rodan Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I'm just glad I'm not the only FJ owner who channels their inner "hoonigan" when in the twisties. With that being said, I rarely see actual repli-racers anywhere out of the city limits. The old men on sport touring bikes are the ones that'll learn you in the corners. I ride with a group of 'older' riders (I'm 49, they're now 70-80), who are pretty competent riders. A few years ago, I invited an acquaintance (my age) and his son-in-law to ride with us. My group rides an assortment of bikes, mostly BMW and other ST or touring bikes. On this particular trip, one was on his DR650 (he was ~74 at the time). The 'new guys' were on a GSXR750 and R6. At the time, I was on an ST4S Duc. Well, they showed up to the meeting spot, and I gave them the 'speech' I always give riders I've never ridden with (ride your own pace, we'll wait at turns, etc.), and we discussed the route. The first section of town is about 15 miles of twisties, and we got to the bottom of that and pulled off. We waited about 5 minutes for the new guys to show up... I didn't think anything of it at the time. About a week later, I spoke with the acquaintance's wife. She told me they showed up, and saw all these gray haired old farts and were talking about how boring this ride was going to be, because we were going to be so slow. They were apparently quite embarrassed to get schooled by everyone, including the septuagenarian on the dirt bike! (rofl) Here's some of that crew on a trip to CO about 15 years ago. Sadly, several of the crew have passed, and others no longer ride. But the guy on the DR650, Bob Riggle, is still going strong at 80 (on a Versys 1k now). In fact, he even went viral recently in a little incident with Jay Leno... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willard Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Before I got my suspension somewhat sorted an old man on a 2006 GS made a fool out of a whole group of competent riders and especially myself. The man could barely walk with a cane but rode like the wind. A GS can be backed into corners just like Colin Edwards. The next time I ran into some retirees on VFR's and such they were pleasantly surprised that I was biting on their heels the whole way. Suspension is maxed out on preload to prevent the dive now. Either way, I enjoy running away from cool kids whenever I get the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
com3 Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 I'm just glad I'm not the only FJ owner who channels their inner "hoonigan" when in the twisties. With that being said, I rarely see actual repli-racers anywhere out of the city limits. The old men on sport touring bikes are the ones that'll learn you in the corners. I ride with a group of 'older' riders (I'm 49, they're now 70-80), who are pretty competent riders. A few years ago, I invited an acquaintance (my age) and his son-in-law to ride with us. My group rides an assortment of bikes, mostly BMW and other ST or touring bikes. On this particular trip, one was on his DR650 (he was ~74 at the time). The 'new guys' were on a GSXR750 and R6. At the time, I was on an ST4S Duc. Well, they showed up to the meeting spot, and I gave them the 'speech' I always give riders I've never ridden with (ride your own pace, we'll wait at turns, etc.), and we discussed the route. The first section of town is about 15 miles of twisties, and we got to the bottom of that and pulled off. We waited about 5 minutes for the new guys to show up... I didn't think anything of it at the time. About a week later, I spoke with the acquaintance's wife. She told me they showed up, and saw all these gray haired old farts and were talking about how boring this ride was going to be, because we were going to be so slow. They were apparently quite embarrassed to get schooled by everyone, including the septuagenarian on the dirt bike! (rofl) haha! i have a similar story...except i was "the new guy." haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeetea Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Enjoyed that, it is a good read. Honda SS50, Kawasaki Z200, Honda 400/4, Yamaha TDM900, Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1200GS, Mr Stevens, and my favourite of all: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer...a bit like FJ-09 only properly named :¬P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinsv Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I wonder if Bob is still his hero after that! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 I wonder if Bob is still his hero after that! LOL Well, the car is repaired, and they're trying to work out a redux in a more appropriate venue. The location they filmed at was less than ideal, to put it mildly.... We have a meeting of the Bullsh*tters Club tomorrow morning (too cold to ride, and roads are still nasty from snow this week). If Bob is there, I'll try to get an update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinsv Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 That sounds like a great bunch to ride with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Forgot to get back to the thread... If all goes well, you'll see Jay Leno in the Hemi Under Glass again. Don't want to say much more, things are still in the works. I've been lucky to have some really great guys to ride with, and have been all over the country with a couple of them. It's just sad that we've lost some, and others are giving up riding. Time marches on, and none of us are immune. I'm the youngest of the crowd, and I'll be crossing the half-century mark this year. Time to recruit some youngsters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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