[katana bob]

I just started street riding this year, and kick myself daily for not doing it 20 years ago. all that time lost on cages. it's hard to explain to someone that doesn't ride the sensations one feels while on that bike. all your senses work better. you feel alive and free and very aware of your surroundings. you feel like you belong to a secret "club" that the rest of the world doesn't know about. motorcycling has made me several new friends. but the feeling of that raw power under your control is better than any car ive ever been in. its such an invigorating feeling. the one thing i'd say to anyone who thinks im crazy for riding is "dont knock it till youve tried it"

[Crackshot]

I told this to my Roomate before he started riding...


Explaining to someone what riding a motorcycle is like is similar to explaining to a virgin what sex is like.

I ride because, like everyone else, it gives me freedom. Also, I'm a chronic worrier, and can't let shit go. But when you are going down the highway at 130, or at a 45 degree lean, you can't think about ANYTHING at all, much less about your next stats test.

[RydeBye]

If you haven't taken him for a ride take your son for a ride and add his personal expierience to the report.

[Micdalen]

I guess thats why it really got to him. All of my children, gf's children, and even the grandbabies ( 7 mth up to 4) love riding.

Guess my house is the next generation of biker thugs.

[Meikol2]

That reminds me of the first street bike I rode almost 20 years ago, an old BMW with the boxer twin. I was riding along the beach in California one cool day and was so involved in the experience I didn't notice I had burned my shins on the jugs until my father pointed it out the next day. I was wearing shorts the next day and looked down to see what my Dad was pointing to. There across both of my shins were the striations transfered from the BMW's jugs by way of heat. All I could do was smile, all day.

[harrye]

Hell, if any of the Jap big-four offered a 200cc street bike in the USA, I'd probably ride that instead half the time...

Just a reminder, I've mentioned dual sports before. The Yamaha XT225 dual sport works find as a street bike. There were some in the MSF class I took this summer, and people loved them (sadly I didn't get to use one). But I've driven a Yamaha DT 175 dual sport 2 stroke for over 23 years, and I wouldn't be without a small bike like that.

The trials tires work fine on pavement, and I got 10,000 miles out of mine with never a surprise on pavement.

You can easily make a U-turn in probably 1 1/2 bike lengths. Suzuki and Kawasaki have dual sports in the 250cc range.

[harrye]

Micdalen, your son has probably rewritten his paper by now. I am reminded however that there are some teachers whose mind can't be changed, and they lack objectivity and fairness with respect to positions that don't agree with their own. With those people, you usually have to tell them what they want to hear.

The purpose of going to school is to get the best education and grades that you can. Its not necessarily to convert others to your point of view. If your son wrote a paper that was well researched (citing usable sources) which concluded that cycling was very dangerous, and ought to be outlawed, he might get an easy "A" on the paper, and the teacher would probably grade your son higher for the rest of the year, and future years.

Your son could also tell the teacher that his father is very glad to learn how dangerous cycling is, and that he is considering quiting the hobby. Getting the easy "A" in this class allows your son to spend more time on the classes where he can't bluff the teacher.