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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Tobit on August 04, 2015, 02:26:58 PM
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The LeMans IV sits in the garage. I can't tolerate the Memphis heat for long and thus despise riding in summer. When school starts my kids will be a freshman and sophomore in high school and I'm heavily involved with them and their activities. Track, wrestling, scouts, bicycling, etc. Other obligations and care of an elderly mother leave me no time for riding other than the rare 50 mile jaunt, then it's back to the garage. I walk past it everyday knowing it's probably my last motorcycle at 57 and having owned it since '87 it's hard to imagine it not being there. I've recently rid myself of unused possessions and felt relief afterwards. No more guilt and stressing over when I'll around to using them again.
Sure, in four more years the kids will be gone and I'll have time on my hands. Almost makes me want to keep it, but it's not a two-up bike for Leigh and I since we're both 6' tall. Prep it for long-term storage or just move on? Hey, LM IVs are supposedly gaining in value so maybe I should consider the storage option?
In the meantime, I'll be listing a pair of Joe Rocket boots soon. If I do ride, I just wear hiking boots now.
Tobit
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I find myself riding less and less over the past couple of seasons. Time has been sucked up by work and by horses.
I sold down to just the Sport 1100, my first Moto Guzzi and plan on keeping it, though it only gets a few thou per year. I never commute anymore because of my schedule and because of traffic, and town riding is just no fun on the old Sport 1100. My weekends have been taken up by other things, so not much time for weekend blasts here in The Ozarks.
I really want a new bike, but nothing out there lights my fire. I'll be curious to see what's on the podium in Milan this fall, and maybe that will get me fired up. I don't know.
In the meantime, I'll just lovingly glance at my Sport 1100 each morning and afternoon as I walk through the garage.
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The LeMans IV sits in the garage. I can't tolerate the Memphis heat for long and thus despise riding in summer. When school starts my kids will be a freshman and sophomore in high school and I'm heavily involved with them and their activities. Track, wrestling, scouts, bicycling, etc. Other obligations and care of an elderly mother leave me no time for riding other than the rare 50 mile jaunt, then it's back to the garage. I walk past it everyday knowing it's probably my last motorcycle at 57 and having owned it since '87 it's hard to imagine it not being there. I've recently rid myself of unused possessions and felt relief afterwards. No more guilt and stressing over when I'll around to using them again.
Sure, in four more years the kids will be gone and I'll have time on my hands. Almost makes me want to keep it, but it's not a two-up bike for Leigh and I since we're both 6' tall. Prep it for long-term storage or just move on? Hey, LM IVs are supposedly gaining in value so maybe I should consider the storage option?
In the meantime, I'll be listing a pair of Joe Rocket boots soon. If I do ride, I just wear hiking boots now.
Tobit
"I walk past it everyday knowing it's probably my last motorcycle at 57"
You say that like you're getting old or something. I'm sure there's plenty of life left in the old dog. You may find time short at the moment, but things can change. Your kids will be out of your hair before you know it. If they're in high school now, you should be far from geriatric before they've moved on.
Get on with your life as it is now and take another look when it's not so hot and you're not feeling so miserable. Remember - life doesn't even start to get interesting until you hit 60.
Nick
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Store it. I'll bet that if you sell it, you'll be sorry you did. It's not eating anything, unlike Rocker's horses.. :evil: :smiley: Life begins at 60, ya know.
What do you do when you just stop riding?
You get old. :cool:
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I got four bikes after turning 57 so don't say it's your last bike (I don't have kids, that may skew the curve a bit :) ). For many bikes, selling is the logical answer. For a special few, and you have one, storing makes the most sense. Moth ball it properly and if down the road a ways if you decide that it needs to go; well, better than money in the bank!
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Store it. I'll bet that if you sell it, you'll be sorry you did. It's not eating anything, unlike Rocker's horses.. :evil: :smiley: Life begins at 60, ya know.
What do you do when you just stop riding?
You get old. :cool:
Yeah. That's the great thing about motorcycles as compared to horses.
You can park a motorcycle and forget it. And, it doesn't cost you anything while it's idle.
Horses? They pretty much cost the same whether you're using them, or not...
