Weird things that has happened to you on a motorcycle....

[Kawigirl]

Yeah, I remember passing you by on the road one day. Pony tails, right? Remember the big ugly biker waving at you? Yeah, that was me....

Perv...i know all you had your mind on was grabbing those ponytails

[calgarian]

Perv...i know all you had your mind on was grabbing those ponytails

guess what he is thinking of grabbing

[Times Roman]

Perv...i know all you had your mind on was grabbing those ponytails

dont' worry about the perv then.... worry about the perv now!

....I go after the "all grown up" little girls! =)

[Times Roman]

this poor thread is barely hobbling along. I thought more of you sorry bastads had some stories to tell. (Maybe no stories = no experience?) Seems like the ol' man here is doing all the work. Can't tell you the whole crossing the USA in three days story. that is an epic tale, so i will only tell little bits and pieces of it. it was Jan 17th to the 20th, 1981. Yeah, winter time, AND going through the Rocky Mountains...
here's another piece of it....

this follows the tale of the moon...

This little stretch takes me from Lordsburg to Los Crucias. Once I realized that the moon I was becoming fascinated with WASN'T the moon, we decided we needed to take a break. Terry, Al and I find a little hotel with a club downstairs. We pool our money and go in thirds on a room. Terry gets cleaned up, and wants to go downstairs to the club to meet some women. He also was the least tired, and the shortest journey. Al and I are like... fuk! we're beat. So we kick back in the hotel room, sitting on the beds bullshitting. he sparks up some green tobacco, and we are just chillin. But i'm too wound up to get some sleep. So he is laying on one bed, me on the other, trying to get some shut eye. A couple hours later, we're like... can't sleep. But feeling better. So we get cleaned up, and packed up. We decided to ditch Terry for reasons I won't go into here. We are sitting at the cafe, coffee and some grub. Bikes parked out front, and the snow begins to fall..... the waitress sees what we are thinking and says there is a big storm rolling in, so maybe we should wait this one out. Al had a job waiting for him in Louisanna working on an oil rig, and couldn't be late. Me, I had to be in Georgia on time so I wouldn't be AWOL. As these "storms" sometimes can take days to pass, we ran out of options. We pay up, and head on outside. It was quite pretty actually, watching the snow fall, gently covering the landscape around it. We fire up the bikes, and note that it is almost midnight. Now if I remember correctly, going from Lordsburg to Los Crucias is only about 60 miles? Could be wrong, but it aint far. We slowly pull out the parking lot and head onto the highway. At first it wasn't so bad. We kept it to maybe 30mph or so.... maybe higher. I remember sometimes hitting third gear at a low rpm. But as we went deeper into the Rockies, our angle of ascent increased, and we began going up some serious grades! The moon was out so we could see what was going on around us to a certain extent. Up ahead, there was a big rig that tried to make the grade, but not quite, began slipping backward, jack-knifed alittle, and then stopped in the middle of the road. Engine was running fine, steam coming out the stack. We slowly rode by, and the trucker hit us with his horn, two long blasts, and then a wave from inside his cab. And we continued to climb. Up we went. The roads were getting real icy and slippery, and i was getting real nervous about that. At this point, second gear was as good as it got, and even that was dicey. My feet were down like landing gear, barely above the surface of the road. Now I was down to first gear, and it felt like we were barely moving. I gotta admit. I had the big KZ1000, poor Al only had a Honda 185. (Terry, no longer present, had a KZ900, and kept trying to get me to ditch Al earliner in the trip , saying Al was slowing us down. I'm a loyal SOB, and refused to do that to Al, which is one reason we decided to ditch Terry). I get this momentary flash of inspiration. I swerve to the left and get out of the #1 lane, and off the highway. I was actually riding off road, in the gravel, where the weight of the bike broke through the ice, to the gravel, and finally was able to purchase some traction. Excitedly, I was able to shift into second gear, then back into third, and put my boots back on the pegs. We're doing 35mph again!!! Now, we couldn't ride the shoulder the whole way, and occassionally had to get back on the highway, and back into first gear. But most ofthe rest of the way we were able to scoot along at a respectable 30mph. this isn't an overall average. there were stretches of many miles where we had to drop back down to first gear, and it takes forevver to travel 10 miles only going 5 or 10 miles an hour. During this time, we past several more trucks, stuck, jack-knifed. Evidently, the trucks try to build up sufficient speed to get them over the crest of the hill, and sometimes they come up short. the hours come and go as do the miles, and finally, we crest this one hill, and see Los Crucias below. We made it!!
...well, not quite yet. So we putt into town, looking for a cafe that was open. nothing! and we are freezing our frikken asses off. It is now somewhere around 6am. fuk the cafe. we need warmth! finding no port in the storm, we happen across a gas station, closed, but we park anyways and head to the restroom. had to be warmer than out here in the cold. so i try the knob to the door and it is fukken locked. i'm wiggling the knob, and i hear Al behind me saying to step back, he's got the "key". I pull back just as Al stomps the fuk out the door, and it blasts inwards, pieces of wood flying everywhere. I start pulling toilet paper and paper towels out and in a pile in the middle of the restroom floor. We light it and start rubbing our hands in the warmth of the fire. Finally, we go outside for a smoke. We saddle up once more, and pull into the parking lot of the only cafe we see. Sign on the door says opens at 7am.... that gives us about 15 minutes! And it is still snowing!!!

