when I was ATGATT in the mid-seventies [only one photograph]

[Daniel Kalal]

Black wasn't the default color then.  Actually, I'm not sure that black was even an option for this riding suit.  I'd forgotten how noisy those open-face helmets with the snap-on shields could be.  It's easy to see that the field was wide open for Aerostich to come in and offer something with real crash protection.  But, for the time; this was it.

[kirkemon]

N I C E !!!
That outfit rivals Evel Knievel !
I assume that's a Titan 500 ? ;-T

[oldbike54]

 Pretty stylish Deke  :D What happened to the Titan ?

  Dusty

[Daniel Kalal]

Pretty stylish Deke  :D What happened to the Titan ?

  Dusty

reached 40,000 miles on it; replaced it with a Guzzi Eldo, and never looked back.  (you learn to hate 30 mpg on a good day)

[fotoguzzi]

Outstanding! you were cool.

[redrider]

We just didn't know how good we had it. Babe Magnet. Aviator Ray Ban?

[Markcarovilli]

Not sure about the boots tho - look a little marginal........

Mark

[JoeW]

Dan, those look like Sherald leathers, are they?

[jacksonracingcomau]

I'll raise you to 1984
Rukka plastic suit, first 100% waterproof suit I ever had, but boil in a bag !!!
That trip was to Cape York, well in the tropics, was as wet inside as out by then

[Lannis]

Black wasn't the default color then.  Actually, I'm not sure that black was even an option for this riding suit.  I'd forgotten how noisy those open-face helmets with the snap-on shields could be.  It's easy to see that the field was wide open for Aerostich to come in and offer something with real crash protection.  But, for the time; this was it.

Seems strange now, with all the purpose-built massive touring bikes that are available today, that that rig and outfit was on top of Touring World 40 years ago.

A Titan or CB500 with a Windjammer, Bates, or Pacifico fairing, a luggage rack, a taped shield on an open-face helmet, a one-piece riding suit .... and you were ready for a coast-to-coast ride.   

You didn't even know that you had to have a cell phone for emergencies, a GPS to find the next "Flying A" gas station and "Howard Johnsons" restaurant (mmm, clam strips and a HoJo Cola!), and a bunch of credit cards for Best Western motels.   A pair of gauntlet gloves and off you go .....

Great pic!

Lannis   

[lorazepam]

Elvis has left the building!

[krglorioso]

reached 40,000 miles on it; replaced it with a Guzzi Eldo, and never looked back.  (you learn to hate 30 mpg on a good day)

Yes, but the Titan never cost you a dime for valve jobs.

Ralph

[Arizona Wayne]

That looks like the same fairing I put on my R5 350 Yamaha I got 40 mpg on w/a 2.6 gal gas tank.   Every 80 miles it was time for gas.  ~;  I believe the full face helmet became available about 1975.  Next bike was a `74 RD350 that got 30 mpg when touring.  ~; Next bike was a `78 Yamaha standard 650 twin that got 65 mpg. sometimes.

[Lannis]

That looks like the same fairing I put on my R5 350 Yamaha I got 40 mpg on w/a 2.6 gal gas tank.   Every 80 miles it was time for gas.  ~;  I believe the full face helmet became available about 1975.  Next bike was a `74 RD350 that got 30 mpg when touring.  ~; Next bike was a `78 Yamaha standard 650 twin that got 65 mpg. sometimes.

My memory isn't always fantastic but I remember my R5 having a full 3 gallon tank (1972 model, bronze and gold).

The reason I remember it so well is because I was riding it 150 miles every weekend to see Fay, and 150 miles back, and it took 3 gallons each way.   

And the reason I remember THAT is because we were at the height of the "Gas Crisis" where many stations didn't have gas, there were no "self service" stations, and the attendant would actually look at your gas gauge or look in your gas tank before he would pump any gas, because he would not let you have any gas if your tank was more than half full.   (Side note - a student in our physics department made a little money selling rheostats that he would hook to your gas gauge and make it read whatever you wanted).   And I couldn't buy gas on Sunday on the way home.

I could only carry two gallons of spare gas on the R5, and I had 300 miles to travel every weekend.   So I would ride about 50 miles toward my destination, ride a hundred yards past the service station, stop, and pour one gallon of gas into my tank to fill it up.   I'd then walk to the station with the empty can in my hand and say "Look, I've run out of gas.   Can I buy a gallon?" and they'd sell me a gallon of gas.   Now I had 250 miles to go, three gallons in the tank, and two full gallon cans, and I was all set.

Hard to imagine we did all that stuff back then .... I don't think it would fly these days .....

