Are you changing your biking wants/needs over time as technology progresses? or stuck in a time warp ?

[weeksy]

Seeing lots of posts on here, it seems many of your are stuck in a 1970s-80s time warp where your bike needs and wants of the younger you, are still the bike needs and wants of the more modern you. Even though we're now 40 years on, your bike desires haven't changed from the ones you had on your walls as a spotty youth.

Some of you have gone forwards like Harry, who went full MV modern tech, then jumped back to the 90s CBR600, but many as i say, seem stuck in the old school.

Why is that ? What is it that keeps you in the past rather than the present ?

I wasn't into bikes in my youth, the first 'poster' bike in my world was a 1999 Yamaha R1. That was the sort of bike that first floated my boat, i didn't do anything before that, so i guess in a way i've been spoiled with more modern looking bikes.

Is it because it stems from a family thing of learning bikes from your dad/uncles/whoever... or just because they were cool back then ?

[Potter]

Long post -

I'm sure I posted this in another thread, but IMHO the heyday of bikes has gone and is never coming back.
I grew up dreaming about bikes and it was all my life revolved around, at least until I got married, had kids, etc - and even then all it did was reduce the amount of time I had spare to mess around with bikes, it didn't stop my passion for them.

All my mates were the same, we all lived and breathed motorbikes between the ages of 0-25.
The race weekends were packed, the GPs were the highlight of our year and literally my most favourite thing to do was to ride out with my mates for hours, then sit chatting bikes and head back again.
I'm massively tied to the nostalgia of how bikes used to make me feel, the carefree days of youth, endless summers, jumpers for goal posts, etc.

Hundreds of thousands of people were all like that in years gone by, a normal club race would be packed out with spectators, shops would sell thousands of bikes a year, but that's all gone now, few people still have the same passion, people still go for rides, even tours, but it's a thing to fit in amongst your leisure time, it's not all my life revolves around like it used to.

There is a chance that if they banned all bikes from the road that were made prior to the year 2000, then I might never ride a motorcycle again. The new ones do little for me, they're either very focussed one-trick ponys or budget things that offer no thrills.

The MV was a once-in-a-lifetime dream that was all about the experience rather than the end product - although the end product was amazing.
I found myself in a position to do something that previously I could only dream about. Phone up an Italian bike factory (through an Italian mate with a lot of influence), speak to their gaffer, order a limited edition piece of exotica, get priority on it that is normally only reserved for important people, have it crated and flown to me, uncrated and ride around in expensive one-piece Dainese leathers.
That's a childhood dream ticked off the list, a one-time thing, even if I became a billionaire I couldn't recreate that feeling again. Like lifting my first racing trophy.

But aside from those very rare opportunities bikes are purely a leisure thing that has to fit in somewhere now, and in order to command some of my very valuable time then I need a compelling reason to ride - it has to make me very happy or I'll find something else to make me very happy. Riding a new bike with no soul or character doesn't make me happy.

My bikes really put their hooks into people, my lad loves two strokes, at 6yrs old me and him were hooning around country lanes on my 350LC all summer. New bikes don't do that to people, they're just functional.

[weeksy]

My bikes really put their hooks into people, my lad loves two strokes, at 6yrs old me and him were hooning around country lanes on my 350LC all summer. New bikes don't do that to people, they're just functional.

I'd argue that was less the bike and more the parenting You shared the passion with your lad, not because you were on a 2 stroke, but because you and him were on your adventures.

[A_morti]

I have a CB300R after a few years more or less off bikes because I had a kid - same story for a lot of us I guess. I'll get an electric bike in the next 2-3 years, assuming the promised technology materialises. Both those are/will be the budget things Harry mentions, but who cares? They're still bikes an you still ride them. I had an MSX125 for 2 years as my only bike, I had no less fun than when I owned a Fireblade in my youth.

There is however a CB-1 project bike there too, because like Harry, I pine for my youth. The bikes are great, but I don't believe it's the material bike that's the important thing here. More my introduction to bikes, riding them, fixing them, taking my first girlfriend on the back of them, going to other countries, etc.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Bikes are pointless.

