Riding vs Flying -- How many here ride?

Morgans wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote


On the way home from Wisconsin yesterday, with Becca riding on the
back, I had my leather jacket sleeves unsnapped, due to the heat. This
allowed the wind to flow up my arms, albeit somewhat restricted by the
fairing and windshield -- which didn't seem to impede the bee that
managed to fly in there, and sting me on the forearm!

At first I thought I had been hit with a stone, but it kept hurting
long after the initial "impact". Luckily, I'm not allergic to bee
stings, and it went away in a few minutes...but that's the first time
*that* has ever happened before.

(Although I DID once get hit smack in the middle of my forehead, above
the windshield, below my helmet, and above my sunglasses, by what felt
like a bumble-bee. Darned near knocked me off the bike! Another
reason I now wear a full-face helmet.)


Been hit by a bumblebee in the forehead by a bumblebee, also. I saw it
coming, even!

I also was zooming around the outside of a corner (those sharp, almost
hairpin, banked ones, you love to zoom around in the mountains), and a car
coming at me on the inside of the corner got off the road, and kicked up a
piece of gravel. I suppose it hit my cheek at close to 60 MPG. I was lucky
to keep control, and get stopped. It left quite a strawberry bruise.

I still hate full face helmets, though. I think that is one part of the
equation I'll still have to risk.

I never used one when riding off-road as a teen, but after going over
the handlbars one day and landing on my chin, I wondered if a full-face
helmet would have saved me a nasty cut and scar. I never did wear a
full-face off-road due to the weight and heat, but I've worn one on the
street pretty much since the beginning. And the modern full-face
helmets weigh only about half what my old conventional helmet weighed,
so that is no longer an issue either. They are a little warmer on a hot
day to be sure, but the new ones are pretty well vented.


Matt

Skywise wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote in news:1151811765.345086.45160
@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:


I now take active, positive, and if necessary, aggressive
control of my driving situation. If I sense even the
slightest hint of danger (the list of hints is huge),
then I do something to remove that danger from my presense.
I now have the attitude on the road that I *DO* own it
and to hell with everybody else and to hell with the
laws.

I agree with you...to a point.

There are many, MANY hints of impending danger when riding, and many
little tricks that I've learned to spot it well in advance.


Yes, and although one could write them all down for others
to memorize, experience is the best teacher.

I agree, but I also accept that there are some situations that you just
can't anticipate and avoid. That is just something that we who ride and
fly have to accept.


Matt

Morgans wrote:

"Skywise" wrote


Another favorite tactic is white lining. In a perfect
scenario I white line to the front while everyone is stopped
at a red light.


Here in NC, your are liable to get a bullet in your ass, or run off the
road, doing that crap. I might be one of the ones to run you off, as you
are pulling forward.

Don't do that crap. Be a little more patient.

Unfortunately, lane splitting seems frowned upon in the eastern US,
unlike in CA and parts of Europe (it seems popular and accepted in
France anyway). Personally, I think it is a great idea and would
encourage more motorcycle use and less fuel consumption. In Taiwan they
even had special "boxes" paintd on the roads at the intersections to
allow the scooters to move to the front and "stage" for the green light.

I think it is both illegal as well as frowned on in PA as well. The
difference here though is that if you shoot at a motorcyclist odds are
they, and several friends, will shoot back.

Matt

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Morgans wrote:

"Skywise" wrote


Another favorite tactic is white lining. In a perfect
scenario I white line to the front while everyone is stopped
at a red light.


Here in NC, your are liable to get a bullet in your ass, or run off the
road, doing that crap. I might be one of the ones to run you off, as you
are pulling forward.

Don't do that crap. Be a little more patient.

Unfortunately, lane splitting seems frowned upon in the eastern US, unlike
in CA and parts of Europe (it seems popular and accepted in France
anyway). Personally, I think it is a great idea and would encourage more
motorcycle use and less fuel consumption. In Taiwan they even had special
"boxes" paintd on the roads at the intersections to allow the scooters to
move to the front and "stage" for the green light.

I think it is both illegal as well as frowned on in PA as well. The
difference here though is that if you shoot at a motorcyclist odds are
they, and several friends, will shoot back.

