Motorcycles

[Huntin1]

Was at our local HD dealer a couple of months ago to pick up some stuff for my softail, this thing refused to let me out the door and ended up following me home.





It now looks like this.





I'm starting to think that this hobby is way more expensive than my gun addiction, I mean hobby. With gas prices the way they are I'm sure I'll be using this more than my truck this summer.

 

[bravo]

The first summer I had a bike I put close to 6k miles on it. Life got in the way of riding that much these days but I still love being on 2 wheels. Stay safe, it’s not you that’ll cause a wreck, it’s everyone else not paying attention!

 

[Huntin1]

Yeah, I've learned to ride like I'm invisible, cause I am to a lot of drivers, particularly the ones on cell phones.

I started riding dirt bikes when I was about 13, graduated to street bikes and then like you life and kids kinda took over and I got rid of my bikes. I really missed riding and the last couple of years I decided that I am not going to be here forever so it was time to start riding again. In my mind it's better than therapy, I get on the bike and for awhile just lose myself.

 

[SDMF]

I'd love to have one, but, every ounce of self control and any fiber of common sense I possess become non-existent or non-functional when I perch myself atop 2-wheels. Couple that with less than novice level riding competency and I just plain don't belong on one.

 

[Shockwave]

Nice looking bike. I got into motorcycles about 5 years ago and upgraded to an ultra classic 2 years ago. I barely did any riding last year due to buying a new boat and it being really hot all summer. I hate being hot so the thought of sitting on a hot engine in 100 degree weather is not that appeasing to me. The plan is to ride it as much as possible this summer since the gas prices are ridiculous.

 

[Allen]

Just when you thought you were done spending money.

 

[1lessdog]

The first summer I had a bike I put close to 6k miles on it. Life got in the way of riding that much these days but I still love being on 2 wheels. Stay safe, it’s not you that’ll cause a wreck, it’s everyone else not paying attention!

You tell that to the guy that tried to go around me and the car behind me as Im turning on to my road to go home. I had my blinker on, speed limit is 50 mph. And this joker tries to go around me and the car behind me. He ended up hitting the opposite side of the ditch. He got launched in the air maybe 10 ft. And bike ended up on the railroad tracks. I stopped to see if he was ok and he started screaming at the guy behind me for not having his blinker on. He told him I wasn't turning the guy in front of me was. The bike was all banged up, I asked him if he need a ambulance and he said no. There was a car coming from the south and he seen what happened and called 911. When the cop got there we told him what had happened and left.

So its not always the other guy you have to look out for. Sometimes there the other guy

 

[Rowdie]

They're dangerous because people don't SEE them. You think you're being careful, but then one pops up out of nowhere.

I hit a guy on a bike on a side street. Totally my fault, as I made a left turn in front of him. Had he not had a bag of fastfood in one hand, he could have swerved left and missed my rear fender. But with one hand he couldn't handle it. Lucky we were on side streets going slow. Had I hit the gas when I seen him instead of the brake I'd have missed him. He just clipped my rear right side fender. When I talked with the officer, he said you'd never drive one if you had seen what he has. Every time, it's the same story, "I didn't see them"

 

[Huntin1]

You tell that to the guy that tried to go around me and the car behind me as Im turning on to my road to go home. I had my blinker on, speed limit is 50 mph. And this joker tries to go around me and the car behind me. He ended up hitting the opposite side of the ditch. He got launched in the air maybe 10 ft. And bike ended up on the railroad tracks. I stopped to see if he was ok and he started screaming at the guy behind me for not having his blinker on. He told him I wasn't turning the guy in front of me was. The bike was all banged up, I asked him if he need a ambulance and he said no. There was a car coming from the south and he seen what happened and called 911. When the cop got there we told him what had happened and left.

So its not always the other guy you have to look out for. Sometimes there the other guy

There are bad drivers in every discipline who tend to overestimate their abilities and end up causing crashes. However, the largest percentage of crashes are caused by people not paying attention to what they are doing, most often because they have a phone stuck in their face, or they are just piss poor at situational awareness and miss most of what is going on around them. We all need to watch out for them.

 

[Shockwave]

Even though I ride motorcycle, I am not a fan of yelling at others to watch for motorcycles. Should people be a more aware during the riding season, YES. But it is also the responsibility of the rider to be cautious and those fools on the crotch rockets are the worse (there are some that are not morons). I rarely ride in town because I know it's dangerous with all the people not paying attention to the road.

 

[Huntin1]

They're dangerous because people don't SEE them. You think you're being careful, but then one pops up out of nowhere.

I hit a guy on a bike on a side street. Totally my fault, as I made a left turn in front of him. Had he not had a bag of fastfood in one hand, he could have swerved left and missed my rear fender. But with one hand he couldn't handle it. Lucky we were on side streets going slow. Had I hit the gas when I seen him instead of the brake I'd have missed him. He just clipped my rear right side fender. When I talked with the officer, he said you'd never drive one if you had seen what he has. Every time, it's the same story, "I didn't see them"

That is very true, they most often say "I didn't see them", but I've gotten that response at most of the crashes I've investigated over the years and it doesn't matter what type of vehicles are involved. It is the reason I ride my motorcycle as if I were invisible.

