Is the classic sport-touring motorcycle doomed to extinction?

Thats incredible Larry, Congrats. How difficult that must have been. You have to feel a whole lot better. Bet your doctors are happy too.

I came back from Alaska in June weighing 195 on a 5'5" frame. Was told by several I looked pregnant and about to deliver lol. I've spent 6 months basically eating better, portion control, little fried food, burgers and pop (or soda depending on where you are from), no late night snacks etc to lose weight. As of this morning I'm down to 172. Would like to get down to 165, but man not eating what you want, as much as you want, whenever you want is difficult. A daily struggle.
 
1. Decide. What you eat when you're alone matters as much as when you're with others.
2. A change in how you eat must start at the beginning of *this* meal, not at the end of it.
3. Cut empty carbs: white everything (bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, etc.) chips, cakes, etc.
4. Stop habit eating: boredom, eating until full, eating snacks while preparing meals, etc.
5. Shop the fresh foods around grocery store perimeter, not the packaged in-aisle foods.
 
the Ferret said:
Thats incredible Larry, Congrats. How difficult that must have been. You have to feel a whole lot better. Bet your doctors are happy too.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I do, and they are. I say that I didn't go on a diet; I permanently changed how I eat. I made eating a less important factor in my life, and spent less time in the kitchen.

I have kept the weight off for around 15 years. It started when I decided to have my first hip replacement. My surgeon told me that recovery would be much easier if I lost weight.

Plus, good friend of ours were getting married, so I wanted to look better. My suit was baggy by then, and I since had it and my fitted shirt altered to fit me. See first pic in post #540.
 
Last edited:
:hijacked:
I'm so sorry for diverting the thread!

I should add that I have kept it off despite having quit smoking cigarettes on 5/20/22.
 
Last edited:
Well to get us back on track, a bike I mentioned in another thread that made a fine sport touring bike, was my 81 Suzuki GS850G. Fit MOST of the criteria people are asking for even these days..4 cyl motor, shaft drive, mag wheels, tubeless tires, triple disc brakes, electronic ign, 6 gallon gas tank, a great seat and iirc it even had a digital gear indicator, Fitted with a clear shield (or a Vetter fairing if you wished) an Eclipse tank bag and a tail bag it made a fine sport touring bike

My brother and I on the BRP early 80's

B1mn00N.jpg


cyuJb0R.jpg


10c0dls.jpg
 
the Ferret said:
I had a similar one again with the clear shield and tail bag. Nighthawk 750 was a good bike

riucjDu.jpg
Click to expand...

I've always thought that the 750 was the ideal size. More than powerful enough and yet not too heavy.

And yet I now have a 1300 and a 1200, but in my defense the 1200 weighs about the same as my old 750.
 
Power is relative, and after a certain point, it is meaningless. At least on public roads. The track is a different story.

The marketing departments try to convince us that our 100+ hp motorcycles aren't fast enough, and we really need 150 hp or more. How else do you convince the buyer to depart with outrageous sums of cash? And all those bells and whistles we like to show our friends to justify why we spent that outrageous sum of cash for...those are there simply to tame the uncontrollable beast so the new buyer doesn't total his motorcycle getting out of the parking lot. ;) At least let him survive long enough to make the first payment.

You don't really need dynamic traction control or even simple traction control on all those bikes you've been posting wonderful pictures of. You only need it when you buy motorcycles like the 2025 gsx s1000gt+ with 150+ hp.

My 1966 VW Beetle put out 40 hp, and carried my new wife and I with all our belongings from Seattle to Denver for my first assignment. I'm not saying I want that level of performance on a sport-touring bike, but how much can we really use on public roads? Not "need" or "want", but how much can we use? And that's a fraction of what our bikes are capable of.

Chris
 
Geez, everytime I see a Nighthawk 750, I want to kick myself for selling mine (although I did get the ST out of it in trade + cash). Larry, that’s fine work (and isn’t easy…I know now. I lost 40# and go to the gym out of necessity 4x weekly - never did that in the past). Now I feel like crap if I don’t go, like I failed for that day.
 
Other than being chain drive the CB's ,where I think the Smartest lay out for a bike. Yeah I'm getting lazy , like shaft drive. There were a few Cb's with shaft , almost bought a 84 ,750 Night Hawk which was shaft drive if memory serves me correctly. Nice bikes there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom