130tq to the rear wheel. It weighs 470 pounds full of fuel. I have hit 204 mph in the standing mile (at maxton NC) that is on pump gas and street tires (had to remove mirrors) ECTA rules. The front tire useually stays in the air to 150mph. Shutting the bike down from that speed in time to make the turn off is more hair raising than getting it up there. Your heart is pounding out of your chest!

People always say to me "where are you going to go that fast" They just don't have a clue, not knocking them, they just never experienced brutal acceleration. I am going 160-180 before your "fast car" is going 70mph.

I hear ya on the old age homes too, seen alot of family and friends waste away in those things while the vultures pick there bones. I survived the Beirut bombing, put alot of my friends (kids they were 19 20) in bags. I live on the edge, I don't care what other people think or do. I have an 8 sec bike, a 9 sec. car, a12 sec diesel p/u and alot of big guns i shoot every weekend until the big man upstairs steps in and says its time, and at 46 I think he has overlooked me a few times.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Nobody takes scooters seriously here.

As an aside, the paper had an eighty-nine year old man (28 years older than I am) who died last week in the nursing home he had resided in for "several" years. Three family members listed, all on the east coast. I'll take a wild road out, not like that.

Rich
while we live, let us live..

I think you were the same guy condemning suicide on another thread. You meed to resolve some contradictory thought processes.