Shootin and Ridin: any motorcyclists here?

[hooligun]

OK, who here is into motorcycles? I don't mean who owns one and rarely rides it. I mean who owns at least 2 of the damn things and rides weekly, if not daily?

Motorcycles are like guns in some way... they are machinery that can be a TON of addictive FUN, and IGWS dangerous in the wrong hands. It figures there might be some motorcycle "enthusiasts" here.

FWIW I'm into vintage European/Brit bikes but my daily ride is a Buell XB9S. I also own or have owned supermotos, street trackers, flat track bikes, rat bikes, race bikes, naked bikes, and hooligan bikes... even built some choppers (whoa, the 70's were a long time ago, dude!).

Whatcha got?

H.

[Fukshot]

I sold the last one about a year ago. I'll probably pick it up again, but I'm taking a break for a while.

My last great love was an '01 XR650R with a plate on it and big brakes up front. Rather than the traditional motard route, I laced a 19" rim on the front, which paired perfectly with the 18" stock rear. Avon Distanzias were plenty of stick for it and the 17" setup never really felt right to me on those.

I was a wrench for a long time and built myself all sorts of stupid things. Someone is still riding the naked F2 I chopped the subframe on and stuck on an aluminum flat track tail that a friend knew had been stuck on a top shelf upstairs a Hayward Cycle Salvage for years. My purple KZ100 drag bike is long gone and the motor grenaded by poor maintenance of the next owner. I was briefly the owner of the notorious turquoise/purple/magenta/metalflake Kawi H2 that has been circulating around SF for years. I've had RDs, oilhead Gixers, '70s Honda twins and fours, a few Brit bike projects that never went anywhere. I have an ongoing romance with thumpers, and there are still a few SR/XT/TT 500 motors in storage with my name on them somewhere.

I spent the better part of 15 years with bikes as my only transportation, including several years commuting from Oakland to Vallejo and also working as a messenger for a while.

A couple of years ago, I found that I was walking to work and to buy groceries. I was walking to BART when I wanted to cross the bridge. I lost several friends in the last couple of years I was riding and that meant I didn't have many people left I liked riding with. I realized I had started my bike only a half dozen times in a year and it was time to sell it rather than watch it rot.

The last to go was a stripped down '96 Sportster Sport that wasn't running. I sold it to buy a Nightforce scope. I keep thinking I need a new bike, but the enthusiasm never stays around for long. I should go rent something for a day, just to get the blood flowing again and see if I still care.

It's still strange to me that bikes aren't part of my everyday life these days. They're still part of how I think about who I am.

[Paladin]

Sold them all when my kid was born. At least you have good taste with the Buell. I had an old M2

[Thunderbird]

I rode daily, year round, on my old CB550 when I lived in SF. Now I'm in Massachusetts, so I give it up from mid-December through March. The CB is in a storage unit, morphed into a really uncomfortable, but badass, cafe racer. My daily ride these days is a BMW GS1150. It's a New England bike, just as happy in sleet at 40 degrees as on a clear August day.

[hoosier8]

We had a local Shoot and Scoot ride to raise money for a local cop who had a little girl that needed to go to NY for some medical attention. We rode to three different gun ranges around the State and had a Poker Shoot for donated prizes. Right now I have a Honda VTX1300 and an old Hondamatic. The most awesome bike I owned was a Suzuki TL1000 built up for racing.

The ride.



My current ride.

[hooligun]

"Shoot and Scoot".
I own a vintage takedown Pearson recurve bow partly because I thought I'd ride to an archery range... but haven't yet.

"Suck, squeeze, bang, blow... that's what makes my thumper go." Thumpers are fun!

I own old Triumphs and Ducati twins too (one reason I haven't bought a gun in 20 years... too broke). The exhaust note of a twin can be such beautiful music. One + about my Buell, it sounds great. Never gave much thought to the sound of the BMW, but a Ducati L twin is a w e s o m e.

[eelj]

My wife and I both ride Moto Guzzis, plus I own a 74 Norton commando that is in storage but I plan to get it going this summer after I retire. The last time I threw a wrench hard enough that it stuck in the wall of my garage like a knife it was a whitworth wrench.

[hooligun]

[Fukshot]

My wife and I both ride Moto Guzzis, plus I own a 74 Norton commando that is in storage but I plan to get it going this summer after I retire. The last time I threw a wrench hard enough that it stuck in the wall of my garage like a knife it was a whitworth wrench.

When I was a mechanic, the guys who worked the counter learned to recognize the "ting" of a thrown wrench and knew it was the sign to poke their heads in back and see if they should either come lend a hand or just stay clear.

[eelj]

Thats an old Norton girl poster, the Interstate shifts on the correct side and no exhaust cross over. As a young man I loved the "birds" in those ads.

[hooligun]

Old school bikers sometimes say it "shifts on the proper side". LOL I agree it feels more ergonomically balanced to have the brake levers/pedals on opposite sides than the current setup where both are on the right. My feet just prefer bikes that brake on the left and shift on right, especially when moving fast!

But somehow (cough, NHTSA...) the Japanese Honda standard was adopted instead, and the rest is history. We are mostly used to the standard now and so it will remain forever.

Does this have an equivalency in the world of firearms?

[Fukshot]

It wasn't the Honda standard. It was the Harley standard (except for the K/Sportys).

[hooligun]

It wasn't the Honda standard. It was the Harley standard (except for the K/Sportys).

