I can't ride fast on the road anymore

[v8-powered]

Noticed last night one of my neighbours is selling a 2017 Trumpet Street Twin - I really fancy a Speed or Street Twin, or a Royal Enfield. They would suit my current riding frame of mind far better than what I own currently..

[Taipan]

I think I’m also in the group of the the older I get the faster I was. I’m also more conscious of ‘community minded’ people with dash cams.

When I recently did a driver awareness course, the person hosting it said, "It's not our cameras you have to worry about. Far more people get nicked from submitted videos"!

[Mr. Dazzle]

I've been out on my LC a couple of times in the last week or so, I don't think I went above 60-70mph, it was loads of fun though, I get more of a buzz out of razor sharp throttle control and catching the power band perfectly in the bottom few gears.
It's geared to hit 100mph flat out in top, but I rarely ever do that.

I don't think I've ever been into speed just for the sake of speed, I'd buy a drag bike if that was the case.

I find myself drawn to the new Guzzi V7s quite a lot 'cause I think they look cool but they'd be reliable too. Same reason anyone is drawn to a 'modern classic' basically.

I think "they're only 65bhp" but then I have to remind myself, as written above, that I don't really ever ride >100mph anyway. So what exactly would be the problem with only having 65bhp?

Bit of a mental leap really, buying a slow bike to ride slowly, rather than having a faster bike....which I also ride slowly

[KungFooBob]

I had a V7II, a 750 50bhp one, not the newer 65bhp 850.

50bhp was too much for plodding about and not enough for a speed thrill.

I couldn't get the rear end to work for me either, I sold it to buy a GSXR1100

I also much preferred the green one next to it.

[Ditchfinder]

Of the bikes I've ridden I think the Duke 390 came closest to being the ideal size, weight, power handling combination - it just needed to be fuelled better at the lower end of the rev range.

[Noggin]

Of the bikes I've ridden I think the Duke 390 came closest to being the ideal size, weight, power handling combination - it just needed to be fuelled better at the lower end of the rev range.

I think I had the most fun ever on the 390 Duke! I'd never had a bike I could ride to it's limits before. And it was whilst my riding buddy was still alive so on a Sunday I was constantly trying to keep up with a ZX9r ridden by someone even more nuts than me! LOL

TBH, if I could choose two bikes to have up here it would be a litre bike like an MT10 so I had a distance/comfort/pillion option and a KTM 390 Duke!! Cos the KTM would be a total hoot on the roads around here and with no expectation of being too fast! LOL



When I learnt to ride I was taught by someone how to ride very fast on the roads on the Blackbird. This continued with my riding buddy who was also an ex racer. Although he was an ex side car passenger, the first was an ex racer - who started racing bikes because it was less dangerous than waterski racing!! ).

It surprised a lot of people over the years that I could keep up (or that they couldn't). However, my speed was less on the straight, it was more not slowly down too much for corners!

Which was a total sod on track because I never did get fast Enough on the straight but caught a few out by being further ahead than they expected on corners!!

Now, I KNOW I'm not as fast on the road and made a massive error last autumn because of lack of riding. I've done less miles in the last six years than I used to do most weeks beforehand! I also have the disadvantage now of the roads not being some that I've known and ridden for years and that I'm relearning to ride on the other side of the road

I really don't expect to ever get back to the madness that I used to take part in every weekend with my riding buddy and the days with my first teacher. However I don't put that down to age (for the moment)! For me it is much more about the 6 year lack of riding, lack of a bike I gel with and the biggest part is lack of a riding buddy with the experience that my last ones had. One is gone and the other might be up for a visit, but a visit is not anything like riding out regularly.

Also I suppose there will probably always be that little bit of concern about the metal shoulder. If I had to have a prosthetic leg I'm pretty sure I could get back to most things (have got a few role models here and in the UK!) but fucking up my right shoulder as a right handed person was tough the first time. If I FUBARd the metal now I'm not sure there is a huge amount that can be done. Whilst that isn't in the forefront of my mind anytime, I'm pretty sure it is probably hovering in the back

[Supermofo]

Just to balance things out I rode like a bit of a twat on the way home from work. Ave it!!!!

Got my first toot in years, knew I'd get bulked by a fat arsed lorry down the good road so as soon as he slowed for an oncoming lorry I nipped passed all the cars and pushed my way in behind him through the last village so i was in prime spot for an overtake onto clear road. Earning myself a disgruntled toot from a Focus. What a hooligan

Worth it though got a clear 2nd/3rd gear fast run through the good bit