Random Thoughts - Part Deux [NO POLITICS]

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I haven't received a picture, so I'm still on edge.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgr7u-PSY_U[/ame]

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Is a trials bike just a fancy name for a dirt bike?

A real modern trials bike barely or doesn't even have a seat. It has a tiny little tank and is geared super low. Trials evolved from enduro. It's basically a judged event of how well riders can negotiate an obstacle course. The pros are fucking amazing.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Stephen W.

This was my last trials bike.

Sweet Can Am! I honestly think that the late 70s through the mid 80s were the golden years for motorcycles. The tech is just too polished anymore.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

A real modern trials bike barely or doesn't even have a seat. It has a tiny little tank and is geared super low. Trials evolved from enduro. It's basically a judged event of how well riders can negotiate an obstacle course. The pros are fucking amazing.

Ah, yes I have seen that. All the old pics just look like old dirt bikes to me lol.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Ah, yes I have seen that. All the old pics just look like old dirt bikes to me lol.

Well, sorta - it's more the rider than the bike -

humfrz

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

A real modern trials bike barely or doesn't even have a seat. It has a tiny little tank and is geared super low. Trials evolved from enduro. It's basically a judged event of how well riders can negotiate an obstacle course. The pros are fucking amazing.

Ultramaroon - back in his motorcycle day -


humfrz

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by Spuds

By that time, they will be out of the emissions testing period for most states.

Like my 74' Lincoln




Smiles Per Gallon!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

Like my 74' Lincoln




Smiles Per Gallon!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

A real modern trials bike barely or doesn't even have a seat. It has a tiny little tank and is geared super low. Trials evolved from enduro. It's basically a judged event of how well riders can negotiate an obstacle course. The pros are fucking amazing.

When I worked at the motorcycle shop the GM and a bunch of his buddies were into trials bikes and we had about a half dozen laying around. We would go trail ride with them on the more technical trails. They were an absolute blast to ride that way. They were all modern bikes of the time just before the 4 stroke trials era began.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by humfrz

While we are 2-wheeling, back-in-the-day, I'll share my first motorized two wheel machine story.

My uncle told me that he had an old motor scooter that his kids grew out of in his barn if I wanted it. YES, a barn find! My dad said that the next time we had a load of hogs to take to market and were up that way, we would stop by and pick it up.

So, I fed the hogs an extra ration for the next month to get a load of them up to 200+ lbs each. OK, off to market and picked up the scooter on the way back -

I don't have a licensing story because, at the time, you didn't need a license to ride one of those, nor did the scooter need a license (so my dad said - ).

No helmet no license - my first experience of "the open road" -


humfrz

My dad had a Cushman (his first bike too) when he was a kid, the kind that has a second seat pad on the back. He and his friends would ride around town on it. After the gas stations closed, they would carefully pour the gas out of each hose into a cup on the ground. Then pour it in the scooter. He said they got gas this way for years.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

My dad had a Cushman (his first bike too) when he was a kid, the kind that has a second seat pad on the back. He and his friends would ride around town on it. After the gas stations closed, they would carefully pour the gas out of each hose into a cup on the ground. Then pour it in the scooter. He said they got gas this way for years.

Yep, I got gas the easy way - just pull up to the tractor gas tank on the farm.

My old Cushman would keep throwing off the chain, since everything was wore out (chain. both sprockets and engine mounts). I guess I needed some STi motor mounts -


humfrz

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Well, sorta - it's more the rider than the bike -

humfrz

Yeah, but I've only seen it with modern bikes. So that's where I was confused.

[humfrz]

I just have to tell this story - sorry.

We were riding our dirt bikes on some Bureau of Land Management land in California, when we came up on a nice hill out of a gully. My two buddies tried to make it up the hill but failed right at the top. I mounted my trusty CT90, shifted the transmission into the lower set of gears and roared up the hill.

Near the top, I discovered the problem - a ledge topped by a large tree root. So, I downshifted, opened the throttle, reared back and went for it. Nope I didn't make it, the front wheel didn't clear the root, thus me and my bike parted company on the way back down the hill.

When I came to a stop after sliding down the hill, I had bloodied my nose and blood was splattered all over my white sweat shirt and white jeans.

Then, this wise ass pulled up in his fancy, high powered, 2-cycle, dirt bike and said to me that I just didn't have "enough bike" to make that hill. He cranked up his bike and rode back a ways to get a run on the hill.

My buddies said to me "aren't you going to caution him about that ledge and big root (that you couldn't see from the bottom of the hill) at the top of the hill?

I grinned and said - noooo -

Well, he hit to top going waaay too fast, hit the root hard, he and his bike went very much airborne and he tumbled to the bottom.

- I know, I shouldn't have laughed at him -


THE END


humfrz

[Dadhawk]

All this talk of motorcycles sent me out to my local used bike dealer's website (http://www.wowmotorcycles.com). If nothing else its a good site to use as a reference for the used market. They are one of the largest used bike dealers in the US, and ship all over the world.

I really shouldn't have done that!

I know you were all talking small bikes but I'm more a cruiser/standard/tour biker myself. I'm seeing a drop in prices in that area. I may have to go check out this Valkyrie this weekend. Just two years ago this would have been a >$10,000 bike. They have it listed for <$4,000.