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View Full Version : What do you personally love about the hobby of motorcycling?



KATWYN
30th January 2004, 07:42
I think motorcycling is addictive. Sometimes if I haven't ridden
for a while, then I hop on and go for a strop it is the most fantastic
feeling and quite hard to describe :love:. Is it the freedom? Is it the
control over this powerful machine? Is it becoming one with the
elements ? (ie) going on a scenic ride on your bike puts you right
into the picture....doing the same drive in a car.....is like watching
t.v as you are seperated by a window (thats if its not a convertable,
I suppose :) ). Taking off on a bike..not quite as good as taking off
in a plane..but close-mind you, maybe the Britten is the closest! (watching that bike take off, on the telly anyway-not quite the same as seeing it for real I spose) :banana:

....I spose I can't say, is it "the wind in your hair" in
NZ anyway?...but is it? (on a side note, maybe us NZ motorcyclists can make helmet hair a fashion statement instead :cool: )

georgedubyabush
30th January 2004, 08:53
One of the first things I noticed when I took it up are the smells. Flowers, Food etc... but then also diesel fumes, silage, or when you know you've just passed something dead.

James Deuce
30th January 2004, 09:28
Mental Relaxation. You can't think about anything other than what you are doing. I often get home physically exhausted but mentally and emotionally relaxed after a good ride.

2D Flying.

And as george said the intimacy with your environment.

Antallica
30th January 2004, 09:49
I love it that we all wave as if to say, yeah man... :rockon:

The satisfaction it gives me is indescribable.

I could never become another statistical cage driver.

Hitcher
30th January 2004, 09:59
The sense of freedom; and connectedness with and aloofness from the environment through which I'm riding. Time, space and distance have a completely different feel when I'm riding a bike -- the journey itself transcends them all. It's an amazingly spiritual experience.

The relationship that bikers have is, I believe, a bit like "basking in the afterglow" -- you have an understanding of what the other person must have experienced/be feeling based on the intensity of your own experience.

To quote the sage: "To know yourself is to know God". I find that riding a bike helps you to grow that relationship.

KATWYN
30th January 2004, 10:02
It's an amazingly spiritual experience.
Yes ! thats it. cool others feel same way

Draco
30th January 2004, 10:06
Yeah, the aromas get me too. The smell of water flowing over moss covered rocks as you ride along side a river (especially in a gorge) is AWESOME. I love feeling the drop in temperature as you ride over the top of a big hill and down in to a gully on a misty winter morning. I love the smell of fresh rain on hot tarseal. I love the way people in cars or walking in the street pause to watch you go by with a longing look in their eye, you can almost hear them thinking, "gee, that must feel good", and you almost wish they could hear the reply of "yes it does, try it some day". I could go on all day, but you guys already know what i would say.

Jackrat
30th January 2004, 10:13
Apart from simply riding the thing,I get a real buzz out of working on it.
Taking things apart an fixing them gives me a real satisfaction that can't be beat.The few bikes Iv'e owned that I didn't form an attachment to were those that I didn't get to work on.My GSX,the bloody thing never needed any thing apart from regular maintanance,My SD900,I didn't understand it well enough to mess with it.
Nothing as nice as cruising the roads on a well tuned machine knowing what makes it tick an why.Watching some dude wind down the window of his car as I pass,He's green an stuck,I'm having a ball.
Stopping under a motorway bridge in the pouring rain an having a yarn with another biker doing the same thing.
Waving to the kids on the back seat while mum an dad pretened I'm not there.Pulling in front at the lights an giving the WAS first in line car driver a big grin.
Sitting on the side of the road watching the looks on the faces of all the car drivers I've just passed in the last half hour as they trundle by(They never get it) :)
Listening to the sound of the pipes bouncing off the cliff faces of some gorge
as we back on an off the gas.
Sitting beside some back country lake or stream,listening to the bike cool an watching the sun set,not giving a damn what the rich folks are doing because money can't buy what Iv'e got. :sunny:

duckman
30th January 2004, 10:14
I think for me it's the fact that I'm not like everyone else on the road. I find the car masses far to "sheeply" baaaaaaaaaa

I love it when I come up on line of cars on the open road being held up by some pilick doing 80 and I can just blast past them all laughing at their tin tops full of screeming children asking "ARE WE THERE YET ??"

:) :) :)

Oh and I feel like a super hero when you open these puppies up and fly down a quiet back country road - Vrrrrrooooommmmmmm!!!!

Wahooooooo

Dave
30th January 2004, 10:40
1. Speed
2, Individuality
3, comradery
4, petrol
5, technology

merv
30th January 2004, 10:57
Its all things to do with man and machine - enjoying the ride - enjoying working on them.

