What I've learned from each of my motorcycles

[Alien]

It's been said that bikes are like women and in that sense, there's something to be learned from our relationships with them. Here's what each of my bikes have taught me.

1991 Honda 250 Nighthawk -
1. How to ride a motorcycle
2. How to replace brake and clutch levers after dropping a motorcycle
3. Put the kickstand down before you get off
4. That riding is better than driving
5. That 250cc's is not nearly enough for L.A. freeways

1985 Honda Shadow 700 -
1. Motorcycles can be comfortable
2. Forward controls are nice
3. V twins are torquey
4. What it feels like to go faster than 65 on a bike
5. That 700cc's is still not enough for me

1984 Honda Shadow 700 -
1. Salvage title bikes are a pain in the ass to register
2. Tweeker yard sales are not the place to go bike shopping
3. Never lend your bike to anyone
4. Don't drop your only bike key in the sand at the beach
5. How to hotwire a bike

1978 Kawasaki KZ1000A
1. Old bikes are cool
2. A properly modified KZ1000 is very fast
3. How to kickstart a bike
4. How to replace a chain in the rain
5. What it feels like to hear someone say, "Hey, cool bike."

1992 KZ1000P (Police)
1. Footboards and heel/toe shifters are nice
2. How well these bikes handle at low speeds
3. People do stupid things in front of me because they think I'm a cop
4. How to have a very bad motorcycle accident
5. How to rebuild the bike and get back on it (shaking) a year later to see if I ever wanted to ride again.
6. Realizing after half a block, that I did.

1991 Harley Davidson 883 Sportster
1. NOTHING sounds like a Harley
2. NOTHING is slower than a fat man on an 883 Sportster
3. This is pretty heavy for a little bike
4. I miss going fast
5. I am too fat and too tall for this bike

1998 Honda Valkyrie
1. NOTHING sounds like a Valk with straight pipes
2. Harley guys don't seem to mind the Valk like they did the Shadows
3. This bike is stupid fast!
4. Most comfortable bike I ever rode
5. What it feels like to ride two up with the woman you just married.

1974 Honda CB750 ridgid chopper
1. What it's like to design and build your own chopper
2. What it's like to see your bike assembled for the first time
3. How to ride a hand shift bike
4. All the talk was true. NOTHING beats riding a bike that you built with your own hands for the first time.
5. Apes are pretty comfortable
6. Probably shouldn't have put the clutch lever on the hand shifter..
7. I want to build another one!

So there you go. What have you learned from yours?

[DIGGER]

1964? ALLSTATE COMPACT
1)  I'm 14 yrs old and the chics like bikes
2)  I am now mobile
3)  Cops are pretty leanent with kids on motorscooters
4)  It hurts more to fall than I thought

19??  YAMAHA STEP THROUGH DIRT BIKE
1) Trais are fun to ride
2)  I'm 16 yrs old and the chis like bikes
3)  You CAN stick a dirt bike in the mud.

19?? GILERA 106
1)  easy to convert to a dirt bike.
2)  chics like bikes
3)  Won't compete in competition races with the Yamaha DT1
4) Broken Bones hurt

19?? YAMAHA 305 BIG BEAR SCRAMBLER
1) I'm 17 and the chics like bikes
2)  I have graduated to a bike that will RACE
3)  The pavement hurts worse than the dirt when you fall

1971 KAWASAKI H1 500CC 2 STROKE 3 CYLINDER
1)  It's fun to have a really quick bike
2)  I'm 20 and the chics like bikes
3)  I can travel long distance to the Grand Canyon just like Then Came Bronson
4)  Honda 750's are pretty quick too.
5)  This bike will wheelie right out from undder ya when you least expect it
6)  Kawasaki parts are expensive

1974? SUZUKI 500 2 CYLINDER
1)  I'm 22 and the chics DON'T like this bike
2)  My fiance don't like it either.

1971 BMW  R75/5
1) The chics don't like this bike either
2)  Great for touring long distance
3)  The BMW Club of Houston has some really neat people in it
4)  Bike Camping is a lot of fun

1976 BMW R1000
1) Cool bikes
2)  Wife likes this bike ok
3)  Long distance riding is where it's at
4)  There is a way to carry camping gear, a fishing rod and a shotgun at the same time

1985 BMW K1000
1)  Wife loves this bike.....so do the kids
2)  Great touring bike
3)  Doesn't crash very good
4)  Has a great Salvage value


1999 VALKYRIE
1)  Most comfortable touring bike I've had
2)  Wife realllllly likes this bike.  Kids now have their own bikes.
3)  Fun to race around
4)  Love to hear people compliment me on how she looks
5)  Hate it when people ask me what kind of Harley is that?

[Alien]

"Hate it when people ask me what kind of Harley is that?"

Yup, I get that all the time.

[old2soon]

"Hate it when people ask me what kind of Harley is that?"

Yup, I get that all the time.

  When i am asked the harley question i tell them NEVER. And if they still doubt i have them count cylinders. RIDE SAFE.

[CajunRider]

When i am asked the harley question i tell them NEVER. And if they still doubt i have them count cylinders. RIDE SAFE.

