Motorcycle question

[denverpilot]

A whole kid doesn't bring much, even with blue eyes. You can do a lot better if you part 'em out. Heck, a healthy kidney alone can pay more than an entire kid.

Good to know, in case I ever come across any fresh kid parts just lying around. I know they go bad really quick...

 

[Half Fast]

I know they go bad really quick...

True. Your best bet is probably to make jerky out of 'em before they become jerks.

 

[Bill]

Yeah, singles and twins have soul, but so do triples! Triumph triples in particular have lots of soul, and as a bonus they also have a nice even pull all the way to a 10K rpm redline.

I've owned two Hinkley Trumpets, but neither stuck around. I had a Speed Triple 955i for a while, and then later a 2010 675 Street Triple R. I can't remember why I sold the 955, but the I could never get comfortable on the STR. I tried multiple seats, Sargent, Corbin, etc., and could not find a seat where all my weight was not on my perineum. It was really too bad, that Street Triple R was a fine little bike.

 

[mscard88]

Hold it between your knees if your.... translator... isn't riding on the back to hold it.

LOL translator, I like it.

 

[wrbix]

Still have your motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license after all these years?

 

[steingar]

Still have your motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license after all these years?

I still have mine, and its been a quarter century. The only thing I don't like about my ambulatory means of transportation is I don't ride my bike anywhere near as much as I would like.

 

[Ted]

Still have my motorcycle endorsement, it's been nearly 13 years since I got it. No plans to get rid of it, although I haven't exactly used it much the past 5 years either.

 

[CC268]

My dad has a Vstrom...think it’s 1000 or 1200cc. Been all over the US and Canada on that thing.

Ironically I grew up racing motocross and have little interest in street bikes. I’ve had three friends die on them. Two of three it was not their fault

Here in Phoenix it’s like a death wish riding one...

 

[MassPilot]

Still have my motorcycle endorsement, it's been nearly 13 years since I got it. No plans to get rid of it, although I haven't exactly used it much the past 5 years either.

I got mine 10 years ago and haven't used it in maybe 6. I don't know if I could get rid of it if I wanted to. It does increase the cost of renewing my license every 5 years ($65 vs $50).

 

[Ted]

I got mine 10 years ago and haven't used it in maybe 6. I don't know if I could get rid of it if I wanted to. It does increase the cost of renewing my license every 5 years ($65 vs $50).

You can remove it - whenever I've moved I get asked if I want to keep it. I don't know if it makes the cost higher or not to renew, but if it does, it's not worth it to get rid of.

I still ride sometimes, just not much. Realistically, until the kids get bigger it's just not going to happen much, and living here in Kansas I don't care about it as much. Riding here isn't all that great - I want twisties.

 

[Sac Arrow]

You can remove it - whenever I've moved I get asked if I want to keep it. I don't know if it makes the cost higher or not to renew, but if it does, it's not worth it to get rid of.

I still ride sometimes, just not much. Realistically, until the kids get bigger it's just not going to happen much, and living here in Kansas I don't care about it as much. Riding here isn't all that great - I want twisties.

I think the issue is whether or not you want to take the motorcycle portion of the written test, if you're required to take the written test.

 

[MassPilot]

You can remove it - whenever I've moved I get asked if I want to keep it. I don't know if it makes the cost higher or not to renew, but if it does, it's not worth it to get rid of.

I still ride sometimes, just not much. Realistically, until the kids get bigger it's just not going to happen much, and living here in Kansas I don't care about it as much. Riding here isn't all that great - I want twisties.

In Massachusetts it's more expensive to renew with the endorsement but it's only $15 extra every 5 years and I like to keep it just in case. My wife would not be happy if I got a motorcycle and I was single the last time I rode, but I still want to keep it. I've never been asked if I wanted it removed. Probably differs state to state.

 

[MassPilot]

I think the issue is whether or not you want to take the motorcycle portion of the written test, if you're required to take the written test.

What written test? The only written tests I've ever taken were for my learner's permit for cars when I was 16 and motorcycles when I was 21. Do some states require a written test to renew your license? Might not be a terrible idea actually.

 

[Ted]

What written test? The only written tests I've ever taken were for my learner's permit for cars when I was 16 and motorcycles when I was 21. Do some states require a written test to renew your license? Might not be a terrible idea actually.

When you move to a new state you sometimes need to take a written test, it depends on the laws of the state you are moving to.