[Twist]

I think you are the only person who rides your bike in terrible conditions on purpose lol. If the temperature is below 70*F I won't go out on my bike. Its for warm weather otherwise it isn't pleasurable and defeats the whole purpose.

[Times Roman]

I think you are the only person who rides your bike in terrible conditions on purpose lol. If the temperature is below 70*F I won't go out on my bike. Its for warm weather otherwise it isn't pleasurable and defeats the whole purpose.

the first half of my life, I used to look down on dudes who rode in cages. I didn't ride in terrible weather on purpose like you are thinking. I only rode motorcycles, 100% of the time, rain or shine, just like the mail man. I had places to go man! So I'd throw my leathers on, and a change of dry clothes, and haul ass! It made no matter to me the weather, and like Pat Benetar says...."Hit me with your best shot!" For me, motorcycles were a lifestyle, not something you rode just to have fun on a sunny day.

On the long solo road trips, something funny happens to you mentally. It's almost like a zen thing, and you can go long stretches without a single thought distracting you. You become one with the road, and you become extremely aware of everything around you. You don't even really need to look at it to know it's there, you just know.

Once you become a serious rider, and spend serious time on the open road, you start meeting other scooter trash, just like you. And you swap stories, and cool places to go, and upcoming roadtrips to share. and when you or they get in a jam, like a brotherhood, we all pitch in and help out. This isn't something you get by riding a harley. You earn this by the miles you ride and the years you spend on the open road.

I have a close friend that has ridden all his life, just like me. Except he is almost 70 now. and in pretty damn good shape if you ask me. Several times a year, he'll get on his Road King and haul ass from the middle of california to montana to go visit friends. This is well over a thousand miles. He has his own m/c shop (private) up in the mountains, and once or twice a year, some of us will go for a visit. and when we do, there are always other scooter trash there, hanging out, coming and going. Mostly all of us there have ridden most of our lives, have ridden at least 100,000+ miles, most of us actually quite a bit more, and i'm going to tell you something, a reason for this thread.....

....none of us has crashed in over 20 years, alot of us even more. Why is this you ask? Because we know what the fuk we are doing, and it aint some fukken stupid asss lid (helmet) that saves our lives. We know the road, we absolutely know our machines, and we know what the fuk we are doing. We use our goddam brain and we THINK. This is what protects us from going down. yes, we do sometimes go down. but it is an extremely rare thing. but in our little group, no one has gone down in an extremely long time.

