How Old is too Old?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Fast Eddie said:
Please, please, please… don’t paint it black !

Anyway, it’s a fact that blue ones are fastest…
Click to expand...
.. but the black ones have the best looking owners .
How Old is too Old?
 
I would leave it as its a surviver and ride it, fix things up that needs it as you go along, if you chance the colour you might be temping fate and not to many blue Nortons around, everyone has a black one and I have had good luck with my blue, if you get it just enjoy it, with such low miles its just run in, good luck with it seems like a good find.

Ashley
 
You're fit and well, so your age won't be any problem. But, 35 years without a bike. Get your head in the right attitude. Treat it with respect and enjoy rebuilding your skills. You're nearly starting at the beginning again!
 
"But, 35 years without a bike. Get your head in the right attitude. Treat it with respect and enjoy rebuilding your skills. You're nearly starting at the beginning again!"

That is a good point! Folks that have been riding for years have developed some muscle memory and "automatic" responses that can often compensate for the fact that reaction-time is slower than it was at 25, or 35, or 45...etc, etc ;)
Not having ridden for 35 years, that muscle memory is likely not present. So, IMO, it's important to start slowly and not dive immediately into doing the ton+ and trying to find the limit of traction in turns, etc! As Mart suggested, it seems best to approach it as a beginning rider, at least initially. IOW, as Hans Solo said, "Don't get cocky!"

In the old days, a new rider would start off on a lightweight, low powered motorcycle and work up from there. Nowadays, brand new riders start off with the biggest, most powerful machines they can afford. OTOH in the scheme of things, a Norton Commando, nowadays, IS a lightweight, low-powered motorcycle so you are "starting off" correctly! :)
 
So called ‘born again bikers’ are statistically the best organ donors, so I’ve been told.

Good advice in the previous posts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: baz
MexicoMike said:
"But, 35 years without a bike. Get your head in the right attitude. Treat it with respect and enjoy rebuilding your skills. You're nearly starting at the beginning again!"

That is a good point! Folks that have been riding for years have developed some muscle memory and "automatic" responses that can often compensate for the fact that reaction-time is slower than it was at 25, or 35, or 45...etc, etc ;)
Not having ridden for 35 years, that muscle memory is likely not present. So, IMO, it's important to start slowly and not dive immediately into doing the ton+ and trying to find the limit of traction in turns, etc! As Mart suggested, it seems best to approach it as a beginning rider, at least initially. IOW, as Hans Solo said, "Don't get cocky!"

In the old days, a new rider would start off on a lightweight, low powered motorcycle and work up from there. Nowadays, brand new riders start off with the biggest, most powerful machines they can afford. OTOH in the scheme of things, a Norton Commando, nowadays, IS a lightweight, low-powered motorcycle so you are "starting off" correctly! :)
Click to expand...
Oh believe me I will approach this with caution. Another way to look at it, I have 35 years of maturity to rely on. My biggest concern is the backwards shifting, braking. I hope I can get through the the first few rides without dropping the bike or getting into a minor fender bender because of not being familiar with that as well as my long hiatus from riding.

As far as "in the old days"? When I was a senior in high school, I saved all of my money that I made pumping gas and purchased a new '68 Harley Davidson 250 Sprint. Harry Kunkle, the local Harley Davidson dealer in McKeesport, PA packed me across the Monongahela river on the back to a deserted dirt road along the North bank. He gave me a 15 minute course and turned me loose on the congested roads of the Pittsburgh area. I had a couple of minor mishaps before I got home but didn't hit anything. Only damage was a broken taillight lens.
 
I received a private email from the seller. He is going to hold the bike for me. We have done a lot of corresponding and he know that the bike will get a "good home". I think that's important to him. He is not hard up for cash or in a hurry to sell. He just need sto get rid of some of his 7 Norton Commandos. He is also selling and Interstate of similar vintage and condition.

How Old is too Old?
 
Very nice red one, and trophy, Maylar. It reminds me of the one sitting in the foyer of
R & K Cycle in Kirkwood, Illinois, it had .2 miles on the clock, that was several years ago. They are still going,
One very interesting topic, this. As noted previously, many of us on the forum are in this category. I reckon bikes of a certain vintage are ridden by riders of a certain vintage, and for a lot of us that have had ours for
years, we've "vintaged" right along with the bikes !
 
Yeah, look at any pics showing Nortons (like above); you'll be hard pressed to find under-60 year olds in the pics! Last such get together I attended, the only younger folks were those being dragged around by their grandparents, and, in a couple of cases, their great grandparents! At least they had their cellphones/iPads so they weren't bored to death! :)
 
Dan1950 said:
Then I'll just have to learn to like it. It would be a shame to mess with a survivor.
Click to expand...
Search this forum for threads on blue paint or blue metal flake and such. There are a lot of people who want that paint scheme, so if you should decide to change it please buy new tins and paint them however you like and pass the original blue stuff on to somebody who wants it.
 
At least between most of us and our Commandos there's not a lot of disparity in age. Perhaps we hold them so dear because we can identify with them.....Mine agreed whole heartedly with my craving for exercise yesterday and allowed for a nice 30mi. or so cruise. Only took 2-3 miles for it to thoroughly heat up and cease the occasional cough and sputter, but I digress, being of like nature this is acceptable. What was that one liner I so much admire?..... 'Better to wear out than to rust away'.... Just make allowance for your age and your bike and all shall be well. Enjoy life's offerings for they don't come around a second time, and if its fun then screw all worry of age... Soooo get the bike and ease your worry lines away in the wind.
 
jbruney said:
At least between most of us and our Commandos there's not a lot of disparity in age. Perhaps we hold them so dear because we can identify with them.....Mine agreed whole heartedly with my craving for exercise yesterday and allowed for a nice 30mi. or so cruise. Only took 2-3 miles for it to thoroughly heat up and cease the occasional cough and sputter, but I digress, being of like nature this is acceptable. What was that one liner I so much admire?..... 'Better to wear out than to rust away'.... Just make allowance for your age and your bike and all shall be well. Enjoy life's offerings for they don't come around a second time, and if its fun then screw all worry of age... Soooo get the bike and ease your worry lines away in the wind.
Click to expand...
I hereby nominate jbruney for the prestigious role of ‘Forum Philosopher’ …
 
Regarding the 35 year gap in motorcycle riding continuity...
There is also the fact that there is 35 years of ingrained four wheel vehicle experience. That needs to be UNDONE. Hear me out.
My Dad was a professional driver, decades of safety awards, never an accident, beginning in very rural area, snow drifts as high as the Bulldog hood ornament on a B model Mack, and later, a lot of it into the most congested urban areas with suicidal traffic. 6,8,10,18 wheels & more. Taught driver training classes later on.
Not because he drove slow, much of the time it was WFO. Not reckless, but getting it done, quick as a flash.
But..... he decided to come back to motorcycling after retiring. When I rode behind him, I saw a newbie.... every time.
He finally went straight in an S-turn, duffed a Maple tree, destroyed the bike. He was bruised up, but cheated death once again.
Lack of counter steering. He struggled with the change. The change that comes easy in our youth.

When we are confronted with a Buick turning left in front of you, ingrained car tactics dictate you swerve to avoid the obstacle. On a bike, when you do that (instead of counter steering) it puts you directly INTO the obstacle.
not saying everyone goes this route, but, be aware, you have a lot to "UNLEARN" ( or override, adapt, change, remember, whatever you care to call it).
Actively practice the basics.
Do steering, stopping drills to sharpen.



 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top