@Sac Arrow makes a good point, that might be some of it.

We still have our two Harleys, although the things don't get ridden. I'd be happy selling them and getting the things out of the garage, but my wife wants to keep them.

 

[Bill]

I'd be happy selling them and getting the things out of the garage, but my wife wants to keep them.

Wait! She wants to KEEP motorcycles? You should marry that woman.....

 

[Ted]

Wait! She wants to KEEP motorcycles? You should marry that woman.....

I figgered that out a long while ago! Fortunately she hasn't yet figgered out I got the better end of the deal...

We just don't ride them, and aren't going to for a while. By the time we get back into it, the bikes will have improved enough that we'll want something newer. So I just don't see a point in continuing to absorb the depreciation when we could cash out.

 

[MassPilot]

When you move to a new state you sometimes need to take a written test, it depends on the laws of the state you are moving to.

@Sac Arrow makes a good point, that might be some of it.

We still have our two Harleys, although the things don't get ridden. I'd be happy selling them and getting the things out of the garage, but my wife wants to keep them.

Oh ok. Not here though. When my wife moved from CT she only had to take a vision test.

 

[Sac Arrow]

When you move to a new state you sometimes need to take a written test, it depends on the laws of the state you are moving to.

@Sac Arrow makes a good point, that might be some of it.

We still have our two Harleys, although the things don't get ridden. I'd be happy selling them and getting the things out of the garage, but my wife wants to keep them.

When I got my California license, my motorcycle endorsement didn't automatically transfer over. I ended up getting it later, starting from scratch doing the MSF course thing.

 

[Ted]

When I got my California license, my motorcycle endorsement didn't automatically transfer over. I ended up getting it later, starting from scratch doing the MSF course thing.

That's interesting. I got my motorcycle endorsement in Indiana and it transferred to PA, OH, and KS without anything other than saying "Yes, I want to keep that." I got asked in every state.

I did my motorcycle endorsement through the MSF course as well. It was a lot of fun and in my opinion the best way to go about it by far.

Unfortunately, my MSF instructor died in a motorcycle crash last May.

 

[rtk11]

Unfortunately, my MSF instructor died in a motorcycle crash last May.

Ugh - sorry to read that. But to that point, it’s not necessarily the rider, but the cagers around us. With work keeping me too busy to fly and ride, I’m not practiced enough to avoid bad drivers, especially in my area. So while I keep my motorcycle endorsement, my bike sits and will likely be sold soon.

 

[wrbix]

Based on these responses, seems Rusty Riders is as common as Rusty Pilots.

 

[Ted]

Ugh - sorry to read that. But to that point, it’s not necessarily the rider, but the cagers around us. With work keeping me too busy to fly and ride, I’m not practiced enough to avoid bad drivers, especially in my area. So while I keep my motorcycle endorsement, my bike sits and will likely be sold soon.

You are correct. My general fear on riding is that something beyond my control happens and I'm just dead. While that can happen in an airplane, most of the time if you die while flying a plane it's because you done ****ed up.

In the case of my instructor, though, from what I read it's hard to say whether it was his fault or the car's fault. He was on a 4-lane road (with double yellow lines in the middle), in the left lane. Somehow he and an oncoming car collided head-on.

The reports I read didn't specify whether the car crossed the double yellow line or whether he crossed the double yellow line. It could have been either. While he was a good rider, I wouldn't say he was on the same level as some of my motorcycle riding friends who are truly excellent riders (I do not consider myself an excellent motorcycle rider, just "good"). Even still, we all make mistakes sometimes. His health also wasn't too great, it's possible that he may have had some sort of incapacitation. There are a lot of things that could have happened and I don't know which it was.

I rode my motorcycle to work the day after I found out he died. But I haven't ridden it much since, and now that I take my son to school every morning, I don't see riding it for a while.

 

[MassPilot]

Based on these responses, seems Rusty Riders is as common as Rusty Pilots.

It takes a lot less time to shake off the rust on a motorcycle versus an airplane. I went over a year without riding and I felt comfortable again after about 5 minutes.

 

[Ted]

It takes a lot less time to shake off the rust on a motorcycle versus an airplane. I went over a year without riding and I felt comfortable again after about 5 minutes.