If I wanted to go fast, carry stuff, go a long way, save money (or even show off how much money I've got ) etc. etc. it would make more sense to get a car. I ride for sensation of riding, which is why I'm not interested in traction control, QSs etc. They just be taking away from the experience for me.

As you know, I work with high tech / high performance vehicles for a living. Thus I don't really get excited about the latest electronics and what not- its a bit of a busman's holiday for me.

I would actually like a Panigale V4 or the top end Fireblade from time to time, I've got nothing against them. But at the same time it'd be a lot of money for something I can't use properly. If I were riding at fast end of the fadt group level it would make sense to me, but I'm not so it doesn't.

[A_morti]

@Mr. Dazzle , interesting how your interpretation of wants/needs moving forwards goes to QS/TC etc. as the opposite of being stuck in the past, while mine goes straight to electric bikes.

Different strokes, eh? Maybe that's the "42" to the whole thread, in as much as there is one.

[Trinity765]

I didn't get into bikes until the very end of the 90s and I've never been interested in "old" bikes. While I like our heritage and enjoy the history of motor mechanics and its pioneers, when buying a bike I want modern performance. I like ABS, slipper clutches, traction control and all the toys. I want a bike that is light, fast and responsive as opposed to a slow, heavy and quirky. I'm the quickest person through The Sammy Miller Museum everytime and have usually finished my cake by the time everyone else arrives.

[Mr. Dazzle]

@Mr. Dazzle , interesting how your interpretation of wants/needs moving forwards goes to QS/TC etc. as the opposite of being stuck in the past, while mine goes straight to electric bikes.

Different strokes, eh? Maybe that's the "42" to the whole thread, in as much as there is one.

Somewhat paradoxically i think electric bikes are the one modern thing I'm excited about. Probably cause they're a complete step change.

QSs etc. are a bit different cause they're taking away something I want to do. Electric bikes will never have auto blip cause they don't have gears!

[MingtheMerciless]

This year I treated myself to the ZH2, all the electronic bells and whistles and more power than I'll ever require. It's an amazing machine and the motor is probably one of the last hurrahs of the ICE. For what I need I could probably have a 600 commuter but that's not the point.

I love the 2 strokes of my youth (KR1s and RGV) and also my first bike 4 stroke (ZX7R), if I had the space and money I'd have a ZX7RR as the Sunday ride out bike, but I'm under no illusions that I'm looking back with rose tinted glasses, especially regarding 2 stroke reliability, poor tyre choice and budget suspension to the ZX7 being lardy, poorly finished and carb icing issues on anything other than a blazing summers day.

So if I could have the looks of the ZX7R with the running gear, motor and mod cons of the ZH2 that would be my perfect bike.

[Horse]

For a few years, due to training being based at a dealership, I had regular access to BMW's latest and greatest (plus stuff like a 916 someone traded in), so the lure of those machines was balanced by realism, restrictions and needs of real life.

The background for me was at age 22 when I had bought an "ultimate riding machine" (as their advertising slogan went) and, two weeks later the realisation struck that it was just another bike.

OK, perhaps I'm not a typical 'biker' (don't like the term anyway, much prefer 'motorcyclist')? For me there has always had to be practicality - for 32 years they were my daily transport, then everything else on top.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from the BeEms, most fun ever biking moment? Honda CG125, overtaking a 911. Most thrashable bike? MZ TS250 with Michelin tyres.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I 'm doing the time warp in a big way, but I ride motorcycles for fun, not for any other reason, and old bikes float my boat.

I should really get another early R1, they're mental psychotic fun, though I doubt if I've got the reaction times to ride one now.

[Mr Moofo]

It’s a bit like listening to music. It was best when you were young, stupid, living a complicate life etc ....
Motorbikes are kind of similar - the new ones are really really fast , often uncomfortable, changing the marketing bits every years - and nobody really cares ....
My Diavel is 10 years old this year - but has TC, ABS , and is very quick. Can’t see when I want to change.
Is there anything else out there I want ? Not really - the donkey triumph cover the heritage but, and the scrambler the fun bit.

