Finally word, the fact you put a post on this forum means you innately do not want to give up biking in your heart, you just want a bit of support to tell you what you already know!
I used to ride with a guy who had no left hand. He had clutch and everything on rhs. They do more auto stuff now. Isn’t the Africa twin an option?
Tell me about it . I spend probably 50% of my time lifting my arse off the seat, just like a jockey, to use my legs as additional suspension. Hope you had a good craic though.
Mattia Passini has brake and clutch on the same side because of problems with his hand after a motocross accident. Get a bike with auto blipper and you only need clutch stopping and starting...
so did robert dunlop until he pulled the front brake instead of the clutch when his engine seized at 150. That was that. RIP.
I went through a similar thing last year, I was moaning about the long winter not being able to ride then when summer came (and boy did it!) I just couldn't face gearing up on hot days to ride for another cup of piss-water at the usual tyre-kicking spots for an hour dodging potholes, heroes on S1000RR's and the weekend SUV rush. My riding had slipped into the same pattern it has for 20 years, sports bikes, full leather onesie, same roads, triple digits on the dash (Km's officer), made it back in one piece affairs. In the end I ended up selling my 959 which I do massively regret as it was a thing of beauty and wonder, instead I went for an R1200RS for a more relaxed affair, a friend of mine suggested a road-trip, we'd never really ridden together as he was more of a touring gent, I'd never toured, I've mostly been head down arse up rides lasting an hour or two for as long as I can remember. Fast forward to early September his missus and mine took the plane, he and I rode from Peterborough to Amsterdam and back in a weekend, more miles in that weekend than I've covered in years and one of the best biking experiences I've ever had. We're now planning our next jaunt at Easter. I will get another Pani it's inevitable even if all I do is sit in my chair and have a "cup of tea" over it....ride 'em, look at them, pull 'em apart, trade them, drop them, moan about them but never be without 'em is my view.
A friend of mine also has an RS1200 and i`ve ridden it many times. A wonderful all round bike so not surprised to see your mileage comment. I wrote something similar earlier in the thread but if we all rode bikes that were comfortable and enjoyable at any speed then a lot of riders would ride a lot more.
Ask yourself - how easily can you replace it if you sell it? The same model? The same condition? The same modifications? If it's easily replaced, it may make sense to sell it from a financial sense. Psychologically, how will you feel with it gone? Having it and not using it is not the same as not having it and not having ANY opportunity to ride. People grow out of, and back into motorcycling I've found - ask me how I know!
I got myself like that with my S1000RR. I'd chopped my Diavel in for it, wrong decision, VERY WRONG decision. Don't get me wrong, the BM was and is a superb bike, goes without saying, but I just couldn't get along with it. Got to a point where my ride buddies were asking me to go out and I would say no, or say yes, go out and hate it, and I mean actually not enjoy it one bit. Fast forward to last week and I got shut of the S1000RR and bought a Street Triple RS. I absolutely love the thing to bits. Yesterday, I had a lot of work to do at home, and my main ride buddy called and asked if I fancied a scoot. Work head said no, bike head said yes. Work head won. Half an hour later he was back on the phone, and bike head won, I couldn't resist any more. We went out, only a mini scoot to J&S for a mooch and coffee, but you know what, I could have stayed out all day. Now, if I'd still had the BM, NO WAY would I have gone out. It may be that a change of bike is whats needed. I got me mojo back and I can honestly say that I will really REALLY ENJOY riding again this summer. Worth a thought? Also when we go out we have intercoms, they are a game changer when out with your mates. You can have a good laugh, discuss all kinds of non important shite, and give heads ups for a nice booty on the sidewalk. Whatever the issue is, you need to find it, fix it, and then enjoy being out. if you aint enjoying it there is simply no point. Stuart
Sold my 750ssie last year when I had an off,broke my shoulder blade and damaged my rotator cuff,thought at 77 it was time to call it a day.Now missing it not being in the garage to tinker with,will have to see in time.
Nowt actually ‘wrong’ as such. The riding position wasnt for me, seat height a bit too much for my liking when stopped, just stuff like that mate. The bike was an absolute weapon on the road, for me it was simply an overkill in excess in every area, making going fast, read warp speed, way to easy. They are a fantastic bike if you want a 1l sports jobbie no doubt. I should have tested one first I suppose but hey, ya live n learn. Stuart
I will miss the total ballistic power of the BM, course I will, it was kinda adictive, but as for overall enjoyment factor, the Striple wins hands down. For me anyway. A modern day 600 is well enough for the roads any day, enjoy and ride safe. Stuart
The intercom is totally ace, we have a right moan / running commentary going when we're out and generally have far more of a sociable time. Also mega for confirming road is clear for overtakes or "watch that corner" kind of stuff. You're right there.
Well, well. What an interesting thread. And there was I imagining that everyone was doing massive miles while I weeded the carrots. I don't know if I've lost my biking mojo, but it's been damped down considerably over the past years and I think I know why this is: 1. In my 30s I lived in a flat. So naturally at the weekend I wanted to get out and about and biking was how I did it. Now I live in a house and I am happy in it. 2. My house has a large garden that needs a lot of work and inspires its own projects: should I plant a tree here? What happens if I rip out the virginia creeper and replace with honeysuckle? Isn't it about time I put in some crocuses? I realise that this sounds very boring to some, but creating your own environment to live in is in fact very rewarding. 3. As I am so happy at home, I find it hard to be arsed to get out and leave it. 4. What really pisses me off is the radars and police repression. They are everywhere now. I think I ride quite safely, but I don't ride legally. The way I ride used to involve a very infrequent small fine - I have never lost my licence. Now it will involve a prison sentence if I happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 5. All my friends have mainly stopped or at least they have severely curtailed their riding. The days of long weekends away with a dozen other people are well gone. 6. They've made the roads faster, wider, less interesting, and then they've put speed traps on them. 7. My parents sold their house in Gascony (and died, in one instance). So that's scuppered one 1'000 mile round trip that I used to do every year. 8. Cheap air travel has made long bike trips a bit pointless. If you want to get to the other end of Europe, you hop on a plane for peanuts and you're there in a couple of hours or so. What's the point of squaring off your tyres on an endless motorway? 9. Bikes used to be fun at about 70 mph. Now they are fun at 90 mph+. It's the law of diminishing returns. 10. I've got a lot on. Apart from the cooking, there is the gardening, the writing, the guitar-playing. Then I probably ought to be at the gym, or riding my pushbike. Got to keep those pounds off. None of these things involve a potentially crippling fine. 11. Summers have got so bloody hot. Do I want to sweat in the skin-tight leathers? I'd sooner be in shorts. But I only bike in leathers - found that out the hard way. 12. Trackdays are great. But they are a rich man's pastime. There aren't any tracks near here and I don't have the cash even if there were. And I'll stick myself in a gravel trap eventually. I already have. It's inevitable, or you're not trying. So what happens? I haven't been to the Alps (just up the road, really) for years. I just know that if I have any fun on them I'm going to fall foul of the law. Just look at what happened to 44 Teeth. I use my bike to commute to work and then look worriedly at my postbox for weeks. I need to go to France for a weekend away. This is fun when it happens, but even the French have become overkeen on laser binoculars. Let's face it, this game is nowhere near as fun as it was in the early 90s when my 851 was exotic and I rode it fast on fairly empty roads down in Provence and visited the Bol d'Or religiously. Or you could call it "just getting old". Bummer.