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So much I could say-but this year, my 60th, I'm not only riding a new bike, I rode a nice LONG ride-3 weeks-in the company of my similarly aged wife.
She once said we'd be young as long as we kept riding.
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Been where you're at. Stopped riding for the high school years of kids. Just not enough time. Always knew I'd ride after that though. Kept the ST though, then a Hinckley Triumph Trophy and on and on. Some sat for a while, ridden infrequently but still on those times when time was available, a good ride.
For that heat you can't stand though, have a friend elsewhere? Put the bike there and then you have an excuse to go somewhere else and ride your brains out.
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So much I could say-but this year, my 60th, I'm not only riding a new bike, I rode a nice LONG ride-3 weeks-in the company of my similarly aged wife.
She once said we'd be young as long as we kept riding.
That's me and Fay. With the kids long gone, and us at 61 now, she's enjoying riding with me more than ever.
We just knocked off last week on a whim, put Jack the Border Collie in summer camp, and took off for 4 days of riding in the western Virginia and eastern West Virginia (say that fast three times) on the roads we just love.
And I'm taking off Thursday and heading to the Ohio Valley BSA Owner's Club rally in northeast Ohio, camping for 5 days, on my old BSA A10. For the past two days I've looked like an engine-room wiper on a WWI destroyer, covered with grease from working on the bike, changing the primary chain, packing the dynamo chaincase with grease, sorting cables and oil leaks, all that good stuff.
It's just fun. I certainly stay WAY WAY busier with non-bike things that I thought I would when I retired 7 months ago, but still finding time to ride. I've sold two bikes that were "surplus to continuing operations" (as the auction places say), and I'll probably get myself down to three or so, and maybe replace one of those with some other "bucket list" bike ...
I don't know what to say about "sell it or store it" if you find your riding slowing down. On the one hand, if it's a bike you've really bonded with, it's not eating anything if you store it properly. And if you sell it, you can ALWAYS buy another one like it, might cost a little money if it's a rare bike, but even if it were a Crocker or a Brough-Superior, you could replace it.
So don't worry about it, and let nature take its course. Motorcycling isn't the Mafia - you CAN quit if you want to .... :grin:
Lannis
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If you told me you have a one year old bike you are still paying I would say sell it. An '86 LeMans is a different story.
My wifes youngest just graduated college and I have no children I know of, so I tend to judge people with kids from what it was like for me growing up. I think it is insane the amount of time people spend carting there kids around from here and there just so the have a well rounded childhood. But that is not what we are talking about. The chance you could replace your present bike 4-5 years from now for the same money is pretty slim. If you like it keep it, keep good fuel stabilizer in the tank, battery tender and get a flannel cover. If there are things you have always wanted to do to the bike make a plan and spend time with it in that way. Polish the wheels, keep it waxed and keep fresh oil in it if it sits.
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I can't imagine not having at least one motorcycle. Would be my own personal version of "Hell". :sad:
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I can't imagine not having at least one motorcycle. Would be my own personal version of "Hell". :sad:
Yep. :smiley: There have been years that I haven't had an airplane, but as soon as I left home (no motorcycles allowed) I've always had a bike. Always will..
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I suggest keeping and riding once a month. I figured I was off two wheelers when I hit 50, but got a 1400 at 61, and now have an SO who is looking at bigger bikes. So hard to tell what is going to happen.
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My experience: Sometime, usually soon, after you sell the bike you will realize the money has disappeared and you no longer have a motorcycle. Then you realize how much it will cost to replace the bike and, if you do, you might not find anything you like nearly as well.
I've had some of the same thoughts about my small gun collection. I doubt I will ever hunt again, but I just like having them and getting them out once in awhile to clean, oil and remember chasing pheasants through creek bottoms with my Labs.
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(I can't tolerate the Memphis heat for long and thus despise riding in summer.)
Try living in Scotland, we yearn for heat and no rain! Still ride my bike whatever, the alternative is too depressing to contemplate. I have way too many bikes but they eat no hay, just a PITA to keep on top of, may slim it down but I'd regret it. Keep the Guzzi, you know it makes sense :azn:
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For that heat you can't stand though, have a friend elsewhere? Put the bike there and then you have an excuse to go somewhere else and ride your brains out.
