riding in the 80's

[dangerous]

Hi 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.

Now I’m in this age bracket as well and I reckon that the 80’s were just the best time and decade ever The music was awesome from the netherworld dancing toys, the Exponents, the Mockers to Guns and roses, Pseudo Echo to Pink Floyd. Pubs were full by 8pm closed at 11pm-1am then it was off to a party to raise all kinds of hell. We wore stone washed jeans pastel colored pants and shirts with a thin gray leather tie. And don’t forget the big hair or mullet and tuft over the eyes

As for riding the roads were cage less and the cops would shake a finger at ya if you were cruising at 140k ‘bugger ya have to slow down for 1km’
The bikes we rode were hard work, heavy, crappie brakes often shocking handling and you were bloody lucky to hit 180 let alone 200k.
But it was our passion and we rode in any weather any time

There just doesn’t seem to have been the same amount of bikes on the road since then. Maybe the boys today can pick up a fast cheap car for the price of a bike were as in the 80’s it was hard to afford a fast car so we rode 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

[Motu]

Well,I'm just a little older than that...and I thought the 80s sucked,the music was absolute crap,even now with rose tinted glasses it's still crap....anyone who grew up in that era has turned out disfunctional for life,the lucky ones suicided at a young age.

But you're right,it was a great time for bikes,a last fling.I remember the dirt bikes...the street bikes still couldn't handle and were way overweight....but the dirt bikes,yeah,they were cool.Pro blink,Uni slack,Full bloater....12 inches(300mm) of suspn travel,drum brakes,big 2 strokes with no power valves,but plenty of power - like,right...wait for it...NOW! XR500s,pulling the front wheel up all around town,big power impulses that spun the knob in jerks on tarseal.Everyone rode a dirt bike on the street - you could hear the tyres howling before you heard the Supertrap exhaust.

On a personal level it was babies,sidecars,housetrucks,trials and moving a lot.

You shoulda been their in the 70s - now,there was a real decade!

[dangerous]

So I'm disfunctional am I and I knew no one that did suicided that seems to be the trend today with all the stress that wasent around in the 60,70 & 80's and as for your music coment thats proberly why I think the sounds in the 90's is absolute crap. Dirtys it was XR185s XR250r & PE175 for me but this is a road bike thread

[Grumpy]

Yeah, I'd have to say the 80's was a good time for bikes.
I remember that there were bike shops all over Auckland back then. Didn't matter where you lived it was a quick ride to the local shop to do your business.

I remember the trips to Baypark to watch guys like the Hiscock brothers on those bloody big GSX1100's.

Riding down to Manfield for the 6 hour and the Superbikes.

And the best part, the average speeding fine was only 15 demerits if I remember correctly and if you got pinged all you had to do was do a runner and park in somebody's drive and the black and whites couldn't touch you..... or so I'm told

[Motu]

Dirtys it was XR185s XR250r & PE175 for me but this is a road bike thread

''if you don't know me by now'' um....tyres howling on the seal,XR500s lofting the front wheel around town - to me that IS road riding! I have 2 86 Hondas,great time for bikes.

[Jackrat]

None of the music after the late sixtys is worth listening to,pink floyd wasn't eightys it just took that long for Kiwi's to catch on.I still listen to James Brown,Muddy waters,Robert Johnson,John Myall ect,ect,Oh yeah an don't forget Frank Zappa,Jimmy Hendrix,Led Zep,ect,ect.
The seventys were the place to be,No second hand Jap import cars,Way less Drugs and violence,Less intrusive laws.The bikes were really new, not just an up grade on last years model,they may of handled bad but they were still better than the last effort.Nobody hid their face behind a black visor,nobody rode sports bikes,tyres lasted more than 5000km no matter what you rode,Harley Davidson was just a bad dream,And best of all,I was thirty years younger and had hair.

[digsaw]

60s an 70s yeeeehar

[KATWYN]

I was fifteen in 84 ...I would ride on the back of a boyfreinds
Katana 1100 (had a couple of goes riding it, with him
as a pillion..yikes) then I wanted to buy a m/bike myself at 16
(a shitty old triumph)...well I came up with so much
opposition......no way! the family really put their foot
down "if you do, you will kill yourself!"

So, I reluctantly listened to them and I waited another 13 years
and at 29 brought an off road and an on road motorcycle......the
dream never left me, come hell or high water I was going to be
riding a road bike in my thirties I told myself back then!!

And 6 years later I am still riding. I reakon bikes are in your blood!

[Ms Piggy]

I reakon bikes are in your blood!

Definitely! I did a tiny bit of riding on a trail bike back in the 90's and I've always wanted to ride. Although I only started riding now and I'm 32 but it's always been a desire of mine.

[pete376403]

Jackrat hit the nail on the head when he mentions s/hand import Jap cars. These pretty much killed the market for entry level riders. People could buy a semi-ok car for the price of a bike, and get weather protection and parental approval for free.
As far as the 80's music goes, it was better than what passes for music now, but still not as good as the seventies stuff

[dangerous]

Ohhh crap thats 4 all (4 votes 70's 4 votes 80's) you lot are a bunch of oll buggers
But still prefur the 70's music to now days and the jap bikes to come out of the late 70's were big grunt buckets compaired to the euro stuff including the 2 strokes by Yamaha and Kawa the mighty CB 750 and even the small blocks like the 350, 360, 400's oh yeh dont forget the GT range.

And what ever happened to the street races that were held on a reular basis like in ChCh in the 80's there was the Sumner street race Sydnham street race out of town there was the Leeston street and the mighty un sealed street races at Cust. Ohh..... thats right SOMEBODY might get hurt well

[merv]

60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, doesn't matter to me I've enjoyed riding them all. Basically whatever we were riding we enjoyed pushing them to the limit.

[What?]

I'm with Jack and Motu.
Took my CB1100 out today (owned it for 19 years, now). It ain't specially fast, it doesn't handle specially sharp, it don't stop specially quick, but damn, I love it!

[Motu]

I hope we always have street races,but it's going to get harder and harder.We had street races in New Lynn in the 70s,that was fun,a couple downtown Auckland in the 80s.Shit,there were bike races around the streets at Bucklands Beach when I was a baby,but,um...that's a few years ago now - bet they wouldn't do that now!

[pete376403]

None of the music after the late sixtys is worth listening to,pink floyd wasn't eightys (snipping took place).

You like old Floyd stuff, Jack? Do you have the "Relics" album? First P/F I ever heard, "interstallar overdrive" late one night, bought the album the next day. Its a Mono recording FFS, how old is that?