Nostalgia

[DevilsFan]

Good read.




Motorcycle touring in "the good ol' days?" It was torture compared to today


https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/m ... 20Combined

[Herb]

The author has some good points to make but I am not sure that the fun factor is the same...

There is a lot to be said for reliability but have one of the pickup sensors go bad and think about how much easier it was to replace points and condensors...

DCT transmissions. Yeah on the roads he was on, fine, but on mountain twisties, not so sure...

To each his own, but that isn't for me.

[DevilsFan]

I can atest...the DCT is an amazing addition to motorcycling. It takes some getting used to, no doubt. When I had my NC700 with DCT I just didn't want to spend the time getting used to it. But I will say it was great in traffic and once you twisted the throttle, it zipped flawlessly.

There are pads (buttins) on the bars that "clutch" manually, if you chose that option. On a Goldwing...I think the DCT was a great option to offer.


As for one of the sensors (or any other bell/whistle that fails) on the modern bikes, what's different today than back in the 70's is that you are almost certain to find a dealer/shop pretty close by that would have you up and running in a day. That wasn't the case then.

[DevilsFan]

I'll also add that this man's story reminds me of 2003 when I got my Suzuki Volusia. Being part of the Volusia Owner's Group we ALL shopped at Oneida Suzuki for all of our Volusia parts and accessories. Loved this company as they were the cheapest on almost everything, they were always in stock and they had fast and free shipping.

I went to my parents back then from Nashville, riding the VOL. While there I said, "I'm gonna make a trip to Oneida Suzuki since I'm in New York. Gotta see this place. It's got to have a gorgeous showroom with all kinds of stuff for the VOL!". I made the trip, got caught in the rain and when I finally got there...nothing but a small office with a big warehouse!!! Absolutely no showroom or anything!

Still got to talk with the owner and walked out with a Suzuki ball cap, compliments of the owner!

[hillsy v2]

It's funny how some people hate on the new technology stuff. I think it's awesome - my Strom is not technically advanced by todays standards but it has ABS and traction control. These are wonderful things to have on a bike like that. With so much power on tap things could easily go pear shaped without those things. Add in fuel injection, electronic ignition, exhaust valve, etc and it's a wonderful machine that needs very little maintenance.

I remember someone on another forum trying to say the old two stroke triples (Kawa H2 and Suzuki GT750) still had more power than modern sportsbikes - the rose coloured glasses on that guy were pretty heavily tinted.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Although My beloved Deuce was an electric start machine, I have no reverence for the knee bangin' kickstart of days past.
My progression from a 1968 and a 1/2 350cc Harley Aermacchi to my present 2020 Harley Trike Glide speaks for itself..
I remember back in 2007 my riding partner and Best friend took a bike trip to Colorado to ride the famous Million Dollar Highway . And it didn't disappoint neither of us... we had both been to Colorado in cages with our wives but this was the first time on two wheels on the stretch from Durango to Montrose in the northwest part of the state. And nary a saddle bag between us. And for all the many trips on two wheels together this particular trip stood out above all the rest of the many trips to states in the US. Cause on that trip we encountered no bad weather which was our usual curse when out on a long-distance trip Upon arriving in Albuquerque New Mexico we did pass through a wicked thunder storm that drenched us from head to toe but after 25 miles we dried up with the 11% humidity and the 111 degree heat.
The rest of the trip was fantastic Perfect weather for the entire time we spent on the road..
Met and made some new friends at the Harley shop in Durango from Oklahoma who were doing the same routes as we took and kept passing each other at fuel stops


The highlight of the trip was a stop on Marnach Pass near Sargents, Co. We had packed light for the July outing with no heavy jackets we froze our Cajun asses off on all the passes

Santa Rosa, New Mexico, we had to make a pit stop to allow a huge thunder boomer on I-40 to peter out


Outlook on the Million Dollar hiway

Good Times