Grateful Dead Music Forum

It came out in another thread that both Rusty the Scoob, and I ride motorcycles. Who else here does? What kind of bike, and what kind of riding? And, don't you think that riding is a lot like playing an instrument?

My fist bike, now collecting more dust than miles, but still with me. A 1976 Honda CB750F bought leftover new in 1977. This was probably taken sometime between 77-79.



The current main ride, a 2005 BMW R1200GS

Count me in as a fellow rider. I think it's been like 13 years now?!

Let's see: GS425 > Honda Shadow VLX (600cc) > Honda Sabre (1100cc)

This is just after I got her home...

I'll chime in since I hijacked the other thread.

I've got a Suzuki SV650, which is mostly used for commuting, although I did get a few day trips in there last year just to log some seat time. I've only been riding since Jan 08, got about 5k miles under my belt. Riding daily has done wonders for my skills and comfort level.

This is my bike's first beer run... a very proud moment in every rider's life, I'm sure!

Used to ride a lot, many different bikes. I don't like to ride in the rain and it rains here in Oregon about 300 days a year, so not much time to ride. I sold my '76 BMW R-90 right after my second kid was born. I do miss it, but will have a bike again someday....

I'm a "New Rider"......(not of the purple sage)

I've always wanted to ride, just never did. Then my wife bugged me to get her a scooter. The one we got is 150cc, so we had to both go get Motorcycle Endorsements on our licenses. So.....since I had that...........

I picked up a '99 Kawasaki Concours on the cheap........so that's m-hog.

Vespa LXV150 my daily commuter

As far as the similarties between riding and playing - absolutely. Personally I relate just about everything to playing, but riding comes closer than most.

It's got kind of a groove to it, you're trying to make them both smooth, and you're making split-second decisions about line choices, honing your technique as far as putting just the right pressure on the machine or the strings in just the right way, playing with dynamics is a lot like modulating your throttle, etc. Hitting a wrong note is kinda like letting the clutch out a little too abruptly or being in the wrong gear... not fatal but definitely a hiccup that breaks the flow.

Bobbyg wrote:Vespa LXV150 my daily commuter

Hey, stay on topic! This is a motorcycle thread!!

No, scooters are cool. I would have one if I had any useful application for one.

first bike Yamaha 80--1968
Hodaka 100-1971
Yamaha RD 400-1977
Suzuiki GS 650 1981- bought 1996 still riding it a little anyway

Emoto wrote:

No, scooters are cool. I would have one if I had any useful application for one.

Free parking anywhere you want in Downtown Boston, if you're 50cc or under. That's what got me started riding... I had a Honda Ruckus, but the bug to go faster and farther got into me, and then I found free parking for registered bikes and Wham! Craig's list took my scooter away.

Plus the Ruck was slow as molasses, fell deep into every pothole and handled like a lawn-chair duct-taped to a skateboard.

Rusty the Scoob wrote:

Emoto wrote:

No, scooters are cool. I would have one if I had any useful application for one.

Free parking anywhere you want in Downtown Boston, if you're 50cc or under. That's what got me started riding... I had a Honda Ruckus, but the bug to go faster and farther got into me, and then I found free parking for registered bikes and Wham! Craig's list took my scooter away.

Plus the Ruck was slow as molasses, fell deep into every pothole and handled like a lawn-chair duct-taped to a skateboard.

I think the Ruckus is cool! Sort of Jeep-like if you know what I mean. Definitely not built for speed or touring, although I've never ridden one.

Yeah, the free parking thing is pretty nice. I commuted into Boston for 13 years and rode in as much as I could. Did the same when I worked in Lexington and Burlington. These days I pretty much avoid Boston because of the hassle factor involved in going there. I think the last time I was there was June(?) for the Phil show at that tent by the water, which was about as painless an in/out of Boston as possible. Great place to see a show, IMHO.

My favorite kind of riding is out in the middle of nowhere with no cars and a curvy road.