Motorcycle riders

“I just realized that my newest bike has TT in it's name, Triumph TT 600.

Do any of you guys leave your bike at the trailhead? If so, have you had any problems with vandalism or anything else?”

“My bike is a Schwinn.”

“Never quite dared to ride to the trailhead and leave my bike there. Plus for the trailheads up FS roads, the Valkyrie Interstate can be a handful... :)”

“I don't think it would be very comfortable driving my motorcycle to the trailhead with a huge backpack attached to my back. It would probably throw me off balance...then again, I ride with my school backpack and it's just as heavy sometimes, but less bulky..so I dunno. But I have driven to parks for dayhikes on my bike and never had a problem...wouldn't leave it there for more than an overnight though.”

“Maaaaaaaybe if I looked like Leonard Smalls!!!!”

“i just got a motorcycle this spring and i've contemplated driving it to my bpacking trips. i just don't think i could do it. can't trust them darn humans!!”

“DARN HUMANS???

Why you I oughta!”

“Time for me to get on the soapbox...

If you ride a motorcycle you ought to take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation class -- the basic class if you're kinda new, the Experienced Rider Class if you're experienced.

Lots of good info there and the skills you learn can and will save your life (or at least save you a bunch of roadrash!).

Motorcycle Safety Foundation

I've been riding for quite a number of years and still go back and retake the MSF Experienced Rider Course every two or three years to make sure I'm keeping my skills fresh.”

“I would never feel comfortable leaving my motorcycle at the trailhead overnight. I won't even do it for a dayhike. All it would take is a couple of creeps with a pickup truck or van to grab the bike and run.”

“I sold my last bike in '84.

Once I road a bike to a trailhead and chained it to a tree.
No one messed with it.

It would be safer to bungee your pack to the rack or the seat for transport.
Watch that center of gravity.”

“Saddlebags, anyone???”

“Saddlebags, anyone???"

Saddlebags look retarded on crotch rockets. We make fun of the guys who put those on theirs. Keep them on the cruisers....

I've been riding for quite a number of years and still go back and retake the MSF Experienced Rider Course every two or three years to make sure I'm keeping my skills fresh

I've been riding three-wheelers, four-wheelers, dirtbikes, and motorcycles since I was five years old, before I could reach the shifter and foot brake (well, I have been riding 3&4-wheelers that long). I took a motorcycle safety course when I was 16 before I got my motorcycle learners. I learned a little, not much; nothing that two smashed helmets in my garage and a handful of scars remind me of what not to do....”

“I bought my first bike at 21 and rode it home without a license.

After a bit of practice I got the license.

Later that year I went on a 20,000 mile road trip.

On The Job Training”

“Tarpy got this bag thing that magnetizes to his gas tank...you can take it off and wear it like a stupid-looking backpack. LOL! he's thinking about how he can attach a tent and stuff like that to his bike somehow, and go on a motorcycle/hiking trip, too.”

“Pain is the best teacher. Nothing like picking asphalt out of your hands to teach you to not put your foot down in a turn like on a dirtbike....”

“I've got some little bits of sand or asphalt in my right elbow from Highway One in Mendecino County.

lyra, I always went with a flat rack level with the saddle that stuck out about a foot.
I would bungee my pack onto the saddle and rack right behind my bee-hind........sorry, no passengers.
The tent would hang below the headlamp on bungees and catch bugs.
With a six-foot case hardened chain and BIG padlock and tools, I was carrying about 40-50 pounds.
One of my buddies strapped his chit to a sissy bar......center of gravity too high.

Speakin' of bungees, I used a LOT and my stuff stayed put....and how!”

“Don't dare try it.



You'll worry your mother sick!”

“who, moi? F that! riding one of those things for about 20 minutes is enough for me.”

“My buddies wife hates riding his motorcycle too. But she likes to sit on it and rev the engine before he goes out on a ride. One day he got home and decided to take a ride...noticed that the engine was already warm. Why would a woman want to sit on a noisy motorcycle and rev the engine???”

“heh heh heh”

“I've been riding three-wheelers, four-wheelers, dirtbikes, and motorcycles since I was five years old, before I could reach the shifter and foot brake (well, I have been riding 3&4-wheelers that long). I took a motorcycle safety course when I was 16 before I got my motorcycle learners. I learned a little, not much; nothing that two smashed helmets in my garage and a handful of scars remind me of what not to do....

I know several folks with very similar stories to yours. A couple of them actually do know all the proven techniques and are highly skilled riders.

Unfortunately, the majority of the folks I know who have been riding "forever" have been doing so more by the grace of good luck than due to skills and knowledge.

My point is simply that I have found that the amount of time someone has been riding is by no means a good measure of their riding and accident-avoidance skills. It is by no means an assessment of your skills; to make such a call would be ridiculous.

The classroom part of the MSF ERC is pretty boring, but I do thoroughly enjoy the hours on the "range" doing turns, swerves, panic-stops, etc.

Here's a pretty enjoyable book for "brushing up" if a course is not available: Proficient Motorcyling”

“deeddawg
i couldn't agree more that those classes teach invaluable information. i took the class last year and learned so much from it, i'm glad i went. everyone can benefit from attenting it, if not just to learn one new defensive driving skill.”

“Deeddawg, we should go riding sometime. I'll show you how to run over a deer on your motorcycle at 140mph and break nothing but your arm and coller bone.”