There are many insecure riders out there that are prone to accidents due to their lack of skill, awareness and experience. These dudes should wear helmets. Alot of these dudes are dangerous, even to themselves.

But after a certain point, and skill set, you are actually better off without a helmet. The more aware yuou are of what is going on around you, the more shit you can avoid, THEN the safer you become.

Please dont' think mandetory helmet laws are a good thing. They are only good for newbs. Us older and more experienced riders should be able to decide for ourselves.

[gixxerboy1]

It really is naive to think you can avoid everything. Shit happens.

And i think you see alot more accidents on the sports bike for 2 reasons. One is alot of people get them and try and push the limits. With pushing the limits there are accidents.

[Kawigirl]

Times...you need to write a book....How NOT to ride a motorcycle. And did you really state...."better off without a helmet?" tsk tsk

[Times Roman]

imho, too many people ride motorcycles.... simply because they do not have what it takes.... mentally or physically

shit.... i see 60 year old women riding. just because they know how to shift and work the clutch doesn't mean they should be on two wheels.

riding motorcycles has now become mainstream, and every tom, dick and harry wants to ride. I see huge fat motherfukkers riding rice rockets, wearing nothing but flip flops, a tank top, short pants, yet they are wearing a full face helmet. Yeah, good thing he's wearing a helmet, cuz now he's safe, huh? I hate to see anybody go down, but if someone has to, let it be that fukkin turd with the flip flops on.

Let's just agree to disagree. Most you dudes probably haven't logged 20,000 miles yet, which means you are still dangerous to ride around anyways. Yeah, probably a good idea to wear that helmet then.... make that a full face!

[Times Roman]

see? I told you I was passionate about this shit!

[dec11]

It really is naive to think you can avoid everything. Shit happens.

And i think you see alot more accidents on the sports bike for 2 reasons. One is alot of people get them and try and push the limits. With pushing the limits there are accidents.

and the fact that car drivers just dont see us as they arent thinking to check for bikes

[Twist]

imho, too many people ride motorcycles.... simply because they do not have what it takes.... mentally or physically

THIS^^^!!!
The above is the main point.


About the helmet laws: did you see where multiple people talked about getting hit (in the head) with a bird? Without the helmet would you have bobbed and weaved your way out of it? Thing is bro, I'm with you on the helmet laws, just for different reasons.
1. I want to lower the amount of stupid people in the world.
2. I don't like being micromanaged.

[Times Roman]

THIS^^^!!!
The above is the main point.


About the helmet laws: did you see where multiple people talked about getting hit (in the head) with a bird? Without the helmet would you have bobbed and weaved your way out of it? Thing is bro, I'm with you on the helmet laws, just for different reasons.
1. I want to lower the amount of stupid people in the world.
2. I don't like being micromanaged.

true true true

Now, not as hardcore as I once was.... I have a windshield that will block most of that coming straight at me, so not nearly as much wind on me as well. It's a recurve, so not as tall as stock, but it still takes care of most debris.

When I'm cruising in the hills, once i get past a certain point, helmet comes off and in my lap. I really enjoy the feeling of the wind through my hair, and not having several pounds of crap sitting on my head.

True. Can't prevent everything. and there will always be some risk.

No one lives forever. If i get taken out on my harley, I hope it's with a smile on my face

and then you butt holes will say.... see, if Roman were only wearing his helmet....

[gixxerboy1]

imho, too many people ride motorcycles.... simply because they do not have what it takes.... mentally or physically

shit.... i see 60 year old women riding. just because they know how to shift and work the clutch doesn't mean they should be on two wheels.

riding motorcycles has now become mainstream, and every tom, dick and harry wants to ride. I see huge fat motherfukkers riding rice rockets, wearing nothing but flip flops, a tank top, short pants, yet they are wearing a full face helmet. Yeah, good thing he's wearing a helmet, cuz now he's safe, huh? I hate to see anybody go down, but if someone has to, let it be that fukkin turd with the flip flops on.