Tobit,
You can store it here at my place in Pennsylvania where it is less hot. It'll be in good company with a several other vintage bikes, and two newer Guzzis. I'll keep fresh fuel in it, and keep the oil circulated so it is ready for you to ride when you come visit. :grin:
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.....If you like it keep it, keep good fuel stabilizer in the tank, battery tender and get a flannel cover. If there are things you have always wanted to do to the bike make a plan and spend time with it in that way. Polish the wheels, keep it waxed and keep fresh oil in it if it sits.
For longer term storage, I'd remove the battery, keep it on a tender separate from the bike, and completely drain the fuel tank and carbs. Even with fuel stabilizer, ethanol-contaminated fuel won't last more than a year before it starts to varnish things up -- likely less.
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At 57, you're a mere chicken. If you budget for another 40 years (not unreasonable these days), you've only lived half your adult life. Time enough for anything. The one thing you can count on, is that things will change - so keep your options open. You WILL come across something (and probably more than a few somethings) that you'll embrace with enthusiasm and get a lot out of. And there's nothing like a long trip to widen perspectives - we do tend to get stuck in familiar habits and limit our own options.
One of my lessons - back in the seventies, I met my great-uncle's father-in-law. He had retired at 45, most of his contemporaries were dead by 40, and believing he only had a few years left, he sold his business & invested the proceeds. He was 95 (and his annuity didn't even cover his tea money). You never know how long you've got.
I know a few guys still riding in their 80's & 90's, and quite a few who STARTED in their 60's. Plenty of opportunities for a sea change or two.
Mal
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Stop riding ??? WTF is wrong with you? Just because it's too hot for a few months ??? I won't quit riding 'til I'm physically incapable or dead. If I have to get a trike, so be it. :bow: Raised 2 sons but never stopped riding then. :boxing: Will be 72 this month.
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Die.
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Tobit
Hmmm. Not enough 50 mile jaunts to relieve your guilt and stressing, it seems. I too, don't like the summer heat (here) either with its high humidity and the threat of rain and my bike does not get much exercise then. But come Autumn and Spring, I'm into it :grin: Question is, "Do you really need to feel Guilty about parking your bike for the summer?" Aint no cops 'round here mate. No crime committed. You're free to please yourself :grin: :grin:
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I got into road riding about 20 years ago. The kids were both adults, on their own and my major responsibilities of meeting the financial needs for the family were complete. I was 62 years then. Since then I've owned eight different cycles and am approaching 300K miles in total.
Yes, I'm getting older and am beginning to consider my next steps in this hobby. At some point, back-to-back 600 mile days will be replaced by shorter 400/450 mile days, probably at a slower pace with more rest stops along the way. Also, at some point the Stelvio NTX, which has served me very well for over 30K miles, will need to be replaced by something a bit lighter but that can be adapted to my new riding needs. I don't see myself giving up quite yet. I still enjoy getting out and rolling down the road.
Tobit, I'd echo the advice from some of the others -- store the bike if riding is not in the cards for the time being. Properly stored, it'll be ready for you when you are ready/capable of enjoying it again. OTOH, if you're capable of getting out for those 50 mile jaunts every week or so once the weather turns decent again, they might be "Just the Ticket" to help you clear your mind of the stress of dealing with those every day problems that will occur.
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When the hot days hit Phoenix and the "cold" days in the winter; about the only riding I can muster is a quick run up to Cave Creek to have coffee and chew the fat. It's a godsend to have a place like that as a motivator for a short ride. Also good for an escape if life is getting busy and you need a good excuse for a couple hours of escape but no time for a real ride.
I'd like to get down to one bike, but I have no idea which two to purge. :p First world problems. :grin:
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At 57, you're a mere chicken. If you budget for another 40 years (not unreasonable these days), you've only lived half your adult life. Time enough for anything.
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I do not wish to trivialize Tobit's worry, as it there is much right and little wrong in reflecting now and then on this magnificent obsession of ours: riding motorcycles.
That said, WRT the "old" part, my father-in-law, Len, turned 93 on 30 July.