Overall I'd agree, but it's also a different mental skill set. Flying is largely thinking ahead of the plane and seeing what's coming. With motorcycling, it's more commonly split-second changes and decisions that will kill you, like when someone turns right in front of you. I find that the physical control of the bike is only part of the equation. That part I usually get back to where I was quickly. The split-second decisions and mental alertness take longer.

 

[Sac Arrow]

That's interesting. I got my motorcycle endorsement in Indiana and it transferred to PA, OH, and KS without anything other than saying "Yes, I want to keep that." I got asked in every state.

I did my motorcycle endorsement through the MSF course as well. It was a lot of fun and in my opinion the best way to go about it by far.

Unfortunately, my MSF instructor died in a motorcycle crash last May.

Well, they accepted my Puerto Rican license ("Licencia de Conducir") for driving a car but not a motorcycle. Don't ask me why.

 

[steingar]

When I got my first sport bike Mrs. Steingar wistfully said how she missed riding with me. She couldn't ride on the back of that thing, it had a rear seat for a teenager. So I looked into what I could get that would be more comfy for her, and wound up with the Goldwing. Got her some good gear and rode her all over the place. Then I saw an MRI of her back and said her riding days were done. We were in a neurosurgeons office; we'd been called in because he saw that MRI and thought she was paralyzed. I've seen one since and it hasn't gotten any better. Thankfully that Wing is gone, it was old, complicated, and prone to breakage.

I can no longer recommend bikes to anyone. The roads have gotten far more dangerous since I started riding. Speeds have one up, and everyone is looking at their damn screen. Used to be extreme escape maneuvers were the rarity. Now they're the normal. I should give it up myself, but I don't think I can. At least not yet.

 

[Brad Smith]

Many life insurance companies won't cover you if you die in a light plane accident (even as a passenger) but could care less if you ride a motorcycle. From my own experience, I've have quite a few personal friends and acquaintances die in light plane accidents and can only remember 1 (a fellow employee) that died on a motorcycle. I rode my motorcycle in California for 40 years without an accident and averaged about 8,000 miles a year. The friend that taught me to ride told me that if I die or get hurt on a motorcycle it was "my own damn fault!" This has helped me to be vigilant at all times.
To the OP: choose the bike with ABS as your skills at braking may be tested soon after you climb aboard the motorcycle. Have fun!

 

[DaleB]

I can no longer recommend bikes to anyone. The roads have gotten far more dangerous since I started riding. Speeds have one up, and everyone is looking at their damn screen. Used to be extreme escape maneuvers were the rarity. Now they're the normal. I should give it up myself, but I don't think I can. At least not yet.

I have our bike for sale. We enjoyed riding it, but things have deteriorated remarkably over the past 10-12 years. It used to be that you had the occasional inattentive driver that you'd need to avoid. Now it's more like half the cars out there are actively trying to kill you. When people ask why we don't ride any more, I just tell them there are too many driverless cars on the road. There is an occupant in the left front seat, but half the time they are not driving the car -- too busy updating Facebook status or texting or otherwise f***ing around with their cell phones.

 

[FastEddieB]

I've probably owned about 20 bikes since my first, a Yamaha 80 circa 1966:

Currently have two BMW K1200RS's, one with a sidecar and one without. And a little Buell Firebolt for fun in the twisties.

But closing in on 70, I can see my balance and reflexes and leg strength are not what they once were, even 10 years ago. As such, I find myself drawn to simpler, smaller and lighter bikes.

I recently sold a big Adventure bike and bought a little Yamaha TW200, here hustling through Deal's Gap:

Here's a link to a more comprehensive post on my downsizing: http://www.i-bmw.com/showthread.php?t=61955

And I find myself drawn to something like this for just puttering down country backroads on nice days:

I'm just fine finding myself on the "backside" of a lifetime of motorcycling. It's still the thrill it always has been!

 

[Half Fast]

It takes a lot less time to shake off the rust on a motorcycle versus an airplane. I went over a year without riding and I felt comfortable again after about 5 minutes.

Well, sorta....

For myself, if I haven't ridden for a few weeks I'm soon comfortable riding in a calm fashion. But I'm not comfortable hanging off the bike and cranking through a curve at 2X the speed limit until I've been on for several hours and the reflexes get synched up again.

When I leave Florida to go ride in the mountains, I find it usually takes me a day or so to get back in the groove. We just don't have roads here that are as demanding as the mountains and it's impossible to get into a good rhythm here.

