Lovely bike Paul. About as much tweeking there as the average FS setup ;-)I used to ride, but not any more. Living in Poland the roads aren't so great and the majority of car drivers are complete --------s - plus it'd be a bit chilly in the winter. Every spring I start to get the urge though. One day, in sunnier climes :-)

Thanks Gavin! I guess we are just tweakers at heart which is why we love FS so much! Or at least I know I am! I am slowly starting to ride less on the road and more on the track. 150mph on the track is safer than 55 on the road in most cases! As in Poland most roads around NYC are CR*P unless you get out into the country a bit then you have some phenomenal riding but the US drivers have no idea how to drive with Motorcyclists on the road and most back roads are limited to 45mph so I cant even get out of first gear by the time I am speeding! We also are not allowed to lane share or lane split or merge depending on what you call it which is much safer for us as it gives us much more visibility and maneuverability and it -6c outside today LOL!~! I do have a full heated suit for winter riding but only when the roads are clear. Never with snow/ice and grit all over the roads! I do have a rain mode on the bike though that essentially cuts the torque in half to try and keep the rear end from stepping out...Life's dilemmas seem to melt away when the helmet goes on, the music goes on and the leg goes over that bike. It makes everything ok....Thanks again Gavin!Wow, some amazing machines and stories here! A half million miles! Holy bleeping sh*t... i am lucky to have 100k under my belt and out of those 99k were incident free but that one guardrail was a real rough day!Would love to add one of these to my stable, my Aprilia dealer sells them and I almost ride out with one every time I am there...

Edited January 22, 201214 yr by psolk

Riding in -6... wow your a machine ;) at about 5 degrees celcius i find to be my limit.Definelty have to watch out for them stupid drivers, but we also have to accept the risk a certain activity has, hence ill keep riding and just keep my head moving and expect the unexpected at all times. Dont really want to stop living on the fact that some activity I enjoy has a certain degree of risk!!!!Flying IRL has a risk, but im not willing to give up my CPL, riding has a risk, but im not willing to shut it down!!! Just hope that i have no major incidents while riding.Snow, wont you go away!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanna go out for a ride!!!!!!

Edited January 22, 201214 yr by flyinpilot212121

I'll be darned! I'm jealous of that Enfield, Paul!I grew up in the '50's, and 'learned how to wrench' in a club (run by a 50-year local garage mechanic with a wooden leg) that - every Sunday - met in a wooded valley, in a large clearing with two rough tracks. There was a sheet-iron shed near the short track that contained around 50 old bikes - many ex-army, like the Norton 16H: there were 350's & 500's of all (British) makes: Ariel VB's, a Red Hunter; AJS 350 & 500 singles, Matchless's, a "Squariel"; Velocettes - in fact "my" first bike was a 1929 Velocette GTP - a single-cylinder two-stoke 250cc with an external flywheel. Most had no exhaust pipe: most had no footrests - or fenders! The members were from all age groups, a number of girls, too. Five shillings a week paid for the priviledge of being taught how to ride these thumpers, how to set up tappets, fix Amal carbs: strip and rebuild Burman gearboxes - and how to swear like Jimmy did!It was a great time in my life: my brother and I went on to race (scrambling) the Triumph 500 twin for a number of years on into the '60's. I've built a '49 International Manx from parts, owned a '59 Manx for a year or so, and generally had a great education that has been so useful over the ensuing years.Flash forward - about four years ago and nearing retirement I had a 'yearning' and picked up a '72 Bonnie:- http://s118.photobuc...mview=slideshow in need of some TLC, and then a year or so later I picked up this barn find,http://s118.photobuc..._3_bucket/Duke/ - a '65 Ducati SCR - great little bike - spent a couple of happy years rebuilding it, and then sold it.Bikes are addictive, like flying; the wind: the speed: the adrenaline rush as you lean into a corner and accelerate hard: all these things make your heart pound. That same feeling comes back as you push that throttle to full power, and she comes alive. Lift-off: Magic. Nothing like it!Thanks for bring back some nice memories!

