|
|
Post by nulldevice on Aug 24, 2015 21:56:40 GMT -5
My son was telling a friend about my scooter and the accident and somewhere along the line mentioned I'm 69 and how large, heavy, and fast the TMAX was. His friend's reaction was along the lines of "Wow! How can someone that old hold up a scooter that large at a stop?"  |
|
|
|
Post by SylvreKat on Aug 24, 2015 22:05:27 GMT -5
Just be careful--next they'll be having you in a wheelchair. Or at least with a walker. The kind with tennis balls on the bottom. Seriously, how old is the friend, like, 16?  Sheesh! >'Kat |
|
|
|
Post by cyborg on Aug 24, 2015 23:09:37 GMT -5
We are surrounded by morons
|
|
|
|
Post by oldchopperguy on Aug 25, 2015 0:29:58 GMT -5
Well, I'll be 69 in less than two months...And while I am not what I was 40 years ago, I don't yet have any trouble holding up my old 360-pound Kymco. My worst problem is a lot of arthritis that makes it hard to climb on and over a standard motorcycle. THAT is what got me into scooters originally. Age can take its toll on balance and reaction-time is not as fast past 65, but there are a LOT of old geezers out there cruisin' the country on Harleys and other huge bikes... some of them are pushing 100 years old!When and if the day comes when I'm too unstable for safe riding on 2-wheels, well, I guess I'll get a 3-wheeler.  Enjoy that ride, no matter how old you are! Have a bone on the Old Chopper Guy. Leo (still enjoying the 2-wheel-ride) in Texas
|
|
|
|
Post by Paladin on Aug 25, 2015 4:50:22 GMT -5
... "Wow! How can someone that old hold up a scooter that large at a stop?" From a thread in another forum: theridingcenter.com/do-motorcycles-really-make-you-stronger-and-smarter/ -- an idiot that claims the exercise of riding a motorcycle makes you stronger. The guy said " ... exercise through riding? A calorie burner similar to fast walking ...." I wrote: -- No. I have heart disease, I have an Ejection Factor of 20-25%. I cannot walk fast for more than fifty feet or so after I have to stop and rest. I can do a normal walking speed for a hundred feet or two, after I need to stop and rest. Best I can do is about half speed, blowing about as much as I used to do at a low jog. "The muscle use and energy required to maneuver a motorcycle ... riders must use their bodies to help safely balance and steer." -- What muscle use and energy? I sit on the seat, rest my hand(s) on the handlebar. What "balance?" It takes a lot less effort putting a foot down than standing. Once moving the balancing/steer the effort is resting on the handlebar. The effort starts when I stop riding and have to walk. And when I get back to the scoot I sit and rest a bit before I can start riding again.  I went and measured just how much weight it takes to stand and hold up my scooter. It is 20 or 30 pounds on my feet, most of the weight is on the wheels. WALKING is the hard part. Walking is a constant zero pounds 200 pounds zero pounds 200 pounds zero 200 zero 200. Every second it is 200 pounds on and off. That is what walking IS, hard work. That's my speed -- normal people walk twice as fast, two steps per second. If I walk at normal walking speed I have to stop after a minute or two to stop and catch my breath. Walking is work. When I get to the scooter I can rest. Riding is as hard as sitting on the sofa. Even at a stop it is merely moving a foot from the floorboard to the ground. "...How can someone that old hold up a scooter..."? HA!! A scooter is easier than using a walker. I'm 68, almost 69. My dad died from a heart attack at age 43. In my family all the men die of heart attacks, generally before 60. I'm doing GOOD! Too old to ride? HA! |
|
Sophomore Rider
Currently Offline
Posts: 186
Likes: 37
Joined: Jun 13, 2013 15:39:09 GMT -5
|
Post by novaraptor on Aug 25, 2015 9:37:12 GMT -5
Yup, most non-riders don't understand the physics of two wheelers, even though they must have rode bicycles at sometime in their past. I had a friend on the back of my kz750 years ago who asked when we got parked after I made a slow and easy turn into the lot "How did you know it wasn't going to tip over?" I told her I just hoped and prayed.. Then I explained gyroscopic action and momentum to her. She's one of the best computer people I know, not dumb, just had no experience in that area. Too old to ride? If you are too old to ride, you usually won't make it out of the parking space. Too old to DRIVE on the other hand.. Sometimes they don't figure that out until after they've driven through the crowd of people at the bus stop..
