Any audiophiles into motorcycles


As its just getting into motorcycle season here in the great lakes region, motorcycling is beginning to supplant audio as my primary preoccupation. I recall there being threads as to car ownership, don't recall a motorcycle thread. And so, lets hear from the audiophile motorcycle enthusiasts out there; tell everyone about bikes you own, or have owned, and lets hear some motorcycle tales.

As for myself, I started riding around 12 years of age, little Suzuki 50cc trail bike, purchased Sears Allstate (Puch) 250cc street bike at 15 so I'd be ready for street legal riding at 16. Over the next 25 years too many bikes to list, mostly 650cc bikes and larger, migrated to super sports over those years, I was doing a lot of sports touring in those years, strap a tent and sleeping bag on bike and go for up to three or four weeks, mostly around great lakes region. I did great lakes circle tour: southern Ohio and West Virginia was a yearly tour, up into Adirondacks, northern New York, Vermont was always nice. Ontario, Canada was also a pretty common destination as was upper peninsula of Michigan. These days I  find myself pretty much sticking to weekend rides with my nephew, a budding audiophile with his Aprilia RSV4. I've been riding my little pocket rocket KTM RC390 the past few years, fun bike but lacking the thrill of bigger bore bikes such that I've now purchased 2021 Ducati Supersport S in silk white, expecting delivery next Wednesday. So, at this point my ownership of bikes includes the KTM, Ducati, Suzuki DRZ400S and 1973 Yamaha TX500 I'm in process of making into cafe racer.

My passion for motorcycles (and cars, but that's a different story) has certainly impacted my audiophile life. I don't have as much disposable income for audio, and bikes replace audio as my primary preoccupation in summer, but having passion for both sure makes for a richer life!
sns
Mercy, I had a 45 flathead. It had a ridge girder moly frame (WOW) chopped and raked. Foot clutch and a stick shift. I HATED that thing.
I drove it to school for a year. You know how many times my mother had to pull start that pile of $hit. I had it down to a science, HOW to start that thing in the winter. One ether ball (for moth control) in the fuel tank as I fueled the night before. Every night it took 25 cents to fill up that STUPID peanut tank. Fuel was 39 cents a gallon.

The next morning at 6:30. You retard the timing just enough to keep from kicking back and breaking your leg. Crack the compression release as you slowly kick with your hand over the old Lynkard carb throat. About 4 times down, UNTIL the fuel dripped out of the carb onto a piece of T Shirt.

You took the T shirt and stuffed it in a little strainer made for the throat of the carb (stayed under the little Bates spring seat). Get off the bike and kick on the outside or other side of the kick stand. Half way down and all 135 lbs of me was on that kick start bicycle peddle, you release the compression release, jump off, throttle to 1/4 pull the strainer with the rag off and advance the timing. Thump thump thump.. Took me three month to get that down..

Hated that bike.. Still do.. No fat girls either made the stubby finder rub on the back.. little buddie seat shared my pegs if the girls wanted a ride. That was one good thing never had a problem fillin' that buddy seat with a skirt or two or three.. I like mini skirts and bikes.. :-)

First bike was a a Honda 350 Scrambler bought around 1969. I rode it back and forth to work and around the Texas Hill Country for a couple of years. Sold it and had a beautiful single-cylinder Ducati 250 briefly but it didn’t take long to learn I was not a good enough mechanic to keep it running reliably. 

Then got interested in dirt bikes and bought a  Yamaha Enduro 250. That served as a weekend toy and daily commuter for a few years until I sold it to get the money to spend a summer in Mexico.

Moving to D.C. meant having a bike wasn’t practical and that was followed by years of young kids, work and house renovations that took my time and money. But after I moved to the Pacific Northwest and discovered that a motorcycle was the perfect way to do the daily ferry commute from Bainbridge Island to downtown Seattle I bought a Honda Magna because it was yellow. I started riding on weekends with friends on that bike but realized it really wasn’t meant for mountain twisties. So next came a Honda ST1100, then a Honda VFR800 sport touring bike, followed by another VFR800 with ABS (commuting in the rain on a bike in Seattle meant ABS was nice to have.) I brought that bike with me to Austin when I retired a few years ago but soon decided my 70-something year-old reflexes, balance and leg strength weren’t what they used to be and it would be a good idea to stop and preserve my record of never having had an accident. 


Ride safe!

First bike was a Yamaha Vmax, the Harley Wide Glide then A Harley VROD and a Triumph Street Triple R.

Enjoyed riding for years but a shoulder injury resulted in me shifting to cars. 
i still have my vfr800f but i don’t ride it hardly ever anymore... should probably sell it... too afraid to take a spill with my brittle old man bones now, and of course it is not much fun riding it slow... nice to look at sitting in the corner of garage though
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