My Last Word On Wheels, I Hope!

NCtim · May 07, 2013, 06:12:59 PM

Hey Phil,

There's a few older guys around here with that set up. When the Goldwing convention used to come to Asheville we'd see them all week. I used to laugh but these days they look mighty useful.

Tim

pspeaks · May 07, 2013, 10:37:18 PM

For the last year or so I've had to walk with a cane because my knees are bad and I'm not a good candidate for surgery. I'm concern that if I get the HD over too far I can't recover, but I guess on the other hand that would be true if my knees weren't bad. I'm not all that much of a 3-wheeler fan but rather than stop riding I might give it a try. A Can-Am might be a consideration too but a nice one is $30K.

Paul

BlownMGB-V8 · May 08, 2013, 08:08:16 AM

You could get some training wheels. I think they call them landing gears now. Haven't seen them in operation but have heard they go down at low speed to keep you from tipping over. Kind of a laugh I guess but better than a tricycle. Everybody says when we get older we revert anyway so what the heck? Couldn't cost anywhere near that 30 large.

I sold my old iron head sportster and bought a KLR. For the kind of riding I do, I like it much better. And I can pick it up.

Jim

pspeaks · May 08, 2013, 09:55:33 AM

One of my hot rod buddies, in fact the one that bought my T-Bucket, has a KLR. Rode it once, fell off, but I like it too. He rides it three times as much as his BMW; actually rode it from Dallas to Big Bend and back a couple of years ago. I told him it wasn't such a great idea for a 68 year old bald headed guy but he did it anyway and survived.

Paul

BlownMGB-V8 · May 09, 2013, 11:53:20 PM

It's a surprising bike. Long legs, a little heavy, not really big on horsepower, but for all that it goes well, is comfortable, pretty nimble, and handles any surface easily. I put the Michelin T63 knobbies on it and they are surprisingly good. Haven't been out on the freeway with it yet but it looks like it'll do just fine there too. I can see why the Army likes it. Hung my old leather saddlebags under the seat and for local errands it's just the thing. Plus it's fun to chase the dog around the yard with.

Jim

pspeaks · May 10, 2013, 01:25:38 AM

A while back I had some pretty pronounced Knobbles on a Yamaha CT-3. It made me a bit anxious crossing rail road tracks at an angle but for the most part did pretty well on the road. The most daring thing I think I ever did was ride a 650 Triumph Bonneville from Dallas to San Diego. I had to stop a number of times to heal up; today, I wouldn't even consider that on my Harley. Of course I wasn't 70 years old then either. That black bag on the back of my Harley is actually a soft "ugly Stick" tackle box I got as a gift when I bought a rod and reel from Bass Pro Shop.

Paul

britcars · May 10, 2013, 07:37:36 AM

Jim, the military KLR's are diesel.
Diesel KLR.jpg

BlownMGB-V8 · May 10, 2013, 08:12:04 AM

Right Phil, but I have heard they'll burn anything you care to put in the tank. (candle wax anyone?) Plus they get some outrageous mileage, something like 120 mpg or better depending on fuel. I have yet to burn the first tankful in mine.

The worst experience I ever had with Knobblies was riding across the Ohio on a cheese grater bridge with a big Mercedes right on my butt. No directional control at all. Worse than sand, I scootched up on the tank, ignored the back wheel and kept it slow, all the while with visions of that Mercedes shoving me through the decking, and it just went on forever. Never been so glad to get off a bridge in all my life. I'll do almost anything to avoid one of those again.

When I got out of the service I bought a 650 Norton Atlas in Vallejo, California and rode it up to Grand Forks, North Dakota, then south to Tulsa, and then on to Milton, W.Va. I'd say it was an epic journey but the word is overused these days. Took a month doing it, starting over the Sierra Nevadas in early March with better than 6 ft of snow on the ground. Most days I rode a couple hundred miles but did the Tulsa leg in two days through heavy rain. 500 miles a day through a cloud is quite an experience. Somehow I don't remember much about the final leg, where and if I stopped. It must have been pretty uneventful by that point. I do remember the guy who sold me the bike saying how he wished he could go along, just before grabbing a pair of heavy gauntlet gloves off the shelf and handing them to me. Don't think I'd have done too well without those.

