Spring is here. Any motorcyclists out there look in, car drivers too...
 

Winter is finally done it seems, and the long awaited nice spring weather has hit Winterpeg with full force. I took a drive out to my mom & dad's place for Easter Dinner on Sunday, and while driving across the city I happened to notice quite a few motorcycles cruising around. Just less than two weeks ago it was still snowing some. Anyway one older leather-clad bearded fellow (not Baddog) on a brand new $20+,000 dollar Harley riding along beside my car for a time really got me remeniscing about my own bike-having days, and a wisp of longing hit me as he rumbled along.

I think an old friend from way back in my gym-working days said it best: "On a sunny summer afternoon, you need to take a run to the store for something, anything.... if you go by car it's just a trip to the store. But if you ride, it's an adventure."

That really sums up the allure of motorcycling, at least for me. My riding days are long behind me, I don't think my back could take it now. But it's nice to see that spring and the sight of the bikes can still bring back those very fond memories and longings in some of us who used to ride, and who know.

My one word of caution to all of us non-adventurers out there would be to watch out for those who still partake of the two-wheeled open road adventure, because they're basically defenseless against the likes of your car, and the texters and the inattentive idiots that are sharing the road with them. Bikes are faster, more maneuverable than cars but they're no match for the dum-dums who lane change without looking or without signalling etc.

Don't be a statistic, and don't cause one. Safe driving, riding, motoring, boating etc to all of us this summer.

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I dusted the bike off over the weekend

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I have a soft open for a new brewery to attend this afternoon; I think I will have to take it.

In this one way I live vicariously through you Lloyd, you know that.

Enjoy that ride damn you. :D

I live less than 150 feet from Pacific Coast Highway on the California Central Coast, as the air gets warmer you could rename PCH and call it Thunder Road for all the Harleys heading up/down the coast.

Except for when it's raining (which is rare) you can ride here pretty much year-round but things get really busy from May to December, I hear bikes going by all day long.

Thanksgiving 2012 I was cruising PCH to Carmel and back in my shirt sleeves. :thumbsup

I had some things to do last weekend so the girl stayed home, but going to go chase the sun this weekend for sure. :)

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glad someone got to ride this weekend, mine has been in the shop for a while now, getting impatient! hehe

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Everyday I find a reason to ride mine.

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Car drivers be aware!
 

What bike did you finally get? I seem to remember you were shopping for one last year.

It sucks when they're in the shop, what's wrong with it?
A couple months after I bought my current one it was found to have an internal bearing problem due to an engineering defect which HD took care of even though the warranty had expired by about 5 years, but the parts were on backorder for nearly 3 months. :(
The service guys said that parts and labor it should have cost thousands.

Didn't cost me a dime. :)

The wait was hard but worth it in the end.

That's why you should own multiple bikes.


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What's winter? Is that when temperatures dip mildly below 60? :1orglaugh

(Yep, Cali weather :thumbsup)

I'm actually itchin' to ride again, but I definitely don't want to go back to the crotch rocket I had (Kawi Ninja ZX6). Can't decide what I want for my new bike!

Yeah no shit,
From the looks of those bikes if I had your money I could throw my money away. :winkwink:

Actually I am thinking about buying a second machine, I like to cover the miles so I was considering getting a sport-touring bike for weekend travels.

However they may drum me out of HOG when they see me riding a (horrors!) Japanese bike. :1orglaugh

a 163 horsepower touring bike, Kawasaki Concours 14
http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/cro...4-9_600x0w.jpg

But I'm not sure if my Harley is open-minded enough share the parking space, so for now I'll just have to ride the Harley and keep setting off car alarms wherever I go :1orglaugh

Nice ??? Real nice.

.

nice..i like bikes but too bad i dont have one...all my respect for u guys

Something like that, yes. :D

As incredible as it sounds, Winnipeggers seem to fit in quite a few months of riding every year. I know I did back in those days. From the first sign of bare pavement to the first dumping of snow there can be over 7 months per year here that's fit for it.

My question might be, do Canadians value their ride time more than you southernors? You know, since there's less of it?

I wonder.

Not a bike dude but I like watching beautiful bikes.

winter is just a state of mind...its always kick ass season LOL

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cant wait for some long driving.we have still some bad weather here raining almost every day