Topic: Born to Be Wild, Aging Bikers Settle for Comfy- A Look at Your Future

[72 yellow]

Trikes and pampers!!! Return to childhood!!!

Its the circle of life. 

I'd probably have to wear depends on one of those CanAm Spyders!

The circle of life..We start off in diapers and we end up in diapers.

[Markcb750]

Y'all don't mind if I stand by the fact that I understand life goes on, and old age is not a a job for cowards.

It has been my experience that trikes handle poorly,  are as prone or more prone to spilling off a riders as any two wheeled "real" bike, and expose a rider, who has admitted to themselves they lack the necessary leg strength or co-ordination to handle a motorcycle, to all the risks associated with a motorcycle. 

Sorry gents when I get to that point, for whatever reason, I'll be in a Miata/S200/some roadster.

[CycleRanger]

He can pretend he's still riding a real bike

... and you can pretend you're better than me cause you ride a "real" bike.

heh, you have more "real" bikes than I'll ever ride.

[markb]

CycleRanger
I can tell by your last comment that I may have taken you too seriously. Sorry.

[BobbyR]

Y'all don't mind if I stand by the fact that I understand life goes on, and old age is not a a job for cowards.

It has been my experience that trikes handle poorly,  are as prone or more prone to spilling off a riders as any two wheeled "real" bike, and expose a rider, who has admitted to themselves they lack the necessary leg strength or co-ordination to handle a motorcycle, to all the risks associated with a motorcycle. 

Sorry gents when I get to that point, for whatever reason, I'll be in a Miata/S200/some roadster.

I think you have a point. At some point ego can overcome good sense. I have a friend who has been a self sponsored Race car driver since we were teenagers. He is very rich so he has no sponsor, he does what he wants, and he has several World Championships in Vintage F1 class . Each season, he gets his team to prepare the F1 car. He says he is not sure he still has it. He takes practice laps. The day he feels uncomfortable and realizes his time is over, he will park it. This year he felt he was on the edge, and may park it next season.

Each season, I mount up and go through the same thing.

[CycleRanger]

CycleRanger
I can tell by your last comment that I may have taken you too seriously. Sorry.

Indeed, no offense intended. I neglected to include a  with my comment.

[brooze72]

At least you bike. trike & rig riders can still ride, my season is done as of yesterday as I busted up my wrist.  8 weeks of a cast with no clutch & then the weather will be too #$%*ty to ride.  Feeling sorry for myself today, sorry, #$%*in is done now.  Enjoy the ride, guys, every minute you can, on whatever you got.

[MCRider]

Y'all don't mind if I stand by the fact that I understand life goes on, and old age is not a a job for cowards.

It has been my experience that trikes handle poorly,  are as prone or more prone to spilling off a riders as any two wheeled "real" bike, and expose a rider, who has admitted to themselves they lack the necessary leg strength or co-ordination to handle a motorcycle, to all the risks associated with a motorcycle. 

Sorry gents when I get to that point, for whatever reason, I'll be in a Miata/S200/some roadster.

That's why i like the CanAm Roadster. 2 wheels in front. Still not a MC, but very favorable handling characteristics and CanAm's nothing but the best technology.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Y'all don't mind if I stand by the fact that I understand life goes on, and old age is not a a job for cowards.

It has been my experience that trikes handle poorly,  are as prone or more prone to spilling off a riders as any two wheeled "real" bike, and expose a rider, who has admitted to themselves they lack the necessary leg strength or co-ordination to handle a motorcycle, to all the risks associated with a motorcycle. 

Sorry gents when I get to that point, for whatever reason, I'll be in a Miata/S200/some roadster.

Same here, bikes get sold when I gets too old... 

[DavePhipps]

I've had my mortality check, thank you very much. In July I went into the hospital with a heart attack and found out I'm diabetic. I'm now back to riding completey normally (at least on the FZR). I truly don't want to become a fat guy on a fat trike, like most I see in my area. When I get too old to lift a heavy bike I'll stick a sidecar on the 500 and buy a CBR250.

[Nikkisixx]

Ugh,  is it just here in North Carolina these things are so prolific?  My past few rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway there were more trikes than bikes!  Mark is right, get a Miata or just stay home and watch Matlock. 

[MCRider]

Ugh,  is it just here in North Carolina these things are so prolific?  My past few rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway there were more trikes than bikes!  Mark is right, get a Miata or just stay home and watch Matlock.

Bill Cosby had a joke about young people. Whenever they would tease him for being old, he would laugh uncontrollaby at them. When they asked what was so funny, he'd say, "Ha Ha you'll be here someday too!".

One huge contributor of the Harley craze to the industry was an unprecedented positive cash flow from the mid-life crisis crowd. This cash flow benefited all aspects of the industry propping niche markets which would never survive on their own like CBs, Cafe, etc. It was thought when these guys could no longer ride, that cash flow would dry up. But now we see Trikes taking over to pump cash into the industry again for another 20 years.

You may not like trikes, but you gotta like what it does for the industry.

Or so I think.   

[Duke McDukiedook]

When all these boomers start getting too old to ride and don't trike their rides there will be a glut of used bikes going on the market.