I've said before I'm a tight arse I guess so I don't like paying people to do stuff for me and there is a trust thing I've seen to many people have problems because something wasn't quite done right at the shop. I'm like Jackrat I need to understand the workings of what I'm riding and enjoy the pleasure of it working right because I made sure it does. Just put a new chain on my VFR this morning after servicing the bike yesterday afternoon. Cost wise by the time I have made sure I have all the tools I need to work on the bikes I am probably spending more than getting the shop to do things, but that's not the same in my book and besides I can use the tools over and over.

The riding is something like enjoying putting your skill to good use - taking the corners right etc etc and feeling good about how smooth you are riding and stuff like that. On the dirt it is always that man against the elements thing - getting up the steep slippery slope - riding down one too without coming to grief - adrenalin on the edge - heart in mouth that you didn't come off that time.

For similar reasons I enjoy cage and 4x4 driving too - keeping it smooth but fast and tackling the terrain. So I'm not a devout biker even though it kinda is my religion.

ching_ching
30th January 2004, 11:30
Yo folks,

I'm a bit of a lonewolf and to me the bike is another symbol of being a lonewolf and real individual (speed and acceleration notwithstanding). The exhiliration I get on my sickle is also something I can not describe and I'd venture to say is something completely different to any other thing I have done.

I guess me trying to describe how I feel about my sickle and riding it is like trying to describe to someone what salt tastes like. You can try to use all the words in the Collins pocket dictionary but until you try it yourself you'll just never know. :Punk:

the "ching"

Ms Piggy
30th January 2004, 11:49
:love: Yes indeed I am in looooooooove with riding!! :niceone: I have only been riding since late december and I love it. I ride my bike to work every morning & usually go home the long way. In fact last night when I went riding for pratice I was thinking to myself "This is my new passion and it's gonna cost me lots but I love it!". :hug:

LB
30th January 2004, 17:51
Its all things to do with man and machine - enjoying the ride - enjoying working on them.

or woman (sorry Merv, I couldn't resist!!)

Yeah, I relate to all of the above. It's not something you can describe to a non-biker. They just don't/won't understand. Their loss.

Marmoot
30th January 2004, 19:20
Only 1 thing for me: CORNERS

MikeL
30th January 2004, 20:14
If you can decide on the right word for it, you've got it nailed and further explanation is superfluous.
Is it a hobby?
a sport?
a passion?
an addiction?
a spiritual experience?

I think I know what it is for me. :)

Yamahamaman
30th January 2004, 20:29
If you can decide on the right word for it, you've got it nailed and further explanation is superfluous.
Is it a hobby?
a sport?
a passion?
an addiction?
a spiritual experience?

I think I know what it is for me. :)

I have to say that for me it is 'a passion' to which I am 'addicted'; but not saying that it is not good 'sport'.

Guess that rules out hobby and spiritual Huh :confused2

Zed
30th January 2004, 21:18
....I spose I can't say, is it "the wind in your hair" in
NZ anyway?...but is it? (on a side note, maybe us NZ motorcyclists can make helmet hair a fashion statement instead :cool: )
Hi Katwyn,

Apparently riding without a helmet is an even more adventurous experience...friends of mine went to Hawaii recently and hired some Harleys for a day to go cruising over the island. They said it was fantastic! (glasses compulsory though, understandably) I suppose the scenery helped too. :cool:


Zed

Ms Piggy
30th January 2004, 22:08
I love the way people in cars or walking in the street pause to watch you go by with a longing look in their eye, you can almost hear them thinking, "gee, that must feel good", and you almost wish they could hear the reply of "yes it does, try it some day".

Today when I parked up and got off my bike a little boy was walking past with his Dad and he turned around and gazed at me and the bike with a look of awe on his little face - I felt like saying to him "Do it son when you're old enough, you'll love it!" :yes:

Marmoot
31st January 2004, 06:09
What about riding with a mate and coming up behind a tin-top with the mum driving and about 3 or 4 teenage girls looking back gazing you up, then with no hesitation you guys pull up a simultaneous wheelie pass and send them lassies screaming? ;)
Yep, nothing feels like that. LoL. Believe me, nothing feels like that :shifty:
:Punk: :Punk: :Punk: :Punk: :Punk:

P.S.
I think I saw in the mirror the mum gave a thumbs up......Or maybe a middle finger.....

