Motorcycle enthusiasts

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Is any of you interested in motorcycles? Do you ride one? Have you ever ridden one, either as driver or passenger? Does your heart beat faster when you see a Harley Davidson V-Rod pass you by on the road? Do you own a motorcycle, or plan to buy one? Or are you interested in motorcycles for any other reason?

I'm totally obsessed with them. Today I had my second driving lesson. For my driving lessons I ride on a Honda VT500 Shadow, like the picture below (but without the windshield).



It has a 491 cc V-Twin engine (3 valves per cilinder), 47.5 horse power (i.e. 35.4 kW) and cardan transmission. Judging from what I'm told by other motorcycle enthusiasts, cardan transmission is preferable to chain transmission because it requires less maintenance and is hence less expensive, but I guess chain transmission has its charmes too.

I'm looking forward to reading your comments and to chat about motorcycle-related stuff!

I`ve owned many motorcycles.I like Harley Sportsters and v twins the most.

Cool! Which did you have? And do you own one now?

Exactly my taste as well.
I think the HD XL 1200N Sportster 1200 Nightster is a real beauty - and a power beast as well. Makes my mouth water.

But I think Japanese bikes aren't so bad either. Especially for beginners (like me). For example the Yamaha Drag Star is a beautiful bike, and I hear their road-holding is really good. Although if I had the money, and the experience, I would probably buy something American like HD.

I want a bike. I'll probably get one in a few years when I am done college and have a f/t job.

Always been interested - would like to have a BMW R-series or a Sportster someday - gotta pay the bills first!

I've wanted a touring bike for a long time like a older Honda Goldwing (the newer ones look sillly to me) or something similar. My fantasy vacation is to take a month off and go on a long cruise through the western US. I would have no set plans or itineraries. Today I want to go 'that' way see what's over there.

I desperately want one as well. I can hardly wait. Unfortunately I don't have my license yet. Still working on it.

Yes, unfortunately it's a hobby that doesn't come cheap... I'll probably buy a second-hand bike to cut costs some. I've seen second-hand bikes at motor fairs that were very affordable while they didn't have too much mileage either. I think second-hand is a fine alternative, provided that the bike has been serviced thoroughly.

That's my dream vacation right there! It's my dream to cruise through the Rockies, taking only secondary roads, meeting very little oncoming traffic, spending the night in dusty hamlets, enjoying the vista... I'm reading a book now called "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert Pirsig, and he describes a motorcycle holiday like just that. It's very inspiring and it makes me want to own a driver's license even more badly!

The book by Pirsig is an AMAZING read.. I've read it several times - still can't understand the Chautauqua part though

Yes I own a bike. BMW F650GS Dakar. I am busy kitting it out so i can go on extended tours. I live in South Africa and want to ride the back roads which are all dirt so the Dakkie is just the thing. The big R1200GS bikes are very popular here for this sort of riding (and the KTM 990) but I purposely chose the smaller 650 as I am too irresponsible and ride much too fast for my abilities.

Had a big crash on my previous bike - Honda VFR800. The bike was broken into two pieces. If I and the bike had swapped places I would be dead. Made me think about what I wanted to do with this 'bonus' portion of my life & I decided to go touring. I am 63 years old & retired with funds to cover the expenses. Was on the BMW intermediary off road training course last week-end & fell & broke my collar bone which has delayed things slightly but will be off in a few weeks. Very stoked by the prospect.

Have owned bikes intermittantly all my life. Most interesting was a Vincent Comet. The VFR was an exceptional bike. I am a mechanical engineer and the design and execution of that bike gave me immense pleasure of ownership.

I must confess I didn't know the BMW F650GS Dakar, but I just now looked it up on Google and it looks pretty groovy. I can imagine it's really the bike for dirt roads. In my country there's not much opportunity to use a cross-country bike for what they're really made for. It's all just asphalted roads, and the whole country is almost completely level. There are some fun dike roads that make for good riding though (lots of bends), but for that purpose the Honda VFR800 which you mentioned would be a lot more suitable.

The Vincent Comet is really a classic! Which type did you have? I've seen a Series C once on a motorcycle fair (if I remember correctly), I think it was from 1950 or thereabouts. It's a shame they don't make them anymore (or at least as far as I know). But you never know... Indian was "out of the picture" for a while too, and then they started building them again.

Glad you survived that big crash. Hopefully you'll recover soon from that last accident as well. I'm pretty nervous about crashing. I know statistically speaking motorcyclists run a much bigger risk than car drivers, which I keep trying to forget.

Yes, it's an amazing book, isn't it? I'm now at the second part where they get to ride on the highlands high up in the mountains, and where Pirsig talks about Hume and Kant. I agree the Chautauqua part is difficult. I'm not sure where it's headed as yet, but maybe it will become more clear later on. But it's definitely one of the best books I've read lately. I'm not sure what it has to do with Zen though, but maybe that will also become clear later on.

Y'all would also enjoy reading "The Ghost Rider" by Niel Peart. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush and also a BMW motorcycle enthusiast and a very talented writer. The book chronicles his travels all over North and Central America, from north of the Arctic Circle all the way down to Belize and back, on a R1150GS over the course of two years.

Great read that really got me inspired to ride again after giving it up for many years.

I have three, I was a bike mechanic for many years, its been my main obsession since school, heres one

I went to the Isle of Man TT races on this in June.
If you search around my other webshot albums you will find my other bikes and the bikes I owned back in the day.

http://community.webshots.com/user/nambocttr

Motorcycling is something I've been into for about 4 years now.

I absolutely love it.
It keeps me sane.
Pretty much all my time outside of work has something to do with motorcycles.

I've had many bike over the years but currently have a BMW R1200GS-Adventure and a Moto Guzzi V11 LeMans.