StreamRider Re-Introduction
Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2023 1:03 pm
I joined this forum about a year and a half ago to post my appreciation and "review" of the tech day in Eden, NY I attended and said I was going to post here more often instead of the "other site". Well, the ease of use and the colorful buttons swayed my favor soon after and I abandoned the idea of checking a forum that reminded me of a 1997 CompuServe Chat that also required me to link and host my own pictures. Ho-Hum aside I decided to give in after EOM and consideration of what both forums have to offer. Well that and the realization while at EOM that I was quite possibly the only person in attendance that was there solely from the "other forum". Not trying to mention while still mentioning the hypocrisy and favoritism that becomes quickly apparent when you ruffle a few feathers on a site that is moderated/admin'd by three people that are obviously close friends and gestapo rule the ideas and opinions of other users that don't align with their beliefs. I will digress. <<deep breath>>
Anyhoo, I would like to say a formal Hello to everybody I met and those from the tech day I got a chance to run into again at EOM, a Hello to everybody on this arena that I have not have had the chance to offend or argue with yet and introduce both my daughter and myself to you all. Hi from Albany, NY.
I was the guy with the GEN 1 with dirt bars and the ugly seat/darkside tire who was not doing a very good job of refraining from the indulgence of cheese and bourbon. It was a pleasure to meet you all and I had a blast. A HUGE thank you to two very skillful riders who allowed me to tag along on the actual Saturday of riding as without them I would have been alone in WV and with no direction. Had you guys not been so cool my trip would have been quite different. I was also thrilled that the two of you rode the style you did as I am also not the type to want to see landmarks and smell flowers, I wanted to do exactly what you guys wanted to and twist throttles and eat up pavement with little chances to catch our breath and eat. I was prepared to stop and look at some history or waterfalls as that comes with the territory of riding with people you don't know but was elated when all you wanted to do was run the risk of felonious speeding on roads that I still cannot understand how an engineer signed off on. Thank you.
I remember your actual names and will refrain from sharing that on here but I would love if you responded so I can associate your screen-names with who you are.
Anybody else that knows me and I met I would also love to know your handles on here so I can put together who is talking. That would be great.
A little about myself and how I live my motorcycle life:
I grew up on dirtbikes, for most of my adolescence I was not allowed to have one but I was tall so when all my friends would take out their quads I got to ride their fathers farm bikes or the beaters. Usually a XR650L or Yamaha XT650 enduro. As early as I can remember I was always on some type of big bike that I had to learn how to control the weight and engine to not kill myself. The first bike I actually was "allowed" to ride was a Yamaha big wheel 200, I loved that thing and went everywhere on it. It was my freedom and my ability to have friends as I grew up on top of a mountain with a dirt road in the Adirondacks where my closest neighbor and kids to play with were 5 miles away. When I was 15 I saved enough money mowing lawns and splitting wood to purchase a friend's uncle's CR500R (yes, the 2 stroke death machine for $500) and three collarbone breaks later I was an "adult" and work/pot/girls became more important.
At 20 I purchased my first street bike, a Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird. Much to the dismay of my late Father who I remember clear as day saying to me "5000 miles is really high for one of those Jap bikes. I don't think it's a good idea." I know he knew that was BS and he was more trying to sway me away from the 1100cc streetbike life. His intentions were good. Mine however were not. I ended up taking a plea deal the next summer and the idea was to have my license revoked for 3 years with a +1 mandatory from NYSDMV but they "messed up" the paper work and the two counts of reckless operation and endangerment that were supposed to run concurrent did not. Seven years later to-the-day I was at the Rennselear County DMV and taking my permit test and an hour later I was sitting on a 2007 Husqvarna SMR 510. <insert: "watch me, I'll do it again".meme>
I still have the Husky and am going through the process of completely rebuilding the entire bike, if y'all are interested in that I would be happy to post some of those pics. I have owned a handfull of larger GW bikes in the interim and got into the endurance aspect of riding. Sold them all (except the Husky) in 2016 when I found out I was going to have my daughter and caught that whole "I need to get my life together and be more responsible" plague of thought. During Covid I got the itch and found myself pouring through YT videos and FBM listings looking at bikes and eventually I purchased another GW with the intention of doing more LD riding as at this point I was not with my kids mother anymore and had 50% of the week as a single man left to his own devices. Quickly realized that I was not ready for the slow-life the GW offered and after spending years following the trial and tribulations of John Ryan after reading "The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing" I was dead-set of getting a FJR. Did my research and knew I wanted a 2003 for a few reasons, the year, gearbox, the weight (or lack there of), the speed and the lack of ABS. I HIGHLY dislike ABS and my disdain for it is only overshadowed by the people that perpetuate the idea that ABS assists in stopping/slowing a two wheeled vehicle faster then proper braking, that is simply and factually not true. Add in the inability to do stoppies and/or slide the rear end purposefully and well that's a hard no for me.