 

[FormerHangie]

Well, I didn't get to go last fall because it was too wet. Instead I drove down to Summit Racing and bought a helmet, then went indoor skydiving with my daughter.

I suppose it is the high time you retire to electric scooters for adults. You don't want to leave your daughter, do you?

No, it isn't. If I want to go slowly on two wheels I have a very nice bicycle that I can ride. Considering you've posted that link twice is there any chance you're in the electric scooter business?

Still have your motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license after all these years?

Sure do.

Ugh - sorry to read that. But to that point, it’s not necessarily the rider, but the cagers around us. With work keeping me too busy to fly and ride, I’m not practiced enough to avoid bad drivers, especially in my area. So while I keep my motorcycle endorsement, my bike sits and will likely be sold soon.

That's what got me when I crashed, someone decided I wasn't really there and turned left directly in front of me.

It takes a lot less time to shake off the rust on a motorcycle versus an airplane. I went over a year without riding and I felt comfortable again after about 5 minutes.

Unless you ride aggressively, the most important survival skill is avoiding the other guy, and I do that in the car every day.

Overall I'd agree, but it's also a different mental skill set. Flying is largely thinking ahead of the plane and seeing what's coming. With motorcycling, it's more commonly split-second changes and decisions that will kill you, like when someone turns right in front of you. I find that the physical control of the bike is only part of the equation. That part I usually get back to where I was quickly. The split-second decisions and mental alertness take longer.

I find I use the same traffic avoidance skills needed when motorcycling while driving. Someone did turn directly in front of me and I had no opportunity to avoid him. I was only going about 25 mph when I hit him, so nothing major happened, since I was wearing a full face helmet.

Many life insurance companies won't cover you if you die in a light plane accident (even as a passenger) but could care less if you ride a motorcycle. From my own experience, I've have quite a few personal friends and acquaintances die in light plane accidents and can only remember 1 (a fellow employee) that died on a motorcycle. I rode my motorcycle in California for 40 years without an accident and averaged about 8,000 miles a year. The friend that taught me to ride told me that if I die or get hurt on a motorcycle it was "my own damn fault!" This has helped me to be vigilant at all times.
To the OP: choose the bike with ABS as your skills at braking may be tested soon after you climb aboard the motorcycle. Have fun!

Thanks. Eagle Rider has revised their fleet for this year, and the two bikes I'm most interested are the BMW 700GS and the Triumph Bonneville. I think I'd like to try the Bonnie first. It's going to be a few months anyway, it's still chilly. We have more drivers than cars in our household, and both daughters want to get jobs this summer. I've been joking with my wife about getting another motorcycle, and she's be joking about divorcing me. I told her when I crashed the last one that I wouldn't get another one until after both daughters were grown, and that's a ways off. Hey, I had a motorcycle and a race car when we met, did she expect me to take up golf or something?


There are three other things I've got on my agenda for this year, in addition to renting the bike at least twice:

• Daughter #1 wants to go skydiving for her 18th birthday, so I've agreed to go along and be a meat bomb with her.
• I want to go get an intro lesson in a light sport trike.
• I'm going to go do a track night at Atlanta Motorsports Park or Road Atlanta.

I just want to see which of these, if any, I want to continue with. I'm pretty sure it won't be skydiving. I suspect I'll like riding a motorcycle rather a lot, but I'm not going to take that up for now. I also suspect that my track days are behind me, I raced SCCA for 14 seasons and I don't think lapping without racing is something I'll want to do. That plus I won't be nearly as sharp as I was and it won't be the same.

The triking looks pretty neat.

 

[Ted]

I'm not convinced that things have changed a great deal over the past 13 years since I started riding. Had inattentive drivers then, have them now. Had some people who seemed like they were trying to kill you then, have it some now. Now, drivers in some areas are better and worse than others. Ohio was pretty bad, and Steingar has stayed there over the past 13 years. I don't know, I just don't see it. 13 years ago it was people on cell phones in general, now it's texting and driving. My grandmother was a terrible driver well before

But I do think that what's happened over the past 13 years is we've all gotten 13 years older. And as we get older, we tend to get more risk averse, and our reactions tend to get worse than they used to be.

For us, the lack of good babysitting options (i.e. no grandparents to watch the kids) is what really limits us.

 

[Half Fast]

And as we get older, we tend to get more risk averse, ...

Probably true, but illogical. With each passing year you are risking less and less of your life.

