Poll - How many of us ride motorcycles

How many of us have a motorcycle to ride, or have ridden motorcycles on a consistent

  • Yes

    Votes: 103 65.6%

  • No

    Votes: 54 34.4%
  • Total voters
    157
  • Poll closed .
I've been riding nearly ten years.

The tricky part is that it is best done on a nice VFR day, when I would rather be flying.

My BMW oil head is my avatar, but my most memorable ride was on a Harley that I rented in Albuquerque. I rode it through the desert and Jimez mountains, smelling the junipers, and loving it.
 
Retired Motor/Sgt, Supervisor of M/C Unit, riding since about 10 YOA.

Currently have the following, and owned approx 40 bikes total.

08 Yamaha Zuma (Kept in hangar) 250 miles riding around airport
70 Triumph TR6 TT bike
80 Kawasaki Z1R Turbo Approx 200 HP
00 BMW R1100 RT-P Police bike
02 BMW K 1200 RS
04 Suzuki Hayabusa Turbo Approx 330 HP
06 Honda Goldwing ABS

03 Suzuki LTZ 400 Quad

Thats what happens when your best friend owns a motorcycle shop.
Mike in NJ
 
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My 1947 Indian chief. Given to me when I was three years old and told I needed to have it restored by my 17 th birthday. Ride it often

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A 1953 chief built from nos parts

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A party at the airport with our 1941 military Indian scout and my t6

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1948 Indian chief
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Antique bike ride in Death Valley I was riding a friends 1948 Indian chief. Also in the picture is a 1931 101 Indian scout.

In 2009 I purchased my first new bike Buell Xb fire bolt and took Keith codes race school so I wouldn't kill my self and we rode the BMW s1000r which is an awesome bike.
Gary
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Currently in garage, need to be ridden more, hopefully once PPL completed:
'60 BMW R60 SC rig
'83 BMW R100CS
'84 BMW R100RS
'07 BMW R1200S
'95 BMW R100GS
'87 Moto Guzzi Lario
'86 Moto Guzzi LeMans
'82 Moto Guzzi V50III cafe'd

Jeez, I've gotta regain my non-flight-training life!

Bill in Carolinia
 
Currently own these:
03 Honda GL1800
77 Honda GL1000
73 Honda CB500 Four
They all are fun to ride and do it often.
 
Owned a new Suzuki 800, sold it for an '05 Kawasaki Vulcan 2000. Great, big bike. Circumnavigated Lake Erie on it, then sold it the next summer after nearly being erased (on that same trip) by a mom driving her Escalade changing lanes without using her blinker because the cell phone had to be in her left hand. :mad:

Then a pilot friend nearly had his guts ripped out after sliding into a concrete pole at 45 mph when he hit black ice. Seeing someone absorbing nutrients through a mesh on his stomach lessened my desire to ride. . .I decided I needed to proactively mitigate my risk.
 
I used to ride motorcycles for transportation and dirt bikes when I was a kid. However, I'm not really a motorcycle guy. I leave that to my brother. He's the bike nut. I'm the car and airplane nut. I do own one motorcycle just because I like it. I rarely ride it. It's just a curiosity for my garage and a toy.

My 1967 CA77 Honda 305 Dream

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I've had a motorcycle since I was 14 years old. The list of bikes runs the gamut from a Honda 125, to a Honda 305 Scrambler, to a Honda 350SL, to a Honda CX500 and now a BMW K75. I've done a lot of trips on each of those bikes, but ride less now than ever. I keep my M/C endorsement on my license and the BMW is still on a battery tender, but it has become a garage queen.
 
This is my current.. Ducati 750SS (as my name says). It's one of many bikes I have owned through the years!
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Nothing at all wrong with a Honda 50, one of the most common motorcycles in the world (Honda made a lot of them). We're all brothers of two wheels.
 
ZX-11, 1996. Was the fastest production bike in the world. :yikes:

Still pretty exciting for this ole fart. :yes:

 
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I rode when I was a teen. Owned several bikes including a Honda 160 and a 350. Sold off the 350 for school and haven't owned one since. I do get to ride once in a while and have maintained my motorcycle license. I'm afrain if I decided to get a bike again, that I'd have to pay for a safety course if I didn't.
 
I use to but sold in 2008
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I knew a lot of pilots rode motorcycles, but didn't realize it was as high as the poll shows. Then again, it could suffer from selection bias, as people not interested in motorcycles might not bother to click the thread.

I learned how to ride a few years ago through MSF. I hadn't been flying much and was looking for a less expensive fun activity. Decided aviation was more suited to me and that, like another poster mentioned, I should choose one. So I never bought a bike or anything (thus, voted No).
 
EvilEagle said:
00 Aprilia RSV Mille R

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Our favorite Guzzi dealer (Moto International in Seattle) had an RSV4 Factory on the floor. I happened to be sitting on it, dreaming, and Dave (the owner) dangles the keys in front of my face and tells me to take it for a spin.
Even offered to find gear for me (I was in shorts). Silly me, I declined. :mad2:
 
mnewb1 said:
I used to but sold in 2008
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Still have mine, the wife has an 05 Softail Deluxe. We use to put about 10000 miles a year on 'em............then we bought the plane. They mostly sit now. We keep a couple of dirt bikes at the mountain home for trail riding in the Snowies.
 
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steingar said:
Nothing at all wrong with a Honda 50, one of the most common motorcycles in the world (Honda made a lot of them). We're all brothers of two wheels.
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Not at all. A fantastic bike. My first street bike, well I always considered it a scooter because you can't go on the freeway, was the 90cc version of this bike. I bought one brand new in 1982 and rode it for years, then I sold it to my then girlfriend's brother and he rode it for years. He then sold it to my girlfriend and she rode it for years. My girlfriend and I eventually bought a house together and I started riding it again for a few years more.

