Motorbike riding season woohoo!!!!

Well I bought my Can-Am spyder for the safety factors. And I average 10-12k miles per year. I also ride 700-900 in a day on a regular basis and I wouldn't be able to do that with a ninja. If everyone had the same like in bikes then it would be boring. :)
 
I used to ride 2-wheelers all the time. Started out with a 2.5hp mini-bike that I had rigged a bicycle headlight and tail light (generator driven) and actually rode on the streets - up until 2 Indianapolis Motorcycle Officers told me to take it home and never ride on city streets again - LOL. Ahh the good old days.

I eventually graduated up to Honda's (didn't really like H/D's at that time in my life, nor could I afford one.) But the nicest bike I owned was a 1984 Yamaha Venture Royale - what a nice bike!

Nowadays I can't ride any 2-wheelers (that's what the wife says and she is right). I have gotten a bit older and have some balance issues so it would have to be a 3-wheeler. I've been real tempted to check out the Spyder as I like that design a great deal. It looks like it would be a lot of fun to ride - even in foul / wet weather.

Wet weather....oh yeah, reminds me of leaving Indianapolis in sleet and riding up to Fort Wayne, Indiana for a poker run held by Old Fort M/C - but that's another (very) wet story - LOL.

Keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up, everyone.

AMA "Life Member" Member #494169
 
I used to ride 2-wheelers all the time. Started out with a 2.5hp mini-bike that I had rigged a bicycle headlight and tail light (generator driven) and actually rode on the streets - up until 2 Indianapolis Motorcycle Officers told me to take it home and never ride on city streets again - LOL. Ahh the good old days.

"Ahh the good old days" is right!

The contraptions we'd put together...and get up to speed on...it's amazing we're still alive! Hideous things that were barely holding together, usually with nearly useless paddle brakes or something that bad...LOL. But back when we were kids....those rigs put huge smiles on our faces and we were king!
 
"Ahh the good old days" is right!

The contraptions we'd put together...and get up to speed on...it's amazing we're still alive! Hideous things that were barely holding together, usually with nearly useless paddle brakes or something that bad...LOL. But back when we were kids....those rigs put huge smiles on our faces and we were king!

I remember having a hell of a time getting the 5hp to run correctly on the gokart. Billy was out in the yard trying to get the thing to start while the rest of us were in the garage tinkering. We came to the conclusion that the motor must have been completely full of carbon, and since we had the throttle linkage all taken apart, we just wired the throttle open. No problem as Billy could simply reach behind him and hit the kill switch if it got going.

Well that wasn't working too well so I went back into the garage to tinker with the rest of the chaps. 5 minutes later I hear the roar of that 5hp B&S screaming down the driveway. Very quickly as it zoomed past the garage door, I could see Billy reaching back frantically for the kill switch behind him. He passed the garage door and all I heard was a big CRACK!!!! as he blasted through the wooden two post fence, with his chest.

Knocked the wind straight out of that kid. We all ran over, laughing, then stopped laughing when we presumed he was dead. A split second later he opened his eyes and was gasping for air to regain his breath. He started laughing, then wincing. Kid must have broken a few ribs. He had to skip work for a few days because it hurt too much to breath. He had this huge black and blue band that ran across his chest where he broke through the wood fence.

Poor Billy always seemed to take the brunt of our shenanigans. I think that was the same summer he burnt his unibrow off with the potato gun.
 
What I would like to install on my bike is a "train horn'. That would get everyone's attention.

Since I live in California where 'sharing the lane' is legal (unlike most every other state [I don't know if any other state legalizes it]) is one of the main reasons why I ride a Ninja. I despise sitting in traffic or standing in any line.:eek: I chose my bank by the typical wait time to see a cashier :)
 
Ahh...just started cooking dinner, wife gone to class for the evening, kids out....enough short rides on the bike, gonna put the front brake on and bleed her out and head out for the night.
Went for a put the other night....ran like butt....picked up some new plugs, went home, checked compression, good, but existing plugs...front was a gunky mess. What a difference fresh plugs make...she idles soooooOOOO low 'n slow now..love that lumpy kiddy-up gallop she makes.
 
Did some riding over the weekend as it was in the 80's in Virginia. This was on the Skyline drive in the Shenandoah mountains which the end of it is 8 miles from my house.

05-03-2015 Skyline Drive with Joel1.jpg

05-03-2015 Skyline Drive with Joel2.jpg
 
Did some riding over the weekend as it was in the 80's in Virginia. This was on the Skyline drive in the Shenandoah mountains which the end of it is 8 miles from my house.

View attachment 4465

Boy oh boy, I'd love to try one of those out - although I don't think the little woman would approve. I'd have to give something up to get one of course. My main concern is taking a turn in one - can the trike lean (even a little) in turns? Or is it like riding any other trike (other than a sidecar rig)? You lean, the trike doesn't!

And it sure is a purty thing! I've seen several around here (Central Indiana) ridden by all types of riders.
 
It was a public holiday here in the UK yesterday (Monday), so I got the bike out and had a fab day riding around a beautiful sunny Yorkshire. Sorry, no pics, too busy riding :-)

300 mile round trip from here in Liverpool, bike never missed a beat. ACE.
 
I had the honour today of teaching for a disabled military charity as part of the bike experience at Silverstone Circuit.

The Bike Experience is a charity who get people with various disabilities riding a motorcycle in a safe and controlled environment.
After they had finished it was the military charity turn and I had a young lad who had just left the military. No physical disability but PTSD.

This was a back to bike experience for him. Had him flying round on an aprilia semi auto 850cc.

A very humbling experience and a huge grin and morale boost for the young man. A honour and privilege to take part as a UK veteran myself
 
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