Ogri
31st January 2004, 06:45
My best moment - 8 laps of Brands Hatch for the charity Headway. It was an all girlie event and I passed an RC30 on my old Pantah 500 - she had the full gear on - knee sliders, toe sliders, colour co-ordinated leathers, etc. Me - black two piece leathers with a saggy ass and boots that had seen better days.

And to agree with a lot of you - the smells really get me every time, the "stomach rollover" when you are cranked over round a bend and suddenly faced with a slick of liquid manure or fecking big rocks or a piece of two by four and manage to stay upright - can't beat it.

Marmoot
31st January 2004, 07:25
the "stomach rollover" when you are cranked over round a bend and suddenly faced with a slick of liquid manure or fecking big rocks or a piece of two by four and manage to stay upright - can't beat it.

Uh......I'd rather not have that feeling at all.... :eek5:

PeteThePom
31st January 2004, 11:09
For me it's a life long love affair that began when I was 8, one of the farmhands used to give me a ride on the back of his CB750 on payday's and that got me hooked, no gear, no helmet, just the sun and the wind. It's one of the most vivid memories from my childhood.

Biking for me is part of who I am, if I dont get to ride my bike on a regular basis I become withdrawn and grumpy, some may say thats a problem, I don't think so.

It's all about freedom, speed, and that little bit of rebelliousness that is very much part of riding a bike. I get a big kick out of riding my bike fast, pushing my limits and, on rare occassions my bikes limits, swooping through bends, hacking through traffic, meeting others out on the road be it a wave as we pass or a casual relaxed natter at a cafe or bar.

Riding a bike has enriched my life beyond measure through the people I have met, the places I've been and countless shared experiences both good and bad and do you notice that on a bike the journey is often more important than the destination?..................

Indiana_Jones
31st January 2004, 13:56
No idea, just love them.

Steve McQueen got me into them

-Indy

bluninja
31st January 2004, 14:26
Uh......I'd rather not have that feeling at all.... :eek5:
I can sort of identify with the stomoach churning sensation, but for me it's that time when you go into a corner (you believe) far too fast knowing that buttoning off of any kind will put you off the track, and that the only way not to have an off is to lean and open the throttle some more. Your knee is down, your toe and peg goes down, your ankle and calf slider touches and the bike starts to slide...and then you're out the other side on an adrenalin high with a grin as big as your visor opening.

I ride because I enjoy it. At times it's like high speed meditation.

Batcerb
31st January 2004, 15:48
Well - for me Ive found its what you make of it.
Depending on how you feel on the day, it can be the single biggest rush ever or it can be calming beyond belief :O
Just such a great way to clear your head, and when you get home you just floating :D

Also the smell. When the 2 stroke first fires up in the morning! WOOOooo :D

And just knowing that you are higher up the food chain than that lowly car driver you just passed in the traffic - Gah - tis a great obsession these bikes!

Draco
1st February 2004, 08:45
I read somewhere a description of motorcycling that pretty well sums it up:

"It's the only thing other than sex that involves complete concentration and complete relaxation at the same time."

Motu
2nd February 2004, 22:21
How we think and act today depends on our experiances earlier in life,they are the foundations we build our personality and goals in life from.Bikes are the same - my early experiances in bikes leads me to today.

It was a life of adversity,the bikes we rode (Old and British) were unreliable and we used to go places you wouldn't take a late model trail bike - we were in deep shit all the time.Your bike broke down and you had to fix it,if you were with others it became something you did together,if you were alone,well,you just had to do it all alone.Same with getting stuck somewhere,everyone helped get the bikes up or out....if you were by yourself,you did it all by yourself.You got the bike going and rode it home,limped it home,or left it there,pillioned or hitched out and came back for it later.It may sound crazy,but we loved every minute of it,roadside repairs were something we were proud of,showing off our handy work,telling tall embroided tales of how we pulled something apart,repaired it with fencing wire then rode 4000km home running on distilled beer.

The things we undertook were not just screwing a lever back on the bars - shit no - we would remove cyl heads,take out valves and lap them in,clutch rebuilds,wheels,tyres,remove magnetos and retime under a bridge.I once pulled my cyl head outside a remote country store,removed the bent valve,fitted a new one,put the cyl head back on and rode home.One time we pulled a gearbox with a hole in the case out,with just a few tools,all the local store had was Ados and Selly's Spreadsole - so we made a patch out of a small piece of tin,matches and a strip of cloth soaked in Ados...when it set we covered it with Spreadsole,melted grease and gearoil over a fire and poured it into the box,refited it.The bike then rode from Taranaki back to Auckland then commuted for a couple of months before another gearbox was fitted.We got stuck and lifted our bikes over fences so we could ride out over farms.I was stuck in the tidal mud far from shore and had to dig and drag my bike back the 100mtrs to shore before an incoming tide.

