Anyone ride a motorcycle?

[Linda]

My first week out riding, I had 3 close calls...but thats the one thing everyone told me about...to watch the dillholes on the road.

I was prepared...they just dont see us

Yup, 3 white knucklers in 7 years, and our group has been called "aggressive riders', but it's still scarey .
I'm always scanning, and I never hit a speed where I can't stop where I can see.

[Linda]

Its not just that they don't see you.  They HATE you.

Sometimes thats true. I've been passing cages who were going slow, till I pass them. I've been raced into corners, had stuff thrown at me and flipped off a zillion times.

[Selene]

I was almost hit by a semi last summer. I was on the interstate in the left lane and saw a semi flying up behind me in my mirrors. I had to gun it passed the car in the slow lane and get over. 

[Linda]

I was almost hit by a semi last summer. I was on the interstate in the left lane and saw a semi flying up behind me in my mirrors. I had to gun it passed the car in the slow lane and get over. 

The "left turn" is another major threat. Wrecked two friends bikes last summer. The rate of travel was legal, gps proves it, but it happens quick. Both were seasoned riders, years on bikes of all kinds.

"All the gear All the time." I don't leave home w/o it.

[Janet_Girl]

Alway remember the two rules of riding.

1: Ride like you are invisible.  Not that people can't see, they just don't.

2: Remember who is in charge.  The Bike.  Always ask it for permission before doing anything.

To forget these two rules will result in road rash, broken bones or worst.

Janet

[Selene]

Yea I ride as far away from other vehicles as I possibly can. and the only time its ever been over the speed limit really is when I went to a race track last September with a cousin.

[Toni]

I crashed this one a few weeks ago, completely totalled:







This is now my new one, deliberately with much less speed.  It's parked inside because well, I didn't have a cover for it yet and I didn't want the battery fluids freezing.

[Windrider]

Nice ride Toni

WR

[Laura Eva B]

Toni,

Love that first bike !

Would never be happy with my image on a sedate V-twin Harley cruiser (or Yamaha copy) ...

My dream bike would be a new Honda Fireblade, but its not the cash, more so getting my license and keeping myself alive !

My track record with cars is none too good ...    ...

Laura x

[shanetastic]

I have one although I don't ride it often.  I got it a while back, and don't have time to ride it now that I'm away at school and don't have much free time because of academics.

Anyways, here it is.

[Kara Lee]

I'm still in the process of getting mine up and running.  I've cleaned the carbs out (well about 90% at least), gotten new fuel lines and aftermarket filters to keep those carbs cleaner.  Now I am just waiting till I have some extra money and some warm weather to really get started with cleaning the tank (the inside  ).  Oh, btw, it's a 1980 650 Yamaha Maxim if you're curious.

[Windrider]

Kara: Very nice! Someday I'll get a project bike to go with Dani's '59 Buick Electra

[Ms.Behavin]

well I have a 1979 Honda goldwing Gl1000.  Like me it's older but in good shape.  It's my baby.

Beni

[Laura Eva B]

Kara,

Please, why does the speedo just go up to 80 mph when its red-lined way past 1100 revs ... ...

laura x

[Ms.Behavin]

Hi Laura,

There was a year or two in the US, where cars and bikes were required to have speedo's that only went up to 80 mph.  The theroy being that people would not speed so much.  Needless to say that failed to catch on.... Thank goodness.

Beni

[Windrider]

heh. Not to mention the 10% speedometer/actual speed nonsense that's still done because US laws say it has to be done.

For the non-rider folks: it means that motorcycle speedometers read at least 10% higher than your actual speed. So if my speedometer says I'm doing 50, I'm really only doing 45mph. 50 x .10 = 5, 50-5=45.

The whole idea was to curb speeding. It just made us good at math.

WR

[Kara Lee]

Kara,

Please, why does the speedo just go up to 80 mph when its red-lined way past 1100 revs ... ...

laura x

Here is something I found about speedometers and the law at the time this bike was made.

55 mph speedometers
On September 1 1979, in a rulemaking that also regulated speedometer and odometer accuracy, the NHTSA required speedometers to have special emphasis on the number 55 and a maximum speed of 85 mph. However, on October 22 1981, the NHTSA proposed eliminating speedometer and odometer rules because they were "unlikely to yield significant safety benefits" and "[a] highlighted '55' on a speedometer scale adds little to the information provided to the driver by a roadside speed limit sign."

[Jody]

 I ride a 1100 Honda Shadow ACE. Just can't wait for winter to end so I can get back to riding once again.