Jim

britcars · May 10, 2013, 12:11:41 PM

Jim, the CA to W. VA run on a Norton sounds like quite an experience. I'm assuming that the Atlas didn't have a fairing or windshield....very few did in those days. Rode a lot of Brit bikes in the old days, Norton, BSA, Royal Enfield, Ariel and AJS.
Have had two Kawasaki Coucours sport tourers over the past 10 years but sold the last one last summer. Looking seriously at a KLR or vStrom. Did two Alaska ttrips on the last Concours (an 06) and one 900 mile day from Hyder, AK to Vancouver, BC...the last half in heavy rain and dark.
My son wants to do AK again (he now lives in Dawson Creek, start of the AK Hwy). If we do I'll ship my bike west, getting too old for the long days in the saddle!
Here's a pic of the long bridge across the Peace River near Fort St. John, BC with an open steel deck. Lot of fun, especially in the wet.
Hummmm...way off the topic of wheels for an MGB??
Peace River Bridge.jpg

pspeaks · May 10, 2013, 01:28:13 PM

I know, this is all my fault, but occasionally I like to talk motorcycles too. One of the guys in our group has a vStrom. I've never ridden it, but it's a really nice bike and does really well on the road. Besides, we've already worked out my wheel and tire issue. I've decided to order a RV8 hood from Bill too. I'm going to have to get to work on the little car, I've got a garage full of parts and toys still in boxes.

Paul

BlownMGB-V8 · May 10, 2013, 04:10:16 PM

The bikes are a nice diversion but the real task is getting the MG back on the road, I can agree with that. Speaking of toys in boxes, I just ordered some megasquirt upgrade parts that may not get installed for awhile. Sometimes you just have to strike while the iron is hot.

Jim

pspeaks · May 11, 2013, 08:01:56 AM

How true! I've been fighting cancer and the effects of radiation for the last six months but I think I've got it beat and I'm starting to feel a bit better. Spring is here and it's time to start fabricating and bolting stuff together. I have to get going on my steering and radiator. There again, all the new parts are in the garage.

Paul

MGBV8 · May 11, 2013, 01:37:51 PM

Gotta love motorcycles. I still ride 'em. Had my motorcycle license for 41 years.

Awesome trip, Jim. Speaking of epic motorcycle journeys...check this one out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85VErvTqgWc&feature=youtu.be

BlownMGB-V8 · May 11, 2013, 04:12:17 PM

Definitely KLR roads on that trip. Fell down a couple times too I noticed.

Jim

pspeaks · May 11, 2013, 09:28:03 PM

I'm glad that falling down thing isn't just me :-) I got my motorcycle license when I was 16 in 1959, rode a lot of bikes and at one time or another I probably dropped every one of them.

Paul

MGBV8 · May 12, 2013, 09:32:34 AM

When I raced motocross, if I didn't crash once in a while I figured I wasn't riding near hard enough.

BlownMGB-V8 · May 12, 2013, 11:15:41 AM

When I went out trail riding with buddies we used to get pretty outrageous egging each other on. I mean we really overdid it, and it didn't stop until a couple of the guys got badly hurt. That put a real damper on things. I was probably the most cautious but even so I took some real chances and most weekends came home pretty badly beat up. I'd never have dreamed those bikes would go over some of the stuff that we just seemed to glide across once we got going. Of course, when I first started riding I accepted that if you ride you will fall down, no different from a bicycle that way, and it take some practice to learn how to deal with it. But that's no excuse for not taking precautions. I ride like everybody and everything is out to get me. Not timidly mind you, but definitely with caution.

I think I'd have to say that learning to drive an MGB followed a somewhat similar if more solo path. Pushing the machine to it's limits, improving those limits until they really surpassed what I could deal with and still have some level of safety (the vehicle's capabilities began to exceed my reaction time) and finally calming down a bit and just enjoying it instead of looking for an adrenaline rush. And the same cautious attitude. Some of you may question that ;-) and you know who you are, but it is true nonetheless.

Jim

pspeaks · May 12, 2013, 07:07:59 PM

I did a lot of trail riding in my 20's and 30's but have come to realize at 70 I'm not as bullet proof as I would like and healing time takes much, much, longer. I try to be as diligent as possible but a couple of years ago I was putting my Harley in the garage and the front wheel hit the edge of the driveway at an angle and down I went. My leg was caught under it, thankfully it wasn't hot yet. I had use my cell phone to call my son in the house to come get it off of me. Un-hurt, but my daughter read me the riot act about my second childhood or something like that; I have no idea what she means.

Paul

MGBV8 · May 15, 2013, 09:36:58 PM

Beautiful day, 84 degrees. Should have been working on the MG. Took the missus for a putt on the Harley, instead. Totally aggravated my allergies, even though I was driving on Benadryl.

BlownMGB-V8 · May 16, 2013, 08:37:35 AM

Hey, got to have your priorities, right?

Jim

pspeaks · May 16, 2013, 10:15:18 AM

Just got my baby out of the hospital (rear tire replacement) Harley's don't get all that many miles out of a Dunlap. Planned to take her out for a little exercise yesterday but the storms came rolling in and she said "NOT A CHANCE! if you want to act like a fool go ahead, but I'm not going out there" so, disappointed, I set back down at my workbench next to the GT, turned on the flat screen, lit up a $10 dollar cigar, and watched a Gene Autry movie. Supposed to storm again today; Oh well, UPS is bringing some more new parts for the GT, and I'm pretty sure I can find another movie.

Paul