Hi Fred, I have always ridden with an open face helmet come summer or winter, the only exception being on the racetrack.
I love the open feeling and the wind in my face and have probably eaten a few kg's of bugs in my time as a result . This also include a massive shiner that took a week to subside from wearing a Christmas Beetle at around 140 kph. It even shattered the lens of my classic aviator mirrored sunglasses.
Somehow though I dont think the ape hangers would suit the style of my BMW
Ah, a BM, yeah well, that would tend to less "fail to procceed" than just about anything else, a real bonus ;-). Im kidding (a bit) about the ape hangers on a long road trip, very tiring, but an upright stance sure is comfortable at moderate speeds (dont start about corners), and oh yeah, them bugs sure sting, but hey, bikies are tough.
Give me apehangers, legs forward and NO helmet any day!
I was fortunate (some will disagree) to ride helmetless in N.S.W.
Then I moved to Victoria and had to wear a stupid helmet!
So, to feel as free as possible, I only ever wore a very small pudding bowl helmet with no padding. The shell just fit on the top of my head. It felt a bit like I was only wearing a beanie. Still annoying, but it was the least I could wear. The police never inspected it at any of the many times I got pulled over!!!
Cornering is awkward with apehangers??? No way. You have to learn how. You just hang your right leg out to turn right and left for left. Simple Riding with a club, we had to regularly do 1000's of k's at any time and the apehangers never got tiring or uncomfortable. It was like sitting in an armchair at home with your feet up and your arms resting on the arms of the lounge (sort of).
Mind you, I rode most of the time with only my right arm anyway. The left just hung down, or held the gear knob waiting to do gear changes.
Arms up, feet forward, sitting low and cruising on a custom Harley (even at 180k's) is totally different to leaning over a tank. It feels free.
lucky this is a 'show us your motorcycles' thread, not a 'show us your harleys' thread
A thing that puts me, and many others i would imagine, off owning a harley, is the fort knox security needed to ensure fellow harley enthuisiasts don't 'borrow' it
like the pocket rockets eric, i rode mostly 500cc type bikes, you can sure throw them around in the tight stuff
like you, i also decided i wanted to live a bit longer and was sick of getting into trouble they used to call bike riders temporary australians back then?
Louwai, interesting you say that re ages, I remember reading statistics recently of cashed up baby boomers reliving their youth and buying megagbikes, and writing themselves off as their riding skills/reactions werent what they used to be possibly
as mentioned the word 'freedom' comes up a lot
the adelaide hills used to be our awesome racetracks - been totally ruined for many years now I understand, by all the treechangers/extra traffic, speed limits, and the youngsters with the little 4 cylinder cars who learned to drive on gran turismo, and like to think they can out do a motorbike in the hills
hey yep i learned to ride as a jackeroo on ag bikes in central qld in first proper job after leaving school, that and i had my first road bike out there traveling between towns - but yeh ant hills was my fave too! till the boss cocky saw all the tyre tracks thru em
dunno - these werent the towering kind, just small-ish coupla foot mounds? different species there maybe? lol long time ago now!
Last ant hill I got close to was pretty tall. Was in the middle of an old WWII air strip on Cape York. I parked the Hilux 4x4 next to it, climbed onto the roof, reached up & I still wasn't near the top. (I'm 6'3")
I gave the 'Trail bike' riding a go back in 1975. Never again!
I bought a Bultaco Trail Boss (16 gears on the one I bought ).
I was riding across a paddock at 'The Rock' near Wagga and the throttle jammed open, and the brakes failed, sending me over the edge of a dry creek bed at around 90k's!!!! All I remember was being airborne then WHACK!!! into the side of the dry creek.
It winded me badly, and after a while, I got up, looked around, and I never found the front wheel!
I left the bike there in the dry creek, walked home and never went off-road on a bike again.
It ain't for all of us
Here's mine (photo circa 1998 with my first digital cam and a UV filter that vignetted the image a bit!).
Got it new back in 1997.
I've been told to get rid of it for the last 2 years (since my son was born), but have not been able to part with it.
If anyone's interested, I'd be willing to swap for a PME.
For interest's sake, it is a 1997 Ducati 748SP. Is has the Termignoni Race pipes, close-ratio gearbox, polished exhaust, braided lines, Spyball alarm system. Theoretical top speed of about 260 km/h (you'd have to be a fair bit smaller than me and be able to crouch really small). I've managed about 210 km/h on it, but at that speed it's all a bit overwhelming to pay too much attention to the speedo.
Turbo
I love my '98 Sporty, but the 748-916-998 Dukes ARE the best looking bikes ever!
Incredible handling combined with an easy power delivery - and, again those looks.
Dribbly!
BTW, If I knew what a PME was I'd happily swap you!
Two of mine below,
Had the VFR for 10 years and cannot find a better bike to replace it.
The little green dirt bike is a mildy modified and lightened 250 (now 300cc). This has been supplemented by a KLX450 which is probably a bit too much bike for me.
My Montesa 315R trials bike for play, and my BMW R80 for touring, though I'm currently looking at buying a BMW R1150GS Adventure.
I sold my favourite rear-wheel-steer bike about 5 years ago - my Honda XR 600. After I bought the R80, I started touring and not so much trail riding. Probably a good thing as its easier to get injured in little falls as you get older.
ok - at considerable risk of ridicule - given the serious nature of some of the bikes presented here - here are the three bikes I have ever owned:
1. Suzuki DR250 circa 1985 model - owned around 1987-88 when I first got my licence.
2. Kawasaki LTD750 1983 model - owned around 1992-1994. Bought on the spur of the moment when I was at uni.
3. Sachs Madass 125 2006 model - owned 2008-2010. Just for commuting
I have heard the sachs described as the tough guys postie, or the gay mans ducati . It didn't go very fast, but it got me from a to b and did get more than a few double takes from other riders/drivers
these are not my photos - just grabbed from google. My DR250 was red.
This also include a massive shiner that took a week to subside from wearing a Christmas Beetle at around 140 kph. It even shattered the lens of my classic aviator mirrored sunglasses.
Riding with a club, we had to regularly do 1000's of k's at any time and the apehangers never got tiring or uncomfortable. It was like sitting in an armchair at home with your feet up and your arms resting on the arms of the lounge (sort of).
lol long time ago now!
).
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