Side Note: I am the type of person that likes to buy old-ish things and then do what I want with them. I like to get something for a steal and like to do all of the work myself if I can, everything can be a learning experience. I rarely buy anything mechanical "new". I would never set foot in a dealership and/or have to take a car/bike in for "scheduled maintenance". I believe the years of any vehicle are the best shortly after the initial models, before they start cutting costs and skimping on materials. I like reliability and robust-ness, a good Rom/Rus AK is better then an Armailite. Cry about it all you want but it is fact. I would never-ever-never own a BMW or a Ducati. Just no. Not my style, interest, or something I would want to get into. I like to buy in cash and own things outright. If that's not for you or you disagree, that's fine. It's the spice of life. TETO
So, EOM was awesome and I see a lot of the comradery and relationships you all have created riding and caring for these machines. In my short time of owning one, now three, I have very quickly developed a love for them as well. While I am no spring chicken by any means, I can see very many similarities in the way that the GW community and the FJR owners are moving through time and it is apparent that the larger touring/dependable/workhorse bikes that fell out of favor in the late 2000's due to them not being "extreme" enough are finally coming back into the light by younger generations that understand both the value and the purpose of bikes that we all love. Just going to a GW meet you see the generation gap clear as day. The old couples and riders that have been half way across the world and the LD folks that have every doodad and gadget strapped next to their water jug and piss tube and then you see 20-somethings with older interstates and anniversary editions that look and sound brand new off the 1986 showroom floor. I hope the FJR and ST crowd can welcome them into the ranks and I hope for the sake of the model and style of riding that we love, we can with the help of social media like YT and TikTok make that popularity rise, much like Tiger did for golf, and gain a foot hold again enough to secure the production of the SPORT-touring style of bike. I have my eyes set on a Kawasaki H2SXE in the next few years when the "scheduled maintenance" periods are gone through and their price demand lowers but only because I know my 2003's will still be kicking and if I need more sport in my touring I will have that option while still being able to tour. While the internet will still have plenty of 2003's that people have very little idea of the value-per-dollar of these bikes hold, I know I can stay chock-full-of-fun and be able to enjoy this ride.
As for my introduction of my better half, the 7yr old that has been my co-pilot for most of this year. She has accrued about 4k miles this season (her first) and the experience of being able to have your child over the comms and be such a natural at riding is something I never thought I would get to experience. I am blessed to have the love of my life with me and asking me to go for rides when I would just hop in the truck. Since her first ride around some office buildings to her last day of 650+ miles she continues to surprise me in just how much she loves the experience, well, everything but the initial dressing-for-the-slide part. Just getting her ready for school is a task in itself so throw on gear/pants/jacket/boots etc. and the chore becomes work. I will post her journey in a separate thread and share our pictures and her story a bit later. We have been working her way up to do a SS1000 with me and if we do not get to do it this year she will be with me next spring to get her #. More to come.
Thank's for reading and thank you more for being so welcoming. Keep the shiny side up and if it's already scratched then the second and third one hurt less.
Anyhoo, I would like to say a formal Hello to everybody I met and those from the tech day I got a chance to run into again at EOM, a Hello to everybody on this arena that I have not have had the chance to offend or argue with yet and introduce both my daughter and myself to you all. Hi from Albany, NY.
I was the guy with the GEN 1 with dirt bars and the ugly seat/darkside tire who was not doing a very good job of refraining from the indulgence of cheese and bourbon. It was a pleasure to meet you all and I had a blast. A HUGE thank you to two very skillful riders who allowed me to tag along on the actual Saturday of riding as without them I would have been alone in WV and with no direction. Had you guys not been so cool my trip would have been quite different. I was also thrilled that the two of you rode the style you did as I am also not the type to want to see landmarks and smell flowers, I wanted to do exactly what you guys wanted to and twist throttles and eat up pavement with little chances to catch our breath and eat. I was prepared to stop and look at some history or waterfalls as that comes with the territory of riding with people you don't know but was elated when all you wanted to do was run the risk of felonious speeding on roads that I still cannot understand how an engineer signed off on. Thank you.
I remember your actual names and will refrain from sharing that on here but I would love if you responded so I can associate your screen-names with who you are.
Anybody else that knows me and I met I would also love to know your handles on here so I can put together who is talking. That would be great.
A little about myself and how I live my motorcycle life:
I grew up on dirtbikes, for most of my adolescence I was not allowed to have one but I was tall so when all my friends would take out their quads I got to ride their fathers farm bikes or the beaters. Usually a XR650L or Yamaha XT650 enduro. As early as I can remember I was always on some type of big bike that I had to learn how to control the weight and engine to not kill myself. The first bike I actually was "allowed" to ride was a Yamaha big wheel 200, I loved that thing and went everywhere on it. It was my freedom and my ability to have friends as I grew up on top of a mountain with a dirt road in the Adirondacks where my closest neighbor and kids to play with were 5 miles away. When I was 15 I saved enough money mowing lawns and splitting wood to purchase a friend's uncle's CR500R (yes, the 2 stroke death machine for $500) and three collarbone breaks later I was an "adult" and work/pot/girls became more important.
