What a bummer, or it sucks to get old

[skeets]

I am going to have to keep all my windows closed till it snows.
After the knee replacement it was hard enough to hold Little Red up, Doc said get rid of it.
Then after I got gutted like a fish to repair my guts.
Doc asked, did you get rid of the scoot?
I said no Im going to ride this summer, that was 3 years ago, he said get rid of it, you wont be riding any more,, I said BULLSHIT. He was right, the bastard!
I guess I should be happy for all the years I did get to ride, but I still dont want to get rid of it, something about the last vestige of my misbegotten youth.
OK Im done whining now.

 

[ve9aa]

I hear ya. I still ride...I (basically) started later in life...been on 2 wheels (summers only; due to snow) 5 yrs now and already my knees and hips bother me. Thinking about a trike.

What happens in the winter - - do you then OPEN your windows?

 

[Geezer3d]

I have been riding all my life. I started with a mini-bike at age 12 and graduated to street machines as soon as I was legal. I have not had any physical limitations, but my reactions have slowed and traffic has gotten more dangerous. I sold all but one motorcyle a few years ago and the one i kept has been sitting for the past three years. One of my daughters rides it a few times a summer, so it gets fresh fuel every year.

On the bright side, when I retired ten years ago I bought myself a Mazda Miata. It is almost as much fun as a motorcycle. And, I can put my golf clubs on the passenger seat and combine two pleasures in the same day.

Life is good!

 

[bikerdib]

I'm almost 67 but still in pretty good shape, I can still do almost anything I did in my youth except my stamina isn't quite as good and it now takes longer to recover from the really heavy physical stuff. I started riding back in the 1970s and went through all forms, dirt, knee dragger, cruiser. I no longer ride dirt, just some gravel roads on my Triumph Scrambler and no sportbikes, just the Harley for the street.

You might consider what I already have for when you can no longer hold up a bike, get a trike. No, it won't be the same as leaning a bike into a curve bit it still gets your face into the wind.

 

[skeets]

I have been riding all my life. I started with a mini-bike at age 12 and graduated to street machines as soon as I was legal. I have not had any physical limitations, but my reactions have slowed and traffic has gotten more dangerous. I sold all but one motorcyle a few years ago and the one i kept has been sitting for the past three years. One of my daughters rides it a few times a summer, so it gets fresh fuel every year.

On the bright side, when I retired ten years ago I bought myself a Mazda Miata. It is almost as much fun as a motorcycle. And, I can put my golf clubs on the passenger seat and combine two pleasures in the same day.

Life is good!

I would like to start another hotrod, maybe a factory 5 kit, the truck looks pretty nice but I need to see one first, to see if I can get me fat old arse in and out. And pass it to the Grand son or grand daughter. I thought about a trike kit, and Layland makes a nice one, and one I cant remember which one but the rear wheels do infact tilt in a turn. Youth passes us by to fast, but at least I did see the sun come up so thats something

 

[bearbait]

I would like to start another hotrod, maybe a factory 5 kit, the truck looks pretty nice but I need to see one first, to see if I can get me fat old arse in and out. And pass it to the Grand son or grand daughter. I thought about a trike kit, and Layland makes a nice one, and one I cant remember which one but the rear wheels do infact tilt in a turn. Youth passes us by to fast, but at least I did see the sun come up so thats something

At first I wasn't sure what you were talking about, I was about to suggest the little blue pill, lol. Yea I got rid of mine a few years back, had a couple or more close calls with my girl on the back and that was all she wrote, she no longer wanted to get on the back. Not sure whats wrong with people they can't see a bike, maybe just chit for brains, maybe just don't care. She tells me to buy another one but some how it just wouldn't be the same without her on the back...just be happy for the times we had I guess but every time one goes by the house I just can't help saying bastard to myself, well maybe just a little out loud.

 

[lynnmor]

I had both knees replaced three years ago, I still ride my GS750 just a bit on country roads. I started riding a bicycle about fourteen years ago and actually enjoy it more than a motorcycle. Hills are getting to be too much so I pretty much stick to rail-trails now. My wife had one knee replaced about five years ago, but we have been biking together thru it all and have ridden from Washington to Pittsburgh both ways, 760 miles.

 

[fried1765]

I am going to have to keep all my windows closed till it snows.
After the knee replacement it was hard enough to hold Little Red up, Doc said get rid of it.
Then after I got gutted like a fish to repair my guts.
Doc asked, did you get rid of the scoot?
I said no Im going to ride this summer, that was 3 years ago, he said get rid of it, you wont be riding any more,, I said BULLSHIT. He was right, the bastard!
I guess I should be happy for all the years I did get to ride, but I still dont want to get rid of it, something about the last vestige of my misbegotten youth.
OK Im done whining now.
[/QUOTE

I am pushing up to within weeks of 82.
I know of what you speak!

