Immature and proud of it.
They were great biking years, the Japs slowly started to realise that bikes had to handle as well as go. Cop cars were slow and far between, roads were damn near empty. You could do 215 km/h for the length of Takanini straight and have both lanes free to control the weaves.
The music was crap though. Jackrat is right, rock started and ended in the '60's.
And in '84 we got Roger, fucking, Douglas, the end of life as we knew it.
Lou
I'd rather be thinking
I think those two things are related. The great music of the 60s and 70s came from a unique combination of circumstances: intelligent, well-educated young people reacting against the older generation's materialism, hypocrisy, complacency (think Vietnam war protests, campaigns for social justice, environmentalism...) and searching for personal enlightenment (music + mind-altering drugs as a way to spiritual awareness). In the 80s, the era of Thatcherism, Rogernomics and the worshipping of the "market", the "establishment" captured the whole movement through rabid commercialism and the creativity died.Originally Posted by Lou Girardin
As for bikes, I was too preoccupied with raising a family and paying the mortgage to even think about that. Which explains why to some extent I'm stuck back in the 70s and "bike" still means Bonnies and CB750s.
on the up
Well, I'm 37 years old now, so I can definitely relate.
Hated most eighties music, still do - as a guitarist, particularly playing in hard rock and metal bands since 1980 (aged 13!) and putting up with crappy clubs to play in, the prevailing music at the time struck me as twee, boring and not very friendly to guitarists, particularly skinny, long-haired ones with obnoxiously large Marshall stacks to play through. I like a lot of older rock, and a huge amount of indy rock and alternative rock from the States.
The wife, however, just looooves eighties music (and also other stuff) J2 is a pretty popular tv channel in our house.
Anyway, I'm back on bikes for 6 months now after a 15 year hiatus - feels good.
The fast cars have got a lot cheaper - I recall spending 17995 on a six-year-old 1984 VH 4.2 SS, spending 23,000 in the next three years to keep it on the road and flicking it off for 7,995 when the ex-wife wanted a house.
And I to my motorcycle parked like the soul of the junkyard. Restored, a bicycle fleshed with power, and tore off. Up Highway 106 continually drunk on the wind in my mouth. Wringing the handlebar for speed, wild to be wreckage forever.
- James Dickey, Cherrylog Road.
Bucket Racer/Crasher
Started in the mid 70s on bikes and did the classic RD-CB-Z-XS-GSX thing. Each better than the last(except for the AC50 somewhere in the middle). Then got lost and kept going back to various Z/KZ/GPz bikes. Had a ball on every one helped by all the like-minded riders met along the way. Did all the piss trips to the 6-hour and Levels, and Puhoi and a whole pile of others. Listened to whatever music was being played and, apart from some tosser playing some country crappo way too loud on his Leadwing at some rally, most was OK.
Actually it doesn't matter what volume "country" music is played at does it?? Or western for that matter.
It was definitely more fun thrashing round some years ago without the current laws & attitude of the cops though even in the early eighties the pressure was coming on. Imagine doing the whole of the Napier-Taupo road as fast as possible, only slowing enough not to crash in the corners, sitting on 190+KmH wherever possible. My worst memory of these trips was my brother on his CB900 getting past me and the girlfriend
on my completely tapped out GSX1100 down one huge straight. I have various excuses and he only crept very slowly past, but still.
Hardcore Biker
Always ridden, with breaks to purchase a cage for the growing family, the bike was usually my work transport as it was cheap to run and I spun a very good yarn to ensure that I have bike to ride. nufthing like the wind in ones faceHi all, Something that I have noticed here is the number of users that are in there mid 30’s that would put them in the 1980’s when they were learning and getting involved with bikes.
So my question here is has our generation always ridden, are we the last of the die hard bred or are you lot returning to bikes after a break to do the family thing etc and having a mid 30s type crises?
Your thorts plz
"I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage.
They've experienced pain and brought jewelry." - Rita Rudner
A man is only as big as the dreams he dares to live
Forum whore
Aah, the 80's..watching the wanganui Boxing day races, live on TV!
“- He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
Nana
The fact that I still ride a bike from the eighties says as much about my preferences as it does about my paycheck.
while I agree that by comparison there are not too many modern 250's that could not catch if not pass my 1100 how many of them could I sit on without feelling like I just broke it?
