Motorcycles....

[kide]

Finally broke down and got some actual wind protection on the V-Star.. Rode to town this morning and only froze my toes...

My old GS1000 Suzuki had the full Vetter SS w/lowers - I'd ride from March 'till the snow flew. This still has a ways to go to match that, but I think it'll do when we head South...

 

[rpalmer]

I never knew how nice a bug screen was till I got one. Now I can ease back and have a smoke while riding. I'm just too old to be beat by the wind. I guess if I only used it to bar hop instead of highway flying I'd leave it off. Good looking Machine ya got.

 

[rchristensen]

I guess I've lead a sheltered life, rode motorcycles for 50 years and never met a person who smoked while riding a motorcycle. Seems kind of stupid to me.

 

[dtanner]

here is a couple of the Norton I sold, Wish I had it back

Faster than a Cub LOL

 

[lbuttke]

A windshield is nice to have, road my first bike only 1 week befor getting a windshield for it.

When I got my second bike I made sure to get one with a windshield.

Would like to find a fairing for it, parts house wants $1600+ for one

 

[rpalmer]

Richard Christensen,
It's more of an addiction. But after a couple of hours cruising and more to go. It's nice to stop filler up and then lite a smoke while riding. And then there is the cruise threw town with a cigar. I take my pleasures where I find them. I'm sure you do too.

 

[kide]

I quit about 33 years ago, but I remember riding and smoking:
1: Smokes burn fast in a 40 MPH wind.
2: Hot ashes burn holes in the helmet liner (still got that helmet..)
3: Never ride trail and smoke at the same time - I tried turning around in a gully, ended upside down, still on the bike with gas dripping outta the tank, with a Winston still in my mouth...
4: Flipping a smoke to your buddy (unlit, but he was out) while going even 25, doesn't work......lighting a smoke while going that same speed can burn your 'stash off.

 

[dfrisk]

KENDELL - Back when I was in HS I never parked my old dirt bikes for the winter. Snow & Ice made for some "Interesting Moments". I had a windshield on the old RAPIDO when it got cold.

Guy that REALLY pushed the riding season was the Guy who rode a CB-350 to work at FARMALL year-around. I remember walking out of the plant after working Second shift and seeing that bike with 6-8 inches of SNOW on the seat!

DONALD - Only bad thing I ever heard about British bikes was the fact they liked to use too many LUCAS electrical parts. But other than that they sure had the Style & performance down to an Art Form! Norton, Triumph, BSA, All great machines!

 

[rpalmer]

Stuff burnt? Well I once burned off a piece of my beard when it flew up and cough my smoke. So now if I'll be having any speed, I cover my chin with a bandanna. OTR my attitude is simple and displayed on my collar... DILIIGAF. You all ride safe and keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up.

 

[kide]

Dennis:
The parts guy at the local bike shop (Shep's) rode a BMW with a sidehack all winter. I rode from the time the snow melted (and the mud went away) ubntil snow flew. There was one summer (about '80-'81) that I didn't ride in a car for about two months - finally had to go to town in the car - thought I was going to have claustrophobia ..

Richard:
Not a 1%er ??? I've got a patch vest for when we ride as a group...got stuff like "Ride Free" and things like that, but my favorite is "Mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park"... I never have really gone for the biker look" though, I usually wear work boots, jeans and a nylon windbreaker- and I wear a full helmet, either an open face Bell or my full face Vetter (Bell) from about 30 years ago, which is still more protection than the beanies and Nazi helmets I see..

 

[bbowman]

I'm sure all you guys remember doing wheelies on your YZ,shootin' a peace sign,with a "smoke" hanging out of the corner of your mouth? It WAS the '70's!

 

[dross]

For me it was a 465 IT, I put a 6" Teraflex on it, Had 1.8 mile marked track through a 25 pasture that had grown over pretty good. Graduated to an 850 special in 87 lived on it till I met my future X wife.

