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On 7/23/2020 at 4:42 PM, MaxSwell said:

And when I get my rollerblades I'll have replaced my hydrocarbon power with animal power. And my ATGATT gear will come in handy because I've never been on rollerblades. And I have old downhill skis for winter, her specialty. :pinocchio:  

Made me think of a former co-worker who was rollerblading along the paved riverside trails in London Ontario when he was in his 50’s. Someone else’s dog ran him off the trail in a turn and he went off the edge into the wire cribbed rocks that formed the riverbank at that point. When he got to the emergency room covered in blood the doctor asked him what kind of motorcycle he had been riding to make such a mess of himself.

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10 minutes ago, Dangeruss said:

Made me think of a former co-worker who was rollerblading along the paved riverside trails in London Ontario when he was in his 50’s. Someone else’s dog ran him off the trail in a turn and he went off the edge into the wire cribbed rocks that formed the riverbank at that point. When he got to the emergency room covered in blood the doctor asked him what kind of motorcycle he had been riding to make such a mess of himself.

That story reinforces my belief that ATGATT is appropriate whenever there is a danger of having "a close encounter of the tarmac kind", no matter the means of propulsion. :wheel:

 

As I sit on my patio, isolated by pandemic, I watch all the wheeled passers-by on scooters, new learning bicycles, skate boards, and Razors (some electrically powered), etc, I imagine the potential injuries from a fall and see skinned knees, hands and noses and see a distinct lack of imagination for what could happen.

 

One of my favorite quotes is from a famous Formula One driver (Jackie Stewart?) "It takes a certain lack of imagination to drive these cars." Or something like that. 

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I used to be an avid cyclist. I never felt safe, wearing lycra, gloves, and cycling helmet, especially coming down mountains or long grades. May as well be naked. 

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19 minutes ago, ducnut said:

I used to be an avid cyclist. I never felt safe, wearing lycra, gloves, and cycling helmet, especially coming down mountains or long grades. May as well be naked. 

 

I still cycle every saturday moning 6AM for 2 hours. But we have dedicated bicycle roads here and where the're none traffic is light. And each and every Dutch(wo)man probably owns 2 bicycles as well...

 

 

No worries, no Dutchy lycra pictures, unless by polular demand... :laugh:

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57 minutes ago, ducnut said:

I used to be an avid cyclist. I never felt safe, wearing lycra, gloves, and cycling helmet, especially coming down mountains or long grades. May as well be naked. 

Same and same, espically the nudist part, except I never went lycra.

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On 8/14/2020 at 3:45 PM, MaxSwell said:

Same and same, espically the nudist part, except I never went lycra.

I used to do a lot of cycling, too - bike helmet, lycra, and gloves, that was it.  I had a few minor spills over the years, but did no damage to me or the bikes.

 

But the most "naked" I've felt on a moving vehicle was on a friend's ATV several years ago.  Cookout at their house, they have a couple big ATVs, and a huge yard to ride in.  They said go ahead for a ride.  I didn't have my helmet, and boy did I feel exposed and nervous.  I probably only got the thing up to 10-15 mph, and that was enough for me.  If I ever do that again I'll definitely want my lid.

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On 7/22/2020 at 8:53 AM, TimC said:

While I hope to be on two wheels for years to come, I've sometimes wondered what I might do if I couldn't ride a motorcycle anymore, like if I had a problem with my balance.

 

I can't see myself on a traditional trike, like a Goldwing or Harley trike, but I can see myself on a Can-Am Spyder.  I wouldn't want the big touring version with all the hard bags, and while they've released a stripped down roadster version that looks very cool and a bit smaller overall, I'd probably go with the standard model with the passenger seat (in case my wife ever wanted to actually try riding with me) and which I could sling a set of soft-bags over for trips.

 

How about you?  What would you ride instead if you couldn't be on two wheels?

Honda Civic which I have.  40+ mpg., goes well, and while plain Jane, is the best buy I ever made in a car including a Z06 piece of garbage quality.  