And,it is getting more difficult to work on them - which reduces the appeal ...

[Noggin]

I'm not technical.

I don't really understand engines, brakes, electronics = makes it go, makes it stop, fancy doodah-stuff

I ride by feel. So if I ride a V-twin I change how I ride it from how I'd ride an IL4 or a single. Something with great brakes, I ride differently to something with shockingly unresponsive brakes!! I couldn't explain what I do, why I do it or how I learnt it. I just do. I've talked to people who don't understand and others that do. For instance, I won't always know if I bike has something that isn't great as I just adapt how I ride to deal with. I think after spending a bit of time on track and having a go at racing I might recognise more now if there is a problem, but I am not sure (and after a 3-4 year break, I'd have to relearn everything anyway!!)

On that basis, I can't explain what makes a bike good for me, I pick out the good bits and enjoy what I ride and change how I ride to suit


I'd love to try something with all the fancy doodahs on it but wonder if it would take away some of the 'feel' for me

I absolutely adore properly old bikes - where you can see the valves moving and wires pulling. I fell in love with those when I first went to the Manx GP and queued with a load of them to get get out of the car park from the ferry. Being surrounded by amazing engineering was something awesome for me. I pretty much know I couldn't technically look after one - my mechanical skills probably wouldn't be up to it. But if I ever have a garage then I would be seriously tempted to try and get one

I love the look of some new bikes with electronic and fancy styling. I'd love to try one and maybe own one

But I hanker after the bikes I first loved - BBird, TLs, ZX10r and even the 390

Equally, I have only had my licence ince '97 and had my first bike in November 2002. So I don't have the same history as most of you guys

[Taipan]

I grew up around old Brit bikes and used to watch the pre 65 scrambles at our local track. Then the emergence of jap bike MX races and my better off mates had Honda Elsinores, Suzuki RMs etc. Owners of all of these bikes were always working on them, whether they needed it or not. So for me owning a bike was about riding in groups of mates, to watch bike racing of some description and then all of us fixing something on someone's bikes, or trying out some mythical improvement. I remember needing to put clutch plates in my FS1e and locked the transmission up by sticking in a rag in the primary drive!

Fast forward a good few years and my return to bikes and it was on carbed bikes and whilst breakdowns were thankfully rarer, you could still check coil voltages, change jets to suit race cans etc. Bikes were still involving. Later bikes, for me, have become more sterile. Fuelling needs remaps, you need to read fault codes to sort anything out etc. So bikes are probably much better than they ever were, but they are just for riding and that's not what bikes represented to me, or how I grew up with them.

That said I only commute on a bike now so reliability is good news and I actually look forward to an affordable electric bike, but I'll always miss the smell of old oil and swarfega and having indelible black grime under my fingernails.

[cheb]

I'd say less of a time warp and more of a style/performance warp. I like a taller bike and don't want that much power. There's really not much out there that's modern and suits. And that's before the general ugliness of modern bikes, to my eye anyway..

[Cousin Jack]

I like riding bikes, I dislike 'fixing' them, so modern bikes are fine by me.

I started riding in 1964 on a single-cylinder BSA of 1958 vintage. It was a POS, but I enjoyed the riding, and it was my only means of transport. Until I bought a car, which was less fun but more practical.

Fast forward about 40 years and I have had 3 modern bikes (in about 20 years). All very different (T100, VFR and now a CB500). I have enjoyed them all If I were a millionaire I would probably have about a dozen, all different.

[Skub]

I've always welcomed any technology which enhances my enjoyment of bikes and riding,especially if it can be switched on or off. I like choice,rather than compulsion in any walk of life.

I detest all the 'save the planet' catalyser shit clacked onto new machines and one of the first things I do on my bikes is systematically remove all that gubbins and find the real,filthy polluting bike underneath.

I do miss the ease of maintenance of older bikes,but I'll happily do the trade off on reliability.