This may sound a bit like living in a shoebox on the motorway type stuff,but it was what was happening,and there were years of it,that's what riding bikes was all about - so just riding the latest high tech thingy on clean nice roads is....um....kinda not very interesting for me,I need a bit more input.

Like Jack and others I need to know my bikes inside out,every bike I get is pulled apart then put back together,I know where every bolt is and what it holds together,all the whirling things inside the motor I can visualise while I'm riding,I know my bike,I can feel my bike,it speaks to me - and I listen,it's important that I do because it knows more about the road than I do,we are riding together my bike and I,sharing the experiance,telling each other what we need to know...input and feedback,I enjoy myself each ride...and so does my bike,it loves doing what it was built for,it knows I care and returns the favour.

I go unusual places,the locals look at me and wonder what the hell I'm doing here.Coming back into the city my bike and I are dusty or muddy,I like the feeling of having been somewhere these hordes haven't,even other bikers give me a weird look - I'm not part of their world either,I come out of a side road they have never been up,maybe they think I live there?

I get something out of every bike I ride - it doesn't have to be new,or powerful,or fast,make a lot of noise,be visualy exciting...it just has to have two wheels and an engine - then I can ride it,it can talk to me,tell me what the road is like,show me how it goes,what special talents it has,ones that no one else knows about because they haven't cared to look,because just like kids...everyone of them is special,everyone deserves my attention.

I walk into a room and cats know who I am,they come over to say hello.I walk into a shed and the bikes know who I am,I give them a pat,stroke their flanks,they all like a bit of attention,they look after you if you treat them right.

Angry Puppy
3rd February 2004, 12:50
Chicks in biker leathers!

Gixxer
3rd February 2004, 15:31
I tried to explain this to someone once who asked what was the big deal about riding, at the time I said it could not be explained, :spudwhat: that it had to be felt.

if someone asked me now, I think I would say 'freedom'.
the feel of the wind and openness all around you. the noise, the smell, the thrill of speed, the fear of crashing.

oh yeah and chicks in leather.

DEATH_INC.
3rd February 2004, 16:42
For me it would have to be the adrenelan rush :eek5: and the freedom from pretty much everything else that sux in this world.You get on yer bike and hit yer fave windys,and everything vanishes from your mind 'cept for what yer doin :yes:

LB
4th February 2004, 05:00
Chicks in biker leathers!
Or men in (or perhaps half out of.....) leather

Though I'm not fussy....some guys look good in cordura too.

Big Dog
4th February 2004, 15:24
I tried to explain this to someone once who asked what was the big deal about riding, at the time I said it could not be explained, :spudwhat: that it had to be felt.

if someone asked me now, I think I would say 'freedom'.
the feel of the wind and openness all around you. the noise, the smell, the thrill of speed, the fear of crashing.

oh yeah and chicks in leather.

I too have tried to explain it before but it defies all explanation :shake:

The adrenaline rush, the fear the challenge, the slamming a 400+hp car on a 250, blowing back a hsv on a 15 year bike, the attention it demands from children / late teen early 20's females, being part of the surroundings, independance, like minded individuals wherever you go, spiritual zen feeling...... nuh all of the above and more that cannot possibly be defined by a mere mortal.

Ms Piggy
4th February 2004, 16:08
Or men in (or perhaps half out of.....) leather

Though I'm not fussy....some guys look good in cordura too.

Have to agree with ya there Lynda :yes:

Hitcher
4th February 2004, 18:31
One of my best "bike" moments was one day when Mrs H and I were supping our cappuccinos in front of a cafe adjacent to our parked bikes. A brand spanking Mercedes Benz SUV with all the fruit pulls up. Dad walks around and helps three-year-old son out of his car seat. Said son runs up to our bikes (these were our 250s, by the way) and yells "Look Daddy, MOTORBIKES!" Dad doesn't react but as he walks past I said "I'll bet he didn't react like that when you bought the Merc!" for which I got a very sour silent look... I guess the truth hurts...

franco
4th February 2004, 19:24
Motorcycling evokes a lot of feelings for me I guess. Face it, they are toys - fun toys. Cars are much more practical no matter how much we try and justify otherwise (cheaper to run, easier to park, more environmentally friendly, etc).

Not only are they fun toys, but they are dangerous fun toys. We all know the risks, and happily accept them. So like gladiators we challenge (and beat) death each time we swing a leg over the saddle. An instructor once told me "a good ride is a ride we safely come home from". So we try to make every ride a good ride.

