A tragic waste of a perfectly good motorcycle...

[Marshwheeling]

I worked with a guy who would go to Sturgis every year. He had his bike in a cargo trailer and take it out just before town. He would park it among the other bikes and walk around in his black leather regalia and black T-shirt. His wife would show up with the trailer to load up.

He passed away and his wife posted the bike for sale; less than 1,000 miles over a six year time period.

There is a rest area at Wasta, where I90 crosses the Cheyenne River. During Rally Week, it has to be the busiest rest area of them all. It is about 70 miles from Sturgis, the perfect distance for the road warriors to take their bikes off the trailers, change into their pirate riding outfits, and collect a little sun and windburn on their way into town.

 

[flagman1776]

I had a Honda Rebel 450 for a couple of years... My hands started getting numb every time I rode it. I kept the horse and sold the bike. Eventually, I found the cause of the nerve damage.

 

[Kurusu]

My bike is like my guns. They do it's intended purpose.

In fact, I went to ride all morning today.

Not many pictures of bikes in this here thread.

I'll do my part.

 

[bagga]

After 55 years of motorcycles....all types...dirt...street...highway....I just bought my last bike...two weeks ago. A Honda Ruckus scooter....for those rides around the neighborhood. I have to use my walker to get out to it...(excesses of my youth have caught up with me)...but the need/addiction to ride...is just overpowering....I still have the wind...or is that breeze...on my face....at the nerve rattling 25mph....but its still riding on two wheels....

we have a couple of the Honda ruckus scoots. mine is the red one with the trunk and saddle bags "full dresser" set up. the black one with the red wheels and white walls is my wife's. she won a few trophies at bike shows with it. our's top out at exactly the same speed....34mph.

 

[soFlaNative]

Hidden driveways and dogs.
Traffic jam obscured by the hump of a metal drawbridge.


Anymore I'll play in the dirt on a friend's Enduro

 

[Rodan]

Anymore I'll play in the dirt on a friend's Enduro

In the 1/2 dozen or so crashes over all my years of riding the streets, highways and racetracks, the only time I broke a bone on a bike was playing in the dirt... at about 10mph.

Since someone said this thread needs more pictures, here's some gratuitous pics of bikes not being wasted

 

[Goldstar225]

I started riding a bike when I was 15. I'm 63 now. Owned several bikes intermittently over the years. When my wife and I married 16 years ago we got back into riding first on a Suzuki Boulevard C50 then a Kawasaki Nomad averaging +/- 12,000 miles a year. Due to life changes we quit riding and sold the Nomad, a sad day for both of us. Over the years we talked about how much we missed riding. A little over a month ago the conversation came up again and we talked about how we could make it work (my wife has some physical limitations). The next day we went to look. Yeah, right! Left the dealership with a 2007 Harley Heritage Softail. Her first ride on it she was so happy she darn near cried. I believe she missed riding more than I did. We can't go for long rides anymore but we'll enjoy 50-100 mile breakfast/lunch/supper runs.

 

[dads318is]

Maybe I'm just not enough of a motorcycle guy to understand simple pleasures like revving the engine in my driveway or cruising up and down my own street endlessly, or maybe it's because surviving COVID-19 has instilled within me a stronger desire to really live, but regardless of the reason, when I see a motorcycle that never really goes anywhere, it just makes me sad.



I can understand being very cautious after purchasing a new bike, especially if it's a particularly nice one that someone had to save up for, but after a year or two of driving it around locally and getting a feel for it, that worry ought to have worn off, replaced with a desire to really take it out for a proper ride on the open road.



Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of folks never really get over it, so they purchase a beautiful new motorcycle, tune it up to their liking, and then it spends most of its life parked in a garage with a tarp over it, taken out every once in awhile in the Summertime for a short ride around the block as if ridden by a child who has been instructed by his mother not to go too far.

I've seen it throughout my life, yet cannot understand it for the life of me. Are they afraid that they'll hurt it somehow? Couldn't be, after all, having a beautiful motorcycle and not riding it out of fear of potentially scratching the paint or something it is like having a beautiful wife and not kissing her out of fear of smudging her makeup. (To put it mildly.)

Besides, seems like some of these guys go to such great lengths to make their bike roar like a lion as they cruise by going well below the speed limit that they must have all but deliberately broken the muffler in order to get it to produce so much noise as it does while they practically walk the thing down the road, so I doubt that they are babying it too much.



Anywho, rev your engines if you've heard this one before and feel free to comment if you've ever been there yourselves, as I'd be interested in knowing why certain folks do this, as well as hearing the triumphant tales of how they eventually learned to get over it, rode that sucker until the wheels fell off, put it back together, then did it all over again.

If nothing else, I hope that it will at least encourage a few folks here who may be doing this themselves to take their bikes out for a proper ride, experiencing that thrill and exhilaration which simply cannot be had otherwise.

Lol Love my bikes too much but nevertheless guilty. Somewhat. Have 2 bikes...suzuki boulevard c50 and yamaha warrior 1700. Needless to say the daily driver was the yamaha =zooom but here in Florida it rains alot and cleaning them is ttime consuming and hot lmao. Anyways my car needs service and its been the daily cause...rain. So they keep getting walked by and drooled over til there's a week of sun in the forecast. Wish me luck lol. Currently at waffle house and rode the boulevard so guess I'm not a total bikewaster.[emoji1787][emoji28][emoji102]


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[Rustyt1953]

Currently at waffle house...

Brought a tear to my eye.

 

[dads318is]

...Davidson. A 2018 Low Rider, to be specific.



