I Remember When...

[wiggledbits]

Originally Posted by Knee-Slapper

Well, I have an 01 prep, mostly stock, no ABS, bars below the triple clamp and a sheepskin on the saddle. I ride pretty much in a geographic triangle between Franklin, NC, Tellico Plains, TN and Suches, GA. This morning I rode a short little 1 1/2 hr jaunt on Joe Brown Hwy around Hiwassee Lake in NC. Some of you know this area. I love my 1100s! It glides around sweepers and will rail around tighter turns. I can sit up and sight see or pretend I'm a racer, the scenery either inspiring or not seen 'cause I'm having to focus on other things. The motor is dynamite , especially when keeping it in the meat of the torque curve. Today I was thinking for the life of me, I have a hard time understanding why so many ride the GS when an 1100S gives such a visceral connectedness to the road. For me, this is a special motorcycle and I'm sure others will continue to feel this way too, even as the Pelican Parts forum lives a maturing life.

+1 except different location and different roads. I have both an 04 S and GS. The S is hands down the better of the 2. I will admit that is because if I want to ride in the dirt the GS is far to heavy. I was in Mexico a few months back on the GS and she was just to heavy and tall for me. I honestly wish I would have taken the S of the airhead and just stayed on the pavement. I had to wait on deserted roads twice for a local to come along to get her upright... yes I was to lazy hot and tired to take all of the gear off to do it myself. Nothing wrong with others thinking a GS is the way to go cuz they do very nicely blasting the twisties. Just not my bike for the dirt.

Maybe I should post the few hundred pics and 100GB of gopro vids I have of 6 weeks in Baja.

All that being said the R1100S and to a little lessor degree the 1200S are not a young man's motorcycle. Maybe when they fall into the classic age and the hipsters latch onto them like they do the airheads around here, but not right now. Unless of course they are a very smart and discerning young man. I remember taking my 11S into a mobile dyno to make sure the fueling was good. Caught a lot of crap from the kids, especially when the tech pulled the seat off and exposed the tool and tire repair kit to all the GIXER and R1 riders. He put them in their place when he said he had one and it was the only bike he regretted not keeping, and that they were a blast to ride and damn good for the tight mountain roads in the PNW while packed for touring. I didn't need to be told that but I liked it anyway.

[PFFOG]

Holy Crap, CK, looks like you summoned the ghost of summers past!

Good to see many good friends are alive and kicking!

[Psychopath]

Originally Posted by nail24fac

Moybin, I sold OBSSSN a few years back to a lad from Wisconsin. Have not heard from him since.

OBSSSN is in my garage right now. The lad you sold it to put all of the fast bits onto his R11S and sold OBSSSN to me in nearly stock form which I raced in 2014.

I'm planning on racing it again this year but I have to assemble it first. I made the mistake of taking a running riding bike apart as spare parts for my street bike.

[Moybin]

Nice to know OBSSSN is still enjoying a good life!

[nail24fac]

Well, it's a small world, if I'd have known he was going to strip it, I'd would have hung on to it.

[JimMoore]

Originally Posted by Dr. Curve

No matter what else you do in 2016, Do Not Vote For Anyone Who Is A Climate Denier.

So the guy who has spent his life dedicated to burning hydrocarbons for fun is concerned about climate change? I don't know which is worse, a "climate change denier" or someone who believes in climate change but continues to rack up the miles on his 1100cc continent eaters.

[KMoore]

I could be wrong, but I don't think Dr Curve is saying what you think he is.

[Dr. Curve]

Uh, what?

[poldar12s]

Any more lawn mower repair talk? Loved reading the thread last time.

[PFFOG]

Originally Posted by poldar12s

Any more lawn mower repair talk? Loved reading the thread last time.

Well since you asked politely.

Decided it was time to mow the lawn, so went out 2 days ago to start my trusty JD mower. Crank, crank, crank, no start. Pull plugs, no spark. Check and isolate problem to the ignition (black) box, holy $hit $250. Screw that, pry it apart and start doing continuity test and find a broken solder joint on the circuit board, re-solder, WHOOHOO $250 saved. Start mowing and 10 minutes in, starving for fuel and stalls. Disassemble and pull carb, and clean, whooho, back in business! Mow 2 minutes, drive tire decides to $hit the bed, pull, back sidewall split, damn, have to spend $75 of the $250 I saved on a new tire. Hopefully I can finish before the rain hits today..............

[bradzdotcom]

Originally Posted by John Lyon

Besides the fact the bike is no longer being made, in the West we're suffering from a lack of Jeff Williams. He was consistently enthusiastic, positive and an organizer, which got others to join in. Our Triple Crown rides were epic.

John~
i'm fairly sure that i could drag Ralf and Sergio out to help put on a socal leg of the triple crown.
we tried it a while back but didn't get much enthusiasm from other riders.

interested? we used to try and plan these before or after the summertime motorhome parades.
the roads are all still there and most of the guys who used to participate still ride.

