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Am I mad or dilusional

JayTee

Si vis pacem para bellum
Club Sponsor
Just get it! Life’s too short at least it’ll get the monkey off yer back. 71 year old here and still loving the Bird but now having to be careful when moving it about in the garage. Just be careful of a heavy right hand after a 20 year lay off (y).
 

Dangerous Brian

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
With 20 years off I really would try out on a rider school bike. Just make sure you have your Mojo before spending the cash.

As a side, have you considered a Trike? I can let you have one at a good price but it needs a bit of work :risas3:
 

Duck n Dive

Rebel without a clue ...
Club Sponsor
I hadn't ridden a bike for quite a few years when I decided to get the 'bird.

Did just what the advice on here is, get a session booked with an instructor to check/brush up on skill levels.

Problem was the session was cancelled and rebooked twice so ended up actually being on the day I collected the bike from the dealer!

In the event that worked out fine. Went out on one of their 500s first. He followed on the 'bird. We went to their off road practice area and I ran through various handling drills on the 500.
Then some road work, then back to the off road site when I took over the bird and we went through the same drills again.

He commented that the' bird was actually easy to ride and a "pussycat". He was expecting it to be a handful.

We returned to the dealer and he Swapped from the 500 to his FJR.

The remainder of the session was a run out with him giving an assessment and advice to me and ended up with a "go on then, let's see what the' bird will do".

Next words I heard in my ear was "some pussycat! Wait for me".

With hindsight that all actually worked out better for me as I got some quality advice while actually riding the 'bird for the first time.

I'd already decided that if the verdict was I needed more work to be safe I'd get the dealer to deliver and I'd take more lessons.

In the event that wasn't needed.

And now 78,000 miles later :)
 

DLN1965

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Club Sponsor
The only thing I'd add to all the good advice above is that if you keep it below 5000 then it rides like a heavy 600 .....above that it's warp speed Mr. Scott and hello time travel.

What's not to like...? (y)


What’s this thing I hear ??
It CAN go above 5000 revs ???
Already above legal limits when potting along below 5000 revs ……. Maybe I should be brave and venture into this mysterious area !!!


In all seriousness …. It’s a great bike, had mine 19 years !! It lives outside, gets a yearly wash, and is totally reliable !
Ride it gently and it’s a purring kitten
Ride it hard and it can be a lion with a bee sting!
 

Ianf180

Registered User
Read Only
Im 56, 18 years out of the saddle, I bought a 2004 Bird, I think they are easy to ride, yea a touch heavy but its only on very slow manoeuvres,
I 100% made the right decision !
 

Squag1

Can't remember....
Club Sponsor
What’s this thing I hear ??
It CAN go above 5000 revs ???
Already above legal limits when potting along below 5000 revs ……. Maybe I should be brave and venture into this mysterious area !!!


In all seriousness …. It’s a great bike, had mine 19 years !! It lives outside, gets a yearly wash, and is totally reliable !
Ride it gently and it’s a purring kitten
Ride it hard and it can be a lion with a bee sting!
Did you try the 6th gear:D
 

Nige F

.
Club Sponsor
My brother gave up at 82.
My mate is 73 and just bought a ZX10R to go with his Busa he's has since new.... That's 20yrs old and looks like it came out of the showroom yesterday..... And yes he does ride it
 

Ned52

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
I'm over 70 and going to put the bike on sorn for the first time this winter.
:(
 

Pow-Lo

Make civil the mind, make savage the body.
Club Sponsor
The only thing I'd add to all the good advice above is that if you keep it below 5000 then it rides like a heavy 600 .....above that it's warp speed Mr. Scott and hello time travel.

What's not to like...? (y)
It's actually "warp speed, Mr. Sulu" :eusa_whistle:
 
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