Yesterday, he bought a new, loaded, 2015 Buick LaCrosse. :laugh:
He drove its predecessor -- a 2011 LaCrosse -- here (a 600-mile r/t) frequently to visit, accompanied by his 80-YO girlfriend. A Pennsylvania State Trooper stopped him for speeding this past spring. Len doesn't look his age, and the cop was near dumfounded when he saw the DL. Waved him on with, "Please slow down, Sir." :wink:
Anyway, whether a healthy lifestyle (check), a younger girlfriend (check) :bow:, or whatever, 57 is way short for a final descent.
I "returned" to motorcycles at 53; have bought four new Guzzis since; have about 200K on those in 15 years. Hope to keep playing with them as long as I can. As of now, I think that end-date is quite a ways out.
Best wishes on the decision, Tobit; trust you will not sell yourself short.
Bill
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Hey you young whippersnapper. I'm 72 and still riding, had three teenagers in High School at the same time.
I'm heading out tomorrow morning for a 7 1/2 hour ride to the MotoGP at Indy. I don't ride a bunch but when I do I have a ball.
Keep the bike and ride it or you can give it to me.
Dean
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Maybe the key in the Summer is to get out for a ride early in the morning when it's cooler?
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Hey you young whippersnapper. I'm 72 and still riding, had three teenagers in High School at the same time.
I'm heading out tomorrow morning for a 7 1/2 hour ride to the MotoGP at Indy. I don't ride a bunch but when I do I have a ball.
Keep the bike and ride it or you can give it to me.
Dean
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
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If you sell it, You'll wish you hadn't. Keep it, you'll still ride some when the weather get's better in the fall. I just did a little run from Siloam Springs, Ar. to Springfield, Mo. on the LMIII, 134 miles in the saddle non stop, it was great!
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"I walk past it everyday knowing it's probably my last motorcycle at 57 and having owned it since '87 it's hard to imagine it not being there."
You never know when you will be ready to start riding again.
"It don't eat much" is what my Dad used to say when I was trying to decide to sell something I still liked ,but, was tired of looking at.
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At 57 you are just a young pup, lots of riding years ahead.
A friend never rode at all until he learned to ride at 72, now he puts on more miles than anyone I know.
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I had that choice to make when I was 40. Sold the bike. I wasn't in love with it that much anyway so the decision was easier. Working in the desert made the choice that much simpler (it was my commuting vehicle).
At 56 I bought the T5. Won't ever sell it.
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Thanks guys. I'll sit on it for now. First cooler day I'll take it out. I'm pretty sure I'd miss it if it was gone and as someone posted, the cash would just vanish into the household and for what? A new kitchen sink and refrigerator? Something I've shared with my dear wife.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0803/eroman/DSCF1506.jpg)
Tobit
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other than the rare 50 mile jaunt
Thats all you need in the short term and later when you have more time you'll be glad you kept it
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Like some others, I'm riding less these days. I've taken up target shooting, specifically small bore hunter pistol, which is both challenging and enjoyable.
Rich A
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I say keep her and don't let the fact that are not riding that much bother you. Things can and will change. You can always sell her later if you so decide and and will probably get more.
The thing about turning old(er) is it happens a lot faster if you let it. I bought a new bike when I was 57 (2012 Suzuki Vstrom) and it has 25,000 miles on it now. Friday I am flying to Minnesota to pick up a new to me V11 Lemans to ride it home to Colorado. Last year I did my first Saddle Sore 1000.
Owning a bike for that many years is an accomplishment. Hang in there and the time and urge to ride will come again.
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Hey you young whippersnapper. I'm 72 and still riding, had three teenagers in High School at the same time.
I'm heading out tomorrow morning for a 7 1/2 hour ride to the MotoGP at Indy. I don't ride a bunch but when I do I have a ball.
Keep the bike and ride it or you can give it to me.
Dean
About to turn 58 and I did cut back during the high school years but now my son and I ride together. He and I will also be headed to the MotoGP this weekend (on Guzzis). Hope to see you there.
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Tobit,
I just think you have the summer blahs. Lots of that hot sticky sludge around here this time of year too. Bit down eh? Busy and stretched too many directions? Family and kids?
Perhaps maybe the best thing you can do for yourself, to stay healthy is to get on that bike and ride like the wind. Take time for yourself. Make it a priority.