 

[kide]

Mine was the '71 DT1 (Bassani pipe, Preston Petty fenders, fork brace, fork kit, plastic levers.....) and then on to the XT500.. I've never been one for wheelies, but did like catchin' air - the 500 would git up there, but man did it thump when coming down... It was actually my first real road bike - but with full knobs, you could hang the rear end out on pavement.. woooohoooo!!!

 

[dross]

That sounded like My ex cost me the bike but that's not really true. I was out one Sat. afternon, I had enjoyed a few beverages and went a couple towns over where the shortcut was over about 5 miles of old country gravel road. At about 80 I noticed there was something wrong. I didn't go down but I should have. Got to my buddys house and was telling him about it when we both saw the back tire was flat. I had a rare lucid moment in my drinking days and thought mabey a cage wasn't so bad.

 

[dfrisk]

KENDELL - The Plant Mgr. at a machine shop I used to deal with rode. He got a new BMW, think it was K1200, kinda a "Spirited Road bike", not the pancake twin but an in-line 4 mounted in-line. He put a LOT of miles on one summer. Him & His racing Buddys took the back roads to Indy from Milw. for Time trials I think it was. He passed a car on a 2-lane doing about 90+. Black leathers, black helmet, dark smoke colored face shield. Down the road 5-10 miles the car pulls into the gas station He's filling His bike up at. His helmet was off showing His silver gray hair and the fact He was 60+. If I remember correctly the old lady driving the car made a snide comment to Him about "Old enough to know better"!

I still have My H-D vest with the BIG #1 patch on the back from Harley's advertising program in about 1970. Good thing it's a vest, ohhhh and I don't zip it up anymore either! (like I could anyway!)

My Buddy who owns two Victory's, actually three but one's His Wife's, built what had to have been one of the scariest bikes ever. I think it was the CT-1, 100 cc Yamaha enduro bike? I think Yamaha made 125 & 175 CC packages for that bike.... Well, how about welding in an RD-350 engine! Yes, let's pull the 10-12 HP engine and put this 40 HP engine in it's place! Yes, I even got it running for Him, but I wasn't brave enough to ride it. I had my Ossa at the time, I got plenty of tinker time in with it.

 

[kide]

Dennis:
The Director of the Dept I worked for (uhh, the one with the red gumball machines on top of what we called "blue gooses") lived down the road from me. He built his house at the same time I built mine in '79, but I never realized who/what/where until about '87 or so (he was about two miles to the east of us on the gravel road we live on). After I started working 9-5, I wore a respectable looking jacket over my shirt/tie and rode the GS1000 as much as I could. Turns out he was a biker also, had made some really nice trips, like the circuit of Superior.... Anyway, on the long blacktop road on the way to our house, I was in the habit of passing long lines of cars - which, as it turned out, included his unmarked "company" car. Sooner or later, he started honking every time he went past our place and I figured out who he was..at some point, I had a meeting with him and he mentioned the GS and my riding and said with a grin "I figured you were either a fool, or knew what you were doing...."

 

[jgruski]

Here is my first bike, an '85 Yamaha Maxim. Picked it up only about three weeks ago. It's stored now, but can't wait for summer.

 

[lbuttke]

Kendell,

What make is that there wind protection?

Looking for one like it that I can install on my V-Star 950-Toure

 

[wkashner]

I still have my first (and only) Harley leather jacket I bought around 1970, about 40+ lbs ago. Had the wide belt that could be taken off or put on as desired. The H-D tag actually wore off the inside of the liner. Not sure why I still have it, certainly doesn't fit anymore. That one was probably made in the USA, unlike so many of the H-D clothes today. When I wrote H-D about that years ago, their response was that many of their parts are made in this country, etc. When I spoke with the owners of the Bloomsburg, PA dealership, they noted that many countries don't have the environmental laws that we have, hence if waste material was getting dumped down a hole near their drinking water, well....you get the picture.

 

[kide]

Lonny:
That's a Memphis Shades Batwing..Check around, I got mine at Bikerhaven.net and it was a very good price. Good service from them, also..They list one for the 950 VStar...if you go to their web site, search on Batwing and slide down the page..