riding in the 80's

[speedpro]

by now we largely have more money to play with.

Yeehaa!

Money??????????

Oh yeah, "you" aren't married to Jane.

[speedpro]

CB900 also had more ground clearance, not a single scrape when the GSX1100 scraped everything then passed the GSX.

If I hung off and the pillion hung off me it wasn't too bad.

What was your best time at Meremere?? 11.3@121mph?

[Morepower]

Late 70's /Early 80's ( i think ) Lets see Carless days , 80kmh speed limits , no fuel sales on weekends combine that with a thirsty 2 stroke GT750 and you were not going far.
great ...

Despite the cop issue things are much better now , Bikes are light years better , tyres actualy grip the road you can get fuel 24 hrs a day most places and honestly some with of those bikes ( XS 650 yamahas come to mind ) only the very brave got them to 100mph plus.
The very stupid would attempt to ride 750 Kwaka triples in the wet.

I like it now .

Dave

[LB]

Plus we now have lattes, flat whites and paninis when we stop (instead of a pie or a hot dog).

[F5 Dave]

Since the gangs stopped riding bikes Public perception is better & getting a motel isn’t like the Spanish inquisition.

Actually I did see a Gang member riding a motorcycle the other day. I suppose these days they don’t want to be confused with the Lawyers & Accountants.

Remember Bikie gangs? Only the occasional Harley but mostly Triumphs & Nortons with coffin tanks. You got to have a close look as you went past & they were broken down on the side of the road.

[jrandom]

yeah , Pink Floyd went commercial with Dark Side Of The Moon, anyway.

Well, DG did once say "it's only rock music". I suppose many would beg to differ.

While we're on the subject, I hear Roger Waters is still sour about the Phantom of the Opera leitmotif (if you don't understand, go listen to 'Echoes' on the Meddle album some time - that was recorded several years before PotO was written).

[merv]

I still have one 80's car at home with an AM only radio. I was never really into music and my car through the 70's I never even had a radio in it. My kids have trouble understanding that but I say I was more interested in hearing the sweet sound of the engine and concentrating on my driving.

Bikes are definitely better now but me being a short arse has brought its problems as the dirt bikes got taller, but you've all heard already how I lowered my WR250F so all's sweet.

I've ridden dirt bikes on the road since the 70's and have never worried about tyre grip as I was happy on knobby tyres. The latest phenomenon is that the dirt bike tyres are DOT or ADR compliant to be put on a road registered dirt bike. I was used to tail steering my dirt bikes with normal soft style mx tyres but now the damn things are so hard in the carcass and grip that well that the handling of the bikes has changed completely. I am running my WR with 10psi in the back tyre and it still too hard for my liking but being a cheapskate I won't change the tyre until its worn out. It was fine on the gravel roads of the Pukemanu though as it would slide at will on those surfaces.

[Bonez]

Just stumbled on this thread. I'm still in the 70s/80s re m/cs. If ones chose the the right model they are reliable enough if looked after. Tend to agree with Motus comment re "innovation" simpler better. There was soooo many models. A bit like whats happening now-there seems to be a renewed interest in two wheeled transport. Some models had about only a year model run (CB250T) and being sold new years after the model run had ended-the market was flooded, 16 inch front wheels (ooops), and a lot of uneeded "extras"(well to me anyway). It's nice to see some models being produced still around that have stood the test of time (H-Ds, air/oil cooled GSXs and GN250 anyone?). I do have a wee giggle when a see a Suzuki 1200SS on the showroom floor for less than a 80s CBX1000 six . You certainly get a lot of bike for your dollar if you go Suzuki these days.

[Bonez]

Should also add that a hell of a lot of roads that where just gravel tracks back then are now sealed (still plenty unsealed though to add variety .

[Motu]

I'm off to do some gravel today,it's all I've ever wanted to ride on,getting harder to find it now,but still plenty close to Auckland.It makes me laugh with all these young guys and born agains raving about all these great roads to ride - I've been on them for 30 yrs and most were gravel...this Coro loop they are all doing today,well there has only been a Coro loop for a couple of years,until then Coro to Whitianga was gravel...and they wouldn't do that would they?

[Bonez]

I'm off to do some gravel today,it's all I've ever wanted to ride on,getting harder to find it now,but still plenty close to Auckland.It makes me laugh with all these young guys and born agains raving about all these great roads to ride - I've been on them for 30 yrs and most were gravel...this Coro loop they are all doing today,well there has only been a Coro loop for a couple of years,until then Coro to Whitianga was gravel...and they wouldn't do that would they?

Nap. I'm not fast at all in the stuff but don't mind it one bit. Never owned an off roader so all my gravel stuff is on "road bikes' (must get one one day). Poor things at the Cold Kiwi in the slush had a hard time of it I beleive. Skinny tires rule lol.

[KATWYN]

anyone who grew up in that era has turned out disfunctional for life,the lucky ones suicided at a young age.

Motu, 80's was my era. Whats wrong with being dysfunctional
anyway!

Dangerous, I learned to ride on a Suzuki Katana 1100 when I was
16 and I also remember being on the back of it with my boyfreind riding
it at the time doing 200kmph on the Thames straight. I think back to those times of stupidity and cringe

Then there was a time when I was a pillion on a trike on a day trip up to
Kaitaia from Dargaville - I thought I was gunna die. Holding on for dear life to the rider who was about as wide as he was tall. It had a king and queen seat shaking all over the place - and I was trying the whole time to stay on

[Bonez]

Actually I did see a Gang member riding a motorcycle the other day. I suppose these days they don’t want to be confused with the Lawyers & Accountants..

Now days they ARE lawyers and accountants :

[toads]

real[/B] decade!

well agree to a point with both of yas,we did drugs, and housetrucks and generally all things dysfunctional and anti-pc, I was into bikes but only as an affordable form of transport on my crap wages, but yes Motu the 70's music was better, but generally it was good to be a teenager in the 80's, my mates had cars that wouldn't qualify as demolition derby material these days, the rules were way fewer and futher between, and it was great to have so many bikes out on the roads, a lot of youngsters died in car/bike accidents though.
i hate the political correctness and legislation crazy world we are now in, but we are all stuck with it. We will have to change if we are ever to cope with anything as sinister as war or famine in the future.

[FROSTY:Me]

My early motorcycle riding was in the 80's I was one of those blokes that really diddn't buy into the booze drinking /drug taking.I just loved to ride my bike and got the racing bug -actually watching the bucket racers at whenuapai.
Memory distorts reality but I remember my first yamaha. The xj650 being a sweet handling bike with fantastic brakes.
The racing we did around manukau city before it went into 7 day a week trading and the nightmare street "track " on the auckland waterfront. -the one where ya diddn't worry about tyre wear you worried about the road peeling away under you.
Dare i say it I remember the midnight cowboy days where you'd cruise into town and thered be 50 or so other guys to chew the fat with and head off for a ride with.
I remember the days the cops could and would issue 24 hour helmet excemptions if your helmet was stolen off your bike .
actually yea i loved the 80's ---let the good times roll