Get that CB750 savings fund ready for when these geezers start getting too old!!

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Sorry to hear about ur injury, Bruce!  Heal well my friend!

[LoVel]

Don't think I could do the trike or Can am thing.

Hopefully I will die of old age before I have to quit riding.

[FunJimmy]

I will be done riding before I get to that stage. 

+1

[Terry in Australia]

I guess there's motorcyclists, and then there's motorcyclists. When the Triumph Rocket III came out, a member of my local Ulysses Club (over 50's motorcyclists) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The cancer was debilitating and was a "week by week" deal, and even with the chemo treatment he lost lots of weight and couldn't hold a bike up.

He didn't buy a Miata, (he might have bought one for his wife, perhaps) he was a biker, and proud of it, so he ordered a new Rocket III and had another member who does trike conversions to build him a Rocket III trike, the first (and maybe only) one in Australia. He lived for another 18 months or so, and none of the other club members questioned his trike ownership.

I'm surprised (and slightly saddened) that some folks here are so anti-trike. Anyone who's ever owned and reguarly ridden a sidehack will tell you that they're not all that easy to live with, and require a high degree of skill and concentration to master, and a trike is a good thing for those who still love motorcycling, but for reasons beyond their control, are no longer able to ride a two wheeler. Motorcycles are motorcycles, and cars are cars, and never the twain shall meet. Cheers, Terry. 

[Markcb750]

Sorry I forgot the rule that the love of the motorcycle experience gives one the right to take your under-skilled and ailing self out on the public roads to risk the life of another human who has to avoid your out of control ass.



Take one last ride, on a Trike, on a Spyder,  on a sidecar bolted to your K0, what ever.  However  the manly thing to do is to give it up, for the  love of the Ride, before you cause something you will regret for the little  life that remains to you when this decision must be made.   (I expect to make it another 15 years, butthonose?)



If you lack the testosterone to appreciate a Miata, get a Minni Cooper because it's well known that Minni-Cooper owners receive extra testosterone from the dealer service manager during frequent visits needed to keep one running.








 

[Terry in Australia]

Sorry mate, none of those little cars interest me, but if you do, that's great. If you're too sick to ride a bike, the last thing you should be doing is driving a car, even a girls car............. 

[CBGhia]

Sorry I forgot the rule that the love of the motorcycle experience gives one the right to take your under-skilled and ailing self out on the public roads to risk the life of another human who has to avoid your out of control ass.

Take one last ride, on a Trike, on a Spyder,  on a sidecar bolted to your K0, what ever.  However  the manly thing to do is to give it up, for the  love of the Ride, before you cause something you will regret for the little  life that remains to you when this decision must be made.   (I expect to make it another 15 years, butthonose?)


If you lack the testosterone to appreciate a Miata, get a Minni Cooper because it's well known that Minni-Cooper owners receive extra testosterone from the dealer service manager during frequent visits needed to keep one running.

Have you  ever actually ridden a trike?  When built right they ride well, handle well, stop well and accelerate well.  Probably better than most cars. So who's lives are they risking by continuing to ride?  If you have never been on one, you have no room to comment on the handling or safety of them. 

One thing I know for sure, and I am only 36, is that I will only stop riding when I cannot physically or mentally handle it.  If that means I am on a trike, fine.  If I start to lose it mentally, then I won't be riding or driving either for that matter.  I pray that day never comes.  I would rather pass on than be a prisoner to other people's driving.

[Damfino]

Speaking for myself, I have no problem what so ever with trikes or those that ride them. Having suffered a dislocated hip at the age of 12, I went through many years living with painful arthritis before finally having hip replacement surgery at the age of 36. Since then, I have been able to get back into motorcycling. But I know, that due to my weakened joints, it won't last forever. When that time comes, I plan on 'triking' it. If any of you limp-wristed nancy boys have a problem with that, then it must be due to your masculine insecurity. Those that feel I should be driving a Miata instead, can go buy one for themselves and I'll kindly wave as my trike blows past you, the wind ruffling your skirt into your face. 

[Magpie]

Well, when I'm too old to ride our Goldwing I can always ride one of our 750's, they're smaller, lighter, slower and easier to pick up. Gosh, they must be an old man's bike.  When I'm too old to ride a small bike I guess it's trike time too.     Cliff.

[LoVel]

I'll kindly wave as my trike blows past you, the wind ruffling your skirt into your face. 

Until you hit the first corner and go straight into the woods.

[markb]

It appears to me that there are several posters here that have never ridden a trike.  I'll grant you they handle different than a 2-wheeler but they are no harder to learn how to ride and I have no trouble keeping up on the corners with other touring-style bikes.  How many of you trike bashers have ever ridden one?   

[FunJimmy]

Talk about being in denial!

Everyone knows that trikes are inherently unstable and dangerous.
Why did every major manufacturer and jurisdiction ban the sale of off road (the most common form if trike) three wheeler?
They are only safe if the front has two wheels, like the Spider, but that should only appeal to the snowmobile crowd.
Then you want to throw some sorry a$$ muppet on it and send him/her out into the public highways.
Sorry, but that's just wrong.