Hell we reopen the Alzheimer's Clinic for Grandpa Larry starting Saturday. And one of his younger brothers just died of liver cancer, so we get to be care takers right after that emotional event. Its hot as hell here in Houston. Work drags on. We are building our retirement house.
Last bike at 57? Baloney. Keep riding to keep your skills up, they do deteriorate.
Find a way.
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Tobit,
I just think you have the summer blahs. Lots of that hot sticky sludge around here this time of year too. Bit down eh? Busy and stretched too many directions? Family and kids?
Perhaps maybe the best thing you can do for yourself, to stay healthy is to get on that bike and ride like the wind. Take time for yourself. Make it a priority.
Hell we reopen the Alzheimer's Clinic for Grandpa Larry starting Saturday. And one of his younger brothers just died of liver cancer, so we get to be care takers right after that emotional event. Its hot as hell here in Houston. Work drags on. We are building our retirement house.
Last bike at 57? Baloney. Keep riding to keep your skills up, they do deteriorate.
Find a way.
You could be right on a lot of points. Come September I start accruing 4 weeks of leave a year. One of those should be used on a trip west, in winter.
Tobit
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Tobit :
You love your Guzzi and you love riding. Priorities change and you are making appropriate decisions. Avoid the snare of thinking "if I can't ride the way I want, I don't want to ride at all". This is never true of the person who loves a given pursuit. Keep all your gear. You chose it carefully and it has served you well. Nothing will feel as right as your gear. Scaling back is not giving up. Put a trickle charger on the battery so that you can let the Guzzi talk once a week. Keep the bond alive especially when you can't ride. Crank it up and let it idle. Sit beside the Guzzi on a work stool and feel the various components warm and vibrate. Your body is still tuned to all those sensory cues even when your mind is inundated by competing needs. A 30 minute jaunt every two weeks won't satisfy your desire, but it will keep you in intimate contact with the Guzzi. It's sound, it's feel, it's smell - the familiar sensations of your gear. I have three sons aged 34, 33 and 29. My boys have ALWAYS enjoyed knowing that their dad was a motorcycle rider. It doesn't matter how many miles I ride in a year. To my sons what matters is that I always have a motorcycle, it is always ready to go whenever I am and that I still have new tales to tell.
All best wishes.
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Well,
Here's an odd suggestion....keep the goose, pick up a different 'easier' bike. If I just had the Guzzi (Sport 1100), I wouldnt ride it much either as its a horrid commuter/errand runner.
The bike I put alotta daily miles on is a Honda NX650 Dominator. (Kinda like an XR650L but more street friendly). It's pretty much a stone axe for reliability...gas-ride-repeat, good commuter errand runner, sits up high for vis.
Justa thought.
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You don't stop riding because you get old.........you get old because you stop riding.
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If only one of the kids has an activity, you can always use the bike to take or pick them up from the activities. Your kids would be the envy to have a "stud dad" with a cool bike.
I have a very limited edition sport bike (1 of 60) sitting in the garage that seldom gets used. I have seriously thought of selling it to fund other bike projects but my son who doesn't ride insist I keep it just for the cool factor. "You know you'll regret it if you sell it". On the rare occasion I take it out Im always thankful I didn't sell it. If its not a financial burden hang onto your bike.
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Well,
Here's an odd suggestion....keep the goose, pick up a different 'easier' bike. If I just had the Guzzi (Sport 1100), I wouldnt ride it much either as its a horrid commuter/errand runner.
The bike I put alotta daily miles on is a Honda NX650 Dominator. (Kinda like an XR650L but more street friendly). It's pretty much a stone axe for reliability...gas-ride-repeat, good commuter errand runner, sits up high for vis.
Justa thought.
Good suggestion. A few years ago I was getting seriously bored with riding, though not to the point that I was considering selling any. Bought my old XT500 and started riding forest roads and places waaay back in the boonies I couldn't do (easily) on my Ambassador. Lots of "new" scenery and places to explore, even helped brush up on my riding skills. Generally cooler in the woods as well.
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You're going through a phase in our life when riding is not high on your list - BTDT - another phase will be along when you'll want those rides again. Don't do something you'll regret in a few years.