When I talked with the officer, he said you'd never drive one if you had seen what he has.

Using that logic I'd never venture out in any type of vehicle, seeing the things I've seen.

 

[bravo]

Even though I ride motorcycle, I am not a fan of yelling at others to watch for motorcycles. Should people be a more aware during the riding season, YES. But it is also the responsibility of the rider to be cautious and those fools on the crotch rockets are the worse (there are some that are not morons). I rarely ride in town because I know it's dangerous with all the people not paying attention to the road.

Yeah, sometimes the wrecks are caused by someone on a bike riding like a jackass. I almost hit a guy in Billings last year, like centimeters away. I was changing lanes, checked my mirror and looked over my shoulder, merged and he squeezed by doing about 120. With everyone around me doing 50 you just don’t expect that.

 

[SDMF]

You tell that to the guy that tried to go around me and the car behind me as Im turning on to my road to go home. I had my blinker on, speed limit is 50 mph. And this joker tries to go around me and the car behind me. He ended up hitting the opposite side of the ditch. He got launched in the air maybe 10 ft. And bike ended up on the railroad tracks. I stopped to see if he was ok and he started screaming at the guy behind me for not having his blinker on. He told him I wasn't turning the guy in front of me was. The bike was all banged up, I asked him if he need a ambulance and he said no. There was a car coming from the south and he seen what happened and called 911. When the cop got there we told him what had happened and left.

So its not always the other guy you have to look out for. Sometimes there the other guy

Similar story, 35 MPH road, getting close to where it drops to 25MPH. Motorcycle coming up behind me 50+MPH. 1-ton crew long-box pickup in front of me 3-5 seconds, has his right-turn blinker on. I can see this all happening and I get a sick feeling as there's nothing I can do to "stop" what's coming without running into one or the other myself. I start slowing down, tapping my brakes. Motorcycle gets to me and decides to pass on the right, mustn't have been looking too far ahead, gets ~2 car-lengths ahead of me and he's out of room to maneuver completely out of trouble. He gets the bike slid sideways and pancakes the passenger's side of the pickup that's pulling into a business driveway. Motorcycle skitters off the truck, fishtails a couple times and the guy loses it in the parking lot. Motorcycle guy has some road-rash and is limping about but nothing seriously wrong. Pickup driver is a bit shaken as he didn't see/hear anything until he got hit.

I waited for the police to arrive and gave them the play-by-play from my perspective.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

People need to quit using their damn cell phones while driving.
I get a kick out of the guys saying loud pipes save lives. Proven to be false many times over. Your exhaust doesn't blow in front of the bike. Wish it did and maybe they would put some mufflers on their bikes.
I have driven motorcycles since around 10-12 years old and still do ride but now I must use a Trike, from too many back surgeries.

 

[Bob]

Down to my last Harley, had three a few years back but had some health issues with my ticker and I decided to quit riding. Sold two hoping things would get back to normal so I kept one. Still not riding! Hard to let go of some things I guess. Time to move on, age is catching up now.

 

[Captain Ahab]

I loved riding dirt bike back in the day. My street bike days were fun driving around town but I hated long, droning highway rides as I did not have a windshield. I sold the street bike when the deer numbers were very high and guys were getting wiped out by them. A big bore dual sport bike like a Honda XR650L is pretty tempting right now.

 

[riverview]

i have a 2021 yamaha tenere 700 been putting miles on this spring hope winter ends soon.

 

[Wall-eyes]

As most on here I have been riding since 6 years old so I feel safe and comfortable riding. You just don't get on a big bike and ride. Defensive driving is a must and they go from 0 to 60 in a hurry if you want to. I have seen my share of crashes since riding with friends and group rides. I really enjoy freedom and open air riding I have HD street glide, with my health going to shit maybe it will all come to a end soon. I am not as daring when I was 25 too maybe smarter not sure. Enjoy the ride life is way to short.

 

[AR-15]

Does anybody know who still works on old 2 cycle motorcycles, I have a 1976 Yamaha DT400 hasn't been started in 40 years, doesn't have any spark, turns over good

 

[Bfishn]

I rode some dirt bike as a kid and then had a street bike for 10 years and put on 20k miles without incident. I went on a couple trips which were fun and would have probably done more if my buddies didn't all get married and have kids so quick. Sold my bike a few years ago after I was just kind of tired of riding especially all the same roads within 100 miles of Bismarck, I haven't really missed it as much as I thought I would to be honest, just to many bad drivers these days not paying attention. If I lived closer to mountains I would probably get a dual sport to throw some camping gear on and go exploring, but around here they just don't make sense.