At 20 I purchased my first street bike, a Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird. Much to the dismay of my late Father who I remember clear as day saying to me "5000 miles is really high for one of those Jap bikes. I don't think it's a good idea." I know he knew that was BS and he was more trying to sway me away from the 1100cc streetbike life. His intentions were good. Mine however were not. I ended up taking a plea deal the next summer and the idea was to have my license revoked for 3 years with a +1 mandatory from NYSDMV but they "messed up" the paper work and the two counts of reckless operation and endangerment that were supposed to run concurrent did not. Seven years later to-the-day I was at the Rennselear County DMV and taking my permit test and an hour later I was sitting on a 2007 Husqvarna SMR 510. <insert: "watch me, I'll do it again".meme>
I still have the Husky and am going through the process of completely rebuilding the entire bike, if y'all are interested in that I would be happy to post some of those pics. I have owned a handfull of larger GW bikes in the interim and got into the endurance aspect of riding. Sold them all (except the Husky) in 2016 when I found out I was going to have my daughter and caught that whole "I need to get my life together and be more responsible" plague of thought. During Covid I got the itch and found myself pouring through YT videos and FBM listings looking at bikes and eventually I purchased another GW with the intention of doing more LD riding as at this point I was not with my kids mother anymore and had 50% of the week as a single man left to his own devices. Quickly realized that I was not ready for the slow-life the GW offered and after spending years following the trial and tribulations of John Ryan after reading "The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing" I was dead-set of getting a FJR. Did my research and knew I wanted a 2003 for a few reasons, the year, gearbox, the weight (or lack there of), the speed and the lack of ABS. I HIGHLY dislike ABS and my disdain for it is only overshadowed by the people that perpetuate the idea that ABS assists in stopping/slowing a two wheeled vehicle faster then proper braking, that is simply and factually not true. Add in the inability to do stoppies and/or slide the rear end purposefully and well that's a hard no for me.
Side Note: I am the type of person that likes to buy old-ish things and then do what I want with them. I like to get something for a steal and like to do all of the work myself if I can, everything can be a learning experience. I rarely buy anything mechanical "new". I would never set foot in a dealership and/or have to take a car/bike in for "scheduled maintenance". I believe the years of any vehicle are the best shortly after the initial models, before they start cutting costs and skimping on materials. I like reliability and robust-ness, a good Rom/Rus AK is better then an Armailite. Cry about it all you want but it is fact. I would never-ever-never own a BMW or a Ducati. Just no. Not my style, interest, or something I would want to get into. I like to buy in cash and own things outright. If that's not for you or you disagree, that's fine. It's the spice of life. TETO
So, EOM was awesome and I see a lot of the comradery and relationships you all have created riding and caring for these machines. In my short time of owning one, now three, I have very quickly developed a love for them as well. While I am no spring chicken by any means, I can see very many similarities in the way that the GW community and the FJR owners are moving through time and it is apparent that the larger touring/dependable/workhorse bikes that fell out of favor in the late 2000's due to them not being "extreme" enough are finally coming back into the light by younger generations that understand both the value and the purpose of bikes that we all love. Just going to a GW meet you see the generation gap clear as day. The old couples and riders that have been half way across the world and the LD folks that have every doodad and gadget strapped next to their water jug and piss tube and then you see 20-somethings with older interstates and anniversary editions that look and sound brand new off the 1986 showroom floor. I hope the FJR and ST crowd can welcome them into the ranks and I hope for the sake of the model and style of riding that we love, we can with the help of social media like YT and TikTok make that popularity rise, much like Tiger did for golf, and gain a foot hold again enough to secure the production of the SPORT-touring style of bike. I have my eyes set on a Kawasaki H2SXE in the next few years when the "scheduled maintenance" periods are gone through and their price demand lowers but only because I know my 2003's will still be kicking and if I need more sport in my touring I will have that option while still being able to tour. While the internet will still have plenty of 2003's that people have very little idea of the value-per-dollar of these bikes hold, I know I can stay chock-full-of-fun and be able to enjoy this ride.
As for my introduction of my better half, the 7yr old that has been my co-pilot for most of this year. She has accrued about 4k miles this season (her first) and the experience of being able to have your child over the comms and be such a natural at riding is something I never thought I would get to experience. I am blessed to have the love of my life with me and asking me to go for rides when I would just hop in the truck. Since her first ride around some office buildings to her last day of 650+ miles she continues to surprise me in just how much she loves the experience, well, everything but the initial dressing-for-the-slide part. Just getting her ready for school is a task in itself so throw on gear/pants/jacket/boots etc. and the chore becomes work. I will post her journey in a separate thread and share our pictures and her story a bit later. We have been working her way up to do a SS1000 with me and if we do not get to do it this year she will be with me next spring to get her #. More to come.
Thank's for reading and thank you more for being so welcoming. Keep the shiny side up and if it's already scratched then the second and third one hurt less.