It's also pretty much a solo / individual pursuit. Sure, we take pillions and ride with groups from time to time, but I reckon we all probably spend a major part of our time riding solo. So it's an escape.

And cornering. As motorcyclists I reckon we pretty much love to find great twisty roads which give us lovely opportunities to lean the bike into corners. And when you nail your corners, it's like the same feeling you get when you
throw an orange skin into a dustbin from 10m away...BOOYAH !!

Ok, ok, it's really about the chicks.....cher cher

Ms Piggy
6th February 2004, 19:57
Today I went for a bit of a cruise up to Paekakariki and back, it's the biggest ride I've done so far. :)

While I was cruising along I realised, as I was grinning like an idiot, that another reason I love riding is b/c it's something I can call my own. I know when I first started riding I was taught by another friend but in the end it's up to me and it's only me that will make me a better rider, I know I'll always be learning & getting tips & pointers off other riders but what I mean compared to driving a cage, you'll have have someone in the passenger seat giving you advice but when you're out riding you own the ride...does that make sense?

Who cares! All I know is I love riding my bike and it makes me smile spontaneously!! :ride:

ching_ching
6th February 2004, 22:12
Ok, ok, it's really about the chicks.....cher cher

Cher, cher brudder! :2thumbsup

ching_ching
6th February 2004, 22:15
and yells "Look Daddy, MOTORBIKES!" Dad doesn't react but as he walks past I said "I'll bet he didn't react like that when you bought the Merc!" for which I got a very sour silent look... I guess the truth hurts...

Geez your a shit stirrer Hitcher:2thumbsup

mangell6
6th February 2004, 22:22
No no He's only stating the truth :lol:

merv
7th February 2004, 07:57
Today I went for a bit of a cruise up to Paekakariki and back, it's the biggest ride I've done so far. :)

Great and you got through Porirua safely without the gangs accosting you.

James Deuce
7th February 2004, 08:31
Great and you got through Porirua safely without the gangs accosting you.

I haven't seen a really threatening bike gang in about 10 years.

I remember being swarmed by Highway 61 just outside Hunterville once. They slowed down and kept me in the middle of the group. I hooned off down Vinegar hill and lost them at the 2nd corner :)

RG250 beats HD. No contest. :)

Still had to get my leathers cleaned.

Jim2

Draco
7th February 2004, 09:12
Said son runs up to our bikes (these were our 250s, by the way) and yells "Look Daddy, MOTORBIKES!" Dad doesn't react but as he walks past I said "I'll bet he didn't react like that when you bought the Merc!" for which I got a very sour silent look... I guess the truth hurts...

Go hitcher :devil2:
Let's face it guys, it's also about :finger: to society too. :laugh:

PeteThePom
7th February 2004, 22:25
........... my early experiances in bikes leads me to today.

It was a life of adversity,the bikes we rode ......... were unreliable and we used to go places you wouldn't take a late model trail bike - we were in deep shit all the time.Your bike broke down and you had to fix it,.........apart,repaired it with fencing wire then rode 4000km home running on distilled beer..............it.The bike then rode from Taranaki back to Auckland then commuted for a couple of months before another gearbox was fitted.......and there were years of it,that's what riding bikes was all about ......Like Jack and others I need to know my bikes inside out,every bike I get is pulled apart then put back together,I know where every bolt is and what it holds together,all the whirling things inside the motor I can visualise while I'm riding,I know my bike,I can feel my bike,it speaks to me - and I listen,........we are riding together my bike and I,sharing the experiance,telling each other what we need to know...input and feedback,I enjoy myself each ride...and so does my bike,it loves doing what it was built for,it knows I care and returns the favour.........I walk into a shed and the bikes know who I am,I give them a pat,stroke their flanks,they all like a bit of attention,they look after you if you treat them right.

Thanks for putting my thoughts into the words that I couldn't!:rockon:

Ms Piggy
8th February 2004, 09:15
Great and you got through Porirua safely without the gangs accosting you.

Ummmm, yeah. Didn't know there were biker gangs out there. Actually I didn't see any other riders going my way.

Indiana_Jones
8th February 2004, 13:14
I like being different as well, all my mates have cars (expect one) kinda cool being on da bike :Punk: even though it's L-plate :p

-Indy

foy
8th February 2004, 23:32
Though I've only ridden pillion I think the rush of the senses is great. I feel acutely exposed too (though I'm beginning to get used to getting stared at).

I didn't know whether or not the adreneline-rush was purely the result of the novelty of the experiance. I'm encouraged to see that it isn't totally.