Saturday Charity Ride

I have been working a lot and when I am not working I have been sitting at my desk screwing off watching YouTube videos and searching the motorcycle section on CraigsList . I wanted to get out, away from the computer and ride but I wanted to be around other riders as well. So I poked around the Internet and found a charity ride, leaving from McKinney, TX on Saturday morning. It sounded like fun, or, if not fun, something interesting to do.

It was interesting. Mostly it was Harley riders and the rest were metric wana-be Harley riders. The rest of the pack was rounded out with one Triumph Speed Triple, one BMW GS1100 that belonged to the clinics doctor and my Norton. As always The Beast was the object of great admiration and generated lots of questions. This is one of my favorite byproducts of Norton ownership. You meet a lot of people and you hear lots of stories. You also get to answer the same questions over and over but I don't mind.

It was an escorted ride which is my least favorite ride type of group ride and I am not really fond of group rides to begin with. We had been riding for about 20 minutes and a cop on a Harley pulled up next to me. We rode together, hand grip to hand grip for some miles. He just looked over and said “That’s really nice. I don’t see many of those.” We chatted a bit and then he disappeared. It was kind of surreal. I had never ridden with a cop before.

I find it hard work to ride with Harley riders. (No offense to the Harley owners out there.) I am always in the wrong gear it seems. They slow way down for corners, herd their bikes around and then once they are in a straight line they screw it on. I think they enjoy hearing those pipes. I am not a sport bike type rider by any means but I do like to keep it on the boil. The ride back was more fun and more relaxing at speed. The Beast likes to get in fourth and stay there.

One thing I noticed, I was the only bike there without electric start.

Big_Jim59 said:

As always The Beast was the object of great admiration and generated lots of questions. This is one of my favorite byproducts of Norton ownership. You meet a lot of people and you hear lots of stories. You also get to answer the same questions over and over but I don't mind.

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Just going around my neighborhood I get lots of thumbs up. I feel real good about riding the bike, I get alot of people metioning it reminding them of the good old days!

It is kind of sad to me when some astonished person slides up and says "Wow, you ride that? it's really old." Nortons are not throw away bikes and they are still great, safe, fun modern motorcycles. I know mine has that funny kick starter but it is by no means a museum piece. Most bikes and cars, can be fixed but manufactures have convinced people that it's not "cost effective" to do so. Dealership service rates are certainly not cost effective. The result is lots of good bikes go to an early death or getting the rear frame loop hacked off by would be bobber builders. Sad.

I imagine that people ask 'What's that metal thing with the pipes coming out of it'? Ha

Big_Jim59 said:

...Most bikes and cars, can be fixed but manufactures have convinced people that it's not "cost effective" to do so. Dealership service rates are certainly not cost effective. The result is lots of good bikes go to an early death or ...

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Unless it has ridiculous fuel consumption, there's less embedded energy (Carbon Cost) in restoring and keeping an old vehicle on the road than buying the latest and greatest plastic fantastic. It may not be the best thing for countries with car industries that are struggling (which is perhaps inevitable anyway) but better for the planet.
And let's face it, modern stuff is just so uninvolving. Every ride on a Commando is an adventure and a memorable event.

These are the things that I remind myself of every time I see another new bike that I can't afford...

davamb said:

These are the things that I remind myself of every time I see another new bike that I can't afford...

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I am with you Dave. When I get the itch for a new bike I just get the Norton out and ask myself "will I find this in any new bike out there?" The answer is a resounding no. The beauty part is I own my Norton free and clear, no payments and I don't need a warranty. The longer I own it the better it gets. The only thing I miss is the fantasy of total reliability that comes with a new ride and it is a fantasy.

When you buy a new bike there is the feeling of invincibility that comes with it. It's new right? What could go wrong? But even new bikes break. The problem with long distance touring, for me, on the Norton is a perceived unreliability that has been born out by history but has been lessened with good maintenance and judicious parts replacement. In the case of the Norton I know too much about what can go wrong or maybe I just haven't replaced all the parts I need to.