Diff'rent Strokers

[R1Zman]

Don't know if i'm just feeling depressed today or not but looking round the photos on this site, we are all of "a certain age" aren't we? Does anyone think about what's going to happen when our gammy legs can no longer kick a 125 single over, or if our eyes have gone & can no longer see if we fitted that circlip or not? We had the golden age of biking in the 70's & 80's - which we are now reliving - but who will follow us?
Bike shops close right left & centre, it seems you need a first class degree to get a licence now, bike sport won't even be on free TV next year, even the weather (usually) prevents us racking up the miles we once did. We as parents if we are honest, probably prefer the fruits of our loins to go for that 5 year old fiesta rather than a bike - the roads 'aint what they used to be in this green & once pleasant land are they?
Yes we have Scott Redding & Cal etc but they are no Sheene & Grant as they just aren't as accessible (I often literally rubbed shoulders with Sheene, Haslam, Marshall, Burnett etc in the paddock at Cadwell as did many others - the only ones that can do that in todays paddocks would have to be dressed as brolly dollies or millionaires).
Maybe its good that the far east is booming as a market - those young kids who can now afford their first bike to get to work may one day want to remember those days when they have "made it" & have got families out of the way, but for us Brits - best make hay whilst the (rising) sun shines - these days will not be forever!
Perhaps i'll shuffle off & have a bowl of trifle or can of cold cider - things may be better in the morning...... thank god I was born when I was.




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Anyone who uses the term "workshop" outside the context of light engineering is a twat! (Alexei Sayle)

[StrokerBoy]

Pretty sure that every generation has said something similar in the past. All the 60's rockers on Tritons and Gold Stars took one look at the first wave of disposable 'jap-crap' and couldn't have imagined even for a second that anyone would ever get nostalgic for an H1 and consider restoring or collecting 'em.

They're all convinced even now that they had "the golden age of biking" and that all of us stuck with a DT50 at 16 and forced to do a 2-Part test on a 125 should be pitied.

Will anyone ever start a club or forum devoted to crappy 2010 Chinese scooters ? Doesn't sound likely does it ? Ask me again in 30 years.

But then I'm well on with the cold cider already...

[R1Zman]

[Top-shaggy]

Yep... I'm of a certain age too..

But I keep my kids involved and they help me mend and rebuild my bikes.

The oldest two ( 16/18 ) have mopeds and the 15 yo wants one aswell.

My 18yo daughter who rides a ped even though she has a full car license wants a motorbike !

Ok ok .. In this world of namby pamby obsessive health n safety political correctness.. Some would say I'm a bad influence

.
.
I think they will always remember being brought up around bikes, and if I croak I'm sure they will keep a couple rather than just flog em off
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We are where we are...

[R1Zman]

Good on yer TopShaggy - my kids would probably sell my bike & head to the nearest Xbox store with the proceeds (& it wouldn't be to buy motogp25 or whatever)! Neither of them know a lump hammer from a torx driver (but then neither does dad to a degree) but school has taught them all they need to know about citizenship & political correctness - which surely could come in useful if they are stranded by the side of the A43.
In the meantime tell your kids to watch out for the chavs in old Audi A3's (it's not nova's anymore it seems) & drunken eastern europeans in left hand drive mercs/bmw's!
Or we could all move to New Zealand & claim political asylum.......
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Anyone who uses the term "workshop" outside the context of light engineering is a twat! (Alexei Sayle)

[Top-shaggy]

[arlurt]

It's a strange time... I've been going to the TT for 16 years now, and I'm still the youngest one of our group. This year, and last year, saw sixtieth birthdays, and they're still bloody fast, and still know how to have a good time. We've all got a choice of bikes now and I still see new stuff I'd like to own. I think and hope we can all keep doing it for as long as we want. As for the youngsters, my dad bought my much younger brother an old but serviceable bike for his 18th 4 years ago and he STILL hasn't taken his test. Maybe their priorities are different from the ones we had...?
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Light is right.

[arlurt]

Sorry about the typing, I'm sat in the pub trying to do this on my phone. The text is too small to read and I'm not sure about the interface. Where's a youngster when you need one...?
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Light is right.

