Topic: Real Bikers Don't Drink Lattes

[Ecosse]

a good little story

[lordmoonpie]

Great Story Ecosse! I often wonder about badass bikers these days. I like to hear stories of the old TT riders in the early races. I mean can you imagine todays racers getting off during the race to change a spark plug 27 times or fix a dropped valve by the roadside? They'd ride 240 miles of dirt track roads, opening gates and their idea of bad weather riding gear was to turn their coats around and button them up the back, turning their cloth caps backwards to match. (which led to a funny newspaper report of the time when one racer crashed and was unconscious - the officials thought his head had been turned clean round when in fact it was just his coat)

Fast forward to the likes of Jimmy Guthrie and Bob McIntyre breaking lap records all over the place in the TT on bikes that would scare you silly at 30mph let alone 90mph with no brakes and wooden tyres.

52 years ago Bob Mac did his 100mph lap. 52 years!! Go to the Manx GP today and newcomers and even some returning riders can't make the 100mph lap on modern machinery it is still a huge yardstick to meet.

Hats off to those old time heroes - I think there's no question that today's riders and racers don't know they're born 

[Ecosse]

i'm a big fan of the pre-war gp cars, auto unions in particular. i read stories how nuvolari would take a swig of vino during pit stops and that the drivers hands would callous up, cut and bleed, and that the heat would melt their shoes. all while driving in street clothes!

the gp car/drivers of the 60's were something as well. come to think of it: drivers and riders from the turn of the century up to the 70's were cut from a different cloth. sure, todays machines pull huge g's and go faster (in some cases) but when a young racer gets off a machine just up from the hill at goodwood i believe they are humbled more than they let on.

john surtees raced, and won championships, with 2 and 4 wheels! the old pensioner is still racing... well faster than me anyway. 

i love the old stories too and old race footage is priceless!!

[Operator]

I love this story, just wish it was longer. I have so much respect for the "old dogs". That is the main reason that I ride a bike that is as old as I am.

There is such a pure simplicity to riding.....that is what I am trying to instill in my two sons, both of whom started going to bike rallies with me around age 6 (you have to be able to touch the footpegs to be a legal passenger in Canada) There are memories created that would not exist were it not for my old bikes. It is something I hope they will carry with them their whole lives. That their imaginations and a simple machine can take them places they never dreamed of, and provide them with learning self reliance and a free spirited presence that cannot be aquired in conventional educational institutions.

The world is a beautiful place, and I find comfort in the knowledge that the shackles of society and beurocracy cease to exist........ at about 60 mph

[tramp]

i think that the bikers like thier lifestyle
i think that if i didn't have a family and responsibilities i would like that lifestyle
not a biker club but just free and riding