Back to biking

Hey, Holtj!!

I'm 41 and just getting back into riding. When I was a teen, I had an immaculate RD350, a '74 model with 4000 miles on it! A friend of mine bought a Kawasaki 440LTD to ride with me, he was a dirtbike nut. However, he used to razz me about wearing a fullface helmet! (I had a Shoei ZG.) Anyways, to make a long story short, there came a time for him to replace his "lightweight
open face" with a fullface helmet. He hated it. I had to work one night, he went riding with some other friends. He washed out on some sand on a sweeper, ended up in the hospital. Remembered nothing of the crash. His bro brought the "new" fullface helmet in to the hospital room next day, the faceshield and jaw was scraped to hell. He never bothered me about full face helmets again.

It's like wearing a seat belt in an automobile. You don't need it until something bad happens. Ask N.J. Gov. Corzine. I've had two motorcycle accidents, and both involved not only my head but my face.

Both accidents, by the way, were avoidable, and due to lapses of attention and training on my part. I'm angry with myself for these accidents. At least, however, I had the equipment I needed to protect me from more serious harm. And I think I am a wiser rider now, or at least I hope so!

Wow, Holtj's testimonial is good, I read it and Bimota's replies. I try to have a kind of governor on myself especially in high traffic areas. I must look like an idiot sometimes turning my head left/right, down and triple checking my mirrors, but an alarm goes off and (if I'm in good riding mode) says slow down or stop (in parking lots, etc.) and check yourself, if you're not riding smart. When I get my brain back into hyper alert, I proceed with caution. I HATE being taken off guard by a 4 wheeler that I thought was way behind and almost crossed my line of travel or not seeing that oily spot on the shady corner, I sometimes stop, turn it off and scold myself.

Kudos to those who can admit that riding is an art totally different from driving a 4 wheeled vehicle. I have a good friend who teaches the MSF classes here in No. Calif. and he told me he's had people in the class who can't ride a bicycle...never learned! Had to send them home. A lot of motorcycle riders would ridicule anyone who rode a bicycle too to stay in tune, but I think it's an excellent reinforcement of balance and low speed handling technique. My brother has ridden both bicycles (x country from New Orleans to Minneapolis and from Canada to Mexico) and has also ridden and owned over 30 motorcycles in his 50 years and for him the two are a natural complement. Cheers, Ruckchucky

Wow, Holtj's testimonial is good, I read it and Bimota's replies. I try to have a kind of governor on myself especially in high traffic areas. I must look like an idiot sometimes turning my head left/right, down and triple checking my mirrors, but an alarm goes off and (if I'm in good riding mode) says slow down or stop (in parking lots, etc.) and check yourself, if you're not riding smart. When I get my brain back into hyper alert, I proceed with caution. I HATE being taken off guard by a 4 wheeler that I thought was way behind and almost crossed my line of travel or not seeing that oily spot on the shady corner, I sometimes stop, turn it off and scold myself.

Kudos to those who can admit that riding is an art totally different from driving a 4 wheeled vehicle. I have a good friend who teaches the MSF classes here in No. Calif. and he told me he's had people in the class who can't ride a bicycle...never learned! Had to send them home. A lot of motorcycle riders would ridicule anyone who rode a bicycle too to stay in tune, but I think it's an excellent reinforcement of balance and low speed handling technique. My brother has ridden both bicycles (x country from New Orleans to Minneapolis and from Canada to Mexico) and has also ridden and owned over 30 motorcycles in his 50 years and for him the two are a natural complement. Cheers, Ruckchucky

Wow, Holtj's testimonial is good, I read it and Bimota's replies. I try to have a kind of governor on myself especially in high traffic areas. I must look like an idiot sometimes turning my head left/right, down and triple checking my mirrors, but an alarm goes off and (if I'm in good riding mode) says slow down or stop (in parking lots, etc.) and check yourself, if you're not riding smart. When I get my brain back into hyper alert, I proceed with caution. I HATE being taken off guard by a 4 wheeler that I thought was way behind and almost crossed my line of travel or not seeing that oily spot on the shady corner, I sometimes stop, turn it off and scold myself.

Kudos to those who can admit that riding is an art totally different from driving a 4 wheeled vehicle. I have a good friend who teaches the MSF classes here in No. Calif. and he told me he's had people in the class who can't ride a bicycle...never learned! Had to send them home. A lot of motorcycle riders would ridicule anyone who rode a bicycle too to stay in tune, but I think it's an excellent reinforcement of balance and low speed handling technique. My brother has ridden both bicycles (x country from New Orleans to Minneapolis and from Canada to Mexico) and has also ridden and owned over 30 motorcycles in his 50 years and for him the two are a natural complement. Cheers, Ruckchucky

So it's been a couple months since the accident, and my broken + multiple fractured left wrist has healed nicely (with the help of a plate with 10 screws) and I'm getting back the range of motion and some of the strength, although full recovery will probably take a year. What's happened since then? Winter weather, that's what. Kind of cuts down on riding opportunities. I keep reading an ongoing biker forum devoted to owners of Honda V-4s ("Sabmag", for Honda V-4 Sabres and Magnas), and they talk a lot about winter riding and heated grips and cold-weather gear. I keep wondering about road conditions. The roads must be dry, right? Any moisture from melting snow is likely to freeze, especially after sundown. Black ice very bad! Packed snow very bad! Any little patch of the stuff is very bad! I can handle the cold--I'm a hairy nordic type that likes cold weather--but what about traction? Say you go out on a dry sunny day and in a twinkle the clouds move in and you're out in the middle of nowhere when the snow hits. You're up feces creek, are you not? Talk to me, winter riders with heated gloves.

always drive safely. and i am glad to see you here.

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motorcycle Clothing

I have a 1986 CR 500R parked in 2004, was a back up bike for the Carlesbad track so I was told. Purchased from a Torrance Ca Honda employee. Always ran good, only mod was a Moose flywheel. I want to sell, So Cal perfered. E mail me and I will download pictures and you can make an offer. Jcalflyjm@aol.com