h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

just to get something current running

what do you now ride

i have a Yam XT660R

I ride a 1981 Honda Goldwing with Vetter fairing,bags & trunk.
1100 ccs I think.

It's getting late here or I'd be going for a ride right now.

Hooray for Summer

YB

I ride an SV650S that I've owned since 2001. Nice little vtwin for commuting and the odd blat over the mountains...winter here, but still great weather for riding

A forty five year old R60 BMW

In '66 it was the most comfortable ride around, compared to todays suspensions it's like riding a vibrating concrete block.

After a six year layoff the VFR 800 (1998) is making a return by month end.

Once the jets fuel batt chain and fluids have been tinkered.


Still got 400four stashed that I've had since 78.

It sounds like some folks are getting a much later start this year than usual. I know I held off taking the 1997 Honda Nighthawk (CB750) out of the garage until May this year. The weather was so sketchy here in Mid-Missouri, USA, it wasn't worth getting unexpectedly drenched in chill rain during the first few months of the year. Typically, I could start riding at the end of February, though the mornings would require bundling up in layers or a great all-weather suit.


I still get caught in the occasional downpour, but I don't mind if it's on the way home. At least then I know I can change clothes as soon as I pull in. I tend to avoid riding to work when the forecast calls for rain in the morning (though I kick myself if it's clear in the afternoon), because I don't like working in 'squishy' clothes all day. I've considered having a second wardrobe here at the power plant, but haven't bothered to stock my locker...yet. There's still no good place for me to dry my riding jacket if I get doused on the way in.

Tumsup:
You've given me a slight tinge of envy, riding a classic BMW R60. While doing research on the history of my Opa & Oma from Deutschland, I determined my Opa must have had a BMW R12 for his ride. I suspect he later incorporated a sidecar to accommodate Oma, his sweetheart in their 'twenties', and shortly thereafter, his wife. If you have time, could you detail the controls and indicators on your R60; I'd like to compare a write-up of the earlier model R12 ergonomics and handling. Someday...someday, I'd like to have one. As a collector's piece, and as a way to see the highways and byways through my grandfather's eyes. Would you do me the favor of describing a ride on your Beemer, so I have a frame of reference.

I have yet to jot down the details of my daily communte from work to to home, along the scenic Route CC and Route O, from the power plant to Fulton. It winds through the countryside, down into the Missouri River bottom, then back up through farmland, and into town. Perhaps I can put the experience into words...so y'all can "ride with me", hopefully not as pillion, but using the grips and the shifter, leaning into the turns, and feeling the breeze rush past you.

B4itakemynotepadalongtorecordeach2milesection&cobblethemtogether4thewholetrip

Hi B4,

Sorry that I took so long to get back, I'm in a real busy patch these days.
I sort of mis-spoke when I said I ride, present tense. On the penultimate beautiful fall day last year I was riding through my bit of Southern Ontario about thirty miles from home when I heard a loud clunk and the left cylinder decided to retire for the season. The engine otherwise kept spinning so, rather that push it, I kept going. I can definitively say that an R60 has a top speed of almost fifty MPH on one cylinder. Since then I look at it wistfully on every nice day but I don't now have the coin to fix it

One thing that they were known for is reliability and I can vouch for that. It took me ten years and twelve thousand miles to break a forty five year old motorcycle. I don't actually know how many miles mine has. The odometer has only six digits including tenths so it goes to zero after a hundred thousand. I once met a man and his wife from Guadalo... Guadalaha....... Mexico who didn't know how many miles his had and he bought it new twenty years before. He said it was six hundred thousand or seven, he wasn't sure. He ands his wife were travelling from the southern tip of Chile to the top of Canada. The loved the trip, they'd done it before.

The R60 is the last of the classic BMWs. It is the acme of a venerable technology but they had to drop it in 1970 as the Japanese had introduced a new paradigm. The only plastic that I can find is the insulation on the wiring. There's no electronic anything in it. Magneto ignition on the end of the cam shaft and a DC generator on the crank below with an electromechanical voltage regulator- six volt of course so don't ride at night, no one can see you.

I don't know how to compare it to an R12, that's not one I'm familiar with. It has a normal swing arm rear suspension but an earles fork in the front. I understand that this was to give extra stability when fitted with a sidecar. Mine has the lugs welded to the frame but no sidecar. It's extremely stable, there's no snapping it around at speed .....assuming that you call what it does as speed. The manual lists the top speed as 90MPH but that's calculated as the red line in fourth gear. The real top is about seventy five, the engine runs out of enthusiasm after that.
I don't know what else to say. The controls are standard i.e. non British. The dial on top of the headlight tells you how fast you're going, there's a light to tell you when the high beams are on and another to tell you when you're in neutral. There are (were) turn signals on the ends of the handlebars which seems like a good idea until the bike tips over off its stand.
I like it because I can do my own work on it without special equipment. It's simple but subtly designed, you can tell that it's been refined over many years.

If you have any more specific questions, I can try to find out for you.

Tumsup,
This is what I've found on the R12, a bike I'm certain my Opa would have owned in the time-frame before and into WWII.
Link: http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/1937-bmw-r12-679.html

I've also seen photos of the R60 and it's a sweet ride. The biggest difference I note between the two bikes is the R60 has a "boxier" fuel tank, compared to the tapered R12 tank. I think some of the controls were different, too, because a write-up I found by a person who owned a classic R12 stated many of the clutch and throttle controls were levers at the side of the tank. That would make for a well-choreographed riding experience, if you ask me.