As with others on this thread,bikes are intrinsically linked with past youth and the whole nostalgia trip and while I love looking at old Z1 Kawasakis and the like,I'd never buy another one just for prime use,it would be a toy.

I welcome modern handling,power with reliability,super brakes and tyres,those are things I chased on all my bikes since 1972 and I can buy them all in one package right off the showroom floor.

IME right now is a good time for motorcycles and motorcycling,if I time it right I can still enjoy a big bike's performance on the road,without being too much of a nuisance,or inviting the attention of plod. This is my perspective and one reason I don't live in a built up or heavily populated area. I fully realise others don't have that choice and their perspective will be different.

This is as good as it gets for the internal combustion engine,the future will be different and I'm not sure yet if I'll buy into all that green,electric horseballs. The very idea leaves me cold. Perhaps riding one will convince me that at least it's better than no bike at all.However,that may be the point I stop moving with technology and go retro for whatever years riding I have left.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Electric vehicles are certainly very different. I once stepped from a brand spanking BMW electric car into a brand spanking BMW straight 6 petrol one. Even though the petrol engine is about as smooth and refined as you're likely to find in a moderately priced car it still felt like stepping back 30 years.

I suppose that's why I like electric vehicles but DGAS about having rider aids and whatnot. Electric vehicles are the future done properly, electronics on petrol engines are just trying to compensate for stuff the rider should be doing themselves

[Whysub]

I started riding in the 70's on 1950's and 60's bikes we bought from friends parents and relatives that had put in their sheds years before, when cars became affordable. Everything from mopeds to auto cycles to Bantams to 650 twins. Most were death traps, but we survived although most bikes lasted a month or so before failing.

My first bike on the road at 17 was a Goldwing, followed by various GS and GT Suzukis. Great at the time, but utter crap now. Brakes that didn't in the wet, frames and suspension that could not cope with the engine power, and Alpha exhausts.

Then bought a GSX-R750G that I covered 180,000 miles on in 8 years, commuting 600 miles a week before getting totalled in a crash. Probably the most reliable bike I owned, but running it on long lasting Tarmacadams did nothing for riding on anything other than motorways. It was exciting on big sweeping bends, wallowing like a buffalo. Tyres were always squared off with massive chicken strips. I wasnt an idiot. I made the mistake of buying another one to replace it. Realised then how awful they were, and sold it after riding it for just 60 miles.

Had dozens of my own bikes since then, plus the work bikes (eventually we could have what we wanted) that I could thrash unmercilessly without worry, as it wasnt mine. Anything that went wrong was fixed or replaced immediately. Had most litre plus sports bikes from Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and BMW.

Last big bikes I owned (all at the same time) before moving from the UK were an RC8, an RC8R and a Guzzi V1200. None had traction control, or ABS or any such things that all the work bikes HAD to have as a condition of buying them.

They were not better or worse for not having said electronics, but just had to be ridden with that in mind.

Now have an Enfield Himalyan, a basic single with ABS which I have now enabled to turn off or back on with a simple switch for off road stuff. And a 2007 Street Triple for the longer road journies. Both adequate for what I need them for.

There are much better bikes out there that would do better, but after nearly 50 years of riding, I can differentiate between what I need and what I want.

I would love another RC8/R though, but hard to find one here that isnt twice the price of the ones I had in the UK.

[demographic]

I reckon bikes got to the point where they did most of what I wanted years ago. Went fast enough to entertain me and and I realised I was never going to be "fast" so I've not bothered with new stuff.
Eventually I might jump forward a few generations of tech and get a lecky bike but the modern bikes just seem like a wasted intermediate extra step to me.
I don't need a bike, my primary transport is a van and to be honest I'd like to avoid new infernal contraption engine vans as well, or at least as much as I can.

I'm all for new tech but couldnt give a toss about new for the sake of it being shiny, to me its got to be a significant improvement.

Oh and track days? Zero interest. Talk to someone else about that.

Bikes have always been about the space between my ears, not a way "To meet new friends".
All they have to do is please me and someone elses opinion of them was never a selling point to me.