OK, dude, just don't screw up that move

[Tom]

I was heading up a hill on one of the main roads around here, two lanes in each direction and a nice generous shoulder and 5:30 traffic, when in the inner lane five kids on motorcycles overtook and passed me all riding crotch rockets. The fifth guy in the group popped a wheelie and rode it up the hill and out of sight at about fifty miles an hour - at least 3/8 of a mile worth.

All I could think was 'oh, man, don't mess that up because then I'll have to stop I'm late already and if I quit moving I'm gonna freeze.'

Part of me wonders if the kid is going to still be riding at the end of the summer because there's no way he was going to see any cops hanging out in the bushes. Not to mention getting flattened because he is not reluctant to pull moves in fairly heavy traffic.

[Too Tall]

That's reason #1 transplants organs are avail. and reason #1 "low miles" XYZ crotch rocket bikes are for sale in every newspaper :rolleyes:

What I LIKE to see are grizzled old fuks who still ride...like ladies and gents...rolling the gears like buttah...you'd never notice them if you didn't look.

The kids, well...if they live thru the summer they stand a chance, learn a few things, get long in the tooth and ride happily for a long time. We hope.

[thinpin]

Tom,
just posted a thread a few days ago on that kind of thing here in Aus. ****s me when they loose it. Dont mind them killing themselves but can't stand the thought of someone else getting screwed.
Funny thing is I work in a trauma hospital and see these heros all the time crying for their mammas cause they broke their wrists. The guy with broken necks even try to blame someone/something else if they're not transplant material!

[Fixed]

bro the old and the bold
cheers imho

[MarleyMon]

Why do you think they're called donorcycles?
Everything works great on those kids except the brain.

[Acotts]

I sold my motorcycle to pay for my Serotta.

I will say, it was a lot of fun though. Especially after work when I was just beat from a hard day and all i wanted to do was take a nap. I would jump on my motorcycle and ride to my running club. by the time i got there I would be so stoked up from my ride that I ALWAYSE had a great run.

But still, I never had enough time. 8 times out of ten, on a nice spring or fall day, I woul choose the bike over the motorbike. Sometimes after about 30 minutes and the initial thrill dies down a little I would often think..."man, I wish I were biking.."

Anyways, when I am 60 and my knees and hips dont work, then I am just going to have to settle for hiking, swimming and riding the motorcycle.

Maybe I will pick up another Motorbike when I am 40 and I need to enhance the labido. Until then, riding on some tubulars on my Serotta gets my rocks off enough!

[Ken Robb]

I've been riding motorcycles since 1957. I'm here today due to acquiring skill and discretion before I ran out of luck. :beer:

I will also assure you that 45 mph on a bicycle is a lot more "thrilling" than 145 MPH on a faired motorcycle in leathers, helmet, etc. :banana:

[erikbrooks]

Anyways, when I am 60 and my knees and hips dont work, then I am just going to have to settle for hiking, swimming and riding the motorcycle.


I toured across the USA in 1979, and met a woman that had bike toured continually for about 30 years - on a track bike!. 60+ years old, with legs of steel. She told me that her knees were about done, and she'd be switching to a moto soon. What a character!

[BumbleBeeDave]

In 1981 I was fresh out of journalism school and did a photo story spending a 24 hour shift with a local paramedic crew. These two guys quickly aquainted me with their least favorite patient. They called him "Mr. Brain Stem" and made dark jokes about his drooling and jerking after getting in a wreck on his "murdercycle" while most often not wearing a "brain bucket." Fortunately, during the 24 hours i spent with them I did not get to meet "Mr. Brain Stem" in person. I did learn, though, that these guys often resorted to dark humor because they told me if they didn't, seeing all the people they did--like these young kids on motorcycles ruined for life--would quickly drive them crazy.

BBD

[Acotts]

Word, Robb.

I know that people's tastes in motorcycles vary as much as they do with bikes....but I look forward to the day that I can pick up a used Honda V-Max for peanuts from a guy who put 1000 miles on it over a 10 year period. I would go for an Aprilla, but the resale value of Italian and german bikes is way to high. Used Hondas go for nothing.

I have to say, I have a thing for the 1000cc street bikes that are really crotch rockets without the fairings.

Aprilla Tono's, V-Max, Triumph's Street Triple, and bikes like that.

That said, I see myself getting a Vanilla, long before I get one of those monsters.

[catulle]

I was heading up a hill on one of the main roads around here, two lanes in each direction and a nice generous shoulder and 5:30 traffic, when in the inner lane five kids on motorcycles overtook and passed me all riding crotch rockets. The fifth guy in the group popped a wheelie and rode it up the hill and out of sight at about fifty miles an hour - at least 3/8 of a mile worth.

