Topic: What motivates us? Why do we Ride?

[DarkRider]

I know simular topics have come up before on here but i figured it was time for a rehash of an old topic to pull our thoughts away from the current topic matter...What is it that motivates all as riders to restore these old machines and ride them instead of taking the same cash that we spent restoring them and buying new bikes? In the end with some of these massive restorations such as Ilbikes or Seaweb the costs are probably damn near simular. My own reasons are simple..yea i could go buy one machine that could do it all such as a modded streetfighter based off of a rocket. But whats the fun in that? I enjoy having several different types of bikes each of them set up for a specific purpose. Such is the case with the XS im buying. It will be kept stock and used for long distance riding duty..while the Interceptor is a great short distance and in machine and more then likely would own the XS in the twistys with the right rider. The GS will be set up as a streetfighter/Tracker more as a middle ground bike between the XS and the VF for when i want to have a full out hooligan machine that can take on the distances without major discomfort. The other Interceptor is going to evolve into a full out tracker/stunt bike..just for all out being a hooligan  . The H2...thats my long term resto..my contribution from the younger generation restoring an old legend...No one respects the old machines anymore...and yet my entire collection comprises of them because i do. As to why i ride..its the sense of freedom being out there on the road...Man and Machine isolated from the busy city life...traveling the distance and enjoying the sights along the way...I understood this far better once i got the chance to take an actual long distance ride earlier this year...It was also on this ride i def learned i need to have something more suited for the task and set up specifically for it.

Sorry for rambling on like that but its just some thoughts i had recently...

Chris out for now...

[Bob Wessner]

Speaking for myself, you covered most of the reasons already, but I don't have quite the stable of rides that you do. I rode my 750 for about 10 years back in the 70's and early 80's then garaged her one year for the winter. That turned into 22 winters!

I retired three years ago and thought what will I do with myself (besides all the projects around the house and yard that had been put off for years ). I dragged the bike out of the corner of the garage and thought I wonder I can get it running. I did with the help of many here. Then it became a matter of riding and trying to restore it, which will be an ongoing process for years I expect. I love the idea of getting up and deciding it's a ride day and just head out in a different direction or set of back roads.. the freedom I guess. Great fun for sure. Best thing I ever did for myself.

[nickjtc]

Don't own a car, so it's basic transportation. Why do I like the older bikes? Because they are inexpensive fun, and in the case of the Norton, an investment.

[DarkRider]

Great reasons so far guys. Keep them coming.

[upperlake04]

...isolated from the busy city life...

Thats close, pure escapism for me

[medic09]

I have to get from point A to point B.  I might as well enjoy it, and do it with a little class, and be ready for the everpresent detour to a little fun ride.  A good motorcycle does that much better than a car.  A good, old motorcycle does it better than a car and most bikes.  Besides, I discovered that I like working on the older bikes; and get real satisfaction riding them afterwards.

[jevfro]

I just love the 70's style that these bikes ooze!  Plus, you can find them for next to nothing.  Also, there are still Honda original, and aftermarket, parts being made for them.

[BobbyR]

For me it is about being different. Riding a bike is different. I ride a Cb750 because it is different and I like it. I grew to like it. I also hate it at times when I wanna ride and something minor brings out the tools. I am a pleasure rider, getting for point A to B is far too much pressure. I have cars for that.
While I am riding I go into a kind of state similar to my early flying days - alert but not stressed. Kinda focused, but free, it is hard to describe. Like Bob W I wander around back roads or hit the highway for some adrenaline. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know I am a split second from getting hurt. I likened a bike to a chopper, you use both hands and feet, you are constantly and automatically correcting for stability, or using you body and controls to maneuver. I know I feel better when I come back from a ride. I guess that is all that counts.     

[olds-cool]

I grew up riding a dirt bike all the time.  My dad also had a few street bikes.  I've got at least 1 great memory of riding along with my dad on a 70s metric chopper.  All of this combined has made me want a street bike for years.  I stumbled on a great deal on this bike and the more I look around, the more I fall in love with what it is now and what I can turn it into.  I like all kinds of bikes from the crotch rockets to the classic Norton, BSAs, and Indians.  The problem with newer bikes is that no one wants to spend the kind of money it takes to make them truly unique.  On the flip side, older bikes are cheap and if you mess up a part, another is usually not too hard to find.  There is also less to an older bike in terms of electronics.  A local guy with a great bobber was telling me that his entire bike is wired on 7 wires!  Try that with a crotch rocket.  You also have to consider how much easier it is to work on these bikes.  While a little daunting at first, I wouldn't worry so much about stripping down the motor on my CB and getting it back together again.  Overall I think there are really 3 things that make these older bikes so great... price, simplicity, and style.

