I had never been on a bike and got on a mates old Bonneville. Two weeks and two lessons later I had a bike. I fell off 11 times in six months learning how to ride a bike. Fell off twice more in the next two years. Been upright ever since, but have had a few close calls.
Things I learned: don't speed because cars don't know how fast I am going (or speed in the country if I must speed),
Paint on roads is slippery when wet,
Go out slow; come back fast,
Don't enter unknown corners at the limit,
Which leads to - never, ever, ever be at 100% of my or the bikes limit on a public road (one crash while scraping the pegs and having a car pull out in front of me and a tank slapper near miss while cranked over at 140 convinced me of these),
Always always always wear all the safety gear - it's called an accident because it's unplanned (falling off in shorts t-shirt and things convinced me of this one. Harley riders in vests and open face helmets are the hipsters of the motorcycle world "but I got me Rebs on" lol),
Nobody needs Supersport horsepower - no really, you don't,
Motorcycle crashes generally occur because the motorcyclist stuffed it up,
Linked to - always leave a large margin for error because car drivers are idiots and don't look properly,
And finally, motorcycling is fun and dangerous - a lot like other activities I do.
this is the girl I loved for the past 30 years...sold her a month ago to a guy from Melbourne... the whole deal was done on trust and a few photo's...I put it on my trailer and took it to Sydney...the buyer flew up...got off the plane in his leather jacket with helmet under arm and a back pack.....he handed me a wad of money we signed the papers, he rigged up his GPS, threw his leg over it. shook my hand and took off....it was true bike classic. I love that stuff...we spoke a week later and he said the bike ran that well and he was having such a blast he spent an extra day getting there, he went by the coast road and stayed in pubs along the way. Cobra is so right..."people buy bikes for many different reasons, lets not turn this into a pissing comp, just enjoy people's rides.
Poor bloody Cobra....ran out of piss in this contest
It's just like life in general.... If it makes you smile,then it's a good thing
i so agree with that arkgee,i started this thread to compliment the surfing community and their history with bikes,we all had them in the sixties,from 50 stepthrus to bonnys,this thread is about the stoke,who gives a fat rats what you ride or like,they are all cool.
ps love both you rides
next time i see flower i will give him your regards
Just read some interesting stats on WA bike fatalities. 70% of fatalities were from injuries that would have been prevented if the rider had been wearing proper safety gear.
There's something to think about next time somebody puts on:
Open face helmet
Fingerless gloves
Dress shoes without ankle protection
Denim jeans
Anything that isn't a leather jacket or a dririder style - I wear that with body armour when touring.
And I can't recall the exact number, but most cycle deaths occur from rider error.
On the plus side, in WA, rider deaths were half of last years number.
Wow! Do you know much about this bike in Tassie?
i think this was mine??? Looks like it. If it is it Would have come from WA. 1959 Bonnie. Delivered in Subiaco when new. It was a T120 but has T110 numbers, the first 500 badged Bonnies ( T120's) had T110 engine and frame numbers before they changed to T120. The Bonnie was basically a T110 that had dual as opposed to single carby. When the dual carby model was offered in the states, that's all they sold an so the Bonneville was born.
wish i I never sold it but l lost my job that came with a company car and had to sell the Bonnie to get a car. Had all the original docs with it. Guy I sold it to had one arm. Worth a fortune now.
had two Norton commandos I wosh I still had also :(
all the bikes were bought over twenty year period many years ago in the uk and usa.owner is legit.i was in a bit of a hurry when i took the shots,pretty sure the blue beauty was a bonny