| Author |
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Jaimec
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 06:44 pm: | 
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If I'm limited by time, I FLY and rent. I get no fun out of sitting in a car for hours on end. A bad day on the bike is almost always better than a good day completely enclosed in ANYTHING (but at least I can drink on an airplane). |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 06:49 pm: |
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I also like things coming at me from in front, so I go 2-5mph faster than traffic. Things coming at me from behind make me nervous (on many levels).
I enjoy touring on the motorcycle...but I prefer not to do it if I have a deadline (i.e. visiting family in Florida, and slabbing down I95). I loved the trip we took one year to Homecoming, up over the U.P. - even though I horribly miscalculated my rear tire lifespan! Back roads, new scenery, it's a great way to see new areas, or see "old" areas in a fresh light.
But.
I'm spoiled now by my Grand Cherokee. Heated and cooled seats. 17 speaker Harman-Kardon stereo. Dual pane sunroof. Adaptive cruise control - it'll radar-lock onto the car in front, and all I do is steer. If I have to get somewhere...that's my choice these days. Maybe I'm getting old. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 06:51 pm: |
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What I'm seeing is a difference in the way people look at motorcycles. Some view them as transportation, while others see them as toys. The Transportation group use their bikes the same way they'd use a car, while the Toy group look at their bikes as something to use on only adrenaline pumping twisties.
There is some crossover, but that looks like the two main divisions to me. |
Airbozo
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 07:06 pm: |
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Crusty,
I had this conversation with the SO when I bought my XB12R a couple of years ago. She kept talking about my 2 wheeled rides as toys and I kept correcting her that they were transportation with different levels of technicality.
She kind of laughed it off until one day she called them toys again. I _reminded_ her that the difference between toys and transportation was the fact that I ride every single day I can, while toys only get used on vacation and weekends. I started calling her pool the most expensive toy we own (built her an endless pool for her 50th) and she gave me "the stare". I said it was a fair comparison since I used my "toys" 10 times more than she used hers. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 07:24 pm: |
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I notice that many have talked about long trips on the slab going through wide open areas. No doubt, that can actually be kind of enjoyable. Having to do that on 80/94 through IL and IN is an entirely different ride. It simply sucks. There will be construction zones. Tons of trucks. Lots of sudden slowdowns that will get you rear ended. Toll booths. Pot holes that will swallow a bike. Add rain and it's really a blast! Slabbing it through just about any place else is a pure joy by comparison.
Riding in Hawaii? I always found it funny that there was a stretch of "interstate" on Maui. You can't even leave the county! |
Fresnobuell
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 07:27 pm: |
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I am definitely in the "toy" category. I think using a motorcycle for general transportation in this day and age is not only stressful and zero fun, but I would go as far as calling it just plain dangerous. I just don't see the allure of riding a motorcycle in a straight line..I would just assume to be in a cage with all the creature comforts and much improved safety. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 08:09 pm: |
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I'm of the mind that it is wasteful to use 6,000 pounds of metal, plastic and rubber just to transport me around when it is far easier to dice through traffic on two wheels and find a place to park at the end of the ride... |
Griffmeister
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 09:05 pm: |
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The furthest I took the Uly was TN from CT. Was going to a training school with a coworker and we took some side trips while there. The biggest thing that bothered me was worrying how all that slab travel was flattening the center of my tires. I guess if we took an adventurous route it would have been better, but, you know, time constraints. Oh well. |
Pwnzor
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 09:55 pm: |
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I used to have only motorcycles and commercial trucks, no cars at all.
I spent a bunch of years having no other way to get around. I love the open road, but the pain I get from extended periods of time in the crouching-leaned-forward position is just not my idea of enjoyable.
If I'm just trying to put the miles behind me, it will be pulling a 53 foot trailer or in the convertible with the lid off.
Cold beverages, music, stretching my legs... these are just a few of the benefits.
