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Motorcycles

MikeScalf

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
1,307
The wife and I rode up to east Tennessee to The Great Smoky Mountains from Houston back in June. We rented a cabin with my brother and his wife. They go every year, sometimes twice, but they live in Indiana. Absolutely loved the roads and scenery. Had to go ride US129 aka The Tail of the Dragon. As usual in popular riding areas, photographers are there to capture your fun (or nightmares for some who crash on this stretch of road) Total round trip mileage was just over 3K, including miles while there. It rained on us from Hope Arkansas all the way to back to Houston. We have rain gear, so we just kept on riding. I put between 12-15K miles a year on my bikes. I'm in a riding club and they are my "daily driver" I don't believe in having a bike that collects more dust in the garage than miles on the road. :salude



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MAILIYA

New member
Joined
Sep 14, 2019
Messages
4
Excellent advice so far on this thread!I too have a bit of experience riding bikes. My first was a 1981 Honda CB650 Custom, bought brand new. <style type="text/css"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--></style>auto clicker word unscrambler jumble solver I then owned a Honda CB900 super sport for quite a few years. My last was a 2000 Honda CBR929RR Fireblade (like the one pictured) I'd like to add that there are some good road biking classes available in some cities that you might want to consider. I took one years ago at a race track and learned a lot. Btw, you're never too old to learn. It's a great way to travel! Some of the best riding I had was during the 7 years I lived in Fernie B.C (Canadian Rockies) - Beautiful scenery! This was on the Fireblade. :yahI'd ride around B.C. or Alberta, or head down to Glacier Park in Montana or ride out to Idaho, etc... Good times. :)
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If you find yourself being afraid that your riding group thinks you are a wimp because you ride slower than them you should realize that you are in a dangerous situation. These people are not good friends. Find somebody else to ride with.
 
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Munoz478

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Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Messages
3
photographers are there to capture your fun (or nightmares for some who crash on this stretch of road) Total round trip mileage was just over auto clicker 3K, including miles while there. It rained on us from Hope Arkansas all the way to back to Houston
 
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hoss

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
6,748
Winter mods (yeah, I am still riding as long as the roads are dry): Tank graphics added, rear fairing removed

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MikeScalf

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
1,307
A few members from my riding club went on a ride with me today here in North Houston. We had a cold front hit, so it was high 30-low 40s. Still beautiful and sunny! Any day spent riding with friends, is a great day! :salude
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Buckeye

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Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Messages
5
Hey everyone. I’ve been riding street motorcycles about 40 years now. I was bit hard by the bike bug long before guitars. However, in my travels I seem to find that many motorcyclists are into guitars; not sure why.

Anyway, if you’re a newbie, one of the very best ways to learn is take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. In many areas, it is sponsored and free to enrollees. Otherwise, the cost is minimal. You spend 2 days on their bikes - a variety of small displacement street legal bikes - their gear, and gas. Part of the course is classroom, and the rest is in a huge, open, controlled environment, usually a big parking lot. Instructors are everywhere and they are very well-trained, experienced professionals. Upon successfull completion of the 2-day course, you are awarded your street license right then and there.

After some time on the bike, do a track day. This is not for racing purposes, but rather to learn what the bike is capable of doing, and developing braking, turning and accelerating skills. You really get to push your personal boundaries in a safe manner with professional instruction all along the way.
Some closed track courses offer track-prepped rental sportbikes and all the gear needed for head-to-toe coverage. You ride with small groups of riders that are at your skill-level. You’ll attend classroom for 20 minutes then ride 20 minutes alternating all through the day. During the track-riding sessions, you put into practice what you went over in the classroom. Instructors lead you, follow you and videotape you for review sessions. It’s a blast and quite safe. After just one trackday, your skills and knowledge jump at least ten-fold. It’s amazing and riding on the street becomes so much easier.
 

hoss

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
6,748
I was riding a little all Winter long (not a lot of snow/freezing temps this year), this is the current look after the latest mods: New tires, new gearing, new stickers, less fairing.


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renderit

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
Pardon me, but if I sat on a seat that narrow my ass cheeks would BE the rear fairing...
 

Killerfrost

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Joined
Jun 5, 2021
Messages
2
If you insist on buying new and want to stick with a hybrid bike, they're all about the same price-wise - the only difference is color.

Based on your description, you appear to be in the same situation as I was, and I chose to ride a road bike. My most important deciding factor was the 85/15 rule: if you'll be riding on paved roads, paved paths, or sidewalks for 85 percent or more of the time, a road bike is the way to go. The same rule applies on the other end of the spectrum: if you're going to ride gravel, dirt, or off-road, get a mountain bike or read this trail dirt bike for beginners guide. Anything in the middle is referred to as hybrid. You're more than likely to end up on the road bike side of things.

With that said, the Giant Contend 3 is a great option if you're looking for a road bike at a reasonable price. Because Giant has its own aluminum factory, it is a little less expensive, so you can save a little money on a great bike.
 
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Laker

Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2004
Messages
45
I’m just finishing getting an old ‘71 Harley Sportster back on the road after it has been sitting for around 35 years. The last time I was on this scooter was 1983 so looking forward to a fun summer of riding this old girl.
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hoss

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Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
6,748
1st dirt nap for the KTM yesterday. Even with a full fuel tank and in the mud it was super easy to pick up.

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charlimoun

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Joined
Jul 9, 2021
Messages
1
Dude cool bike! I had one myself for a long time, I really cared about it, not even financially, but spiritually. It was my first big purchase without parental involvement, and I was so proud. It served me well for a long time until one day it was stolen. I went to both the insurance company and the police, but no one wanted to help me, which was sad enough. I was never able to track it down. My pride faded because I failed, I didn't keep it. What's more, I was very comfortable riding it, and it attracted girls. So I decided in the future not to buy a motorcycle, but only to rent it from riderly.com.
 
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Triburst

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
4,353
First “bike.“
Don’t laugh…
We bought this Roketa 150 scooter to get familiar with riding them. We will buy a couple of Burgmans when we finalize our vacation place in Italy. So we took the tests, and now have motorcycle endorsements on our drivers licenses. We replaced the mirrors with these aftermarket ones for better visibility, and I took this shot while the floor mat was off getting some Velcro.
This thing is surprisingly fun to ride.
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AA00475Bassman

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Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Messages
3,769
When I'm not riding Duacti's and that's very little these days ,Water cooled GT 200 , air cooled LX 150 !
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hoss

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
6,748
There are not many gravel roads in Austria and I try to find them to let my Adventure off the leash.
Here is a quick clip from today (done for the KTM forum, they wanted one without traction control) and I tried to capture the engine sound with an old Zoom H2 recorder in the tail bag.

 
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