What Are Your Non-Gaming Hobbies/Interests?

[Ryujin]

There are 2 types of motorcyclists: those that have gone down, and those that will.

The first is why my wife won't let me ride any longer lol. That, and this graphic. But man, sometimes I miss by bike. I'm very much a cruiser guy and not a sport biker though.

View attachment 406167

Yeah, I haven't ridden in a few years now and sold my last bike to a friend, for cheap, last summer. I both do and don't miss it, as it has become pretty dangerous to ride anywhere near Toronto, over the last decade or so. I'm not a cruiser guy though. My path through bikes was a bit weird:

Honda 250 Elite (scooter) => 535 Virago => BMW K75RT => Kawasaki GPz1100 ('95) => Suzuki Bandit 1200 ('96) => Suzuki Bandit 1200 ('98) => Honda VFR800 (2K) => Kawasaki ER6n ('08)

I owned a track only '87 FZR400 at the same time as the VFR. And yes, I've had a few crashes, two of which involved being taken out by cars. Oddly enough I never crashed on the track though.

 

[dragoner]

If you value your life you don't ride. I got rid of my GS1100 when I had my first kid. Too much responsibility.

 

[Ryujin]

If you value your life you don't ride. I got rid of my GS1100 when I had my first kid. Too much responsibility.

Or if you value living, you do ride. A lot of life is balancing risk vs responsibility.

Funny thing; the track is the safest place that I rode. No cars or trucks. Everyone going in the same direction. No intersections, unless you count the possibility of someone not following the rules about how to join traffic from pit lane. Typically riding with people of a known skill level, that matches your own. (I was usually ruled to be skilled and predictable enough, that I was placed with the "fast" group. Not because I was fast, but because I was safe and provided passing practice ) Oh, and an ambulance, with paramedics, was only 30 seconds away.

 

[dragoner]

Or if you value living, you do ride. A lot of life is balancing risk vs responsibility.

Funny thing; the track is the safest place that I rode. No cars or trucks. Everyone going in the same direction. No intersections, unless you count the possibility of someone not following the rules about how to join traffic from pit lane. Typically riding with people of a known skill level, that matches your own. (I was usually ruled to be skilled and predictable enough, that I was placed with the "fast" group. Not because I was fast, but because I was safe and provided passing practice ) Oh, and an ambulance, with paramedics, was only 30 seconds away.

I have had friends that did the privateer route, fun times being there at 5 am. Though like you say, it usually is other cars that gets bikes. That is always the way it is though, as a Firefighter, most of what I did was first aid to injured motorists, and most of those accidents were driver error. The startling thing about the bike fatality statistics, is figuring how few bikes there are on the road. The actual last bike I did have was a Harley, did some work for the son of an Angel that went to prison, and he sold me his Dad's bike in a box, and I put it back together, old style chopper, hard tail and suicide shift; talk about a dangerous bike, at 50 mph that rear wheel was dancing across the pavement.

 

[Ryujin]

I have had friends that did the privateer route, fun times being there at 5 am. Though like you say, it usually is other cars that gets bikes. That is always the way it is though, as a Firefighter, most of what I did was first aid to injured motorists, and most of those accidents were driver error. The startling thing about the bike fatality statistics, is figuring how few bikes there are on the road. The actual last bike I did have was a Harley, did some work for the son of an Angel that went to prison, and he sold me his Dad's bike in a box, and I put it back together, old style chopper, hard tail and suicide shift; talk about a dangerous bike, at 50 mph that rear wheel was dancing across the pavement.

That's a big problem with the majority of customs that I see out there. They've been modified in a way that makes them just plain unstable, or not turn/brake/maneuver as well as stock. Hard tail means your tire can't follow anything but a perfect road surface. Ape Hangers means you can't perform efficient steering inputs. Front brake delete to "make it look cleaner" robs you of 60%+ of your braking ability (80%+ on a standard or sportbike).

Most of the mods that I did to me ER6n, the last bike that I owned, were to improve its utility. I took that $9K motorcycle and put $4K worth of suspension onto it. Flat dirt bike bars for better hand position and more leverage when turning. An original Kawasaki windscreen, from the UK (not available in North America), for comfort and weather protection. Also more luggage space than a Smart Car, for touring, but that also let me cobble together a secondary and higher mounted brake light, plus wider and more visible turn signals (Video Here).

 

[dragoner]

That's a big problem with the majority of customs that I see out there. They've been modified in a way that makes them just plain unstable, or not turn/brake/maneuver as well as stock. Hard tail means your tire can't follow anything but a perfect road surface. Ape Hangers means you can't perform efficient steering inputs. Front brake delete to "make it look cleaner" robs you of 60%+ of your braking ability (80%+ on a standard or sportbike).

Most of the mods that I did to me ER6n, the last bike that I owned, were to improve its utility. I took that $9K motorcycle and put $4K worth of suspension onto it. Flat dirt bike bars for better hand position and more leverage when turning. An original Kawasaki windscreen, from the UK (not available in North America), for comfort and weather protection. Also more luggage space than a Smart Car, for touring, but that also let me cobble together a secondary and higher mounted brake light, plus wider and more visible turn signals (Video Here).

View attachment 406175

That is a nice bike. You totally described that chopper, it was an original from the 70's. At best a beer runner. Living in a city with a lot of cars, it gets tough to deal with, out in the country, I think it would be easier to ride. Edit: Bikes in general, I was a sportbike guy, not that I have anything against harleys.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

There are 2 types of motorcyclists: those that have gone down, and those that will.

The first is why my wife won't let me ride any longer lol. That, and this graphic. But man, sometimes I miss by bike. I'm very much a cruiser guy and not a sport biker though.

View attachment 406167

Mind continuing to be blown by the FERRY numbers

Also, where are the bicycles?