Lannis

[Fangit]

I had an R5 too, in 1978. Denim jackets were cool back then…bad hair cuts too...

[Xlratr]

I'm raising you on rider protection. 1980, CB350, southern France.


John

[Lannis]

I'm raising you on rider protection. 1980, CB350, southern France.


John

It's all right - you had a crash bar, your legs would've been fine in a wreck ....   :o   :o 

[Arizona Wayne]

My memory isn't always fantastic but I remember my R5 having a full 3 gallon tank (1972 model, bronze and gold).

The reason I remember it so well is because I was riding it 150 miles every weekend to see Fay, and 150 miles back, and it took 3 gallons each way.  

And the reason I remember THAT is because we were at the height of the "Gas Crisis" where many stations didn't have gas, there were no "self service" stations, and the attendant would actually look at your gas gauge or look in your gas tank before he would pump any gas, because he would not let you have any gas if your tank was more than half full.   (Side note - a student in our physics department made a little money selling rheostats that he would hook to your gas gauge and make it read whatever you wanted).   And I couldn't buy gas on Sunday on the way home.

I could only carry two gallons of spare gas on the R5, and I had 300 miles to travel every weekend.   So I would ride about 50 miles toward my destination, ride a hundred yards past the service station, stop, and pour one gallon of gas into my tank to fill it up.   I'd then walk to the station with the empty can in my hand and say "Look, I've run out of gas.   Can I buy a gallon?" and they'd sell me a gallon of gas.   Now I had 250 miles to go, three gallons in the tank, and two full gallon cans, and I was all set.

Hard to imagine we did all that stuff back then .... I don't think it would fly these days .....

Lannis

Sorry, Lannis, you remember wrong.  I never got over 40 mpg= 120 miles on 3 gal.  Musta been a different bike.  :D

[Testarossa]

Here's what I wore around '77 when being serious:


On the road, not so much. In '74 I came off a bike wearing denim, and regretted it.

[Lannis]

Here's what the stylish young retro-man of 2006 looks like when ready for a cross-country trip .....



That Suzuki didn't get any better mileage than yours, unfortunately, but the new owner is enjoying it!

Lannis

[Arizona Wayne]

Here's what the stylish young retro-man of 2006 looks like when ready for a cross-country trip .....



That Suzuki didn't get any better mileage than yours, unfortunately, but the new owner is enjoying it!

Lannis

When I used to ride my 350 Yamahas from Portland, Or. to Laguna Seca for the MC races, some young gas station attendants would be in awe I could ride that far on a 2 smoke. On I-5 sometimes I had to ride side saddle like a woman the stock narrow seat was so inadequate for long distances.  ~;

[HDGoose]

Seems strange now, with all the purpose-built massive touring bikes that are available today, that that rig and outfit was on top of Touring World 40 years ago.

A Titan or CB500 with a Windjammer, Bates, or Pacifico fairing, a luggage rack, a taped shield on an open-face helmet, a one-piece riding suit .... and you were ready for a coast-to-coast ride.   

You didn't even know that you had to have a cell phone for emergencies, a GPS to find the next "Flying A" gas station and "Howard Johnsons" restaurant (mmm, clam strips and a HoJo Cola!), and a bunch of credit cards for Best Western motels.   A pair of gauntlet gloves and off you go .....

Great pic!

Lannis   

40 years ago employers fired people for riding motorcycles. 40 years ago, not all military bases allowed motorcycles on the base. Riding a motorcycle could be a court martial offense at some locations.

Who says you need a GPS? A cell phone is now a job requirement for me. And the company pays most of it.

I see you are not riding an Eldo or T-3? why is that?

[Chuck in Indiana]

On the road, not so much. In '74 I came off a bike wearing denim, and regretted it.

Fortunately, (for me) I saw the results of a denim/chip and seal getoff a couple of times.. and decided I'd be ATGATT. 

[Muzz]

Late 60's and my old G3L Matchy 350 ended up being fitted with a 7 imp gal (approx. 8.5US) tank, slightly modified donk and slightly higher gearing than standard; it would do 85 mpg (imp) when being ridden "at the speed limit"  ;).  If I babied it I have had over 100mpg out of it.  It went a helluva long way on a tank of gas. ;D

[Lannis]

40 years ago employers fired people for riding motorcycles. 40 years ago, not all military bases allowed motorcycles on the base. Riding a motorcycle could be a court martial offense at some locations.

That's true.   And some motels and restaurants wouldn't let you in if you were on a motorcycle.   I never felt the direct impact of that; I was never turned away from any place of business, or treated like a substandard citizen, because I had a motorcycle, but I understand that it used to happen to people.