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

John~
i'm fairly sure that i could drag Ralf and Sergio out to help put on a socal leg of the triple crown.
we tried it a while back but didn't get much enthusiasm from other riders.

interested? we used to try and plan these before or after the summertime motorhome parades.
the roads are all still there and most of the guys who used to participate still ride.

I'm currently trying to find a saturday to go play with wheelie boy and the gang... it's markedly more difficult now that the little ones have a social calendar which impacts me as well. It was what(???) just over ten years ago when you & Jeffie started instigating the TC rides... in just a little over ten more I my boy might join us!

[Dr. Curve]

So true Sergio, in that my son Waylen, is all hot on getting a later model GS now, and simply has taken to bikes with excitement, glee and grins............

The problem is he lives in Brooklyn and his mom and I simply can not advise getting a bike for the city
streets and conjestion of the NYC area. Still, he went out and rented a 2015 GS while doing a gig in California, and the bug bit. Everything out of his mouth has been about "getting it in July" so we will see. When I get to ride with my son, I feel very lucky while at the same time having guilt in that I ever got him involved in anything two wheel. His mother ALWAYS worries and I guess that is just part of it all. This forum contiunes onward, with fewer posts, and not as much excitement, but still remains a place were one can find anything they need to know about the more recent BMWs and lets all keep it going for a bit longer. I just would like to know what has happened to all the tricked out R11S units that were once aboard, but have not been heard of in a while. I always wanted to buy a fully tricked out R11S with cams, pistons, suspension, wheels and the like, but they don't come up for sale often, so I just enjoyed what I have had like the rest of us. I have all my bikes for sale except the HP2 and the 77 Airhead I built back in the last century.

[wiggledbits]

^Dr. Curve
"I feel very lucky while at the same time having guilt in that I ever got him involved in anything two wheel."

Ditto!

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by wiggledbits

^Dr. Curve
"I feel very lucky while at the same time having guilt in that I ever got him involved in anything two wheel."

Ditto!

I know what you mean but how can a father not even teach a son the love of riding a bicycle? They see us on a motorcycle and it's only human nature to fawn over that cool 'bike' like dad's. This resonates with me since my kid just recently 'took off' under his own pedal power.

[smddanny]

I still love this group and my R11S.. i was late to the party so the good old days are not a memory. Still I know all the asses on this group :-) .

Also repairing the lawn mowers but my luck slightly better than PFFOG

[bradzdotcom]

...ya know....

i wonder just how hard it would be to drag some of these guys out of obscurity and get them out for a commemorative ride.
i know how to track down a few of them.

if we set a target of september-ish, would it be enough time to put a socal ride together?

surely we can guilt some of these guys out of the woodwork.

[Knee-Slapper]

I don't understand this feeling guilty sharing your love of motorcycling with your children. It's like "do as I say, not as I do". Makes for a weird vibes. We teach them critical thinking, we teach them about managing risks and we want them to live a full life. I'm scared of heights and wouldn't dream of base jumping, but if my children learned how, wow, what a thrill! I might be concerned, but not guilty feeling for them endangering themselves. I don't mean to offend, this is just something close to my heart. There is a difference between stupid and skill and I'm sure you're promoting the latter, so, why the guilt?

[wiggledbits]

Originally Posted by Knee-Slapper

I don't understand this feeling guilty sharing your love of motorcycling with your children. It's like "do as I say, not as I do". Makes for a weird vibes. We teach them critical thinking, we teach them about managing risks and we want them to live a full life. I'm scared of heights and wouldn't dream of base jumping, but if my children learned how, wow, what a thrill! I might be concerned, but not guilty feeling for them endangering themselves. I don't mean to offend, this is just something close to my heart. There is a difference between stupid and skill and I'm sure you're promoting the latter, so, why the guilt?

No offense to me. I didn't have to encourage my son at all to want to experience motorcycling. Fortunately his mother and I were split by that time so she had her rules and I had mine so he was able to. Got him going on a KX80 when he was 10. However, IF anything really bad was to happen to him on a bike I know I would have some feelings about it, some doubts and questioning of myself. I know it wouldn't just be oh well it was his time. All parents do not want to out live their children while at the same time I want him to do whatever he wants that is sane. By sane I mean the risks have been weighted.

[John Lyon]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

John~
i'm fairly sure that i could drag Ralf and Sergio out to help put on a socal leg of the triple crown.
we tried it a while back but didn't get much enthusiasm from other riders.

interested? we used to try and plan these before or after the summertime motorhome parades.
the roads are all still there and most of the guys who used to participate still ride.

Brad,

Yes, definitely interested! What is strange is that those rides used to take precedence over normal chores, and now I find myself so busy with chores that I barely ride! Time to break the cycle before I get too old (oops).