“Appreciate the offer, wvabackpacker, but I try to avoid those four-legged-field-rats we call deer. :)

Pretty country up there in WVA, came through there on bike last summer heading up to Ohio. Tend to spend more of my time in the North GA mountains and a healthy sprinkling of western NC & eastern TN.”

“i just bungee a duffle bag on the back. i've made it to key west, all over the blue ridge parkway, etc. with no problems.

i would not leave it overnight at a trailhead, though.”

“I've done overnighters on my Vespa. It's got a nice rack :)”

“buy a dirt bike and take it on the trail.”

“yeah. a dual sport with racks and hard bags would be the way to go.”

“BMW R70 series with hard bags and a rear rack. Touring, off-road, burning the corners. It can do it all.”

“"Saddlebags look retarded on crotch rockets. We make fun of the guys who put those on theirs. Keep them on the cruisers...."
wvabackpacker
02:00:28 PM
06/19/03

I concur. Crotch rockets and those who ride them are retarded...”

“CTD selling Flectar motorcycle suits cheap

Medium and Large sizes only though...
last edited: 7/14/05 1:45:40 PM”

“Bought a used (82) Kawi 1100 (can you hear the ChiPs theme?). PLEASE send any good vibs / thoughts / prayers you might have my way.... been 20 years, and woah boy is it fun, but ' sure would hurt family members if some vacume packer did a no-no on me and I spilled it.

By the way.... in FL you must take the class and even tho' I've used to ride I'm takin' in early before the state starts chargin' big $ for it in July.... besides it's good for anyone who's gnna ride.... and YES I wear a lid.

Anyway.... thanks in advance. Tell one friend to start to drive LOOKING for cycles too.”

“retro. Cool!
Have fun! At least you can ride it year-round there.”

“Good luck! Once you get on it, it will come back to you like riding a bicycle. Just take it slow and easy. My wife got her license in Sept of '07 and she loves it. She took the 3 day course and passed it with flying colors and she never even operated a motorcycle a day in her life. Hyway also took the course and got his license. Looks like there are quite a few TTers who ride.”

“You should take a course so it's good it's mandated. Watch for cagers turning in front of you. NEVER ride through an intersection just after the light has changed (this is a good rule for cars as well). Get a full face helmet if you like your lower jaw. Most importantly: keep the shiny side up!”

“Just remember that most idiots on four wheels use cell phones now a days.”

“Hey JS! I've seen you use a cell phone on 4 wheels! 8-)”

“Ive used a cellphone on Two! Not one of my brightest moves”

“I'm 99% set on selling my motorcycle and giving up the sport. The 1% telling me not to sell it is because I hate to quit anything, but things aren't the same anymore. I've told myself I can sell it and use the money to buy another bicycle, but I'm not sure yet if that's what I'll do. It depends on a few things and I'll have to give it some more thought when I have the money from selling the motorcycle.”

“The last couple of weeks have had quite a few motorcyclist deaths. It must be spring.”

“Each season, it runs about one death per week around here that I notice. There's just too much traffic out there anymore. Half the people are gabbing on phones and not even paying attention. Add to that aggressive drivers that get frustrated with it all, increased truck traffic and it adds up to lots of danger being on a motorcycle.”

“Yo JackStraw, does Merryland require taking a course..................even for an old veteran like me?

It has been about 18 years since I did any riding but this is the year that I get my 1980 R65 back and on the road.

Cell phone?
Many years ago I used a Motorola while riding in D.C.
There were times when I had to toss the mic on it's coil cord over my shoulder when I needed that hand and didn't have time to hang it up on the squawk box.
In all my runnin' around town I only hit one taxi and a Cadillac.
Riding in the snow was interesting.”

“And..................what's with all those knuckle heads in Pennsylvania riding without helmets?

My brother-in-law is an ER doctor just inside the D.C. Beltway in Bethesda.
ER people call them "murdercycles".
He did his internship in Jacksonville, Florida.
Those who ride without helmets there are called "organ donors" by the ER people.”

“ahh, it's that time of year again...it's getting warmer, the birds are chirping and...WOOOOW, who was that ego maniac with a death wish on a crotch rocket that just flew by me on the interstate splitting two lanes of traffic

i love motorcycles and hope to get one some day but some of those crotch rocket riders really give other riders a bad name”

“Not required to ride but saves on insurance. Pluse if you dont have the endorsement its an easy way to get it.”

“Should we call ourselves the TT 1 percenters?”

“Maybe people are getting just to comfortable on their bikes ...

”

“Somewhere there's a pic of a guy who built a moto outta 2x4s...

Hey MarkO. Cool yous got an airhead. Those are sweet bikes and pretty easy to work on. Bulletproof.

The other thing that gives riders a bad name is all the old POOPs who decide they are going to start riding again. Heh. I keed. But if you look at the age bracket, largest number of fatalities is like the 40-55 group. All the boomers decided to live out their Easy Rider fantasies on some big hog that's about a maneuverable as milk cow. They cross a center strip and blamo!”

“Rosey, I bought the Air Head new and put just 4,000 miles on it in three years.
I got married and got interested in something else.
>8^b

I sold it to my buddy Gabe in '84 and he put another 4,000 miles on it. The bike has been sitting in a garage since he quit riding around 1990.
Exhaust and tires and battery and carb re-build and it should run like a striped ape.

The Air Heads handle extreeeeeeeeeemly nice.
That low center of gravity is something to experience.

Hey, I'll be 56 this year.
I guess puts me on easy street............statistically!
last edited: 3/27/08 8:09:30 AM”