Motorcycles are better than ever. So why are we so grumpy?

Nostalgia... one rider's viewpoint | Off Topic Board

For the past several weeks, I've found myself reading some articles from the Home page of ADVrider. These can be insightful and interesting, and this one speaks to me. If you don't have 3 minutes to read this one, here is an excerpt: "Motorcyclists are iconoclasts. We willingly welcome risk in...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
St-Gerard said:
Who's Grumpy, swinging my right leg over any bike brings a smile to my face , and makes me feel 24 again. Okay I'm grumpy when I don't get to ride , like in Winter.
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Who are you kidding ? Swinging my right leg over brings a grimace, a barely audible 'Ooph', and is the only part of riding a bike that makes me feel 83.

After that, yeah I'm with you. 24 again.
 
I admit it, when they start putting all the devices they put on cars to make them idiot proof on our motorcycles it makes me grumpy. I do not want anything other than me touching my brakes. Other than that who's grumpy? Still plenty of great bikes to choose from that don't have that "stuff"
 
Donk said:
I admit it, when they start putting all the devices they put on cars to make them idiot proof on our motorcycles it makes me grumpy.
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"idiot proof" is just a sales-pitch... they only want out best, our money, remember?
So with the promise of safety, they're designing them proprietary... and more expensive while at it...
Nah, you can't use your trusty satnav anymore, we got a TFT wit Google CarPlay for you there... showing all our dealerships and advertisement partners down the road...
Want to connect a helmet intercom? Pick the one from our helmet MFG partner, we purposely won't support global standard BT protocols and rather cook our own §h!t...
You think tires are just black, round and made out of sooth? Nay! Our hyper drive ESP will only work with rubbers listed by us; anything else voids the warranty...
Wanna change engine oil, brake fluid or brake pads? Nah, our superior ECU doesn't support that, you must show up at our dealer network, cause we want your data...
TLGO...

And the lemmings follow blindly...
 
ST1100Y said:
And the lemmings follow blindly...
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I have gotten at least 5 calls to sign up for "Ford Pass", which is an "app" which applies to my 2022 F150. It allows you to open the doors and start the engine with your smartphone. It took me all of 10 seconds to figure out that it also allowed Ford to track my truck usage, location, driving habits, everything about my truck and it's usage. One of the calls was actually from the president of the dealership where I purchased the truck, almost begging me to sign up for it.
I suspect that a lot of people opted out.
 
Me ,the only new car I want is the one that comes to you when you go into the store to get stuff and when you come out there's a down pour!
 
I encountered this when looking to buy my ST. Several forums told me the bike was underpowered compared to other sport-tour bikes like the FJR, but every time I do a highway pull I can't imagine how anything could be faster. Maybe my perspective is limited because I'm used to 4-cylinder sedans and a '78 Yamaha 750 as my benchmark.
 
Camrysandcoffee said:
Several forums told me the bike was underpowered compared to other sport-tour bikes...
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Ditto...
Seems it ain't about the power listed in the glossy pamphlets, its about the power you can actually transfer onto the tarmac...
Whilst the 'ole ST1100 has only 100HP I rarely use all of it and still pass whatever I need to pass out there...
 
ST1100Y said:
The reason lobbyists managed to make eCall (Europe) or OnStar (US) mandatory, circumventing any civil-right opt-out claims...
out of honest concern about our safety... yeah, right... :rolleyes:
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Yeah, that's one wire snip away from INOP....
 
Facing an exhaust replacement on the ST1100 had me looking at other bikes. I will admit that ABS is a nice safety feature. But I don't want most of the other stuff. Fuel injection, TFT screen, DCT, electronic suspension, cruise control, stereo, BT, etc. etc. Test rode a new (used) Wing, the bagger version. Really nice, really sweet and smooth. But not nice, sweet and smooth enough to justify the payment. At speed it wasn't that much "better" than what I already have. So why bother. Delkevic here we come!
 
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