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When done riding, then what?

4K views 75 replies 55 participants last post by  JoeHall 
#1 ·
When the time comes for us to stop riding, what do some of you do to take the place of the enjoyment of riding(if you can replace it🤔)
 
#33 ·
I hated every second on the Spyder. Not for me.

I wasn't sure what I'd do until I saw the Tilting Motor Works conversion. I haven't ridden one but you still counter steer and lean and it will stay up by itself like a trike. I was thinking that was the ticket. I'm not so sure now after totaling my 2006. I sat on the 2017 a couple times since. I can just about bend my left leg now to shift. But I get flashbacks more and more. I might try for a ride Sunday. 😳. Gotta get back on the horse.

If I don't ride at all I don't know what I'll do. Maybe some sort of car... I'm not in to sports cars but there is a 1970 Coupe DeVille I've been drooling over for a few years now... Maybe something like that.
 
#34 ·
Now that the OP has stated “D-Day” is some time off in the future, for the benefit of you others wondering what activities might replace motorcycling when the time comes to hang up one’s riding boots. . . refer back to my Post #4.

I’ve been motorcycling for some 45-odd years and worked as a freelance writer reviewing new cars after I retired. I’ve test driven many dozens of new cars.

The one car that most closely emulates the feeling of response and immediacy of a motorcycle is the Mazda MX-5 (aka Miata). If you can fit in one, you must drive it. It is within financial reach of we mortals and they’re readily available.

The only other cars that are remotely similar to the MX-5 in lightness and the immediacy of handling that we so cherish in our motorcycles are the Arial Atom, Lotus Super 7 or Caterham 7 (Google them), and they’re as rare as hens’ teeth and you’d need the better part of a Ford F250 box load of cash to buy one.

Tim
 
#44 ·
I owned an MX-5 for a few years. While it was fun to drive I could only ride in it for a couple of hours. After that it became too uncomfortable. The other thing I didn’t like about it (like most sport cars) the car sits very low limiting visibility. The last two years I owned it I placed less than a 1000 miles on the odometer. An F150 I once owned provided a more comfortable, more enjoyable ride.
 
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#35 ·
I have probably told this before, but by the time I hit the age of 70, my 2008 was feeling pretty heavy trying to horse it around. Traded her for a 2018 last year and now at 72, I feel like I can ride on for many more years as it feels So So much lighter. I know technically it's only 70 or so pounds lighter but it feels 200 pounds lighter to me. It is much easier to move around and I have not yet felt like I might drop it. Some of you might consider the new gen if you want to stay on 2 wheels a bit longer.
Longer term, I see a nice trike in my future when this one gets too heavy!
 
#61 ·
I have probably told this before, but by the time I hit the age of 70, my 2008 was feeling pretty heavy trying to horse it around. Traded her for a 2018 last year and now at 72, I feel like I can ride on for many more years as it feels So So much lighter. I know technically it's only 70 or so pounds lighter but it feels 200 pounds lighter to me. It is much easier to move around and I have not yet felt like I might drop it. Some of you might consider the new gen if you want to stay on 2 wheels a bit longer.
Longer term, I see a nice trike in my future when this one gets too heavy!
Crookster,
I can't believe what I just read. Your statements about your '08, and your age, are almost identical to me. We had an '08 Level II for 10 years. It was a great Wing. But, it was sitting around more and more. It seemed it was getting heavier and heavier just to move around the garage when it was cleaning day. We'd not ridden nearly as much as we had ealier in life. So, being that I still liked to ride but the CEO seemed to be backing off some, I traded that 35,000 mile flawless '08 Wing in for a brand new, 2 year old '18 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports DCT.

Well, it's a long story but, we eventually also bought an '18 Wing Tour DCT Airbag with 5,300 miles on it. She really loves that bike and I'm infatuated with it. I think it's the best motorcycle I've ever owned and I've owned a gazillion of them. And you are so right in terms of how that new '18 feels just moving it around in the garage or slow riding it. It really does feel like it's considerably lighter than the '08. Oh, by the way, I turn the big SEVEN ZERO on Saturday. Man I'm old!
Scott
 
#38 ·
I‘ve said this before, having come from a ‘14 BMW R1200RT to my current ‘19 DCT Tour - while the RT weighed in at only a ‘feathery’ 604 lbs fully fuelled vs the Wing’s (Canadian spec) 836 lbs, I often think the Wing feels more manageable and lighter at low speeds because its mass is lower than the BMW’s. The RT’s 25-litres of fuel is carried high up, whereas the majority of the Wing’s fuel is carried below the sadde.

Others may disagree.

Tim
 
#52 ·
I spent 17 years lightly dabbling around others who had motorcycles, thus that chunk of my life I can't get back.

It was 15 years ago that I returned to motorcycling.




Will the next step be a cardboard casket? :unsure:
 
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#58 ·
I know the day will come. But my 94 year old father has a friend who rode his BMW from New England to Florida every year into his mid eighties. Now he only rides around his neighborhood. I'll give up 2 wheels begrudgingly but know that this day will come. I'm 68 and am not slowing down...yet!
 
#59 ·
The picture below is how George H.W. Bush spent birthdays at least up to 90 years old.

Sky Snow Outdoor recreation Travel Glove


For that matter Queen Elizabeth was up there a few years and still jumping too.

James Bond and The Queen London 2012 Performance - YouTube

(One of these stories may have been more fictional than the other, however both are kind of fun and interesting ;))

Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right. - Henry Ford -
 
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