If a 20-year-old squishes himself on a Ducati, we think "What a tragedy." If an 80-year-old does it, we think "Well, at least he died happy and he had a good life."

That's why I'm waiting until I turn 98 to take up BASE jumping.

 

[Ted]

Probably true, but illogical. With each passing year you are risking less and less of your life.

If a 20-year-old squishes himself on a Ducati, we think "What a tragedy." If an 80-year-old does it, we think "Well, at least he died happy and he had a good life."

That's why I'm waiting until I turn 98 to take up BASE jumping.

I agree fully, and have often said the exact same thing.

 

[steingar]

Its a simple thing gents. Humans beings only see what they expect to see. They don't expect to see motorcycles. Thus you are invisible to all but a few motorists, who's behavior will lead you to believe that they're actively trying to murder you.

That said, just about all motorcycles have the grunt and maneuverability to get away from dangerous situations. I'm a very fortunate individual in that I truly have superpowers. I am inordinately loud, as anyone who has been in my company can attest. I have the gastric immune system of Superman, I don't get sick even eating in third world $h!tholes, to use the parlance of our Commander in Chief. And I have my Steiny sense, which alerts me to especially dangerous motorists. There has to be something to it, I've been riding bikes for a lot of years and they haven't got me yet.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Its a simple thing gents. Humans beings only see what they expect to see. They don't expect to see motorcycles. Thus you are invisible to all but a few motorists, who's behavior will lead you to believe that they're actively trying to murder you.

That said, just about all motorcycles have the grunt and maneuverability to get away from dangerous situations. I'm a very fortunate individual in that I truly have superpowers. I am inordinately loud, as anyone who has been in my company can attest. I have the gastric immune system of Superman, I don't get sick even eating in third world $h!tholes, to use the parlance of our Commander in Chief. And I have my Steiny sense, which alerts me to especially dangerous motorists. There has to be something to it, I've been riding bikes for a lot of years and they haven't got me yet.

I ride bicycles too, (these days, even more than motorcycles) and I feel a lot more exposed on a bicycle than I do on a motorcycle.

 

[Bill]

I ride bicycles too, (these days, even more than motorcycles) and I feel a lot more exposed on a bicycle than I do on a motorcycle.

Yeah, I commute a lot by bicycle now (after 17 years of near daily motorcycle commuting), and feel the same way. On a motorcycle I can do a lot to avoid an accident, on the bike I ride on the right side and hope some inattentive motorist doesn't grind me between their car and the parked cars.

 

[Ted]

I ride bicycles too, (these days, even more than motorcycles) and I feel a lot more exposed on a bicycle than I do on a motorcycle.

Agreed. A lot of people ride bicycles out in the boonies where I live, and I find myself thinking they're all more likely to get hit by a car than the motorcyclists. I grew up riding bicycles in Manhattan (which you're required to do on the street) and to this day am not sure how I managed to survive it. But I did.

Yeah, I commute a lot by bicycle now (after 17 years of near daily motorcycle commuting), and feel the same way. On a motorcycle I can do a lot to avoid an accident, on the bike I ride on the right side and hope some inattentive motorist doesn't grind me between their car and the parked cars.

Now, funny difference riding a bicycle in Manhattan is that in some cases you were passing cars. It was a different world than riding a bicycle out here in the boonies where the speed limit on my farm road is 55, and people are doing every bit of that.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Agreed. A lot of people ride bicycles out in the boonies where I live, and I find myself thinking they're all more likely to get hit by a car than the motorcyclists. I grew up riding bicycles in Manhattan (which you're required to do on the street) and to this day am not sure how I managed to survive it. But I did.



Now, funny difference riding a bicycle in Manhattan is that in some cases you were passing cars. It was a different world than riding a bicycle out here in the boonies where the speed limit on my farm road is 55, and people are doing every bit of that.

Try riding a bicycle in Saigon. I rent one every time I go just so I can impress my Strava buddies, but THAT is dicey. I'm actually comfortable riding a motorbike there.

A car is mostly an impediment unless it's 3 a.m.

 

[steingar]

I ride bicycles too, (these days, even more than motorcycles) and I feel a lot more exposed on a bicycle than I do on a motorcycle.

Yup. Folks don’t see bicycles either. Difference is if someone does something wrong there isn’t a lot of zip to get out of the way. On the other hand, if you run into something 20mph doesn’t hurt so much.