I guess it was still the impact of "The Wild One" and the bikesploitation movies of the 60's that portrayed "bikers" as just hoodlums, until "You Meet The Nicest People On A Honda" came along.

I hope it doesn't come back, although with all the "Sons of Anarchy" wannabees and the bad boys in skull masks, I'm not so hopeful ....

Lannis (who's got a two-up 1000 mile ride through three states coming up next week on a Norton Commando, sans cell phone ...!)

[Muzz]

Lannis (who's got a two-up 1000 mile ride through three states coming up next week on a Norton Commando, sans cell phone ...!)

 :pop :pop :pop :pop
All joking aside Lannis, hope all goes well and you have a great ride and a great time.

[raul]

My 1968 Kawasaki 250 in 1972 or 1973.

[Lannis]

:pop :pop :pop :pop
All joking aside Lannis, hope all goes well and you have a great ride and a great time.

Thanks!   We do this ride every year with a group of friends, meeting in Blowing Rock, NC and riding out and around from there, then back home.   It's basically an old BritBike ride, although any and all bikes are welcome.

I was one of the three guys that first organized the ride back 15 years or so ago, and I always rode my BSA Firebird.   Then a couple of years, the BSA wasn't running, so I would ride the Eldorado or Centauro or SP instead.   

Then (and this is a GOOD thing) Fay started to want to ride with me.   We did that ONE time on my '61 BSA A10 with that spirited-riding group on those tight, steep mountain roads, AND those drum brakes stopping (trying to stop) a 400 pound bike with a 440 pound payload ... well, sod THAT for a game of soldiers, my knuckles would be white for a week after ... so year before last Fay and I came down on the Stelvio.   

I caught a bit of a good-natured hard time, though (as good friends will) along the lines of "Here you are, one of the charter members of this ride, always showing how it's done with an old BritBike; and NOW you've apparently packed it in and you're on a modern bike with all the gew-gaws, what will people say?"   There was some truth to that, and Lord knows how people talk, and everyone KNOWS how sensitive I am about what people think (  :D   :D   :D  ), so last year I went and got a 1975 Norton Commando Interstate, a proper old Brit, as a gob-stopper for the jealous types (or that's how I 'justify' it anyhow).    Stops well coming down the mountain roads, handles good, lots of power, Fay is comfortable on it, and now all it needs to do is run good for three straight days of mountain riding!   I rode it about 100 miles yesterday to shake out the new luggage rack I fabbed up for it, and I'll tell you, if this bike will "hold up" and run, it might be all I ever need.   Great motorcycle.

Film at 11!   (on May 20th that is).

Lannis

[Guzzistajohn]

In the early '70's I was wearing levi's cut offs and a t-shirt on my JC Penney minibike with the 3 1/2 horse briggs thumper ;D

[Arizona Wayne]

Thanks!   We do this ride every year with a group of friends, meeting in Blowing Rock, NC and riding out and around from there, then back home.   It's basically an old BritBike ride, although any and all bikes are welcome.

I was one of the three guys that first organized the ride back 15 years or so ago, and I always rode my BSA Firebird.   Then a couple of years, the BSA wasn't running, so I would ride the Eldorado or Centauro or SP instead.  

Then (and this is a GOOD thing) Fay started to want to ride with me.   We did that ONE time on my '61 BSA A10 with that spirited-riding group on those tight, steep mountain roads, AND those drum brakes stopping (trying to stop) a 400 pound bike with a 440 pound payload ... well, sod THAT for a game of soldiers, my knuckles would be white for a week after ... so year before last Fay and I came down on the Stelvio.  

I caught a bit of a good-natured hard time, though (as good friends will) along the lines of "Here you are, one of the charter members of this ride, always showing how it's done with an old BritBike; and NOW you've apparently packed it in and you're on a modern bike with all the gew-gaws, what will people say?"   There was some truth to that, and Lord knows how people talk, and everyone KNOWS how sensitive I am about what people think (  :D   :D   :D  ), so last year I went and got a 1975 Norton Commando Interstate, a proper old Brit, as a gob-stopper for the jealous types (or that's how I 'justify' it anyhow).    Stops well coming down the mountain roads, handles good, lots of power, Fay is comfortable on it, and now all it needs to do is run good for three straight days of mountain riding!   I rode it about 100 miles yesterday to shake out the new luggage rack I fabbed up for it, and I'll tell you, if this bike will "hold up" and run, it might be all I ever need.   Great motorcycle.

Film at 11!   (on May 20th that is).

Lannis

Good luck on expecting your Norton to be trouble free for 3 days of continuous riding 1 or 2up.  ;D