Your activity on WG shows that motorcycling has been and will be important to you
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I have always been where you are regarding time to ride.
1. I work 1/2 mile from my home.
2. A long ride for me is 20 miles
3. We golf, Play tennis, jog, tandem bike and mountain bike........simply run out of time
4. Aging Parents
But I love motorcycles. I didn't have to change due to a drop off in time like you did....always had time constraints. If anyone doesn't need a motorcycle it is me. Still I have one and always will.....or at least till I can't and will still probably have it in my garage so I can just look at it from time to time.. :laugh: I agree with others. Do what you need to now but you enjoy it as you can and things turn around.
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To answer the question, if you don't put a foot down you fall over. :thumb:
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Maybe the key in the Summer is to get out for a ride early in the morning when it's cooler?
:1: Early morning is my favourite time to ride
No muppet cars
No muppet riders
Leave the house early and plan a route that includes your favourite breakfast café
That way you can be back home for 09:00 and still have time to do the chores/family stuff
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I stopped... altogether, for over four years.
Completely voluntary - considering circumstances - though not deliberate.
When we, in the greater Phoenix area, had our ridiculous boom recently our population was increasing at an absurd rate - monthly. I found the wildly varying driving styles from throughout the U.S. and much of the world as well, to be quite disconcerting for a motorcycle rider. The absolute inability to assess a driver relative to regional driving style grew too much and I found my bikes go out of registration, then dropped the insurance and watched the tires rot. It reminded me very much of military base traffic drawing on drivers from every state, places like Puerto Rico and foreign born spouses from wherever GIs get them.
Doesn't help that few places in the U.S. offer more boring riding to a fella like me than the Phoenix area as far as spirited day-rides are concerned.
Anyhow, as the economy cooled and growth essentially stopped, I found myself looking about for a bike with bags to carry light tools and paperwork to attend to out commercial properties. Enter the Calvin and GS850. Eventually, we got shed of those commercial albatrosses and between not needing to circumnavigate Phoenix and backing into a little Sportster in a gun trade, the Calvin and the rest sit again.
Part of being able to ignore the bikes - in addition to no practical fun rides - was something I came to realize back in the 80's.
Having always a couple-three two wheelers in the Army, I had no way of knowing that the purchase of a surplus fire department Jeep would cut into their attentions... Street and dirt.
At first, the Jeep posed no threat and the bikes likely welcomed the break from my varied abuses. The rub came the first time I removed the top, the doors and lowered the windshield...
Motorcycles? What motorcycles?...
Raise the Jeep windscreen and I start to contemplate the motorcycles, add the roof and the bikes become an option... slip on the doors and I'm wishing I kept the cycle's tires in better form.
Too, to be fair to the sport, I find myself often hauling a dog or three about with me unlike before retiring.
So now, with the fairly recent purchase of projects; CJ-2A Jeep and '63 MG-B, I can't help but wonder if not despair the fate of the Calvin and GS850
Funny what can scratch an itch... One of the reasons I generally temper my interpretations of oddities like Can-Ams, Side-hacks, trikes et al.
Just don't get me started on goofy concepts like Robins and Morgans! :violent1:
Todd.
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I stopped... altogether, for over four years.
Completely voluntary - considering circumstances - though not deliberate.
......
So now, with the fairly recent purchase of projects; CJ-2A Jeep and '63 MG-B, I can't help but wonder if not despair the fate of the Calvin and GS850
Funny what can scratch an itch... One of the reasons I generally temper my interpretations of oddities like Can-Ams, Side-hacks, trikes et al.
Just don't get me started on goofy concepts like Robins and Morgans! :violent1:
Todd.
It didn't work for me, doing what you're doing, although you've made a good try at it with an MGB and a CJ2. I quit for a few years in the late 80s early 90s, long story involving the kids ....
.... then it started itching. I thought "I'll scratch this itch with an MGB" and bought a '73 and drove it until the creeping floor and sill and castle-section rust was making the doors bind, so I sold it.
.... it itched some more so I bought the most basic, most sporty motorcycle substitute I could think of, a '66 Morgan 4/4. Drove it for a year, the itch got worse, I parked it and bought a BSA and have never looked back .... Nothing substitutes for a bike for me.
