Nostalgia... one rider's viewpoint
- Thread starter Sadlsor
- Start date
With all you have done you should be SLEEPYGrumpy Al,
WRONG!!! 20 years in the USMC, 12 years as a cop, raised 3 kids with 7 grandkids all doing well, you may not have but: I HAVE CERTAINLY EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE GRUMPY! Now, get off my lawn.
Tom
not Grumpy
TPadden
Tom Padden
My favorite "dwarf" line is Shrek's: the Seven Dwarfs appear in the first film carrying Snow White's coffin. When they place the coffin on the table, Shrek says "Oh no no no no! Dead broad off the table!" 
Tom
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Tom
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Life no longer filters out the completely inept. Downside to a lifestyle that has become entirely too easy. Their problems, though smaller than they were just a few generations back, are self-inflicted and obviously someone else's fault.
Bikes have always been less expensive than professional 'help' to me. After just a few minutes on the road, my concerns become ancient history. 'Don't scratch the bike' procedures have become autonomic and leave me overwhelmed by the sensations I suppose.
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
Sorry to disagree...
In theory this should be right, and of course are the motorcycles themself more reliable in some aspects...
But like with car-operators do all those "features", all those bells and whistles added only one thing: boost the ignorance of people...
Of the riders themself as much as of other road users... like the stupid bloke peeling out right in front of me to then respond with a "...what do you want?! You've ABS on that bike, don'ya?!..." at the next red light...
Pop-Pop
Site Supporter
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2020
- Messages
- 2,454
- Age
- 68
- Location
- Pagosa Springs Colorado
- Bike
- 1996 ST 1100
- STOC #
- 9037
I like it simple. No heated gear, etc. sure i suffer a bit, but i love it anyway.
when i go to sleep at night, i wish for dreams of places ive seen but forgotten. Thats a good nights sleep!
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
You are not disagreeing with the statement that motorcycles are better than ever. You are stating that people are more stupid than ever, and I don't disagree with you.
When I read this, I thought of the rider aids that every new motorcycle has. Why are they there? I think it is for marketing purposes...and to protect us from our own stupidity.
We have chased "specs" in our pursuit of new motorcycles. Partially because that helps the marketing department entice us to buy a new motorcycle. Partially, so we can justify to our friends (and wife) why we spent as much on a new motorcycle as a car, and why our old motorcycle just won't do anymore.
Pre-lockdowns, I rode with a group of Canadians. Most had Kawasaki C14s. One had a BMW K1600 and another an ST1300. Most of those bikes put out about twice the hp as my BMW F800GT did. You would think they left me behind. It didn't happen. There's a limit to how fast you can ride on a twisty curvy road that is limited by your tire's contact patch and your skill level, more than the engine hp. Later that summer, I met up with some Ducati Multistrada riders. Again, I found there's a limit to how fast you can go, no matter how fast your bike is. Even in the straights, you reach a point where you don't want to lose your license and have your bike towed away. Sanity prevails...or you won't be doing it for long.
My latest bike has all the bells & whistles. For instance, cornering ABS and cornering Traction Control. I think the first traction control was introduced because motorcycles had become so powerful that mere mortals (i.e. not professional riders) could easily wreck their bike before leaving the dealership parking lot. It also gave the Marketing department a way to give the buyer a little one-upmanship. "Oh, your new bike only puts out 150 hp. Well, my new bike puts out 160 hp." With the idea that mine is superior.
And the "cornering" ABS and TC is there for when I really get stupid and try to race through those twisty curvy roads. I'm depending on the bike getting me out of the trouble I put myself in...not my own skills. I don't need those skills...I can depend on the bike to cover for me. I want my motorcycle to take away the risk for me.
Being a little nostalgic, in a lot of ways, I miss my F800GT. Yes, it had TC and ABS, but only the most rudimentary versions. I still had to be so totally aware of what it was doing that it became an extension of me. I was riding a motorcycle...not a two-wheeled car.
This is one of the blessings of being part of a group like this. Motorcycling is by nature a solitary activity. Unless you have comms set up, you can be riding the same road with others, but you are riding alone...just going on the same road at the same time. And yet...when you stop, there's this feeling of comradery built upon a shared experience. I can go to National or WeSTOC for instance and not know the others there at first. But we all had a love for riding that meant we were willing to ride across several states to gather together. And within minutes, we're forming new friendships and new relationships that will last till the next time we meet together.
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
"From the money we don't have, we're supposed to buy things we don't need, to impress people we don't like"...
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Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
"We save a lot on money spending money we don't got".
From the song The Consumer byStompin' Tom Connors.
Audio- The Consumer
ST1100Y
Site Supporter
My line is a common cynical proverb over here... translated to English however...