Isn't an exception the definition of non-standard?
Harley had no fleetwide "standard" until 1975... per US federal mandate. Left side shift has been standard on most Japanese bikes (and BMW's) since early 60's, if not before. Not defending Harley's impact, if any, and maybe I shouldn't have singled out Honda, but IIRC American Honda had by 1974 become the largest seller of motorcycles in the US.
I like my Hondas.

[Simmer down]

Old school bikers sometimes say it "shifts on the proper side". LOL I agree it feels more ergonomically balanced to have the brake levers/pedals on opposite sides than the current setup where both are on the right. My feet just prefer bikes that brake on the left and shift on right, especially when moving fast!

But somehow (cough, NHTSA...) the Japanese Honda standard was adopted instead, and the rest is history. We are mostly used to the standard now and so it will remain forever.

Does this have an equivalency in the world of firearms?

I had a Triumph Trident for a time. When I was loopy I'd forget about the brake/gear swap and do some stupid things.

[Skeptilius]

Every now and then somebody brings up the subject of motorcycles here. I guess there are quite a few riders on this forum. I was involved with bikes for over 50yrs. - mostly cruisers and touring bikes. I was area rep. for the Goldwing Road Riders Assoc. for a time. I've had three Goldwings back in the days with everybody was pulling trailers behind them. I finally gave up riding when after 50yrs without a scratch I fell off my Kawasaki Drifter and fractured my pelvis. They don't make the Drifter anymore, but it was a beautiful bike - Kawasaki's tribute to the old Indian. Here's my last ride:

[farangutan]

Biker here. Have a soft spot for almost any kind of bike and would own 20 if I had the funds.
My current ride is a sportster. Was my daily driver for almost years at one point. Still put about 10-12k miles per year on her :-)

[stl303]

A little late to the party, but here's a sampling of some of my collection..

2000 Ural "Bavarian Cruiser" 650cc



2007 Royal Enfield Bullet military (pic a bit outdated)


1962 IWL SR-59 "Berlin" scooter and Campi trailer:


1958 Mitsibishi Silver Pigeon


this is the pest pic I could find of my 1968 Vespa SS180.. (wife's scoot in the background)


haven't done much riding this year... been too distracted by my latest "turned 40, midlife crisis purchase"
(no, not a motorcycle, but about as weather-tight as one)

[TheViking]

I used to race back in Europe - now I just do trackdays and coach every once in a while

I'm on the orange bike wearing black with an orange helmet here:

[Simmer down]

Stl 303: I get weak for those new Enfields sometimes. Any issues with maintenance, parts, ? I'm considering ditching the Indian and getting motorcycle that starts.

[stl303]

Stl 303: I get weak for those new Enfields sometimes. Any issues with maintenance, parts, ? I'm considering ditching the Indian and getting motorcycle that starts.

Mine is of the last "Iron head" designs, so I cannot speak for the new, fuel injected, unit construction models. However, I've had the privilege to ride both prototype and production models, and I was duly impressed.

The gang at Classic Motorworks (importers of the Enfield) are class acts and stand behind the product 100%.

I'd have no hesitation to buy a new model Enfield at all.

as for the older ones.. treat it as if it were a 1950's bike (which they pretty much are), both in maintenance and manner in which you ride it and it will serve you well. I'd try to stay in the 5-speed gearbox years if possible. The earlier 4-speed Albion style one rube-goldberged up to shift on the left are infuriating.

[KVoimakas]

ANOTHER VTX! Awesome.

[ErikO]

I'm working on getting my credit repaired enough to get a 2012 Indian Chief by 2015.

Anything smaller and I might as well ride a Vespa...

[nigel]

I posted these when I joined but I'll post 'em again. The Triumph wasn't getting any road time after we moved house because I'm now stuck with a one car garage, and the bike is tucked into a small alcove off to the side. I have to move my wife's car, then move a small fridge, and then maneuver the bike back and forth before freeing it. So I bought a beater bike that I can park outside, not worry about, and just jump on it when necessary. So now I ride it around town and to work as often as I like. Also I've really got to like the little thumper. It's low, light, and a lot of fun. The Triumph is great on the twisties but not so user friendly around town.

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I owned a number of bikes in the UK, and was an RAC/ACU riding instructor for a time. I moved to SoCal and was bikeless for about seven years, and thought this is crazy. I live where I can ride year round, with great rides a few miles east. The video at the end shows CA Hwy 94, sometimes called Smugglers Run, as it snakes along the border. This last photo shows my daughter and me on that very same road - a guy takes photos and posts them on the web. This is the run that the Mid-Life Crisis Motorcycle gang, of which I am a member, travel most Sunday mornings.

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[youtu_be]http://youtu.be/d-fJUiUeVkE[/youtu_be]

[TheViking]

Actually still have this in storage back in Europe, 2008 KTM SuperDuke R - I haven't been able to sell it at a reasonable price so I might just import it to myself here

[Paladin]

Actually still have this in storage back in Europe, 2008 KTM SuperDuke R - I haven't been able to sell it at a reasonable price so I might just import it to myself here

I love that bike.

I used to ride was a track day junkie then I had a child and riding became a series of nervous breakdowns. Got off street and track. Went to dirt and loved it but was too time consuming.

I may get back to it a few bikes I see are nice. The Honda 700NSX with dual clutch sounds good for traffic around here or a scrambler. I also love reading Peter Eagan