|
|
|
|
Post by pmatulew on Aug 25, 2015 12:09:26 GMT -5
My friends' father. I believe he's rounding up on 80. Rides almost every day. Recently traded up to a PCX from a Riva 180. Absolutely loves it.  Classic story: He has breakfast at the local bagel shop on a regular basis. At some point the shop hired a new counter person for the morning shift. Elderly gentleman walks in with a helmet and the counter person immediately pounced with "Oh, let me take that for you!". The assumption being that of course he must have found the helmet laying somewhere.  "Uhm, no. Hey! That's my helmet!"  Practically had to beat that young whipper-snapper off with his cane! Here's to another decade of doing what he loves. |
|
|
|
Post by Paladin on Aug 25, 2015 12:29:56 GMT -5
Yesterday at Ralphs an employee offered me a cart. I lifted my helmet -- "basket!" She laughed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Paladin on Aug 25, 2015 12:35:33 GMT -5
... Too old to DRIVE on the other hand.. Sometimes they don't figure that out until after they've driven through the crowd of people at the bus stop.. I used to suggest learning in a car before getting a motorcycle -- you don't get hurt in a cage. Then someone said it is better for kids to start on a small moped/scooter -- they do less damage when they crash. So I now say that everyone should ride on a 50cc moped/scooter for a year or two before they are allowed in a car. |
|
|
|
Post by beenriding on Aug 25, 2015 13:26:58 GMT -5
... Too old to DRIVE on the other hand.. Sometimes they don't figure that out until after they've driven through the crowd of people at the bus stop.. I used to suggest learning in a car before getting a motorcycle -- you don't get hurt in a cage. Then someone said it is better for kids to start on a small moped/scooter -- they do less damage when they crash. So I now say that everyone should ride on a 50cc moped/scooter for a year or two before they are allowed in a car. THAT idea would've saved me $850 when my daughter drove through a fence! Also, we all know riding makes you WAY more alert to what's going on around you. The best way to learn the way of the road. I didn't start with the scooter thing till I was 45 years old, never felt younger. Only you can decide when it's over, I may be too old for a lot of things but riding isn't one of them. |
|
|
|
Post by cyborg on Aug 25, 2015 14:40:11 GMT -5
I was riding home on my hotrodded dr350 after work,, this thing is quick,, very quick,,, a older gent pulls up next to me on a heritage Harley nods at me and smokes my dumb ,,, a month later methusella comes into my shop and I recognize him,,( he had on the same gear) so we get to talking about his project and I get the job,,, he turns out to be  years old ,,rides everyday rain or shine,,, as long as you can swing a leg over and hold the thing up you're good,, I asked him " when you gonna stop ridin?",,, he says" never",,,probably when I die",,, as long as I can get on it hold it up I'm good to go" |
|
|
|
Post by scooter on Aug 25, 2015 15:10:34 GMT -5
I was riding home on my hotrodded dr350 after work,, this thing is quick,, very quick,,, a older gent pulls up next to me on a heritage Harley nods at me and smokes my dumb ,,, a month later methusella comes into my shop and I recognize him,,( he had on the same gear) so we get to talking about his project and I get the job,,, he turns out to be years old ,,rides everyday rain or shine,,, as long as you can swing a leg over and hold the thing up you're good,, I asked him " when you gonna stop ridin?",,, he says" never",,,probably when I die",,, as long as I can get on it hold it up I'm good to go" I agree. I say the same thing about sex. |
|
|
|
Post by wheelbender6 on Aug 25, 2015 19:16:44 GMT -5
69 is the new 49. I did the MS 150 (miles) charity bicycle ride in Arizona when I was a relatively fit 49 year old. There was a 76 year old member of our team that dropped me (left me behind, for you non-bicycle geeks) in the first mile and I never caught him. He had more energy and internal drive than many of the 20-somethings that I work with. Go kick and take names, nulldevice!
|
|
|
|
Post by ricardoguitars on Aug 25, 2015 20:29:49 GMT -5
... Too old to DRIVE on the other hand.. Sometimes they don't figure that out until after they've driven through the crowd of people at the bus stop.. I used to suggest learning in a car before getting a motorcycle -- you don't get hurt in a cage. Then someone said it is better for kids to start on a small moped/scooter -- they do less damage when they crash. So I now say that everyone should ride on a 50cc moped/scooter for a year or two before they are allowed in a car.That has been proven by our British friends, motorcyclist make better road users. motorbikewriter.com/motorcyclists-are-safer-road-users/ |
|
|
|
Post by crawford on Aug 26, 2015 20:36:15 GMT -5
I love being a senior and love my Trike go for it
|
|
years old ,,rides everyday rain or shine,,, as long as you can swing a leg over and hold the thing up you're good,, I asked him " when you gonna stop ridin?",,, he says" never",,,probably when I die",,, as long as I can get on it hold it up I'm good to go"
