Since I have recently bought my bike, I am amazed at the number of people who have said they used to be bikers, or have recently returned to motorcycling after a few years. Why have you either : Started motorcycling? Continued motorcycling? Returned to motorcycling?
Been riding since I was 13, full licence at 17 and always had a bike, way before I needed to take my car test. I will ride as long as I am physically capable (fingers crossed!). Absolutely nothing compares to riding bikes, its in my blood. A wife that understands how much bikes means to me really helps too!
because its one of the best things to do in the world , because of the feeling it gives you . i have a dream that one day to live in california and ride the west coast of the USA from top to bottom on a ducati , either a panigale or a ducati monster one or the other , call me sad or whatever you want but thats my dream . in the states you dont need to wear a helmet in every state either , so your free , about 99% people cant understand why id wanna ride without a lid , and there reasons are right that if you come off your screwed , but over in the states on the west coast where its prodominantly hot or nice , to ride with the wind in your hair would be phoenominal , and i would run the risk and just cruise the west coast . God what id give to live over there
i drove down the PCH from seattle to san diego when i was travelling across the states. great great great road..some of the scenery is amazing. Bug sur national park mate....amazing. There are sections where the highway goes through the giant sequioa trees.
yeah mate it sounds amazin , its what i wanna do , but on a ducati . What car did you drive down on ? , if i had to drive it id have a big american v8 a mustang or chevy corvette
Why do I ride? Ultimately because its fun and much more involving than driving a car. I work in the City, so its convientent to get into and out of the city. When riding fast, on the road, but mainly on the track, it feels like Im strapped to a f-ing rocket. I know its a dangerous past time/hobby, which is why I kit up as respect it, but it just brings the giddy school boy out in me. Nothing comes close
Started at 16 and had a bike till my first kid arrived ( 25 years ago ) and money issues meant it had to go. Returned about 6 years ago after my divorce. Been through an XJ650, CBF600, Sprint ST1050, BMW R1100RT and now on to my ST3 in those 6 years. Missed out on a hell of a lot when I was without a bike, but glad I've got one now.
In addition to all the above, the fact that it is one of the few state of the art vehicles that someone with a modest income can afford has allways made them attractive to me.
Unfortunately I never got the bike thing in my early years. I was a car fan. However I reached 30 and was going through a very difficult time with my business (nearly going to lal la land) when someone suggested I do my bike test. My reaction was wtf do I want to do that for and the answer was cause whilst your on the bike no one can call you. This I totally got with. I took my test and enjoyed every minute of learning. Once I passed I sold the 66 mustang conv that I had spent 2 years restoring and bought a MV F4 1000 Bikes are now everything to me as they offer me total escapism away from the trivia they we seem to get lost in on a daily basis. Without my bikes I would have gone mad and I really mean it.
Ive had bikes for 30 odd years,even during times of no licence.Being on a bike lets me be the immature tw@t I really am.(Not all the time tho).
I first started riding age 22 when I was having a lousy year at college, really not enjoying my course, and came into a bit of money when the Halifax demutualised. I spent it on CBT, kit and a 125 - a friend from university had been riding a couple of years and she seemed to be enjoying herself. I found that I can't worry about work when I'm riding - it requires sufficient concentration that there's not enough mental processing capacity left to stress about work stuff! As a travel addict, a bike is a good excuse for lots of trips away, and now my husband has passed his test, it's something we can do together (his general response to my suggestions about going away in the past being "but what is there to do when we're there" - riding being an excellent "thing to do" when we're wherever).
Always had at least one bike since 1968. First time I ever rode a motorbike it just came so naturally to me, like breathing - I didn't need lessons. Times when I've been skint, an old MZ was the cheapest way to get around; times when I have had some £, a sporting bike was the most fun possible. Couldn't really get on with rugby, football, or any sport involving running, as I was never well enough or fit enough, thanks to asthma - riding a bike is the one thing which never causes asthma. There are lots of sports you can do which would be fun, like sailing, hang-gliding, deepsea diving, parachuting - but you have to do them in your time off, not on working days. And there are several ways of commuting to work, like bus, underground train, and car - but they are all dull and boring. A motorbike is the quickest, cheapest and most fun way to get to work, and you can 'kill two birds with one stone'. It's a no brainer.
It's made me more friends than anything else. It's got me out and about and visiting places I would never have gone to without a bike (like having seen most of this, admittedly not huge, country). It's a bit like a personal fun fair where you don't have to spend time queuing for the rides. Also a sport where you improve constantly as you practice more and more. The buzz you get from doing it right is fantastic. Also like the fact that when you are riding, it takes all your concentration, so whatever is bugging you no longer does. It's not really about transport is it? It's the road, not the destination.
Like many I guess, I returned to bikes after a 15 year break, when work and kids took over. Came back to them to have something that's just for me...welcome escape from all the day-to-day crap. The thing that actually tempted me back was a nostalgic return to a Kawasaki ZXR 750 H2...my last bike before kicking it into touch in the early nineties. Then made the inevitable switch to a Duc like every mid-life crisis saddo...first a 748 and now the 1098. My annual mileage is scandalous (some of you proper bikers to more in a month), but to me, it's beyond worth it-it's crucial.
I was about 3 or something ans saw some motorcross, asked my mum if i can do that. she said no, maybe when older. Started watching Superbikes and here I am now. Why? cos they`re fooking awesome
I ride a motorcycle.....because I can I took a decision all them years ago to go and sit my test as I wanted to feel free, be part of something different and be part of a group of like minded people who will nod or wave to you what ever your riding. Plus my wife thinks its sexy as well. Ha ha