I'm not knocking it, it's just not for me anymore. |
Shoggin
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 12:51 am: |
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Man, my only car is over 60 years old (and currently in pieces). Glad I like to ride!
 |
Airbozo
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 12:03 pm: |
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Jaimec:
My Dr. confirmed that my stress level is way lower when I am on 2 wheels. The traffic has gotten so bad in the Bay Area that not riding one of my motorcycles has caused my blood pressure to rise and my irritability rating to explode! (the last one is measured by the SO). I get so irritable that the SO _encourages_ me to ride after taking my car for a couple of days. |
Shoggin
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 12:30 pm: |
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"You never see a motorcycle parked outside a shrinks office"
 |
Big_island_rider
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 02:56 pm: |
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Riding in Hawaii? I always found it funny that there was a stretch of "interstate" on Maui. You can't even leave the county!
Sifo
Yeah, Oahu and Maui have "Interstates", what a boon doggle. Hell they are not even "Intrastates". Folks in DC were drinking to coolaid when that went through. On the Big Island we do not have those......yet. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 06:18 pm: |
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quote:I get so irritable that the SO _encourages_ me to ride after taking my car for a couple of days.
I hear ya. Every winter I go through bouts of PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome) myself. |
Airbozo
| | Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 06:58 pm: |
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Ha!
Totally using that, even if it does cause some bruises.
I have PMS now. XB needs new tires, brakes, bearings and an oil change. S3T needs fork seals. Sportster needs... Reassembled (after I paint the engine). At least I'm not missing much since the roads have been a bit wet the last few weeks. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, May 31, 2019 - 07:45 am: |
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Dang... all THREE bikes down at the same time?? That SUCKS... |
Airbozo
| | Posted on Monday, June 03, 2019 - 11:28 am: |
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Yeah, bad timing. My fault entirely. |
Rick_a
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2019 - 07:10 am: |
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I'm not a huge fan of interstate travel on a bike. It's rather tedious. On the Buell it's torturous. On the DR it's miserable.
I'm going to have to get a car here in N GA or suffer a miserable winter. |
Two_seasons
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2019 - 07:35 am: |
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"Now that the interstate highway system is complete, you an ride from coast to coast and not see a damned thing."
Charles Kurolt
(Message edited by Two_seasons on June 04, 2019) |
Crusty
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2019 - 08:37 am: |
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You know; if you hate the Interstate system so much, why not just take secondary roads?
When I lived on the road in '15 and '16, that's what I did and I got to see some incredibly beautiful things. In fact, I'm planning to ride to Massachusetts next month without hitting any Interstates or toll roads.
Another thought I've got is, if the Interstates are so boring on a bike, why aren't they equally boring in a car? I always prefer traveling on a bike to traveling in a car, unless the weather is bad enough to make riding dangerous.
On a motorcycle, I can experience more than I can in a glass and steel box. I remember riding through Upperstate New York during strawberry season and the smell of strawberries was almost intoxicating. Or riding through Wenatchee, Washington when the apple trees were all in bloom and the air there was heavily perfumed with the smell of apple blossoms.
I don't particularly enjoy the smell of a pig farm, but when I go past, I experience the area more than when I'm in an enclosed cage.
I enjoy twisty roads, but I can also enjoy a straight road, as well. |
1313
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2019 - 08:54 am: |
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I don't particularly enjoy the smell of a pig farm, but when I go past, I experience the area more than when I'm in an enclosed cage.
LOL! Reminds me of EVERY trip I made to Iowa. Once you get used to the smell, everything is 'normal'.
I'm in the middle of tripping on the interstates - going back to NC after HOMEcoming - mainly due to vacation time constraints, but I will be rewarded by the WV Turnpike today. Yes, it's a toll road, but the curves over the mountains make it enjoyable. Now if only the cars with WV plates won't hog the left lane... |
Zacks
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2019 - 09:13 am: |
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I don't particularly enjoy the smell of a pig farm, but when I go past, I experience the area more than when I'm in an enclosed cage.
Not true, In an enclosed cage, the smell hangs for quite a bit longer enabling you to enjoy it that much more. (Daughter #1 lives in Iowa and I've been thru downstate IL as well).
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Two_seasons
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2019 - 04:35 am: |
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1313 said..."Now if only the cars with WV plates won't hog the left lane..."
They probably used to live in VA  |
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