SV-Wolf's Bike Blog

[sv-wolf]

Following on from that last post...

Hmmmm! I used to smile at identity bikers, the guys who need to own a bike just to maintain their sense of who they are, even though they rarely go for a ride on it. Being completely bikeless for the first time in years during this last week, though, has made me feel seriously twitchy. I don't like it. I feel 'unlike myself' as though some part of me were missing and the rest had gone sort of flabby and listless. It's not even as though I had an overwhelming desire to go for a ride. It's definitely weird. And uncomfortable. What will happen when I'm too old to ride? Will I require a 12-point programme to see me through? Or will I spend my last days yearning after a lost motorcycling youth and middle age? Doesn't sound good. Ah well!

[Hanson]

My wedding band in in the shop to have it re-sized. Getting older is no fun, and I have felt rather naked without it. I get comfortable with the things that are in my life and the routines that are associated with them. When things change it can be a bit uncomfortable, but also an opportunity.

Sans ring, I told Mrs. Hanson that I was going out clubbing to pick up women and she just laughed at me. How pathetic is that?

With motorcycling being an important part of your life, it is not at all surprising that you should experience some discomfort while you strive to survive in your personal moto-desert. I hope you find an oasis soon.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[sv-wolf]

Hi Richard

Thanks for tuning in on that one. I've just been through a couple of years not handling this 'getting older' business very well. I'd started to realise that instead of endless blue skies there was a ceiling up there somewhere and one day I would bump my head against it. Then curtains. There are too many things I still want to do before I decline into old age. Thoughts like that had started to make me feel like life was playing a dirty trick on me. I've got over it now: can't do anything about it. Once I realised that I began to enjoy myself again. I think early retirement and the rediscovery of all that free time helped as well.

I'm still missing the Daytona, but I'm trying to focus on buying a couple of new bikes. Haven't done that for a long time. I've noticed that I'm approaching this in a much more sensible way than I used to. (I've always been impulsive.) It's age again, I think. But that's probably a good thing.

I see you ride a DL650. I was thinking about one for the trip, but eventually decided against it. It would do the road work brilliantly, but wouldn't really cope with some of the off-road stuff I was hoping to do. Too heavy. Great bike, though, and a lovely engine. I took a test ride on a brand new 2014 650 V Strom a couple of weeks ago just to remind myself what it felt like. It was a disaster. At 5,000 revs and above it felt like I was sitting on a dentist's drill. If I put my teeth together they buzzed. High frequency vibes were coming up through the bars, the pegs and the seat. I can only think that the dealers had got the set up wrong. That's not what I remember from earlier rides.

Take care now, and ride safe

Hud

[jstark47]

Sorry to hear about the Daytona. I just spent an obscene amount of money have the carbs on my Trophy rebuilt, so I know how one can get attached to those bikes (i.e. earlier Hinckley Triumphs). The current lot are less idiosyncratic, so somehow less endearing.

Not so sorry to hear about your retirement. It's an inspiration to me, and if I didn't have someone else depending on me, I think I'd want to retire too, sell the house, and go vagabonding for a few years. 36 years in one career is quite long enough, but for me, it's not over yet! Best wishes!!

[blues2cruise]

I'm jealous....I want to retire. Getting closer, though.

[Hanson]

Hi Richard
...
I see you ride a DL650. I was thinking about one for the trip, but eventually decided against it. It would do the road work brilliantly, but wouldn't really cope with some of the off-road stuff I was hoping to do. Too heavy. Great bike, though, and a lovely engine. I took a test ride on a brand new 2014 650 V Strom a couple of weeks ago just to remind myself what it felt like. It was a disaster. At 5,000 revs and above it felt like I was sitting on a dentist's drill. If I put my teeth together they buzzed. High frequency vibes were coming up through the bars, the pegs and the seat. I can only think that the dealers had got the set up wrong. That's not what I remember from earlier rides.

Take care now, and ride safe

Hud

Hud,

I am a very new rider and my DL650A is working out great for me as a first bike. It is not great at anything, but it is good at everything I want out of a bike at this time. I have no problems at all with vibrations from the engine.

I like my bike, or at least I love riding a motorcycle, but I think it is ugly. I think it was a good choice for an enthusiastic but inexperienced rider who wants to do some moto-camping, but I certainly don't love my bike. As you do not suffer from the disadvantage of inexperience, I would recommend that, instead of being sensible, you pick a bike, or bikes, that you think you are going to absolutely love. As the reality of my mortality become to obvious to ignore, I would rather extract as much passion out of each remaining day than to live sensible.

Safe Travels,
Richard

[sv-wolf]

Hi Hanson

I've always reckoned that those of us who live in the 'wealthier' countries, get two chances at freedom (if luck is on our side). The first arrives in our early twenties when we're full of hormones and inexperience and before family commitments, careers and mortgages take hold of us. The second comes in our sixties when we are more sedate (supposedly). That's the time when all the heavy stuff of the 'fifties' is over and done with and before the arthritis (or worse) has begun to set in. So, either end of active adult life, we have a few short years to kick our heels. I was footloose in my early 20s, but I frittered the years away on nothing in particular. I will not do the same again now. One way or another, I'm going to have some fun.

You don't change much as you get older, especially if you are impulsive and inconsistent like me. Fair enough, I'm more sensible now than I used to be. Before buying a bike, these days, I'll do a lot of reading, get a test ride and make sure that a machine will do all the things I need it to do, but then, I'll go out, see a bike that turns on my juices and buy it there and then.