Matt

Yeah, but it is hard to pack "long iron" on a bike... ;-)

KB

In article ,
"Kyle Boatright" wrote:

Yeah, but it is hard to pack "long iron" on a bike... ;-)

Ahhh... the famed "Easy Rider Rifle Rack"!

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Morgans wrote:

"Skywise" wrote


Another favorite tactic is white lining. In a perfect
scenario I white line to the front while everyone is stopped
at a red light.


Here in NC, your are liable to get a bullet in your ass, or run off the
road, doing that crap. I might be one of the ones to run you off, as you
are pulling forward.

Don't do that crap. Be a little more patient.

Unfortunately, lane splitting seems frowned upon in the eastern US, unlike
in CA and parts of Europe (it seems popular and accepted in France
anyway). Personally, I think it is a great idea and would encourage more
motorcycle use and less fuel consumption. In Taiwan they even had special
"boxes" paintd on the roads at the intersections to allow the scooters to
move to the front and "stage" for the green light.

I think it is both illegal as well as frowned on in PA as well.

It is illegal in CO, but very popular and never enforced (with good reason).

The difference here though is that if you shoot at a motorcyclist odds
are they, and several friends, will shoot back.

Hopefully with impeccable accuracy against thugs like Jim.

I paid $100 for the bike in 1995. I took it apart and cleaned it five times,
but it continued sticking. Ther are a multitude of other problems with the
bike, so I simply put it aside.

I'm planning to part it out on ebay, so if anyone needs parts for a 1981
CB650 custom, let me know.

"John Gaquin" wrote in message
...

"Steve Foley" wrote in message

I bought a Honda CB650 ten years ago. I stopped riding it three years ago
when the float valve stuck and it poured a gallon of gasonline on my leg
on the way to work.

Wouldn't it have been easier, simpler, and more sensible to simply fix the
float valve?

On 1 Jul 2006 05:35:24 -0700, "Jay Honeck" wrote:

[snip]
It used to be that most pilots I knew rode motorcycles, but that seems
to be less of a correlation lately. Wot say the group -- do you
currently ride a motorcycle? Did you in the past?


I had a 2002 Harley Dyna Low rider for a while. At 49 it was my first
motorcycle but sold it after 2 years for two reasons.

1. The longer I drove it the better the odds became that some idiot
driver would injure me. I know with more experience I could learn to
reduce the potential dangers, but I have heard of and known too many
guys that have been injured or killed on bikes that I thought it more
prudent to get a boat instead.
Which leads to the second reason.
2. The motorcycle was such a solitary experience for me. My wife never
liked riding on it. And most of the time I was just cruising places on
my own. I did ride a few times with a buddy and was part of a special
ride with another 700 bikes once, but still it always seemed to be
such a solitary endeavor. I can now take another 10 people on my boat,
about 9 more passengers than the bike would carry. It's just more
fun to be able to hang out in the river, drink some beer, do some
tubing, water skiing, swim and generally just lounge around.

As of now, between the boat and sharing the flying with a colleague of
mine, I don't particularly miss the motorcycle.

Kirk

"Skywise" wrote in message

Another favorite tactic is white lining. In a perfect
scenario I white line to the front while everyone is stopped
at a red light. ........The upshot is that
I am only near other vehicles when they aren't moving.

And every time you pull that sort of stunt, you leave in your wake 50-100
car drivers highly ****ed at the next motorcycles they encounter. That's
high school crap, and has no place in the repertoire of a responsible
driver.

in article , Jay Honeck
at wrote on 7/1/06 5:35 AM:


It used to be that most pilots I knew rode motorcycles, but that seems
to be less of a correlation lately. Wot say the group -- do you
currently ride a motorcycle? Did you in the past?

I've had a number of friends who rode, I've been a passenger a few times,
and generally enjoyed the experience. And obviously I respect everyone's
right to pursue it.

But as I sit typing this on a peaceful Sunday morning in a quiet, suburban
neighborhood, I feel it is incumbent upon me to remind you all of something:
a lot of you are really LOUD. How do I know when the guy five streets over
has decided to go riding? Because I have ears.

The next time some motorist behaves rudely or callously towards
you--behavior which I certainly do not condone, by the way--consider that
their nerves may be on edge from lack of sleep, or having the peace of a
Sunday morning shattered. As I just did in the middle of typing this.