Is motorcycling becoming an Old Man's Thing?

Discussion in 'UK Motorcycles' started by The Older Gentleman, Nov 4, 2010.

  1. The Older Gentleman

    CT Guest

    That's pretty much what I was about to post!
     
    CT, Nov 5, 2010
    #21
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  2. The Older Gentleman

    darsy Guest

    "news" would seem an inappropiate term for this sort of thing. The
    girl to whom I lost my virginity (albeit fairly late just as I was
    turning 18) who was 17 at the time, had been on the pill since she was
    14. This was in the mid 1980s.
     
    darsy, Nov 5, 2010
    #22
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  3. The Older Gentleman

    darsy Guest

    define "start riding", though. I didn't pass my bike test until I was
    28, but I'd been riding field bikes/little italjet
    schoolboy-scramblers etc on and off since I was about 12.
     
    darsy, Nov 5, 2010
    #23
  4. The Older Gentleman

    darsy Guest

    you go Morris Dancing, you hypocritical old twat!
     
    darsy, Nov 5, 2010
    #24
  5. The Older Gentleman

    darsy Guest

    bumnuggets.
     
    darsy, Nov 5, 2010
    #25
  6. The Older Gentleman

    TOG@Toil Guest


    Ah.

    Yes. C'est un gendarme blond.
     
    TOG@Toil, Nov 5, 2010
    #26
  7. The Older Gentleman

    darsy Guest

    drugs, innit ;-)
     
    darsy, Nov 5, 2010
    #27
  8. The Older Gentleman

    Jim Guest

    I don't think ¬(almost everyone Champ knows) = Hardly anyone
     
    Jim, Nov 5, 2010
    #28
  9. The Older Gentleman

    Catman Guest

    I really hope the nob holding up the traffic between Epping and Debden
    was really *really* old.

    29 mph FFS. If there hadn't been a queue, I'd have been round him in the
    car FFS.


    --
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    Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
    www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
     
    Catman, Nov 5, 2010
    #29
  10. The Older Gentleman

    spike1 Guest

    Not heard about it?
    The new test centres have a fucking stupid policy regarding one of the EU
    test requirements. Irrespective of weather, test participants have to swerve
    and brake at 30mph, resulting (especially when it's pissing down) in several
    broken limbs.
    --
    | |What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack|
    | |in the ground beneath a giant boulder, which you|
    | |can't move, with no hope of rescue. |
    | Andrew Halliwell BSc |Consider how lucky you are that life has been |
    | in |good to you so far... |
    | Computer Science | -The BOOK, Hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy.|
     
    spike1, Nov 5, 2010
    #30
  11. The Older Gentleman

    Jim Guest

    It's interesting if you divide it into socialeconomic groups. I reckon you
    hang out with more "Management and professional" types:

    http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww43/jimukrm/Screenshot.png
     
    Jim, Nov 5, 2010
    #31
  12. The Older Gentleman

    CT Guest

    I think it was the "hardly anyone" bit that people were taking issue
    with.
     
    CT, Nov 5, 2010
    #32
  13. The Older Gentleman

    sweller Guest

    It'd be interesting to see it by the mother's SE group and include sole
    registrations.
     
    sweller, Nov 5, 2010
    #33
  14. The Older Gentleman

    Jim Guest

    Jim, Nov 5, 2010
    #34
  15. The Older Gentleman

    TOG@Toil Guest

    I don't know, but I suspect you're right.
     
    TOG@Toil, Nov 5, 2010
    #35
  16. The Older Gentleman

    sweller Guest

    Obviously not.

    How does the EU legislation (if it exists) define "swerve and brake" - I
    assume we're not avoiding Elks here?
     
    sweller, Nov 5, 2010
    #36
  17. The Older Gentleman

    Chris Cowley Guest

    I thought it was 50km/h they have to brake from (hence my 31.0685596
    mph jibe, elsewhere in this thread). Something or other to do with
    Europe.
     
    Chris Cowley, Nov 5, 2010
    #37
  18. The Older Gentleman

    Jim Guest

    There is a lot of hot air along the lines of, they could have got an
    exception to allow the brake/swerve test to be done from 30mph and that
    would have let them do it on public roads and avoid building all the off
    road test centres (of which there are fewer so people have to travel
    further to their test) and making the test more expensive.

    I don't think it really stands up under examination though. You couldn't
    really do the same test on real roads because the surface would be even
    more unreliable and it would be dangerous amongst other traffic.

    I think it suits the government's road safety agenda to make the test more
    and more difficult/expensive so that fewer teenagers get killed on motorbikes.
     
    Jim, Nov 5, 2010
    #38
  19. The Older Gentleman

    Pete Fisher Guest

    7 bikes there this morning when I stopped for a coffee whilst doing
    another 60 miles of familiarisation after picking up the Shiver[1]. I
    suspect I was the oldest rider, but there was one chap who looked to be
    in his twenties (on a 600 I think). Quite a mix of bikes from 600 sports
    to a Kwacker 1400 GT. The rest of the riders looked about average UKRM
    age or a bit more. Still hardly a representative sample as all commuters
    would have been at work by 11.00.

    [1] Flicking the start button at idle does indeed cycle through 'S','T'
    and 'R' modes which were each tested on my way out to open roads. I may
    use the 'R' when getting on and off the seacat I suppose, or getting off
    a wet grass parking area. Otherwise 'S' is fine, which is naturally the
    default. I am finding it very much to my taste. Not unlike a Nordwest
    but with nearly twice the power. My euromoto acquaintance Fabio has one
    and recommends letting the fork tubes through the yokes by 20mm to
    sharpen up the steering a bit as unless 'bossed' with the big bars it
    can tend to run wide when giving it the beans out of slow corners.


    --
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Pete Fisher at Home: |
    | Aprilia Shiver Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
    | Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
     
    Pete Fisher, Nov 5, 2010
    #39
  20. The Older Gentleman

    Colin Irvine Guest

    ?
     
    Colin Irvine, Nov 5, 2010
    #40
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