 

[JimmyJazz]

Check out the Can-Am Spyder . A 3 wheel rig. People love them. A retired friend of mine is on her third one in the last 5-10 years. Lives in Tennessee and puts about 30,000 miles on per year . All recreational travel. I think she is 74 years old. A former lunch lady (worked in a school cafeteria) gone wild. I wholeheartedly approve of this seemingly meaningless pursuit. Ride on!

 

[58Ford]

Turn it into a search to find the “right owner” for your bike. Take as looooooong as you like! That way you never gave it up!

 

[Henro]

Up until recently I wondered how one knows when one gets old.

Now 75...and I am starting to see the answer. Still healthy and all that, but I've noticed that I do not have the strength I used to have. I remember putting a 100 lb sack of grain on my shoulder, which we used to feed our geese with when we had them, and carrying it where it was needed. NO MORE!

And moving 40' fiberglass ladders and putting them up? Not sure but think it would be a struggle now...

Still consider myself lucky though...all the parts seem to function with a little less power behind them. I would like to think I still have about the same mental power though...LOL...now time to go back and see what I just wrote...LOL...

 

[OrangeKrush]

Up until recently I wondered how one knows when one gets old.

Now 75...and I am starting to see the answer. Still healthy and all that, but I've noticed that I do not have the strength I used to have. I remember putting a 100 lb sack of grain on my shoulder, which we used to feed our geese with when we had them, and carrying it where it was needed. NO MORE!

And moving 40' fiberglass ladders and putting them up? Not sure but think it would be a struggle now...

Still consider myself lucky though...all the parts seem to function with a little less power behind them. I would like to think I still have about the same mental power though...LOL...now time to go back and see what I just wrote...LOL...

I know you're going to edit this!

 

[ctfjr]

considering the options. . . getting old isn't so bad (just 76 a couple of weeks ago)

I rode until I sold my last bike 2 years ago. I was really into long distance riding. I realized I just wasn't up for 1000 mile days anymore.

 

[Flintknapper]

You might consider what I already have for when you can no longer hold up a bike, get a trike.

^^^^^

Or even the prospect of taking a spill on a bike. I don't know about the rest of you, but as I age (I'm 68 now) I can tell my bones are definitely getting more brittle.

Any kind of a significant fall/spill now....would leave me so 'Humpty Dumptied', the doctors would never get me put back together again.

At some point we have to realize...its time to slow down and make adjustments.

 

[PHPaul]

I'll be 72 next month. Been riding since I was 16 or 17 (too old to remember exactly) and it ain't no old man's Road Sofa neither.

Still, I can see the day coming when I'll have to give it up. Reactions get slower every year, swinging a leg over the tail bag gets a little harder, rides get shorter as the old bones start to object sooner.

Thought about going with a trike when that time comes, but that's both SERIOUSLY expensive and just delaying the inevitable.

Now, a Mazda Miata ragtop...

 

[Henro]

I know you're going to edit this!

Not editing it but in retrospect the “all other parts” might be an exaggeration!!! LOL

 

[Orangeglow]

I always laugh when I read, it beats the alternative. I wish someone would come back just once, and tell the world just what the alternative really is. For many folks I have seen parked in old folks homes, waiting out their days to finally die, not having a clue who they are, where they are, and just existing, I kinda got a feeling the alternative, when one reaches that stage, won,t be so bad. A lot of folks are already living their hell on earth, any chance the alternative could actually be any worse, for those folks ?

 

[Henro]

I was 100% bike until I turned 25 when I bought my first 4 wheel vehicle. Summer and winter, bike only. In snow country a lot of the time.

Longest ride was Spain to Thailand in ‘69~70. No high mile days on those roads back then. Also no need to hurry, as I just got out of the military after 4 years. Had some money I saved and time was free. Something like 14,000 miles over 7 or 8 months to get to Thailand from Spain. Sold my BMW in Bangkok after about 8 months enjoying the country, as well as a bit of Laos and Malaysia. Those were the days!

But after getting married and having kids I decided that motorcycles were too risky for a new dad with responsibilities. Never regretted that decision.

Still feel the pull of a BMW motorcycle sometimes though…guess that will be with me forever…

 

[DaveFromMi]

I know an older couple that had to give up motorcycles. They got one of these and still ride.

Slingshot: Open-Air Roadster - 3 Wheel Motorcycle | Polaris

The Slingshot three-wheeled motorcycle is unlike anything else on the road. Take the wheel and let it set you loose in ways you'd never imagine.

slingshot.polaris.com

 

[OrangeKrush]

I know an older couple that had to give up motorcycles. They got one of these and still ride.

Slingshot: Open-Air Roadster - 3 Wheel Motorcycle | Polaris

The Slingshot three-wheeled motorcycle is unlike anything else on the road. Take the wheel and let it set you loose in ways you'd never imagine.

slingshot.polaris.com

We thought about one of these.. prices have really shot up on them! Kind of lost interest in them, just need to find another good convertible. Hit the back roads and relax.