It finally wore out compression wise and got hard to start from low compression. I married my girlfriend and that 90, aka Honda Passport, is still in my garage. It needs a complete rebuild, but it's actually in pretty good condition, because we all took care of it and would be pretty easy to do. It is now one of those "I'm going to get that going one of these days just for the hell of it" projects. I really don't need it for anything these days, but in the future... who knows? I might move to Key West or something.:D
 
1999 Gold Wing. I've had it since 2008. Currently sitting, waiting for a rebuilt alternator to arrive after a recurring low voltage issue.

Previously owned:
1986 Honda Nighthawk 450 - two months in 1989. Bought it to learn on.
1986 Gold Wing - bought brand new in 1989, passed the DMV riding test on it. I was the youngest person (22) to ever buy a Gold Wing from our local dealer. Kept it until 2005.
2005 Kawasaki Concours - liked the performance, finally got tired of the buzzy engine and forward-leaning riding position. Even with bar risers, it got to the point where carpal tunnel syndrome was making my right hand numb after 10 minutes.
 
Rode in college 40 years ago and I have the screws in my left ankle to prove it. No more. Car runs stop sign and hits your bike, you lose.
 
Have not ridden since I broke a vertebrae in my neck racing the Mammoth Mountain MX 3 years ago....

I started riding when I was 7, was racing (MX) by 9 , was paid to do it at 15, broke my pelvis at 17, couldn't walk or ride for 6 months, then just did it for fun...

had never ridden a road bike until I moved to the US, first bike was a 96 GSX-R750, was at the track with it with-in a year.. with the inevitable consequences.....another 3 months on crutches:yikes:.

not sure what is more fulfilling, hitting a monster triple, flat out it 3rd gear or dragging your pegs at 120 through turn 9 at Willow springs....:D:D

I knew the road thing was too much for me ( at my age) when the GSX-R 1000 would lift the front wheel at 140mph shifting into top on Willow Springs front straight, stupid fast...

I started flying because otherwise I needed another bike, and my brain just does not know how to slow down...I miss it soooo much
 
Have owned a Katana and a 650 Ninja. Sold them long time ago. Used ride Mullholland and go the Rock Store etc. Rode with a group that was very aggressive sport bike riders. Have quite a few almost bought the farm stories.

Now all my riding is desert on my Yamaha WR450F. LOVE desert riding.

May buy a cruiser in the future, but no strong desire at the moment.
 
My last street bike, a 1947 numbers original Knuckle head Harley FL
 

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Ghery said:
Rode in college 40 years ago and I have the screws in my left ankle to prove it. No more. Car runs stop sign and hits your bike, you lose.
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Ten screws and two plates in my left radius, and I still ride. It's an addiction.
 

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I have ridden very little on the road, but was a serious motocross and XCountry racer in the seventies.
 
One problem with this poll is that most people who don't ride motorcycles are likely to ignore it...
 
I've owned my own(all Harleys) since 1959; started riding with my Dad in late 1945 or summer of 1946. First was the Harley 125, 165, 250 Sprint, Model K, Sportster XLCH, FLHS HOG, presently 883 Sportster; thinking seriously about the Low-rider in the pictures. At 18° right now, it's time to think "Warm."

HR
 

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I started with a Honda CL175 when I was 15 years old. Sold that, got a Moto Guzzi V50 shortly after I got out of school, kept that until I moved to a place with no garage. My last bike was a Honda NT650, which I bought new and rode almost 49,000 miles. Took a trip from Chicago to Brooks, Alberta, then to Atlanta, all in 16 days. Some fool turned left in front of me and that was the end of that bike. Six days after that, we found out daughter #1 was on the way, and that was the end of my riding career.

I may get another one later in life, but I'll have to see how my vision and reflexes are. Riding a motorcycle in city traffic, you've got to be aggressively defensive and I don't know that I'll be sharp enough to do that at age 70.
 
FormerHangie said:
I started with a Honda CL175 when I was 15 years old.
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Nice bike. That's what my wife and I were riding the night we got hit. I had it repaired and rode it for another year. Sold it when we graduated from college. She never got on one again after we got hit.

BTW, the bike was still operational and street legal after getting hit. The 1968 Ford Mustang that hit us had to be towed. We put his radiator back into the fan. You could see where our legs were due to the dents in the bumper. I kept meaning to write Ford and thank them for building such a flimsy front end. If he had been driving our 1954 Buick that night he would have killed us.
 
WhiskeyPapa said:
One problem with this poll is that most people who don't ride motorcycles are likely to ignore it...
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asgcpa said:
Ya but found out there are at least 93 so far that have an interest in motorcycles....
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I like motorcycles, but am to scared to ride them. I took the MSF class and realized it wasn't for me. I enjoy seeing other peoples bikes, so I have checked this thread out quite a bit.
 
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1993 CBR 600
1995 YZF 1000
1999 GSXR 750
2004 CBR 1000
and now I ride a 2012 Harley Roadking
 
I rode motors on the Sheriff Dept at Bike week in Daytona for years, lots of fun, when I retired, I stopped riding motors altogether so I would live longer.
 
bahama flier said:
I rode motors on the Sheriff Dept at Bike week in Daytona for years, lots of fun, when I retired, I stopped riding motors altogether so I would live longer.
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I figure the older I get, the more risks I can take. If I get killed at it, that's a lower opportunity cost than it would have been when I was young.
 
Had at least (1) if not (3) motorcycles from 10 years old until my mid 30's. Got into dirt bikes and a little track riding along with daily commuting.
Then I either became more aware of the ignorance on the road or it just got worse, but I decided hang it up for a while.
 

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