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Thank God for the Internet

3K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  jeeps84 
#1 ·
I must say this site has saved my life. I am person who wants to get into riding and was considering a 600 series bike as my first ride. All I can say to the posters on this site is thank you. I have since recanted my choice and I plan on starting on a much smaller bike. I was thinkint the Ninja EX-500 or the Suzuki GS500. Bo th look like they will suit me well, and i won't feel bad dropping it....which i probably will. Well just thought i would show some gratitude for the safety posts. Can't wait to take the MSF course and start riding. This site is now bookmarked :D
 
#5 ·
I agree with YZFr6-TX & probably so many others when we hear/read someone is going to take the MSF Course & start out on a sensible m/c.

Far to often they come on with the idea of a 600cc sportbike or even more extreme & when we try to advise them on comes "I know more they you part of the brain" to argue with those that have the experiece from some that have just put in a few months of riding with a sensible bike to learn on & realize it was the best move to some with a year or 5 yrs to even more yrs of riding.

To switch from the four door family car to a two door sporty car is a simple move though switching from hiking to mountain climbing is very dramatic to deadly sport & that is what it is like from switching from a car to a m/c.
 
#9 · (Edited)
My first bit of m/cing was a '34 Harley-Davidson, right after WWII, & just so much more only to say it was destined to the junk disposal.

I spent hrs figuring out how the carb workd, the hand gear change lever, baffled on the spark adjustment, old fuel stunk in it, battery was shot, but with normal drinking water & a home made recharger of my Dad I got it up to something.

No 'net, no books on m/cing during the war, no parents or relatives or friends that knew a darn think about m/cs.

Must have kick it 40 or 60 timesor more, pulled out the two sparkplugs to dry them & finally it came into life to fail time & time again, let alone the number of times I put it in gear & pressed down on the clutch lever, very opposit to a cage, to engage it & down I would go again.

Just 1/2 block from my home to try & ride in the bush & around the 2nd day I realized I had a shot rear piston & more torque once I removed the rear piston.

All the m/c mags, the books & thankfullly the 'net NOW only by the time the 'net became easy to handle I was into my 50th or more year of riding, part ownership of two m/c shops, mechanic at both & manager or another.
 
#13 · (Edited)
late, it would be usless for I tend to almost loose the subject & wander way off. Still look at what is in my garage when it comes to my modern bikes. Actually it is an older '97 Yamaha YZF600r, '00 Honda 929, & '03 Hondar 954. No cruiser, no regular riding position bike & no small or large scooter. Also when riding season is here I clock 4 or 5 runs a week on the up & down twistie Cdn Rockie Mtn roads of 4 to 8 hrs each day.

That is 59 continual years of riding of which 42 yrs would also include dirt comp of most forms, which also includes 5 yrs of road racing, & practicing.
 
#14 ·
Smitty said:
late, it would be usless for I tend to almost loose the subject & wander way off. Still look at what is in my garage when it comes to my modern bikes. Actually it is an older '97 Yamaha YZF600r, '00 Honda 929, & '03 Hondar 954. No cruiser, no regular riding position bike & no small or large scooter. Also when riding season is here I clock 4 or 5 runs a week on the up & down twistie Cdn Rockie Mtn roads of 4 to 8 hrs each day.

That is 59 continual years of riding of which 42 yrs would also include dirt comp of most forms, which also includes 5 yrs of road racing, & practicing.
All that riding and born in '69.....that is sweet! :twofinger j/k
 
#15 ·
bhartwig32I, know what you have noted & have been trying to get that corrected when I first landed on this site. Know I typed down July 13th 1930 & have gone back to correct it only it comes back with that crazy date of birth.

With such a date I would not have been riding Factory "works" comp irons at 19 yrs of age or been testing bikes for several m/c mags in the mid 50s to '75 for they had faith in my competitive riding experience & continual riding of up to date bikes. Fact is the head m/c man for the distributorship of Honda use to be a fellow competitor some yrs back. Reason he did not give a darn when I totalled one bike I had just finished testing & kept on sending more bikes as did the other distributers.
 
#17 · (Edited)
cookee in my case I have no relatives left, that I know of. I was 2nd oldest of the cousins from three aunts, & two uncles on one side, though on the other side there was my father & he lost his older sister during the killer flu after WWI.

Fact is when I kick the bucket my estate goes to a h/gun shooting friend & his family. Pity of it that he is not a m/c rider. Also as one becomes older their friends tend to fade away & more so in my case as I have been a loner all my life. Even my friends in the m/c to m/c comp world are lost & many of them have passed away or are care-taker homes.