When I have to quit riding because of physical disabilities, I'll move on and I'll quit, but I'll go into another phase of life, I won't try to be "substituting" something for a motorcycle ... !
Lannis
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When my kids were young 15yrs ago, I needed something that would scratch the MC itch while doing it 'Family Style'.
I'd always been a VW nut, so I ended up with a '70 VW Carmen Ghia convertible. Smells & feels like a motorcycle, but was able to strap the kids in the back seat and head to Elba, Bretchesgarten, Assisi, and lotsa other places.
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(http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag77/Penderic/straight%20jacket_zpsbwxn6rbo.jpg)
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I'm kinda in the same place as Tobit......bike not ridden much, other things take my time. But I keep it registered and warranted so that if I really feel like it, and it may be quite a spur of the moment decision, I can take the Monzada for a ride!
I have lived in places where it wasn't the best place to have a motorcycle. But times change, circumstances change, time becomes available, or, like we are currently facing, a location change. If we get the place we're after or near to it, I'll only be able to cycle to work about two days a week coz it will be up to about an hour and a half of hill then flat to go to work and the same in reverse. So the Monzada will be pressed into service more for the other three days. Bonus! I get better cycle rides and more fitness, and the Guzzi gets more use. Yet it was only a few years ago I was seriously considering selling it.
The world turns.
Cheers Kev.
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If you have to have someone convince you to ride, then don't ride. There is nothing rational or practical about it. You can find fun in life doing countless other things that don't put your life and limb at risk if you don't fully concentrate.
Cheers, Nic
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My two bikes have sat for a week. I'm swamped. This year I'm not going to impress anyone in my group with my results from our annual mileage contest, but there's no way I'd ever be without a bike in the garage.
The reason why is simple: I feel better knowing there is a ride in my future. Today, tomorrow, next week? Doesn't matter. I simply have that to look forward to. Makes me happier. And I walk by them carrying in groceries and say, "damn those are cool!"
The Lemans will sit patiently, just like any motorcycle will.
I once read a story in the AMA magazine I think about a former board track racer at 100 years old. He did a certain number of laps around a parking lot on a scooter everyday until the day he died. I want to be that guy.
:clock:
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You're going through a phase in our life when riding is not high on your list - BTDT - another phase will be along when you'll want those rides again. Don't do something you'll regret in a few years.
Your activity on WG shows that motorcycling has been and will be important to you
:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
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Going from sport type/dual sport moto to
Austin Healey.
Edit: If or when the time comes.
mike
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I once read a story in the AMA magazine I think about a former board track racer at 100 years old. He did a certain number of laps around a parking lot on a scooter everyday until the day he died. I want to be that guy.
:clock:
Fred Marsh, that was ... old-time racer, Moto Guzzi dealer, and still riding his Indian moped around the shop parking lot at 102 .....
Fifty-seven? Still a child ....
Lannis
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Yep..
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I can't imagine not having at least one motorcycle. Would be my own personal version of "Hell". :sad:
Same here, I cant imagine NOT riding and at 53 I will definitely still be riding at 57 and hopefully well after that. As for the heat, get yourself a cooling vest, you soak it in water, wring it out and depending on temps is good for 2-3 hours, and works amazingly well. Especially under a mesh jacket. You can buy them for motorcycles but go to a work wear supply store and they'll be half the price.
Our kids are all gone but we work 7 days a week for the summer (two seasonal businesses), so don't get much chance to ride in the summer except for commuting and the odd day trip when the stars align and we get staff working in both stores. The commute isn't too bad though as we live on a mountain and ride down into town.
(https://faithcottage.smugmug.com/Street-Scenes/Road/i-FzMDgZv/0/L/HPIM2736-L.jpg)
One of the big reasons we chose to move here 7 years ago was because we both love to ride.
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I golf.
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Something I forgot to mention, all my adult life I've ridden and part of it is because it's my temporary escape from pressures of life. When your are riding you cannot be thinking of other things . If you do you might get killed. Your brain has to work harder controlling your bike needs than other modes of transportation. This also helps reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer's, keeping your brain active.