Crotch rocket...? I thought I had the only one... :eek:

[fierte_poser]

Umm... V-Max != Honda. Its a Yamaha (or now Star).

I ride a Honda Interceptor and its fun, especially HWY 34 between Loveland and Estes Park. Its a different way to be exposed to the craziness of cagers.

[dnades]

The wife and I are driving through CT and we encounter a motorcyclist on the road(95). No helmet, older bike and doing really stupid things in traffic(weaving in and out at pretty high speeds etc). So he is behind us and all of a sudden he's not. It was like his wheels hit grease. They slipped out from under him sideways. It was over in a blink of an eye. There was an almost pile up with people trying to avoid him. He did not get back up. It was bizarre. One minute he is a living human being on a motorcycle the next he is road kill. I have never understood the no helmet law.

On another note: I was in Central park about 10-12 years ago walking and stopped to watch some bicyclists go by. It was a beautiful, sunny day. She was going along at a real good clip and a person walking his bike stepped out right in front of her. She dumped her bike before she hits him. It seemed to happen in slow motion and fast at the same time. No helmet. Made a pretty sick sound when she hit the pavement. She didn't get up either. Tall, blond, athletic with a large pool of blood around her head.

Both of those incidents made a believer out of me about helmets. The suddenness of the accidents is shocking. I grew up without helmets for skiing and riding and managed to survive, yet witnessing those accidents made me realize that pavement is unyielding and you just can't react quick enough.

A buddy of mine is one of those pocket rocket racers. He always wears protective gear. Always. I wish those kids would take it to a track. There is way too much unpredictability on today's roads. The odds are stacked against them especially with today's drivers. It might feel liberating but those bikes have an insane amount of power in them. Bike and rider weigh maybe 600lbs with 180hp+. My car has 220hp and weighs 3900lbs and it is pretty quick. Those bikes are literally chained lightning. At least when they are on a track dedicated for one thing and one thing only the safety margin for the rider increases dramatically.

[WadePatton]

Pretty darn sure that my organs would be living in another host if I had a motorcycle.

My shop is on the "cut it loose" section of highway and I LOVE to see them rip it--100mph wheelies and all. But then two were killed dead last year in this county--a very small population. One ate a car and the other punched a guardrail-with helmets.

Four-wheelers are the scourge here. No helmets and I've been passed by them on the highway going 70+.

The track is where it's at.

[SoCalSteve]

Pretty darn sure that my organs would be living in another host if I had a motorcycle.

My shop is on the "cut it loose" section of highway and I LOVE to see them rip it--100mph wheelies and all. But then two were killed dead last year in this county--a very small population. One ate a car and the other punched a guardrail-with helmets.

Four-wheelers are the scourge here. No helmets and I've been passed by them on the highway going 70+.

The track is where it's at.

Is there another way to be killed?

Just askin'

Steve

[WadePatton]

dead sheet over the carcass stains in the roadway dead

that was for effectmo

[Blue Jays]

I love both bicycles and motorcycles. My lonely motorcycle gets virtually no mileage these days because I spend all my freetime on my bicycles!

[3chordwonder]

Used to ride a rocketship but eventually admitted that I was to uncoordinated/inexperienced to really truly control that power at the kind of speeds where it got fun. I see moto riders all the time pushing beyond their ability, no wonder about the accident statistics.

I'll never regret having had that experience though. I'll always remember the incredible acceleration, and random good moments on various rides. Plus it was was useful in that it taught me a few things about steering, cornering and braking a 2 wheeler.

Still, nice as the moto was, it started to collect dust when I got my first nice fast bicycle. So much less gear to deal with, felt much less encumbered while riding, and long after the ride is over you're still reaping the physical benefits.

imho etc blah blah.

[William]

I miss riding my motorcycle. I sold it before I got married. Mrs. William hasn’t been keen on my getting another one. I’m sure I will again, sometime after the kids have grown up and moved out possibly.

I see these guys every spring and summer around here, especially on I-95. Pulling wheelies at 60+ mph on the hi-way. Ok pal, you’re an idiot. What really pisses me off even more is that if you dump it pulling a dumb arse move like that, you’re likely to cause a major accident by people trying to avoid your rolling raspberry carcass and somersaulting motorcycle. You want to take a chance at morphing into “Mr. Brain stem”, that’s your business. But you do it on a public hi-way, in traffic, you’re endangering a lot of other innocent people by your stupidity and arrogance. Btw, you look real cool in shorts, sneakers, cut-off t-shirt (or no shirt) and no helmet. :rolleyes:

Back in Portland it was the guys pretending they were ripping up Laguna-Seca flying along Skyline Blvd….which is also a nice, windy, rolling road popular with cyclists. I had more than a few close calls with motorcyclists on that road.

William