Like this is the Xmas time so that means Xmas cards or them using the 'net though none in my case. Like when the Govt goes forward with Ban of handguns I will be so pissed off that I really do not know for that is part of my life. Not to long before I find I can no longer ride m/cs due to my health of the Govt takes away my DL & in my case I have nothing left to live for.
 
#18 ·
Smitty said:
cookee in my case I have no relatives left, that I know of...
Wow, that must feel strange, being the last of your family. I have a huge family, on both sides.

Perhaps a m/c journalist may be interested in writing your biography??? You don't strike me as the sort of person who would search out someone to write your story, but it would be a shame to let all of your stories pass when you eventually do. Of course, we're all expecting you to be riding for another 50 years at least.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Well Jeep near the end of January the Liberals might get back in & they have a drive on to BAN HANDGUNS which is a pitch for more votes.

Problem is they will only round up the h/guns of us law-abiding tax-payers with our stuggle to stay within the red tape of the Govt & are all target shooters only. They know each make, model, caliber & S/N of our long bbl & handguns plus the address so like Germany in '33 they will round up the h/guns from us & destroy them.

Obviously this will NOT stop the gangs, drug people, to criminals that have guns & the one using them illegally. For they buy smuggled in guns. They thought all the red tape we went through 10 yrs ago including Cdn Firearms Safety Course (in the case of some of us we challenged it & passed written & physical with flying colours) the registering of all long bbl guns & re-registering of h/guns (since '34 h/guns in Cdn have been registered) only it did NOT stop the illegal useing guns & killings by criminals.

So this one will get the Libs back in again. Mind you come next election they will be able to say they will stop all these killing in BAN ALL GUNS meaning shotguns & rifles. Though it will not effect the illegal use of guns by criminals, gangs, & drug people & such.

Is sort of defeating that the Govts cannot see the true facts of life, but they have all the legally registered h/guns & same with rifles so they will be so easy to confinscate & destroy. They cannot see what has happend in the UK, Australia, & other countries were total gun bans went into effect being the increase in crime YET the 38 States in the USA that will issue a CCW the crime rate has dropped. Not that you need a gun, if you State issues CCW, for criminals will hesitate to take you or others on for one of more might have a handgun & be able to shoot it with accuracy.

The money the Gov wasted on Bill C-68 is well over two Billion dollars & that would have supplied them with a maze of trained police to really go to work at nabbing criminals. Remember to a billion to you,as an American, might not be much, though remember our total population of all of Cdn is less then the population of California or 1/10 of your country.
 
#21 ·
Smitty;

As you probably know. We too are up for a round of the Liberals very soon. This and a few other reasons is why I have acquired almost every piece via private sale. Things tend to get lost easily that way here. So all they could have if it ever came down to that here would be the select few have to have ones that I personally or my wife purchased new. On that note. I am a strong supporter for The Right to Keep and Bear Arms and legally.
I dot believe I'm near as involved in the sport/hobby as you but, I enjoy my days at the range.

BTW. I'm in the market for a BFR (Model 500) if you know of any deals in the US.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Not as a Cdn citizen I fear. Besides purchasing rifles from the USA has been cut off around 10 plus yrs ago & the matter of a h/gun was basically impossible. You should have seen the stink that went up when I sent a S&W M-59 to a pistolsmith (around early 80s) which was still legal only the RCMP were all over me for doing something totally illegal. Not the fault of the RCMP for it was forced upon them by the Liberal Govt. In honesty the Constable actually thought I had broken the law & once I corrected him in showing the registering slip & though the gun looked looked more then new & he realized it was some $400.00 plus work on the gun & the same S/N.

I was working in Penticton & would need a Permit to Transit the gun back home. Explained I was on leave from work (to get this gun out of Cdn Customs) & had to go back to work, so could they keep the gun for me & would be back just before they closed up the HQ. He then told me to simply put it in the trunk of my car though I had a truck, go back to work, then take the gun home. He trusted me in not needing a Permit to Transport (illegal according to f/arms laws in Cdn) the gun home legally. Note the change in tone once I was able to explain the legal matters he had probably never heard of or read.
 
#26 ·
I went to the Honda Dealership today just to sit on bikes and look at gear. O man im totally stoked now. I sat on 2 CBR600's one was the RR and the other was EF1 or something like that. After sitting on the bikes i knew that these are not for me to start off with. They were heavier than i expected and i knew i would die very quickly on them. Maybe in a few years but not now. BTW where is a good place to find used bikes. I checked out CycleTrader.com but there are not alot of bikes in my area. Thanks for the warm welcome.
 
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