[Top-shaggy]

[R1Zman]

Alurt.....there's nowt wrong with the phone - how many shandies have you had?
I guess what we are saying is that we are likely to be the last of a generation now that bikes are not as mainstream to the yoof - who have, even in these recession hit times become wealthier than ever, not needing a 'ped to get to College any more.
I suppose you only have to look at the rise of mags like Practical Sportsbikes & the like (& demise of Superbike etc) to see where things are going. Maybe bikes will once more become underground, edgy & mysterious....resulting in at some point in the future, demand from spotty 17 year olds once again wanting to be cool - & all will be well in the world.
I still wouldn't invest in a franchise bike shop for a while though...........
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Anyone who uses the term "workshop" outside the context of light engineering is a twat! (Alexei Sayle)

[yanw]

I think a great deal could be down to the fact that as a nation we are getting fatter and lazier. Also, in the 22 years I have been riding there are now a lot more cars on the road, meaning there are a lot more second hand cars.

There is some solace; a friend of mine gave her daughter her old Van-van when she hit 17 and now after passing her test she has an old (restricted) GPz550. She takes her boyfriend on the back. Both her parents are bikers mind.

I'll try and get my kids on bikes when they are 17. They're not having a 'ped (I think they should be banned) but when they 17 they're not driving my car.

[Gillinghampaul]

I dont feel old yet! Only 29 but loving the strokers, the bikes i like tend to be priced out of my budget though! Young family and trying to save for a mortgage.
I try and get people interested in bikes and a few have its seen more as a luxury now though rather than cheap transport and i would love to get my kids over the field on a little scrambler but they will get an asbo! If you dont own the land then you cant ride, even when i was younger we could ride in some places without a worry but not anymoe!
I think the price of a bike test and its complications have put alot of people off, my dad recently passed his test and he was asking me about module 2, and i had to remind him i didnt do any of that module stuff when a took my bike test!
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Gagging for it

[Haggler]

Am 50 this month and I've got a few years left yet (see latest addition in Yam section) No pipe and slippers for me yet (Traction maybe )
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I was never as fast as I used to be !!!

[emzedder]

Interesting conversation, I guess it will just be different.When I was in my teens in 70's my peer group all rode lightweights predominantly strokers from FS1e through to YDS7 and RD250's, 400's or GT380/550's. or really lucky ones had GT750's Anyone of the "old boys" with grey hair and derry boots / Sam Browns rode four strokes and we outnumbered them 10:1. It's turned around and when I attend any events there are virtually no teen or early 20's guys. I think the "make it, repair it yourself" piece has gone and it is all showroom factory bikes ... whereas we had to improvise and make them trick - no race reps available in the 70's unless you had a 900SS Ducati which was way beyond reach for most.

I think the high cost placed upon anything "interesting" or "collectable" has killed it in addition to the loss of local bike breakers in place of eBay
profit opportunism ... it is a relatively expensive luxury rather than an extension of interest in your bread and butter machine.

When one of your mates at work bought another bike we used to stand in the bike shed or carpark staring at it during dinner breaks and generally "fiddle" , have a sit on it, ride it round the block etc etc ... this was a big part of the "pack" binding but you won't see that these days for various reasons

As I say, probably just different ... now you will know why I mess with "do it yourself" bitzas in a time warp!
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If it don't ring-a-ding-ding it ain't worth a thing

[R1Zman]

Emzedder, yep I think you are right - we've got too used to luxury, we throw unserviceable parts away as we can't fix, & you can't fix electronics with a hammer anyway! I used to spend saturdays as a 17 yr old taking the heads off my RD125 to give it a "decoke" even though it never really needed it. It was just good to unbolt something, put it back together & convince yourself you'd gained 5mph.
You can't do that easily with 4 valve multi cylinder heads!
Maybe one day, when the internet melts down & the world can't do anything for itself there will be a post apocalyptic group of individuals, all who found that the only other survivors were cockroaches & 70's Yamaha 2 strokes - all of which started 3rd kick, & led by Guy Martin in the Mad Max role, only madder, when he can't get a good mug of tea.
I think I'm off to start a happier thread now.....
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Anyone who uses the term "workshop" outside the context of light engineering is a twat! (Alexei Sayle)