Anyone interested in motorbikes?

I'm fairly new here and newly diagnosed with ASD. Anyway, motorbikes are one of my interests, and, well, it might be a long shot,  I was wondering if anyone else here is into them too. I don't know anyone else IRL who shares this enthusiasm. It'd be nice to hear from anyone else who is interested.

  • The injury thing was what made me not do it. 

    Many years ago, I visited a school friend in hospital - he had a cyst on his femur so he was in the traction ward of an old Victorian hospital - it had the classic long ward with maybe 10 beds each side and in each bed was a 17-year old lad with his right leg in various forms of complex traction with pins and brackets holding it all together.   All had come off their motorbikes.  

    It's an image that burned itself into my brain.

  • It means I'm qualified to teach advanced motorcycling. We get called "observers" because we follow students around and "observe" what they are doing and offer advice on how to do it better so that they can take a test that's at a higher standard than the one used to get their license.

    I think it was exactly that about getting bored with motorcycling, and there was the ever-present nagging about how much it would hurt if something went wrong. Eventually I decided to leave on a high after ticking all of the boxes (how I finish most hobbies!). But I also got bored even when I was in the peak of the hobby, after being on the road for an hour or so. I get bored easily.

  • Hello. That's interesting. (What does an 'observer with the IAM' mean(sorry))? Why is it you think you got bored, after an hour? Envious that you got hold of a brand new Fireblade, but yes, I can see your point about getting bored, once you've mastered all there is to learn, and tried a load of different bikes out, like you did.

  • a diagnosis does feel like an epiphany, doesn't it. I'm sorry about your ptsd. It's good to hear that you're doing therapy, i hope it's useful for you. Like you say, now you don't have to wear a mask any more. Writing can be great, I find it helps a lot, in my experience :)

  • I had it as a hobby for about 10 years recently. Rode a ZR-50 and TS-125 as a teenager, never took my test, then did a direct access test in 2008 and bought a GS500. From there through TDM-900 which took me through my advanced test in 2011, to a K1300s. I qualified as a national observer with the IAM on that, did a couple of short tours in France, then traded it in for a brand new CBR1000rr Fireblade in Autumn 2016, obsessed myself over the power curve and got annoyed that I couldn't access its full power legally on a road (I could do so legally for about 2 seconds on the K1300s!) and ran out of enthusiasm for biking 6 months later. I'm now driving a Mini Cooper!

    For me, I loved learning the techniques, and the "flow" state of a good advanced ride. But to be honest I got bored after an hour or so.

  • 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. 

  • moggsy yes they are great,i like 4 wheels too

  • luisarey,as far as the late diagnosis goes it was my unproffesional opinion finally proffesionally confirmed if you like. a sort of epiphany,a reason to feel i could lower the mask a little more when im out now,and to be a bit more mindfull about myself and the situations i used to put myself in,that i now dont have to conform to so much anymore.dirt bikes yes.i have complex ptsd as well from too much trauma in my life,so im dealing with that at the moment through therapy at the priory.i wish i could have been diagnosed earlier as all the traits were there but in that time it wasnt recognised,i started writing a book 30yrs ago and i pretty much gave myself away in what i was writing about! my view on life. 

  • Exactly - and I love the natural world bit, too. Yep, faster and less lycra ;-)

    Yes, I am in my mid-twenties.

    "When the cost of "functioning" becomes too great , the cracks start to show, and that is when I figured it out"
     
    -- Yes, exactly - sounds like you had a very similar experience to me - and I guess a heck of a lot of us - in only finding out about ASD after reaching a mental health crisis. I only realised things related to ASD, after years of anxiety and depression.  I do feel lucky about knowing relatively early. Definitely impressed by those of you who have got diagnosed later on, and struggled through more of your life. Knowing 'why' is such a relief. :)

  • Another American tractor fan here :-) They are great, aren't they? I like them because they are solid and remind me of the bikes I rode in my teens, heavy things made out of proper chunks of metal. And they smell proper, of hot metal and oil.

    I also like 4 wheeled american tractors, the type with V8s in them!

  • Well, yes it's similar to being alone with your thoughts on a bicycle .... gliding along, enjoying the nature around you (which I also enjoy). Of course it's faster though ;-) 

    I was another late diagnosed person. Things were getting to the point where I felt like I was going nuts or heading for a nervous breakdown, and so I started my usual level of obsessive research into what could be causing it. Found an article about ASD and thought blimey, that sounds familiar, then read more and most of it I could use like a checklist. With hindsight, it's amazing it wasn't picked up earlier, but I suppose as long as you are "functioning" no-one thinks too much about it. When the cost of "functioning" becomes too great , the cracks start to show, and that is when I figured it out. My self-diagnosis was then confirmed as a cut and dried case of Asperger Syndrome by a professional!

    I'm guessing you're younger than me... If so, I think you're lucky to have a diagnosis earlier in your life. I have found that it makes things easier, if only because I finally know WHY for a lot of things, and can be a bit less hard on myself!

  • hello :-) 'two wheeled tractors' - haha. Ah, yes, I have heard elsewhere that riding is great therapy - an escape - literally. I don't know much about enduro or motocross, tho motocross looks like lots of fun - is that dirt bikes? And I follow MotoGP obsessively.
    also - what does it feel like to be diagnosed fairly late, at 52?

  • hello :-) Good to hear from another woman with asd. Harleys are great. Riding looks like a really liberating activity - I love being outdoors (on a regular bicycle!) on my own, no-one to talk to or worry about, so I can kind of imagine what you mean by the feeling of 'freedom'.
    as a woman, when did you find out you are autistic? You don't have answer if you don't want to, of course.

  • hello,welcome to here. i ride and once ive convinced myself i might enjoy a ride out,ill get 1 out and go off somewhere.i ride american 2 wheeled tractors, you can guess...

    i call it my "helmet time" helps me focus and gets rid of some negativity,a temporary fix !,theres the friendship that goes along with riding,meet ups at cafes and such.sometimes i like to be left alone but other times its nice to chat to fellow riders about stuff.got back into bikes after a long spell,used to do alot of enduro and motocross when i was much younger.i was diagnosed aspergers late last year at 52 ..

  • Hi and welcome :-) There are quite a few of us bikers on here, as I discovered when I mentioned my bike when replying to a post a while back.

    I am a biker, and female too. Got my bike license when I was 18 - 30 years ago now - and have been riding them ever since. I have never been into sports bikes really, more old classics and Harleys. 

    You are right, bikers are lovely people and very non-judgemental. It's a very inclusive "society", where people are just left to be who they are. I have met quite a few fellow aspies in the biking world. As for anxiety stopping us from riding, not for me anyway! I am probably at my most relaxed when I am on my bike, just me and the machine, at one. No need to make conversation, think about how to act, just ride and enjoy. It is the ultimate freedom and I would recommend it to anyone :-)

  • 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.

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