Can't I Just Enjoy it?

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I ride to the beach a few time per week. There, today, I met a guy that had an eye for everything. Very knowledgeable about bikes. Jesus. The things he saw. So many fitting and surfaces that I miss during what I think is a thorough cleaning are pitting or rusting. Shift linkages, brake line fittings, control switches. He also notices that my unit with the horn, lights and blinders was loose and sliding over. We opened it. There is supposed to be a dowel holding the two halves in place which when installed, is not there. Put a little friction tape around the handle bars and closed it up for now. The guy had a really sharp eye and I appreciate all that he pointed out, but left there a little dejected. Maybe I should cut back on its exposure to salt air. At least he loved the bike. Sigh. Can't I just enjoy the damned thing?
 
Curtis,

Sounds like it was a chance, lucky meeting.
You know these bikes tend to attract the attention of folks with a discerning eye.
That's how I got hooked. :lol:
 
You might learn from a Vincent owner here, you can imagine what 'attention' they sometimes attract...

Always park your bike positioned for a quick get away.

Put your helmet and gear on BEFORE getting to the bike.

Practice unlocking, getting on it etc in a really quick smooth operation.

Also practice the ability of vocalising really neutral statements, execute whilst doing the above and pretending to listen "oh really" ... "Nice" ... "I see" ... (If unsure of such statements ask your wife, or mine).

Then you say "please excuse me a moment" whilst you start the bike, followed by "awfully sorry old chap, can't hear a word, nice to have met you, until next time then" as you snick into gear and roar away...!

All of the above is optional of course. The procedure may differ if the admirer is young and female. I wouldn't know though, the only young female admirers my Vin has ever attracted were two sisters, aged 4 and 7...
 
Fast Eddie said:
You might learn from a Vincent owner here, you can imagine what 'attention' they sometimes attract...

Always park your bike positioned for a quick get away.

Put your helmet and gear on BEFORE getting to the bike.

Practice unlocking, getting on it etc in a really quick smooth operation.

Also practice the ability of vocalising really neutral statements, execute whilst doing the above and pretending to listen "oh really" ... "Nice" ... "I see" ... (If unsure of such statements ask your wife, or mine).

Then you say "please excuse me a moment" whilst you start the bike, followed by "awfully sorry old chap, can't hear a word, nice to have met you, until next time then" as you snick into gear and roar away...!

All of the above is optional of course. The procedure may differ if the admirer is young and female. I wouldn't know though, the only young female admirers my Vin has ever attracted were two sisters, aged 4 and 7...


Well, with owning a Vincent and all, I can see why you are more than a bit practiced at this. :lol:

I use a modification of your 5th rule. I wear 3M ear plugs and bought a loud aftermarket exhaust. So no way can I hear anyone speaking to me once I start the motor.
Actually, if I don't have to be somewhere urgently, I don't mind chatting about the bike.
 
Wear ear plugs and ignore people?

That won't do.

I'm English, ignoring people is just not 'the done thing'.

Unless they're foreign ...
 
My favourite to date was " Oh it's a Vincent. My uncle Fred had one of those, but it was bigger, you know, the four cylinder model with the orange tank"

Truth is most of the time the attention is quite fun, although I have also adopted some of Nigel's methods for a smooth getaway.

Glen
 
Oh, heaven forbid, I never ignore people. In NYC you do so at your peril.
No telling what kind of whack job you may be standing next to at any given moment.

No, instead I simply illustrate to them that since the current environment (noisy exhaust) is too loud for us to converse, it is simply pointless to continue to ask me questions, but I that I do appreciate their interest in the bike, and have a nice day.

After all, I do believe that you must always be pleasant to others. :lol:
 
Good Lord. Then when I finally thought I was going to leave, some older dude on a Sportster pulls up. Starts telling me about how indestructible it is and starts ragging on Lucas electronics, you know, "Prince of Darkness" and all that...blah blah...he owned an auto parts store....blah blah....So I then told him about my 79 Bonnie with the Lucas electronic ignition that never failed and aside from a few blown bulbs and maybe 2 fuses, never a problem. Hope you throw a rod on your ride home. Can't hear you. Goodbye. :roll:
 
Sometimes, I think encounters with these interesting individuals is our penance for riding a bike that is out of the ordinary, and tends to attract characters. I never had many of these incidents while riding my Kawasakis, Suzukis, or Hondas in the past.
 
BritTwit said:
Sometimes, I think encounters with these interesting individuals is our penance for riding a bike that is out of the ordinary, and tends to attract characters. I never had many of these incidents while riding my Kawasakis, Suzukis, or Hondas in the past.

Well, they did say "you meet the nicest people on a Honda"...
 
Often enough people come over because the bike you are getting on is clearly an unusual machine, ask a question or two then want to tell you all about THEIR machine, a "1977 Kawasaki 550 four, special because it is one of only 1168 that came with the factory brown seat......."

Fair enough, they are all motorcycles.
I suppose :?

Glen
 
worntorn said:
Often enough people come over because the bike you are getting on is clearly an unusual machine, ask a question or two then want to tell you all about THEIR machine, a "1977 Kawasaki 550 four, special because it is one of only 1168 that came with the factory brown seat......."

Fair enough, they are all motorcycles.
I suppose :?

Glen

Even better are those that want to talk about the one they NEARLY bought! Ever had that?

I find it hilarious that they want to stand there and spend time out of both of our lives talking to a stranger about something they DIDN'T do !!
 
I understand the frustration of being hit with lengthy conversation at every gas and old bone stop. It drove my buddies mad and my girl friend as well. Whether it was my Triumphs or Ducati's it was the same, even my old Kawasaki 2smoke. Nevertheless it's nice to see other people appreciate and love our bikes as much as we do, after all that's why we own them. I'll have my Norton Commando on the road this weekend I hope, and I'll smile and endure, I do try to be polite but start the bike as soon as I can sometimes...

I always loved have beautiful women come (not that often lol) over and comment on the bikes when my pals are riding their Hondas. I had a girl from a bike shop almost demand a ride one afternoon. She grabbed a helmet off the shelf and wanted a ride on the back, " my dad had a Ducati just like this..." My buddy was pissed as he just dropped 18k on a BMW and got not so much a as a hello.

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, " is that a Triumph? Well I used to have a....", when did they start making bikes again? Or what year is it?? Really it's not old?

Enjoy the attention as someday we will just be odd old people riding those weird old machines.
 
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