Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005
Member
Posts: 13830
American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God.
Beautiful east Tennessee ( GOD'S Country )
|
 |
« on: August 06, 2014, 07:01:20 PM » |
|
Even fellow motorcyclists think Phil Steiner’s long trips on his Honda Goldwing are extreme. You’re bound to think that of someone who’s logged more than 1 million miles in 52 years.
“A lot of guys say, ‘You’re nuts,’” Steiner said. “I don’t know about that. They’ll say, ‘You don’t see anything.’ But I see a lot of this country on the highways.”
Steiner recently crossed over the 500,000-mile threshold with his 2002 Honda Goldwing. That’s after already logging 148,000 miles on a 1980 Honda Interstate, 208,000 miles on a 1985 Honda Aspencade Goldwing and 269,000 miles on a 1991 Honda Goldwing.
It’s safe to say he likes his view of the world atop the Goldwing with its 1,800 cubic centimeter engine.
“To me, it’s just very relaxing,” he said. “I just enjoy it. It’s a great feeling.”
Steiner didn’t exactly stop when he hit 500,000 miles June 2 either. He logged 7,000 miles by the end of the month.
He’s had some epic trips through the years. He prefers taking the interstate system, making the 19-hour trip back and forth between his home in Lima and his place in Lakeland, Florida, to join his pals in “The Geezers,” which Steiner describes as “a bunch of old farts who like to ride.”
It’s not unusual for him to head across state lines to visit a favorite motorcycle shop or favorite restaurant.
His most epic trip was a five-day, 4,800-mile cross-country excursion. He drove 1,100 miles in the first day before landing in Needles, California. The third day, he stopped in Fort Stockton, Texas. The next day he was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The next night, he was back in his bed in Lima.
“Some people like the rumble, the roar, the noise,” Steiner said. “For an old guy like me, I like the quiet.”
The quiet gives him a chance to listen to satellite radio. He used to have a CD player on his bike until it broke a hundred thousand miles or so ago.
The only place he still wants to see is Alaska, but he’s not sure he wants to get his passport to ride through Canada.
In 52 years of riding motorcycles, he’s only hit the pavement once, years ago on Interstate 75 in Kentucky. He rear-ended a car that stopped to try to make a U-turn on the interstate. He walked away with just a broken wrist.
“You can’t let your guard down,” Steiner said. “You’ve got to ride one with some sense. You have to be alert.”
He scoffs at the rough stereotypes of motorcyclists, saying there’s a range of people like anything else.
“There are a lot of good people riding,” he said, “and there are a lot of crazy people riding them.”
Steiner, a life member of the American Motorcycle Association, still has an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle he rode for 10 years back when he started riding in 1962. The consistent maintenance needed on those bikes in those days led him to try others. He bought a Moto Guzzi, an Italian motorcycle, back in 1974 but didn’t feel right.
He also has a two 1976 Goldwing limited editions, smaller bikes with 1,000 cc engines. But when he’s ready for a trip, he usually hops on that 2002 Goldwing.
“These old Hondas, they just seem to keep clicking away. This one with 500,000 miles uses some oil, but it’s nothing excessive, maybe a quart every 3,000 miles. The motor’s never been touched.”
He fell in love with Honda’s Goldwing when it first came out in 1975. He plans to stay loyal, although he’d love to see Honda unveil a six-speed transmission.
“I love it as much now as when I first started riding it,” Steiner said.
|