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1 hour ago, Bent said:

Honda Civic which I have.  40+ mpg., goes well, and while plain Jane, is the best buy I ever made in a car including a Z06 piece of garbage quality.  

+1 on a Honda Civic. I just love driving my '08 five speed.

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Had a ‘90 Civic EX Sedan, 5-spd. The absolute best car I’ve ever owned. At my now ex’s insistence, it got traded on a ‘96 Accord Sedan LX. What a letdown of a car. Honda really lost their way, for awhile.
 

Fast forward ~15 years and I find myself sitting amongst a bunch of Honda automobile assembly workers, at a MotoGP race. Their commentary on Honda’s quality downfall mirrored my impressions. They say everything went to shit, mid-90’s. When I commented the newer stuff seems nice again, they say the quality is nothing like the earlier cars and they’ve become nothing but complexity. They say Honda have cheapened everything we can’t see and touch, trying to offset weight of all the government-mandated safety stuff. 
 

I’d love to have a brand new ‘90 Civic Si Hatchback, right now. 

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I've owned two Honda automobiles I loved:  an '05 Civic Si (the 2-door hatchback, which wasn't very popular here), and a '14 Acura ILX 6-speed manual, which had the previous generation Civic Si engine.  I only had the ILX about 2.5 years, but traded it when I got a killer deal on my ND Miata a couple years ago, otherwise I'd have kept it much longer.

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I had a 99 Civic LX four-door also until someone with no experience with roundabouts totaled it. That was much more fun to drive that my current '08, which has gained too many pounds and inches.

 

(I've always had the philosophy that Small Is Beautiful)

 

However, the best Honda-built cage I ever owned was an Integra GS-R four-door. And I had two of them. The first year available, 1994, and the last year, 2001. And the '01 was hot-rodded with a aluminum front strut tower brace, cold-air box and .22mm rear sway bar. I loved that cage and had my feelings seriously hurt when it was stolen from my driveway in 2005.

 

I believe it was the first VTEC engine following the NSX exotic.

 

I still mourn the '01's loss.       

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And, the unfortunate thing about the Integra GS-R is the Fast & Fuckhead crowd have destroyed the majority of them, just like the kids are cutting up all the nice, air-cooled bikes, now. Zero appreciation for enjoying stuff for what it is. 

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I beat the snot out of my VFR Sunday, put her up and always wonder how they take it without blowing up.  The Angel GT rear is holding up amazingly well too.  Tires are better than they used to be.  

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3 hours ago, Bent said:

I beat the snot out of my VFR Sunday, put her up and always wonder how they take it without blowing up.  The Angel GT rear is holding up amazingly well too.  Tires are better than they used to be.  

I can't wait to get my VFR back from the shop this week and do some snott-kicking my own darn self. These machines are a sure cure for the COVID blues.

 

Good advice for all of us VFRDers Bent.

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55 minutes ago, MaxSwell said:

I can't wait to get my VFR back from the shop this week and do some snott-kicking my own darn self. These machines are a sure cure for the COVID blues.

 

Good advice for all of us VFRDers Bent.

My favorite times on my VFR have been those Dragon-like sections of road where there turns are so close together I'm just modulating the throttle in 2nd or 3rd gear, running 6K to 10K rpm instead of actually changing gears.  What awesome experiences!  It's nice never having to worry about whether your engine will blow up.

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Leaning on the Can-Am offering, I like the idea of a Spyder or Ryker when the time comes for me to give up 2 wheels. My dad is 75 and has a Ryker. He’d originally bought a Spyder in 2008, rode it every year, across country and finally traded it in last year for the Ryker. He even rode that from home here in NY down to the Dragon and back earlier in the summer. 
 

I know it’s not everyones cup of tea but it’s not a bad option either.

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I stopped in the Can Am dealer, last Saturday, and had a look. The Ryker seems much more reasonably sized. 

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