I envy you, Rich, being new to motorcycling. Enjoy those years. They are a gift. A whole new world of bikes and biking opens up to you, a world of experiences, but you also discover a lot of things about yourself you probably never expected. Whatever you ride, a bike will push you beyond your usual boundaries into a completely new kind of personal experience.

You're right about the DL. It isn't the prettiest thing on two wheels but it's remarkably adaptable. And you're right, it's a good first bike, but I also know a number of experienced riders that ride them regularly and love them.

Ride safe

Hud

[sv-wolf]

Sorry to hear about the Daytona. I just spent an obscene amount of money have the carbs on my Trophy rebuilt, so I know how one can get attached to those bikes (i.e. earlier Hinckley Triumphs). The current lot are less idiosyncratic, so somehow less endearing.

Not so sorry to hear about your retirement. It's an inspiration to me, and if I didn't have someone else depending on me, I think I'd want to retire too, sell the house, and go vagabonding for a few years. 36 years in one career is quite long enough, but for me, it's not over yet! Best wishes!!

Hi JS, good to hear from you.

Thirty-six years sounds like a long time. I can't imagine that. Was that in one job, or one industry?

I was fifteen years with my last employer, and that is by far the longest time I've ever stayed in one place. I've always been restless: on my best reckoning I've had 163 different jobs in my life.

I love that you used 'vagabonding.' I only discovered that word a couple of years ago in the title of a book on a second-hand stall. The author thought he had made the word up, but it appears to have been coined by Mark Twain - which sounds very appropriate. It sums up all those teenage romantic yearnings which have somehow come back to haunt me in this last year. (I've just been reading Laurie Lee's 'As I Stepped out one Midsummer Morning' again for the umpteenth time, which probably says a great deal about where I am right now.)

My retirement came a little earlier than expected some months back when I was told my job was being axed. I put in straight away for 'voluntary' redundancy just in case they started to think about finding me an alternative post. They accepted it. I was so, so ready to go. I've been free of employment for almost exactly one month now and I feel like my life is beginning anew.

I'm not sure what to do about replacing the Daytona - if they write it off. I like having my arse in the air on the seat of a 1000 cc bike, but I'm not interested in a race machine. That gives me a problem, because all modern litre sportsbikes available in the UK are now track focused. If I dropped down, the GSX-R600 is designed for the road, but it is a bit small for me. I'm told that, track focused as they are, older GSXR1000's make good sports tourers but am not sure what to make of that. I started to think again today about buying another used Daytona - there are plenty around and they are as cheap as chips. On the other hand, I might look for a decent R1 or a Fireblade from around 2003/4 when they were still designed for the road. Oh, who knows?

Take care

Hud

[sv-wolf]

Hi blues

You know, until it happened, I was scared of the idea of retiring - not of retiring itself, but being old enough to retire.


Being told that my job had been axed was completely unexpected. I was called into my senior manager's office one Monday morning minutes after arriving at work and just told. I think I was in a state of shock as I came out of her office and took myself off to the staff room to calm down. There was no-one else there, so (as you do) I found myself standing in front of a mirror and asking myself what the hell was I going to do now. It was only when I grinned back at myself and did a little dance of exultation, that I realised I was going to be all right! I was due a good redundancy payment, so from that moment on I couldn't wait to leave. Haven't looked back since.

Take care

Richard

[sv-wolf]

Oh! Thunderbolt love! I told you, Hanson, how it would go

I've just seen this gorgeous royal blue and silver '04 Fireblade for sale in Croydon (South London) about 40 miles away: It has 19k on the clock and looks in immaculate condition. '04 was a great year for Fireblades. If the bike really is in good nick it will be a bargain at just under £4k. The insurers promised to let me know by Saturday whether they were going to write off the Daytona, but they never got back to me. Now, I'm cursing them. I don't want to lose the chance of securing the Blade because these people can't get their act together - very few Royal Blue Fireblades were ever made. And it really is a beauty, with sharp lines, cool swingarm, and the neatest little tail and underseat pipe. If I don't hear from the insurers tomorrow, I think I will go check out the Blade anyway and, if it's as good as it looks, just buy it. (That's supposing, of course, that it hasn't already been sold. Aieeee!) If the Daytona does comes back, I'll just have to sell it on. (Fat chance! In reality, can see myself needing a bigger parking area.)

To get rid of all this post-retirement surplus energy, I've been having a great time clearing a space in my back garden to build a bike shed. I've been meaning to do this for the last five years. It's impossible to keep motorcycles dry in the UK even under a so-called waterproof cover. If the rain doesn't get to them, condensation will. Now that I have the time and inclination (and the prospect of less money in future) I'm feeling more inclined to get the job done. That's no easy task in my garden. Rather than a place to take tea and eat buttered scones on warm afternoons it is now approaching the condition of a jungle. Two years ago it was invaded with a vine and I now have bunches of grapes hanging everwhere. Last year, a bramble got over the fence. Now I have ample blackberries but the paths are unpassable. My wife, who created the garden , always insisted that it was low maintenance. But that's like saying a 1953 Royal Enfield Bullet is low maintenance. Ninety feet of shrubs, trees and ornamental features doesn't look after itself. And I wasn't up for doing it justice. Are you guys with me on this? What incentive could there possibly be to stay at home attacking ivy and lopping boughs on sunny Sunday afternoons when I could be out riding with mates?

Now it's different. I have the time and the motivation. I'm still not sure, though, whether I have developed a new and unexpected interest in gardening, or just discovered in myself a vicious desire to attack green things and rip out roots that are in my way.