Senior bikers

[oldbiker]

Hi .. I took my direct access test at the age of 63..DEC 08..after no bike riding for very many years..Passed test first time with only two minor faults...I find a ride out on my 05 FZS a lot more exciting than a zimmer frame..
I would like to know what opinions of the above,my fellow bike riders have about starting late on bikes.....OLDBIKER..

 

[ice]

I think it is great.
I`m not far behind you as far as age goes
I have ridden bikes off and on my whole life.
I love riding and plan to continue as long as I can.
Back in the saddle again after a dry spell.
I bought a 2008 FZ6 a week ago.

 

[Fz6Sa]

IMO it's NEWER to late to start riding!!

 

[OneTrack]

I returned to bikes and riding in summer of 07 at the age of 60, after a long absence. I rode bikes exclusively in my late teens and early 20's in England. I'm 64 this year (in October) and I have no intention of either slowing down or giving up riding. I can't slow down anyhow since installing a 15t front sprocket....

 

[Botch]

I started riding my FZ in '07, my first time riding in 47 years.

I'm just wondering why I'd waited so long....

 

[Jblk9695]

Be 65 in Aug and have been riding since 64(1964) except for a few years off to have a couple of heart attacks and open heart surgery.
Made up for it in the last few years by having an 83 GoldWing, 06 VStrom, 01 Concours and now an 09 FZ6.
Going to ride until I can't balance and then get a 3 wheeler:thumbup:

Jerry

 

[Nelly]

:welcome:Actually I didn't realise we has so may crocks on the forum lol.

I think fair play to you and much Kudos.
Once a biker always a biker. I think our oldest rider is near 70 and is an ex-pat in Australia.

Nelly

 

[Jez]

Congrats on the test pass.

I'm not that old myself (36), but often go for a ride out with a guy who passed his test aged 58.

 

[mkjeld76]

I started back riding again at 50. 52 now and I commute to work as much as possible. I think since my kids are older and have moved out I have much more free time to enjoy it.

 

[Jim Karam]

I didn't start late, riding since 1966, but I'm still riding at age 68. I did benefit from mostly being a dirt rider for the first twenty years or so. You inherently learn how these bikes are a lot more stable than you'd think. But, you also learn that it's not a matter of if, but simply when, you'll drop the bike at speed. Regardless, I wouldn't recommend dirt for the older riders as we don't recover as well from falls or the pounding of a day-long ride in the boonies.

 

[Senior]

I suppose I better contribute to this thread . . . .

I'm "only" 40 . . . . . so I'm not really that senior, it's just that I have a younger brother and he's Junior . . . the Senior name has stuck from when I was at college and my bro started coming along on kayaking trips way back when. So the kayaking was my absolute passion when I was in my teens so the aim was always to to learn to drive so I could move the kayaks around without having to rely on my parents . . . . so I had absolutely no interest in motorbikes !!!!

Roll on 20 odd years and on a whim thought I'd like to go to the CBT (compulsary basic training) to ride up to a 125cc . . . . . oh no I really liked it and knew I wouldn't be happy on a 125cc, so then booked in for a theory test and then the direct access 2 & a half weeks later I had a full bike licence and 1 week after that bought the FZ6 Fazer. That was all in November 2008.

I'm thoroughly loving riding the bike (all weathers - well maybe not ice and snow) and in some ways wished I lived further away from work . . . . but I'm so glad I followed up on my whim, the time in my life was right to start this, and I've never thought that I should have done this earlier. It was so worth doing just to see my father-in-laws face when I walked in the kitchen (he'd been trying for 12 years to get me on a motorbike) with all my gear on . . .
"why have you got a helmet on ?"
"because I came on my motorbike !"
" :jawdrop::jawdrop: what . . . , right then you can ride the Douglas (pic below) at Castle Combe then"

Priceless

Anyway, my father-in-law is still riding and he's 77 !!! He tolerates my japanese "egg-whisk" but then he does have a few very nice British bikes and his newest one is from 1978, says he's gonna help me build a 50's racer from parts in his shed

 

[Wavex]

I met one of nccoder's friend 3 weeks ago on a ride and the dude was 60yo... owns a few supersports... rides all the time... goes to the track on a regular basis... and the interesting part was that he had 3 major crashes in the past 2 year, including one in Nov. 2009, in which he broke his tibia, a bunch of ribs, punctured lungs, etc etc... and 3 months later he was ripping the canyons on his GSXR1000... sick but awesome!!!

Props to all of you old farts... I can only hope to be riding in 30 years, when I am 60yo

 

[OneTrack]

Regardless, I wouldn't recommend dirt for the older riders as we don't recover as well from falls or the pounding of a day-long ride in the boonies.

No kidding.
Before I bought my FZ6, I bought a new Yamaha XT225 as I wasn't really planning to ride much on the road again. After a couple of weekends of bouncing around off-road and falling off, I felt I might make it to my next birthday (61 at the time) in much better shape if I went back on the road again.
The last straw was deciding to roar (well, a 225cc roar) up a fairly steep hill (8 year olds were getting up and over on their little MX bikes). I took a run at it, and stalled the motor about a foot from the top. Fell sideways and down we went the bike and I, end over end. When I finally came to a stop (MX helmet stuffed full of sand) I looked up and there was an 8 year old looking down at me, saying "Are you ok Sir?". Utterly humiliating. :surrender:
I road my XT on the road after that, but after a couple of weeks of trying to keep up with everything, I traded the XT for my FZ6.
Mike the bike was back. :cheer:

 

[OneTrack]

Props to all of you old farts... I can only hope to be riding in 30 years, when I am 60yo

Heh heh....They say there's no fool like an old fool....but I do love behaving like a young fool again. :thumbup:

 

[Hellgate]

:thumbup:I did a track day about a year ago and in my run group was an 82 year old gentleman on a BMW 800 twin, enduro/adventure looking thing. He as doing pretty good until he rode off on a fast sweeper. Hats off to him for getting out there and lapping!

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

last week i was at my local bike shop there was an XR650 motard parked up ..both tyres scrubbed,bobbled and blistered to an inch of their life

On my way back out therea a guy who must of been in his mid 60's gearing up preparing to jump on..i felt like asking him if his son knew he was on his bike..lol

Then i watched him ride ..that pensioner had skills

 

[grumpy1luvs2eat]

I've been riding since I was 16, and I'm 57 now. Can't see not riding until I can't breathe! GRUMPY

 

[Jez]

This guy is an inspiration:

Simon Gandolfi?s Old Man on a Bike

 

[jrevans]

My dad

My dad will be 81 in a few months and he still rides his 1977 Gold Wing that he bought new. He's been riding forever and his dad rode too.

Actually, motorcycles are why I'm here today. My grandfather came to the USA from Yugoslavia with his parents and brothers/sisters. As was told to me, my grandfather was injured in a coal mining accident, and was waiting for some settlement money from the mining company, so he could buy a Harley Davidson. His parents and family (except for one sister) decided to return to the old country, but my grandfather stayed to get his motorcycle. Cool, eh? Apparently, my grandfather was also a motorcycle police officer at one time and we have a picture of him in uniform on a police motorcycle.

I guess it's in my blood....

 

[Perfj]

I got my first bike at my 18th years birthday. Riding for about four years. And then I ran into the common "problem" with wife and children. So I swapped the bike for a car.
In 2001 I bought a bike again. Never regretted.
Just reached the age of 60 and owning a FZ6 - not bad at all.:cheer: