Thinking of quitting street bikes...anyone one else on the same page? (Harley, motor)
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I did a few years back. Its not worth it, with the inattentive nuts on the road. One bad spill, healthcare wise could ruin you. Waaay back I was young and dumb and had the bike bug, I rode for years with just the minimum liability, just to get tags. That would be insane now.
...if I lived where the temp was always between 55 and 75, low humidity, and little traffic, but in reality that's never going to happen.
I live 'there' for the past 18 years: the mtns of western NC.
20 mins to entrance of the high elevation section of the Blue Ridge Pkway, and hundreds of miles of good, usually empty two lane winding black top roads, through the mtns and area little towns.
Never too hot at 'altitude', usually cool to chilly, though the rain/crap can come on in a NY Minute.
Little traffic, esp on weekday mid mornings, etc.
Have been riding for 55 years and have ridden my fanny off here in western NC the past 18 years...Alas, I too find myself riding less and less, and may off 2 or all 3 of my scoots. At 72, I find I don't have the reactions I used to and certainly not the courage/ballz to ride at anything near the pace/way I used to.
That is OK and I ride just for the 60 mph and under enjoyment, and very very carefully.
But, the serious azz reason is the ride that takes me anywhere near real towns/real traffic these days: much more crowded than it was a couple decades ago and nearly every idiot behind the wheel is either texting at speed, or constantly checking their fookin phones, heads down at every stop light to recheck, and on and on, ad nauseum. It is insidious and a plaque like activity and addiction...I would rather dodge drunks. They are trying to get home, under the radar. The distracted text/video/phone idiots are self anointed and have no clue what 88 to 100 feet per second 'is', going down the road.
I will certainly miss m/c ridig, but I may throw in the polishing towels and give it up/retire while I can.
GL, mD
^ Ugh...
Having never been 'down', other than a few tip overs learning to ride in the woods circa 1964, and a couple of 'forgot to put the kickstand down' in my T T riding daze, mid '70s, that stuff gives me the creeps...
Not judging, but I would bet the best dinner in anyone's town that the truck driver was either high, drunk and/or 'distracted' eg texting/staring at his freakin 'device'.
Jeeshh, I hope some of the riders/passengers pull through, but their lives were changed in that half minute.
NH has some remarkable roads; we rode many of them every summer when we lived in metro NYC for decades, and the climb up Mt Washington is fun/tight/worth it.
GL, Ol'UncleMotor
Quit in 2013 after 7 yrs of riding. I commuted a lot, and liked it a lot at first. As years went on and the economy improved, traffic and urban sprawl got much worse. Also rapidly and ever increasing are the number of morons and idiots on the road. Weather began to affect me more as well. I have no desire to ride now. I could think about it, maybe, if I lived where the temp was always between 55 and 75, low humidity, and little traffic, but in reality that's never going to happen.
You just described parts of California, mostly coastal, though few are free from people. When I lived in the Bay Area, traffic volumes were top-5 in the nation. They still are, and hell that was 25 years ago. I learned how to ride on offense, not defense which IMO is stupid: very few battles, day to day, are won by reacting to the enemy or waiting for him to take the initiative. I always took the point, rode faster then traffic, and was "there and gone again" about the time they reacted. I met homicidal maniacs (very few), idiots (a few) and 99.9% tolerable drivers just getting by (and thank you for it). I rode between the lanes for years which is safe enough if you go on offense and get...out...of...there....before maniacs catch back up with you! God knows how many street miles with a couple years off, 1991-1997 and golly gosh: I'm still here, now decades later in Seattle which is an entirely different deal.
Bay Area: Great riding weather maybe 9-10 months/year. I valiantly tried to ride year round and basically pulled it off, in my 20s, with some rain gear for 2 months/year. Hell's Angels were formed in San Bernardino, near LA, because of great year-round weather (hot and dusty out there couple months/year, though. Ditto Hollister, Tracy, Stockton, Morgan Hill up north, in fact that whole Salinas Valley and everything else down to LA proper. US epicenter of riding, along with Florida I guess though it must be boring there with tons of straight lines and not much else.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motordavid
^ Ugh...
Having never been 'down', other than a few tip overs learning to ride in the woods circa 1964, and a couple of 'forgot to put the kickstand down' in my T T riding daze, mid '70s, that stuff gives me the creeps...
Not judging, but I would bet the best dinner in anyone's town that the truck driver was either high, drunk and/or 'distracted' eg texting/staring at his freakin 'device'.
Jeeshh, I hope some of the riders/passengers pull through, but their lives were changed in that half minute.
NH has some remarkable roads; we rode many of them every summer when we lived in metro NYC for decades, and the climb up Mt Washington is fun/tight/worth it.
GL, Ol'UncleMotor
If proven to be true I can only hope NH has the death penalty.
Life is dangerous. I've been commuting since 2005. No car and with a bicycle on days that I'm not riding my scooter. Respect the road, other drivers, and your machine. Use all the space you need to drive safe.
OP, look into a multisport or better yet an enduro; do the roadworthy and registration on it. See if you can get a trade-in for your current roady. It'll serve its function as a dirt bike/trails bike plus you will still have a street-worthy bike in case you need it. Don't just give up on one type of riding because you're concentrating on another. It's better to have something and not need it right away than to need it right away and not have it.
And yes, if you want to live life the hard way you can make a motocross bike roadworthy but it involves modifications (sometimes extensively, depending how far your state's DMV's head is stuck up its ass) to the bike to get it roadworthy. It's doable; not something to be considered lightly but it's lots of fun once it's ready to go. Been there, did it. Ever wanted to go straight from the road into the trails and back home again without missing a beat changing bikes?
And yes, if you want to live life the hard way you can make a motocross bike roadworthy but it involves modifications (sometimes extensively, depending how far your state's DMV's head is stuck up its ass)...
Some states flat out will NOT allow this. If the bike wasn't delivered to the selling dealer as road-legal, it may not be registered as such. Doesn't matter if you bring in a bike that was converted, titled and legal somewhere else, the title "vanishes" and a letter in the mail saying that it's not a road-legal vehicle.
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