Me and my HD FXD Dyna Superglide:

Definelty have to watch out for them stupid drivers, but we also have to accept the risk a certain activity has, hence ill keep riding and just keep my head moving and expect the unexpected at all times.Dont really want to stop living on the fact that some activity I enjoy has a certain degree of risk!!!!Flying IRL has a risk, but im not willing to give up my CPL, riding has a risk, but im not willing to shut it down!!! Just hope that i have no major incidents while riding.

And watch out for stupid suicidal deer. They can make major leaps in less than a second.....even on hot summer days at a quarter to three in the afternoon, when they should be sleeping. And I now advise non helmet wearers, to use one at least 50% of the time. I hit a deer on my Honda Valkyrie at 65 mph, and instantly departed the cycle. Landed on my head........but was wearing the full face helmet, which I didn't always do on cross country rides. Am still here to talk about it............and all the broken bones (many) have healed. After wondering about it for the last year.................I'd buy another cycle. I've rode motorcycles for 45 years.

And watch out for stupid suicidal deer. They can make major leaps in less than a second.....even on hot summer days at a quarter to three in the afternoon, when they should be sleeping. And I now advise non helmet wearers, to use one at least 50% of the time. I hit a deer on my Honda Valkyrie at 65 mph, and instantly departed the cycle. Landed on my head........but was wearing the full face helmet, which I didn't always do on cross country rides. Am still here to talk about it............and all the broken bones (many) have healed. After wondering about it for the last year.................I'd buy another cycle. I've rode motorcycles for 45 years.

Wow, quite a story. A friend of mine whose been riding 20-something years t-boned a vehicle that pulled out in front of him on a backroad he was riding on at 55MPH last summer. He's alive, but couldn't work for months and was touch and go for awhile. Another friend was riding with me last September and if you can imagine a road where is now a left curve onto a new section, but the old section of road went straight ahead. That straight ahead is now a cow pasture with a ditch before it and razor wire. My friend got caught in the old grooves and couldn't turn left onto the new section....he was doing 25MPH and broke both tibia and fibula at the ankle, plus a couple small bones in his foot as he drove straight into the ditch and if he'd been going faster would have hit the razor wire. He was out from work 6 weeks and in major pain. $15,000 in medical bills later he had to sell the bike to pay for it. Moral of those stories--be careful folks, it's so easy to get caught in the bubble of enjoyment and it is so easily ruined forever!

Edited January 30, 201214 yr by tutmeister

Wow, quite a story. A friend of mine whose been riding 20-something years t-boned a vehicle that pulled out in front of him on a backroad he was riding on at 55MPH last summer. He's alive, but couldn't work for months and was touch and go for awhile. Another friend was riding with me last September and if you can imagine a road where is now a left curve onto a new section, but the old section of road went straight ahead. That straight ahead is now a cow pasture with a ditch before it and razor wire. My friend got caught in the old grooves and couldn't turn left onto the new section....he was doing 25MPH and broke both tibia and fibula at the ankle, plus a couple small bones in his foot as he drove straight into the ditch and if he'd been going faster would have hit the razor wire. He was out from work 6 weeks and in major pain. $15,000 in medical bills later he had to sell the bike to pay for it. Moral of those stories--be careful folks, it's so easy to get caught in the bubble of enjoyment and it is so easily ruined forever!

What got me, is that this accident followed a dumping a ladder accident which resulted in four months off work, home therapy to walk again, etc.I made it through nearly sixty years of life with nothing major, and then two "majors" within the same year. With all the titanium and stainless steel, that's screwed everywhere...........at least I'm worth something. And then, I won't even discuss wreaking the airplane.... :(

What got me, is that this accident followed a dumping a ladder accident which resulted in four months off work, home therapy to walk again, etc. I made it through nearly sixty years of life with nothing major, and then two "majors" within the same year. With all the titanium and stainless steel, that's screwed everywhere...........at least I'm worth something. And then, I won't even discuss wreaking the airplane.... :(

Ouch, well everything comes in 3's they say, so hopefully you're done wrecking stuff! :D