Anyone interested in motorbikes?

I'm not a biker but I got into bikes by working 20 years with a bunch of bikers - I was the only one not on 2 wheels.   They brought in all the magazines so I assimilated all the data - everything from Rudge-Whitworths to Fireblades, Goldwings to BSA GoldStars.

Do you have a bike?

nice, what sort of place did you work, with all those bikers around?  I'm not a biker either, as it's an expensive hobby, and I can't afford it, but wish I could.  I do love a good Fireblade. What types of bikes/aspects of bikes are you into?

It was high-tech engineering.   I'm of the age where I should have ticked a box on my driving licence application all those years ago and I'd have had a full bike licence too - now I'd have to spend a load of cash on a Direct Access training & test.

Unfortunately, every one of the bikers I worked with was carrying an old biking injury so it sort of put me off.

If I was going to have a bike, I'd probably go for a Kawasaki VN1500 Drifter (the Indian Chief lookey-likey with relaible Jap mechanics).  It has big street-presence so you can justify your position on the road rather than being squeezed into the weeds by the BMW-idiots & trucks.

It was high-tech engineering.   I'm of the age where I should have ticked a box on my driving licence application all those years ago and I'd have had a full bike licence too - now I'd have to spend a load of cash on a Direct Access training & test.

Unfortunately, every one of the bikers I worked with was carrying an old biking injury so it sort of put me off.

If I was going to have a bike, I'd probably go for a Kawasaki VN1500 Drifter (the Indian Chief lookey-likey with relaible Jap mechanics).  It has big street-presence so you can justify your position on the road rather than being squeezed into the weeds by the BMW-idiots & trucks.

Ah burning 2 stroke oil, the smell of my mis-spent youth :-) My first bike after I passed my test was a 250LC with a Stan Stephens tune. Went like a rocket and one of the few bikes I've owned over the years that I regret having parted with!

Ouch!  Crazy 2-strokers used to be really fashionable back then - if you could stay on them....

plastic,hi 53 this month and so far 13 knee ops from back in 1992 when i tore the bone fixing out that was holding in my anterior cruciate ligament,racing on a KX 250 H1.i decided then it was probably the end of my crazy riding days and kinda couldnt put my parents through anything like that again.im riding again now. 

I'm an old fart - I got diagnosed at 42 - a decade ago. 

I don't get anxiety driving but I do get tired because of the concentration required.  When I was younger I used to commute from London to Malvern & back every day - couldn't do that now.

Also, that was before speed cameras and 10 million more drivers on the roads.

Lucky him. Yeah, I always take a slow walk past nice bikes I see parked, or stand staring at them, but then I start to get funny looks - especially because I'm female and I look about 12, ha, it's a bit of a strange sight I guess, haha. One of the things about autism, apparently, is higher than normal anxiety. Do you find that? I think I'd be much too anxious to ride on roads on either a powerful bike or a little 125cc. When did you get diagnosed, if you have one?

Yeah - they're nice - I had a good look at a brand-new Fireblade and there's nothing to it - big engine, lots of flimsy plastic and 2 wheels - and that's it.  Crazy fast.

I've got a friend with a zero-mile Ducati 999R and V-Rod in his garage.   Nice to just sit and look at them.

eek, I winced reading that. You're making me glad to be a 'cager' now, haha. I had a friend who wrote off his brand new bike after about five months, trying to keep up on fast roads. He'd been in hospital with injuries several times. Yeah, sportbikes look quite uncomfortable for long rides... buuut they're so pretty... sigh

Yep - them were the days.....

The guys I worked with would go out on summer rides together - but it's actually quite lonely burning up the roads - the slowest guy at the back is most likely to be killed taking risks while trying to keep up with the faster riders.

The old injuries they had were quite bad - one had a new hip at 42, another twisted his shin until the two bones splintered around each other.   Another dislocated his leg and ripped a load of tendons - walked with a limp afterwards, another fell off on a mountain road, almost went over the edge and got smashed by his bike squashing him against the barriers.

Also, the bum-in-the-air guys found their backs & wrists were suffering with the accelerating & braking and their 'bits' were being bashed on the petrol tank under heavy braking. 

Errrr- no thanks.

I'll drive my air-conditioned 4-wheel tank with airbags and ABS - much more comfortable & safe.

Wow, can't believe you could get a bike licence so easily in those days. Yep, the danger element is quite off-putting - no matter how competent you are as a rider, you're so vulnerable to other drivers being idiots.
Drifters are nice motorcycles, I like that vintage look. I do envy the camaraderie amongst the biker lot, like when you see them nod to eachother out on the roads.