I ride it a lot...but several factors in my world have prevented me from riding for about a month.



Tomorrow is another day, however, and NEED a ride...and a ride it shall be.



Not sure if OP is mocking loud (in his/her opinion) pipes but mine are Rinehart’s and they are louder than stock. Stock sound is, of course, limited by DOT, EPA, Karen’s, Kevin’s, and who know who else.



Did the 9/11 Ride from Shanksville, to the Pentagon, to NYC in 2018. Just before we embarked on the very last leg of the trip through the Holland Tunnel one of the ride captains announced on his loudspeaker: ‘Some of you will want to act like children and rev your bike through the tunnel. Don’t be childish.’ (Not the direct quote but close enough.).



You can imagine what happened.



Be safe...be well.

Yep[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

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[madmikeb]

I just started riding last fall, got my license the end of September, just in time for the Maine winter, bought a Kawasaki Dual Sport, rode a couple weeks and put it up. That two weeks was enough to set the hook, in December I picked up a v-twin cruiser. Of course December in Maine is no time to ride!
As most of you know I moved to Arizona this spring, I've done a little riding but summer in Arizona with full gear gets pretty warm pretty quick! I go out mornings for a couple hours, back by 9 or 9:30. Not to mention it's monsoon season so usually by mid-afternoon we have some pretty fierce thundershowers that I don't really want to get caught in! I've put about 300 miles on the 900, and about 200 miles on the 300 this summer.
This will change come September though, my wife probably will see very little of me!

 

[Rodan]

That KLX is perfect for around here... lots of dirt roads to explore!

During the 4 years this thread was dormant, I sold my bike because I got tired of all the idiots on the road trying to kill me. When I retired and moved to an area that's less congested, I picked up a 2007 Interceptor to get back on two wheels. Have only had time for a few hundred miles so far, but like madmikeb I intend to get out a little more when it cools off...

 

[walkin jack]

I have had several motorcycles over the course of my life They were all well used, well cared for and well loved.They were one of the three passions of my life. The other two were guns and fishing. From the time I was 15 till I was i was 55. I was rarely without at least 1. Those periods were very few and very brief. I only got off because it was no longer safe to get off my driveway where I lived My bride refused to ride with me after a dramatic increase in the number of close calls we were having. It broke my heart but I now believe that decision at that time might have saved our lives. Still, I now have a treasure trove of wonderful memories of all the good times and all the great folks I met and rode with. Sigh..........

 

[zeke]

Got back into riding about 4 yrs ago after health got good enough. Living in a tour pest area, have made the decision to not ride on the weekends. Up here, it's just too crazy. Am grateful for any day i feel well enough to ride, but i don't push it. We have numerous county 2 lane hwys winding in and out of lake country.

Most days the dog takes me for a walk. We pass by a place with an uncovered Harley 48 sporty sitting out front. It patiently sits there through rain. With no cover, and never seems to move except in winter when it is put out back under a tarp. Am feeling sorry for it's main purpose of being yard art.

 

[oldbrownhat]

"I don't want a pickle
Just want to ride on my motorcycle..."

Actually, the only time I tried a motorbike was at a friend's when we were 16. I managed to knock over a large clay planter + plant. Figured I'd better give up while I was ahead

 

[ridewv]

Two examples I know of first hand.

A couple people were attracted to motorcycles and bought one, but discover they don't really enjoy riding. Without training and or experience they're often timid or a little afraid of braking, corners, rain, gravel roads, speed, find it too uncomfortable, whatever. They don't want to admit it so they hang on to the bike they really want to like while making all kinds of excuses why they seldom ride. Such as no time because of work, child's baseball, etc. So it sits in the garage only to be taken out for a few local rides when the weather's ideal.

Another type of owner may be older with health issues who wants to still ride their large motorcycle but finds it difficult, especially longer rides. They have a stigma against going down to a smaller "beginner bike" that would be more enjoyable and easier to ride than their Ultra, Wing, etc.

 

[Grayfox]

I used to work with a REAL biker. Beard, hair, leather, scars and all. He rode it every day as his primary vehicle. The only thing that got him off it was ice and even that was iffy.

I've owned three bikes in my life. I rode 'em back and forth to work to save on gas. Sold 'em all for the same reason. Way too many close calls with idiot 4 wheelers.

 

[jimmyj]

Motorcycle Guys that I worked with spend most of their off time wiping and polishing their bikes. Before marriage and kids I had a Honda 450 to ride to and from work. One day my clutch cable broken and I pushed it into a Harley shop for repair. (Once, just Once)

 

[britbike1]

Triumph

Rode my first one in 10th grade, loved them ever since. Had a total of 5, favorite was a 67 Daytona 500. Light, easy to handle and move around my garage and pick up if i knocked it over by myself. Rode it and a 77 bonnie to work several years. Yes they should be ridden as often as possible thats what they were made for. By the way got more "thumbs up" on my Triumphs than on my Yamaha. Designed in the 30's and stone age simple to work on.

 

[ridewv]

Other than something temporary like an injury, operation, etc., if they're not riding their motorcycle much they should consider selling rather than just letting it sit in their garage or shed. Then buy a sports car, boat, or whatever.

I'm getting up there in age now (71) and still like riding. Every year I still try to do a longish ride (Oregon earlier this month) as well as a few multi day getaways on a motorcycle. And a 30 minute to hour ride around the hood most summer through fall evenings when weather's nice. In addition I use a bike to do my errands and shopping when possible.

If/when I get to the point I don't enjoy riding (or can't) my bikes will be sold. What I see happening though is transitioning to smaller motorcycles and scooters as time goes on.