I had one guy say, "Wow... three cylinders!!!" 

I said, "Yeah, it's pretty cool... you should see the OTHER side!" 

  

[sugerbear]

1972 (or 3) kawasaki h1 500 cc 2 cycle can and will wheelie any time it wants to.
  also sounds horrible and won't hardly run when 1 baffle comes out on the road.

76 kaw 650 custom is really hard to ride when your drunk and doing 10 mph.

83 goldwing is a great bike, but not for 2 large people.

99 valkyrie I/S, breaks easy when a cop    decides he doesn't NEED to stop at a red light.
    broken bones and road rash hurt like hell.

2k I/S so far so good, and the wife likes it a whole lot. :cooldude

[Robdawg13]

1975? Yamaha GT 80
1) The basics of riding
2) How to fix almost everything on a motorcycle

1977 Honda CR 125
1) How to keep it "on the pipe"
2) Hondas almost never break
3) They will however eventually sieze if your idea of pre-mix is to keep a bottle of 2-stroke oil hidden at 7-11 and rock the bike back and forth to mix it.

1981 YZ 125
1) Water cooling is good
2) A top heavy bike (the radiator was behind the front number plate and the shock was the original mono-shock under the tank) is very tiring to ride fast for a long period of time.  It is also very tiring to ride fast for a short period of time. 

1980? Kawasaki KZ 440 LTD - 1st street bike
1) People driving cars see you - they just don't care.
2) There's probably a reason the guy you're buying the bike the bike from has had it in a shed for two years.
3) The guy you're buying the bike from will not tell you the real reason he's had it in a shed for two years.

1988 Honda CR 125
1) It's still fun to work on and ride motorcycles even after your 35th birthday.
2) That little 125 has to work a lot harder to drag your much larger butt around after your 35th birthday
3) You don't heal as fast after your 35th birthday.

1987 Honda CR 250
1) It's still fun to go fast on the dirt after your 36th birthday.
2) Hondas almost never break and they have an amazing number of parts available to restore even an 18 year old bike.
3) You don't heal any faster after your 36th birthday than you did after your 35th birthday

2006 Honda VTX 1300C
1)  The wife will eventually believe you when you promise that a street bike is different than a dirt bike and involves fewer emergency room visits.
2) Honda still makes a great machine.
3) Bags and a windshield sure would be nice.

1998 Valkyrie
1) A fast bike is still fun.
2) Honda sure has made some great machines...

[DIGGER]

When i am asked the harley question i tell them NEVER. And if they still doubt i have them count cylinders. RIDE SAFE.

I had one guy say, "Wow... three cylinders!!!" 

I said, "Yeah, it's pretty cool... you should see the OTHER side!" 

  



now that there is fuuunnniiiieeeee.....I'll have to use that one

[Tim H]

2006 Suzuki GZ250
1) Learned how to ride
2) Learned how to replace spokes and tire
3) Found out small bikes hurt butts
4) Reading message boards helps me learn from others experiences

4 months later...

1998 Honda Valkyrie Standard
1) Found that learning from others experience is good!

I always tell people that I went from my starter bike to my retirement bike because I'm cheap and I didn't want to waste money on the ones in between.

[bigguy]

250 Night Hawk:
http://guywheatley.com/index.php?topic=22.0
(1) If you think you're going to hop on and ride a bike for the first time in 35 years after riding your cousin's Honda 90 a few weekends when you were a kid, you're probably in for a disappointment.
(2) MSF course is worth every dime and every minute.
(3) If the road is long enough and straight enough, you can hit 70 on a 250.
(4) A 250 isn't big enough to take you and the wife on an weekend camping trip.

Vf750 Magna:
http://guywheatley.com/index.php?topic=24.0
(1) The difference in a V-twin and a V-4
(2) There are 750s and then there are 750s.
(3) Some $2,000 machines can outrun some $25,000 machines.
(4) BBs are a great source of information, inspiration, and experience.
(5) There are more opinions about oil than there are bands of oil.
(6) How to work on my bike.

250 Diamo:
http://guywheatley.com/index.php?topic=20.0
(1) Don't buy a cheap bike for your wife to learn to ride.

Victory V92TC Deluxe:
http://guywheatley.com/index.php?topic=23.0
(1) Big bikes can be extremely comfortable on long trips.
(2) Some big bikes are pigs at slow speed.
(3) Oil cooling works very well.
(4) Stock mufflers that keep the exhausts noise down just let you hear your engine rattling.
(5) If your happy with your V-twin, keep you butt off a Valkyrie.

Valkyrie Tourer.
http://www.guywheatley.com/gallery/v/trunklights/
(1) A 6 cylinder bike can be silky smooth.
(2) A bike that feels a wide as a Mac Truck the first time I sit it, can dance a ballerina.
(3) A Valkyrie is not quite as comfortable as the Victory on long trips.
(4) I wouldn't go back if I got a 10 inch pecker in the bargain.
(5) The Valk and the Vic were both 1500s. There are 1500s and then there are 1500s.
(7) You will not die a flaming death because you put a car tire on your motorcycle.