Never Too Old For Motorbikes

[St Landrew]

Thought I'd encourage a few people back onto motorcycles with this bit of news. Just a few days ago, an elder relative of mine bought her first bike since passing her test, at 61. She rode a 50cc Gilera motorcycle [don't ever mention moped, it didn't have pedals] back in the 70's and 80's, and occasionally I'd nick it when my transport had broken down. I mention that because the little Gilera handled brilliantly [and was great fun despite being only 50cc], and allowed my sister to gain considerable bike control.

 

Anyway, this is the model she bought for £1600 and 14500 miles. Her bike has a rear carrier and provision for panniers, and pillion seat back, but no screen. It's this colour though. The condition is pretty good too, and it's now going to have a very easy life. Lucky bike - a 535cc Yamaha Virago:

 

At the moment it's restricted to 33bhp, but is about 44bhp unrestricted. Not fast, but a torquey, comfy cruiser, that'll be good for 90mph once the restriction is removed, but'll do 70 all day. Not that you would, as this is for trips to the New Forest, via the B-Roads, with a picnic hamper on the back.

 

I always take up an offer to ride a different bike, however unusual, and frankly, I can't wait to have a go. Cute..!

[swannymere]

Not my cup of tea, but the more the merrier

[St Landrew]

Not my cup of tea, but the more the merrier

 

Nor mine. I like my bikes to be a bit sportier, but it'll be great to see one less car on the road, even temporarily. Can't wait to see her ride it to work. I do like the power delivery of V-Twins though, and at the moment I'm looking for a nice Honda 650cc NTV.

[Baj]

Cool, nice story. Never ridden a bike like that before.

[St Landrew]

The thing I don't like about cruiser style bikes is the lower height and weight distribution that is biased towards the rear. It's fine if you intend to potter around, but if you want to open the taps slightly, then it's just safer to have the weight distribution much more central. I never took much notice of it for years, just being an instinctive rider and vaguely looking for the limits. But since watching MotoGP for the last few seasons, and doing some research otherwise, I have become more more aware of what is going on between the wheels of a bike, and it has made me a better rider. It also means I am able to experiment much more with different approaches and exits from corners, lean angles, braking limits, and other little things; all of which contribute to the enjoyment of motorcycle riding.

 

Another relative of mine, an older cousin, also has a cruiser style bike, of which he's had front end slides on two occasions. Now, anyone who rides a bike will shudder at the thought of a front wheel washout. It's the one you really don't want because once the front wheel is gone, it's almost always gone. A rear wheel break away can be recovered from, but the front wheel slide is buttock clenchingly bad. He didn't know why this was happening, and on riding his bike I was able to explain to him how the lack of relative weight on the front wheel, when compared to a conventional bike, was encouraging slides, even in the dry. Under braking, weight distribution shifts to the front of a bike, pushing the front tyre into the tarmac, and encouraging grip. On a cruiser bike, the weight distribution is still quite light on the front wheel under braking. His front brake was quite powerful, even for a traditional bike, but on his cruiser, it was positively dangerous. He now uses his back brake much more, and more powerfully, as it will hardly ever break away with all the relative weight sat over it.

 

BTW, anyone who doesn't understand how weight can be distributed unequally between wheels just needs to think of when they last shared the task of moving furniture or an appliance. We've all lifted the light end or the heavy end. It's the same thing.