Why I've Decided to Ride Again After Bad Crash ...

[donnyj08]

Good for you man, the first time I ever rode a motorbike I was like 14. It was a YZ125. I wiped it out on my second run around the yard and busted my butt. Today 14 years later I've owned 7 dirt bikes and 3 street bikes. I'm addicted to it. I've sold many of them thinking I don't need one only to have the itch so bad in another 6 months. Especially the street bikes. I sold my first two street bikes thinking both times I don't need them, and it's safer not to have them.

Last year I couldn't take it and bought my 16 XSR900. I'm set on replacing it when I'm ready instead of selling it and realizing I gotta have another. It's inevitable, it's in my blood as my closest family has raced and rode bikes since I was a child.

I think everyone here has some sort of Motorsport love in their veins or we wouldn't be on a site dedicated to the lifeblood of combustion engines.

I like the look of that guzzi. Reasonably priced as well. I've considered buying an FJ09 as a sport/touring bike to do larger trips on. My XSR900 isn't terrible for trips. I rode it from Cincinnati to Evansville and back looping into central Kentucky last weekend no problem, however im looking at taking cross country trips soon.

Happy bike shopping..

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: pandus13


P.S. i think we had one BITOG poster with a thread about 30-40 years of riding....


LOL - My fingers would wear out if I had to type out everything about these last 40 years of riding.

Man, time does fly...

It's so weird - when the first liquid cooled MX bikes came out in the early 80's, I was actually having dreams of them (totally unable to afford one then)

I clearly remember seeing a 1986 "Statue of Liberty" edition Harley Softail brand new on the showroom floor, and just LUSTING over it. 31 years ago.... seems like yesterday.

 

[Silk]

Good on ya. I always got right back on a bike after a crash, but I was young and never thought much about it. I don't know how I'd feel if I had an injury accident on a bike at my age now. Ok, I've thought about it, I'd ride again.

I'll ride anything, it's a compulsion, like reading...if there are words somewhere, i'll read them. I have a few bikes to choose from, and ride a 50cc scooter to work. I don't care if it's uncool, it got 2 wheels, an engine and tyres, I get a good feeling out of riding it.

 

[Oro_O]

Quote:
knowing that when stress starts building up, I can gear up mount up and ride for a while to counter that stress. You don't think about your problems when you're riding.


This is smart stuff. This shows something valuable - a self-awareness independent of fashion or peer pressure.

I realized early on, motorcycling could be a therapeutic thing for the tensions in life. If you don't want to do meditation, have a good balance in other ways, or what-not, riding hard and committing to is a really zen thing. There used to be this book we all knew called "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." It went right to this issue in a beautiful way. Don't get me started about "Jonathon Livingston Seagull."

Of course the book(s) still exists and is(are) brilliant, it's just that no one reads it now because Oprah doesn't push it...

My family has been full of riders since the 1950s. We've had deaths, and I've had a broken bone or two myself, and serious injuries in-between. I've been riding since the early 70s. I ride bikes a little less now because I find horses far more thrilling and dangerous.

But you come back to it because it's valuable to the expression of life and the OP gets that very deeply it appears. Ride on, ride safe (or as safe as you can

).

 

[sunruh]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: pandus13


P.S. i think we had one BITOG poster with a thread about 30-40 years of riding....


LOL - My fingers would wear out if I had to type out everything about these last 40 years of riding.



i'm past 40 years of riding. in a few i'll hit 50

 

[KrisZ]

How about dirt bikes? I love riding on the road, but the more I hear my friend tell me about his dirt bike rides, the more I think it's a neat option. Speeds are much lower and there is usually no one around to run into you.

 

[bulwnkl]

Glad to hear you're doing so well, LR.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
How about dirt bikes? I love riding on the road, but the more I hear my friend tell me about his dirt bike rides, the more I think it's a neat option. Speeds are much lower and there is usually no one around to run into you.
you fall off lots more dirt riding.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: bulwnkl
Glad to hear you're doing so well, LR.


Thanks. Today at the gym I was able to trot for a bit on the treadmill at my old cruising speed before injuries-- 6mph or 10 min mile pace. Before the wreck I'd set it to 6 mph and go 20 min if just warming up for other stuff or 40 if that was all I'd be doing that day.

 

[cb4017]

Enjoy your hunt for a bike and best of luck.

I stopped riding last year when I realized I had only put 240 miles on my bike in almost a year's time. That and I'm an old guy who discovered the hard way that I don't heal like I used to.

I'll admit though, I've had a hankering for a Triumph Bonneville T100 for a while now.

 

[Errtt]

Good for you. From last year a friend still has a ways to go recovering from getting t-boned by a car. He can't wait to get good enough and get a new bike.
Me, I don't ride much anymore. Last few rides I pulled the ol Harley out for a run only because the grand daughter wouldn't stop bugging me. Now that I gave her a car (& money) last week, I hope to not hear from her for a while. At least until were out of the triple digit temps which is to hot for me to ride. I like my vehicle AC better now.

Sounds like you itching and can't blame you. When one wants to ride one wants to ride. I enjoy the occasional ride but only when temps are cool. I probably ride most in California winter.

Keep it up at the gym and you'll be ready soon. If I did 1/10 of what you do at the gym, I would not be able to ride for days. I'd be in bed or on the recliner... or not alive the next day

 

[hpb]

Great stuff! Know the feeling well - I go crazy after a couple days of not riding.

 

[Langanobob]

From reading and just looking at pictures, if I was looking at Guzzi's I'd also put a Stelvio up at the top of my list. They say that once you get a Moto Guzzi you won't be happy with just one. Maybe buying a Norge and a Stelvio all at once is the best long term solution. Also a good test of your wife's folly tolerance level

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
How about dirt bikes? Speeds are much lower ...


Go ride a Honda CRF450R ... It's an insanely wicked bike.
Wheelies at 60-70 mph should be no issue on this bike.

I "chickened out" by not doing wheelies over 45-50...
I also don't heal as fast as I used to - or want to!

The one bike I owned that was such a serious handful (its a wonder i'm still alive today)
was a 1992 Husqvarna WXE610. That thing was sheer insanity!

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: Langanobob
From reading and just looking at pictures, if I was looking at Guzzi's I'd also put a Stelvio up at the top of my list. They say that once you get a Moto Guzzi you won't be happy with just one. Maybe buying a Norge and a Stelvio all at once is the best long term solution. Also a good test of your wife's folly tolerance level

The Stelvio may offer better leg room, I know the Norge's pegs are pretty close. But I don't want spoke wheels especially the type on the Stelvio that while they allow tubeless tires they add a potential leak-down point for each penetration into the rim as they sit inside the tubeless tire.