Hell my knees touch the mirrors on some modern shit.
Many 90's MC Co's lost my respect when the possibiltity of my actually owning one vannished as they decided the best way to save weight and make them handle was to make it so that only Vern Troyer can fit on the damn thing.
I could have afforded the 90's RVF 900 as well but just looked damn silly on it.
And yes I am totally dysfunctional. I blame it on the 20inch plug in baby sitter. sure telly was around long before the eighties but more mums were at home. in the eighties I was often "baby sat" for hours on end before an adult came home. Did it kill me? No. Did it harm me? You be the judge.
Needs Sponsorship
ahhhhh the eighties, simply great, can't remember shit all because my age ranged from 0-5 lol
Forum whore
At least one moment in the 80s was really great for your dadahhhhh the eighties, simply great, can't remember shit all because my age ranged from 0-5 lol
it's not a bad thing till you throw a KLR into the mix.
those cheap ass bitches can do anything with ductape.
(PostalDave on ADVrider)
Forum whore
Late 60's - early 70's....the great Japanese bike explosion..Stuff like Suzuki T20, Bridgestone GTR350, Kwaka triples, Honda fours....exciting bikes...better than all that tired old Pommie shit! I hated single cylinder 4 strokes...it was the eerie moan of a Yamaha YDS3 that turned me on to bikes...they could sound great!
The 80's were crap, coz I had no bike for most of them........
yeah , Pink Floyd went commercial with Dark Side Of The Moon, anyway.
Way less drugs?...not in my neck of the woods..........Less intrusive laws.....didnt seem like it at the time...not when you're leaping out the back window with the flats stash as the front door gets kicked in by zealous bobbys!
Disagree -although late 70's and 80s and 90's pop is crap. But when was it ever not. there is some real good music out there now - just depends on your taste and where you look for it. Never to old to appreciate new good music!None of the music after the late sixtys is worth listening to
YES!
“- He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
Mobile Oil Stain
Suzuki's T20,Hell I would of listed that in the worse bike ever owned thread but I've been trying to forget.I used to watch the weather forcast to see how the bloody thing was going to run the next day.
Forum whore
But, to an impressionable 17 yr old, they were, exciting. Dont nessescarily ? mean they were good
“- He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
Forum whore
AH!...so there was a reason! I thought it was just me.
In and out of jobs, running free
Waging war with society
Hardcore Biker
Ah yes the memorys of riding in big groups really fast to the Castrol 6 hour, over the Napier - Taupo before it got straightened out
Speedpro you also forgot to mention that a certain CB900 also had more ground clearance, not a single scrape when the GSX1100 scraped everything
then passed the GSX.
No8 Wire Extraordinaire
Yeah fond memories of riding everywhere. Everywhere. I bought a car at one stage ‘cause I thought my girlfriend would like it but she preferred the bike so it never got used, when it broke down it got left for over a year ‘cause I didn’t care.
We went into restaurants with big groups & everyone was in leathers trying to find where to store helmets under seats etc, you just never see that in wgtn anymore. Motorcycle clubs where people used to ride to meetings, heaven forbid that now!
The bikes were garbage though. Just sold my GS11 touring barge which for its purpose was ok, nothing 20 yrs of chassis development wouldn’t fix.
As for the music the late 70s had classic stuff like the Stranglers & the Siouxie & the Banshees were sort of coming on. The 80s had some of the nastiest commercial music ever, Maddogga, Lionel Richie & Phil Collins trying his best to turn his back on anything decent he had done before (ie before Peter Gabriel left Genesis & the drummer thought he could sing).
But commercial music has always been tragic but the 80s did have a cool amount of underground music even in NZ, Blam Blam Blam etc.
I for one applaud since the late 90s -music has been getting better & better. Muse, Perfect Circle, Tantric. At 36 I’m no longer a kid, but I don’t see any reason to not behave like one -that’s for damn sure. Don’t cut yourself off from some good stuff that is happening because what you see on C4 most of the time is Pimps & Hoes ‘gettn’ jiggy with it’ or whatever (though it can be entertaining with the sound off).
As for the bikes, the brakes finally work, the engines are smoother revving, the suspension is still budget but way better than before. In the dirt the Trials bikes & Enduro bikes are quantum better & more fun for it.
& by now we largely have more money to play with.
Yeehaa!
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