[bwaller]

Can't help it really. Since I was kid I had bikes on the mind, did the mechanic thing for a few years when these bikes were the hot item. Riding has always been something I consider "cleansing", good for the soul I quess.

My wife & I did a 500 miler a couple weekends ago, she on her newly restored 73 CB500. A guy in a parking lot somewhere was commenting on the condition of the bikes then asked how long I'd owned the 750. I couldn't help smiling when I told him....thirty-four years. I may be vain but I also love the attention these great bikes command.

[CrisPDuk]

Because I can




Well it's a good enough reason to me

[DarkRider]

every reason i have read thus far is great! For A to B driving i have my pickup but when its a hot summer day with the sun just bearing down on ya..no way in hell im driving a cage when i have the option to Ride!

[neil young]

i really like the look of these bikes,and the ease of repairing them.a few of my buddies with newer bikes spend an hour or more removing the body parts only to find they cant reach a spark plug.also the comments i get from people that started riding these machines 30 years ago is amazing.the first time i rode a bike was about 12 years ago in the Dominican Republic with some friends who were avid bikers.no licence,no helmit.no experience.50 pesos per hour on a yamaha 125.after a four hour drive i could not stop smiling for hours,waiting untill the next day when i could do it again.when i returned to Toronto i went to 4 or 5 bike shows,bought a skid lid at one and a jacket at another,did'nt even have a bike yet.then i found a yamaha seca 750 (fell in love with it and bought it)crashed it 3 months later.2 springs later watching other people riding i had to get another (a 72 cb 500)still sitting in my garage (work in progress)then i purchased a 77 cb 550 in great condition.nothing better than the open road with some friends and not a care in the world other than do i need some gas

[UnCrash]

Nothing better than open road in front of me, some windblast and a handfull of throttle.

[Badger 5]

Because I watched the Great Escape and I always wanted to be as cool as Steve McQueen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Uncle Ernie]

Danger
and trouble.

Nothing intimidates men and makes the babes get weak like a massive 400cc of roiling, boiling, pulse-pounding







shoot- what was the question again?

[coolcat2002]

1.) Kick start. Way cool.

2.) Initial cost is cheap.  What authors describe as the "willing suspension of disbelief" of having an inexpensive transportation.

3.) The look of Vincent engine/ pipes and vintage era in general.  The women of that era have more class too.  Timeless.

4.) Easier to fix.  No complicated Power Commander III, software Big Air Kits or whatever.

5.) Less Guilty banging up a rusted tank with a dead blow hammer to put knee cutouts.

6.) Too much cookie cutter bikes out there and snobby riders. 

7.) I would never try to get a 34 year old bike like mine without a forum like this.
 

[mlinder]

Its therapeutic, cathartic, meditative.
I go a bit crazy when I cant ride.

[DarkRider]

Its therapeutic, cathartic, meditative.
I go a bit crazy when I cant ride.

I think all of us do..

[sparty]

That question is like asking, what is the meaning of life?  It has so many possible answers.

For me riding touches all of my senses.

Feel (touch) - twist the throttle, lean the bike over, shift to a higher gear
Sound (hearing) - the exhaust note, the wind rushing by, reving to redline
Taste - the sweet air in the mountains, the exhaust at idle, the bug you ate
Sight - the speedo going toward ton-up, the new engine, the wonderful outdoors
Smell - hi-test gas, burnt rubber, leather jacket and gloves

Sparty

[DarkRider]

That question is like asking, what is the meaning of life?  It has so many possible answers.

For me riding touches all of my senses.

Feel (touch) - twist the throttle, lean the bike over, shift to a higher gear
Sound (hearing) - the exhaust note, the wind rushing by, reving to redline
Taste - the sweet air in the mountains, the exhaust at idle, the bug you ate
Sight - the speedo going toward ton-up, the new engine, the wonderful outdoors
Smell - hi-test gas, burnt rubber, leather jacket and gloves

Sparty

Very nice reasons Sparty

[UnCrash]

I wrench to wride

[BobbyR]

My wife will not get on a bike - enough said.

[seaweb11]

Beacuase they are different

Guy comes up to me yesterday on the ferry and says "is that a 750?" I say yes and he responds, "they didn't make many of those did they?"  I said yeah they did.............

He replys, yeah but weren't  those cafe's a short run at the factory?

LOL I then told him I had built it from scratch. Made my day

When the 836 Tracy comes out next year, I can't even imagine the questions............

.....that and I like old stuff better than new

[tramp]

you can get lost on the road and you don't care