Let's just agree to disagree. Most you dudes probably haven't logged 20,000 miles yet, which means you are still dangerous to ride around anyways. Yeah, probably a good idea to wear that helmet then.... make that a full face!

I easily have over 20k miles. And not all miles are the same. But someone riding 5k miles on a highway isnt the same as someone logging hard miles ripping through corners. There are people who have logged 500k miles in a car and still cant really drive. Most of my miles are on a 170hp bike and riding it hard.
Professional riders crash, professional car drivers get in accidents. Shit happens. To think you can anticipate everything is cocky and dangerous

[dec11]

the first half of my life, I used to look down on dudes who rode in cages. I didn't ride in terrible weather on purpose like you are thinking. I only rode motorcycles, 100% of the time, rain or shine, just like the mail man. I had places to go man! So I'd throw my leathers on, and a change of dry clothes, and haul ass! It made no matter to me the weather, and like Pat Benetar says...."Hit me with your best shot!" For me, motorcycles were a lifestyle, not something you rode just to have fun on a sunny day.

On the long solo road trips, something funny happens to you mentally. It's almost like a zen thing, and you can go long stretches without a single thought distracting you. You become one with the road, and you become extremely aware of everything around you. You don't even really need to look at it to know it's there, you just know.

Once you become a serious rider, and spend serious time on the open road, you start meeting other scooter trash, just like you. And you swap stories, and cool places to go, and upcoming roadtrips to share. and when you or they get in a jam, like a brotherhood, we all pitch in and help out. This isn't something you get by riding a harley. You earn this by the miles you ride and the years you spend on the open road.

I have a close friend that has ridden all his life, just like me. Except he is almost 70 now. and in pretty damn good shape if you ask me. Several times a year, he'll get on his Road King and haul ass from the middle of california to montana to go visit friends. This is well over a thousand miles. He has his own m/c shop (private) up in the mountains, and once or twice a year, some of us will go for a visit. and when we do, there are always other scooter trash there, hanging out, coming and going. Mostly all of us there have ridden most of our lives, have ridden at least 100,000+ miles, most of us actually quite a bit more, and i'm going to tell you something, a reason for this thread.....

....none of us has crashed in over 20 years, alot of us even more. Why is this you ask? Because we know what the fuk we are doing, and it aint some fukken stupid asss lid (helmet) that saves our lives. We know the road, we absolutely know our machines, and we know what the fuk we are doing. We use our goddam brain and we THINK. This is what protects us from going down. yes, we do sometimes go down. but it is an extremely rare thing. but in our little group, no one has gone down in an extremely long time.

There are many insecure riders out there that are prone to accidents due to their lack of skill, awareness and experience. These dudes should wear helmets. Alot of these dudes are dangerous, even to themselves.

But after a certain point, and skill set, you are actually better off without a helmet. The more aware yuou are of what is going on around you, the more shit you can avoid, THEN the safer you become.

Please dont' think mandetory helmet laws are a good thing. They are only good for newbs. Us older and more experienced riders should be able to decide for ourselves.

well said matey. damn pvssy 'fair weather' riders!! lol

[dec11]

true true true

Now, not as hardcore as I once was.... I have a windshield that will block most of that coming straight at me, so not nearly as much wind on me as well. It's a recurve, so not as tall as stock, but it still takes care of most debris.

When I'm cruising in the hills, once i get past a certain point, helmet comes off and in my lap. I really enjoy the feeling of the wind through my hair, and not having several pounds of crap sitting on my head.

True. Can't prevent everything. and there will always be some risk.

No one lives forever. If i get taken out on my harley, I hope it's with a smile on my face

and then you butt holes will say.... see, if Roman were only wearing his helmet....

i wouldnt even consider riding without a helmet if it were legal here, ive had too many little stones rattling of my visor, they'd be kinda nasty on bare flesh!