I'm glad you had such a wonderful time with your R60. What's the back-story on how you acquired it? What prompted you to get it? Where did you find it? What were the circumstances that brought it into your life? Do you have any favorite rides you'd care to reminisce about? What was the easiest / hardest repair you had to do on the bike? You mentioned "...there's no snapping it around at speed...", so I take it the gyroscopic effect and the weight of the bike dictated planning your turns and braking. What other quirks in the handling (compared to modern motorcycles) did you feel as you road it. I figure you would know best, since it was a regular companion over a decade. You don't know someone for that long without picking up on their idiosyncracies.

I ask all these questions because my wife keeps pestering me to WRITE the story of my grandparents. It would serve a two-fold purpose: 1) it would be a great story to share with the world; 2) some additional revenue might actually be helpful so we could buy a restored R12 of our own, as a memento of the times. -OR- We could take a trip to "The Old Country" to vacation in the areas where all the events transpired. Heck, if I got movie rights, we could do both.

So...consider yourself as a candidate for a by-line from all my research.

(but NOT before riding, okay?)

B4ihogupthewholethreadwithnothingpertaining2thetypebikeiride

After a hiatus of, well, far longer than I care to say, I'm back into biking.

I bought a new 2011 Yamaha FJR, and, despite the crappiest spring in 10 years, have been riding since mid-March.

There's now over 8500km on the clock, which partially explains my infrequent visits to hootoo.

I'm really enjoying riding again

welcome back Tal

we missed ya

Tal, that's a sweet ride. How did you come by the "discretionary cash" to finance such a beauty?

B4ifindthenickels&dimesinthejarsimplywillnotsuffice4mydreammachine

Yeah, she's beautiful, sweet, and effortlessly fast




And...


I sold my soul for her

It's getting too cold and foggy for me to continue to ride to work in the mornings. The route I take passes through farmland and a river bottom on a tributary of the Missouri. This is also the season for deer to go into "rut", where they get practically crazy with hormones and will cross any field, stream, fence, or roadway to 'chat up' a prospective mate. This can be disasterous for a motorcyclist. Colliding with several hundred pounds of sinew and bone at any appreciable speed spells trouble, and possible hospital time.

I'm not certain when I'll stop taking Black Betty out for our daily ride, but it will certainly be this month. I have plans to let her stay the Winter at a Motorsports store in Jefferson City, where she'll receive spa-like treatment until next Spring. I've already enquired about new shoes (tires), some new bling (front halogen & rear LED lights), as well as massage and strength training (engine rebuild / tuning and new gearing / chain). It'll cost me a pretty penny, but then, it's always "cheaper to keep'er", isn't it?

B4ihave2partcompanyforwhatwillseementirely2longatime

I stopped riding on 7 Oct 2011. Weather, daylight (or rather, DARKNESS) during my rides to / from work, and the drop in temperature have all come to a head to dissuade me from being "out in the wind" when I ride.

On the flip side: I've purchased a 1995 BMW K 1100 LT as a replacement bike for Black Betty. I know she's going to be upset, as much as I'm going to be heart-broken to let her go. However, I've been hankering for a BMW for a few years--really since the time I started riding again. Something to do with my Opa in Germany, who used to work on BMW Motorrader. {see short excerpt of "Empty Cocoons" in My Space}

A couple of weeks ago, my wife, A---, started pushing me to look for a different bike because (in her words) "I don't like to see you on your tip-toes trying to balance your bike. It makes me scared it'll fall over." What am I gonna do, tell her "No, I'm not going to upgrade" to something better? Thus the internet search began.

There were about a dozen contenders, though they didn't all surface at the beginning. Once I'd seen all the offerings in the local area (MO, KS, IL), I started making contact with the sellers. One already had a buyer for a late-model R 1150; another was too far south, on the Gulf Coast of TX; there was a guy who rebuffed me for 'insulting' him with too low an offer; and there were two close enough at hand I could easily go view them and make a decision. The one who struck me as the most sincere also cut me the best deal, effectively cutting the advertised price in half because the bike didn't start again after he replaced a fuel pump this summer.

The silver K 1100 LT is in excellent condition, though it has high mileage (120k miles). It has all the accoutrements: heated grips, auto-adjust fairing, highway footboards, hard cases, a luggage rack & helmet trunk. The biggest plus was the MTC Voyager pin-on chassis that acts as a trike conversion for more stability (something my wife appreciates), but is easily removed within minutes by removing two bolts and driving the bike forward (something I appreciate) so I can run the twisties like I love to do.

We worked out the payment and the logistics of moving the bike all yesterday. Trip to A---'s bank to get the secured loan. Trip to "our" bank to deposit the funds, then wire them to the seller's bank. Coordination between the seller, the logistics (transport) company, and the BMW dealership in STL (where the initial check-up & repairs will take place). Seller promised to separate bike and trike chassis for Transporters, who promised to store chassis and deliver bike to Dealership, who promised to repair efficaciously so I can drive bike to Transporters and reattached trike chassis, then drive home with whole bike / trike combo. A--- and I celebrated achievement at local pub (Bek's) with shared meal and good cuppa java.

I should have everything home in about two weeks. I'll believe the weather holds long enough for it to be a pleasant ride. We've discussed going to fetch it as a family; I'll drive the trike combo, A--- will drive her BMW 528i to get us there and her back; our daughter, Y---, could tag along and ride pillion back with me.

Looking forward to riding more frequently with all family members next year. Perhaps we'll even do some road trips with the Gateway BMW Motorcycle Club that I'm linking up with in STL. So begins a whole new chapter in our lives!

B4theanticipationdrivesme2gositintherepairshop&watchuntiltheyaredone

Sounds like a lot of fun being planned there!

Bea

Yay!