| Author |
Message |
    
Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 12:01 am: | 
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Best memories I have of riding adventures are of instances where adversity was overcome, especially with the help of friends. Right Loki?  |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 04:11 am: |
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Riding with my best friend and his Norton Commando taught me that working on a bike by the side of the road isn't a disaster, it's part of the journey. The funniest stories come from the most sweat. Pushing a high compression twin all over a giant mall parking lot in the middle of the night....... with zero effect, then "oops, I'm in third" Felgercarb.
Then I read Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance.
I make no claim to competence, but changing jets at rest stops or in the rain in a medieval tent at a renaissance fair hold no terror for me.
Hot red heads at a renaissance fair are another matter. Praise the Gods. |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 04:21 am: |
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Heinlein's advice/opinion is a goal for any man. The extreme difficulty is part of the challenge.
For years I moonlighted at a 24 hour convenience store. In a multi college town just blocks away from R.I.T.
The owner refused to sell playboy or rolling papers. Nice Christian lady.
When students would complain I would point out we sold apples and many other fine products that might be adapted to their needs. They either caught on quick ( technology & engineering school ) or left insulted by my assertion that "if you can't figure out how to smoke you don't deserve to".
(I've long been a libertarian but also long been a bit intolerant of willful ignorance. Very Darwinian ) |
Rick_a
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 09:04 am: |
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I went from a bike that destroys tail light/license plates/holders and shakes exhaust parts loose to a bike that destroys tail light/license plates/holders and shakes exhaust parts loose 
The Buell needs rebuilt about every 20K. No biggie. No catastrophic failures; mostly failures of stock parts dying early.
The S1 is a hatchet, the Suzuki DR650SM is a pocket knife. They're both awesome.
Reportedly the DR650 does 35-45k on top end rebuild intervals. I can live with that, too.
I figure with two bikes I'll always have one running.  |
Sagehawk
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 02:03 pm: |
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I didn't realize there could be so many viewpoints on life. Ditto on push starting nortons and buells. Done both and some things never change. Just the decades apart in which they happen. Enjoyed it all at a later date. The kindergarten thing worked for me. Life is truely simple. Brush your teeth, shower and clean underdrawers everyday. Everything else will fall into place |
Zac4mac
| | Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 09:08 pm: |
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My first wife rode a Daytona 500 Triumph(twin carb) I built out of 3 motors and 2 rolling chassis.
We had much fun on 2 wheels.
My second wife was a bit higher maintenance and couldn't handle breakdowns.
Never could get her to realize that if you have no breakdowns on a trip, there's nothing to reflect back on.
My best road trips were the ones that took the most ingenuity to complete. |
Thumper74
| | Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 09:47 pm: |
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'The Difference Maker'
You can't control what happens to you. You CAN control how you respond to it.
I started my own business and it's been REALLY slow. I got turned down for a loan for working capital. My 401k was supposed to be my working capital. They STILL haven't sorted that out yet. I had $1.66 in the bank yesterday.
... BUT I have a few cars to flip. An uncle who's going to let me do a disc brake conversion on a 1970 Mach 1 in exchange for some exposure at local car shows. A fellow badwebber who trusted me to handle his 'death wobble'. A dog that doesn't care. A large tortoise that was gone for a week and was found in less than 100 yards away from where he was missing in, in a horse pasture... |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 10:31 pm: |
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Not going to get all..."Back in the Day", but modern communication takes a lot of the peril out of owning high maintenance toys.
Used to be when the points needed work in the middle of nowhere, you had a choice of fix it, or call for help. That latter involved luck at someone stopping to give you a ride or a long walk. The whole time with the anxiety of waking a buddy for help.
Now we just wake the buddy. Not sure how that affects the embarrassment angle. Makes the wait shorter, and that's not bad.
I carried ignition wrenches and spare points & caps. Had a lot of practice too. Nothing like a 19th century ignition system to teach you humble. ( '70's Suzukis & Yamahas & Kawas... plus my buddy's Norton )
And the Legends!
Riding with a Norton at night.....  when the headlight disappears from beside you, you just expect to spend 15-30 minutes appeasing the Prince Of Darkness ( Lucas reg. trademark ) My bud always carried a spare Zener Diode. I've lit cigarettes from hot Norton pipes. ( yeah you got that advanced too much, it's glowing. Hold on a sec...
I was always lucky in that I could usually get home on the bike, although I might need to take quite a bit apart.
Today's bikes don't have the weaknesses of the old ignition systems & carbs. They tend to be binary, works or get a trailer. SO there's a whole category of failure modes that are as trip stopping as a crank failure. OTOH they happen so seldom it's a wash.
The little, important things, like using vice grips as a substitute foot peg, are still with us and just the same as when Glenn Curtis was racing. |
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