who cares.... when i see a band i don't walk up to the guitar player and say... "i'd play guitar on stage, but i just don't have the time" or maybe next time I have a good meal i'll tell the chef "i'd make food like that too, but i just don't have the time." Or maybe the next art show i got to I'll tell the artist "i'd have an at show too.... i just don't have the time.
what the fuck... just do you.
some of us have spent years working on these things, it's not just time. Its practice, and failure, and dedication.
So it's a trend to have an old bike now, so it's just something you buy and "wrench on" then your girlfriend comes out in an indian headdress, bedazzled in fringe and you bang on your panhead chopper while listening to outlaw country. i get it.
now if i, look at your new bike and say... "id love a new bike, i just don't have the money" that seems make sense.
Just be stoked you have a fucking bike to ride and enjoy it.
**note- I'm still an idiot.
21 comments:
I have certainly been caught up in the "fuck, I hope I look cool" but in time you realize riding a motorcycle is fucking fun. Regardless if it's the rarest knuckle or a brand new soft tail. Pans and knuckles are trust fund hipster bikes, sportsters are girl bikes, new bikes are for posers blah blah blah. Fly a kite, ride your bicycle, grow a beard, shave your beard. Who gives a shit as long as you're genuine. Thanks Max, for still writing this blog.
Also that photo is HA at altamont, right!
I only ride an old bikes because that's what's fun for me. I suspect a lot of people don't have (or never developed) the mechanical chops required to support riding an old bike because they simply weren't addicted enough to the cause. I ride an old bike because it's the only thing that works for me. Most people are more practical or just don't feel the "soul of an old bike" thing. It doesn't mean you suck. I'm solid proof riding an old bike doesn't make you cool. Do what you want. I only draw the line at vintage rides. Don't ride your new BMW or Road King to a vintage ride and then complain there's nothing really cool there. At that point you are in fact the problem and deserve the berating you get.
Interesting sentiment..I really liked riding and hanging with WWII guys m/c guys..They're almost gone now and I ride with guys 20 years younger than me..Life is just a trip ain't it. Enjoy it while you can, it don't last forever.
This is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Hahahahahahaha! That's fucken great! hahahaha!
HAHA, Indian Headdress!!! I just spit coffee all over my keyboard from laughter.
josh, yeah, i live that photo. bad acid or just mind blown,
jerry.. ha. i tried, and it was just too easy
In the UK, I ride a 16yr old Honda Deauville 35 miles to work each day. I like the fact that it's shaft drive, comfortable and has good weather protection. Might not be the 'coolest' machine, but I feel (and often are) a step ahead of the boring, vacant 'sheeple' crawling along in their tin cans, in traffic jams as I roll past them. I'm a Staff Nurse in a Critical Care Unit. Stressful job. But riding home after a 13 hour shift takes all the stress away and I get home happy & relaxed (according to my wife). If it has two wheels & an engine - ride the fuck out of it!
I could write a cool post like this but I don't have time.
She's quick to get started; she's always so hot
In the mornings she’s ready, to sail like a yacht
There are so many places she’s taken me to without strife
She's pretty to look at when we ride around
And I know when my time’s up, she won't slow me down
She ain’t no antique but she’s still quite unique to her man
She's no one’s old lady, she takes me where I gotta be
She don’t win awards or pose for those new magazines
She’ll always be stable and able to start on a dime
God knows I'll always love that old evo of mine
I've seen antique flatheads and they’re pretty cool
I love every shovel and knuckles - they still make me drool
I flirted with panheads, pan-shovels and ironheads too
I don’t know that much about wrenching, but I sure love to ride
God knows I'll always love that old evo of mine
She's no one’s old lady, she takes me where I gotta be
She don’t win awards or pose for those hip magazines
She’ll always be stable and able to start on a dime
God knows I'll always love that old evo of mine
Im guilty of wanting another bike at times(youve heard me cry), then my bike takes me on another journey and i realize how much i know my bike, i know when to throttle off, i know when to change its diaper (and mine) i know when it needs a little rest..You cant buy these experiences, you gotta get on and go thru it. You learn what to tighten, whats never loosens and so on. Fuck Im still learning, Sometimes i know my bike too well, this weekend a dude behind me said " dude you were splitting lanes no handed ! Your crazy!" I said naw im really stupid..My bike found me and i think thats how it should be.
Thanks for the morning laugh. Miss you dude!!!
sheabones.... haha. good work
It's all perspective, I bet when a chef looks through the pass one day and sees the one person with that look in their eye when they are eating his food, the guitarist sees that one person in the corner that just feels it, the artist walks past and hears a conversation that their work has provoked it warms them to why they do why they do.
The just bought a chopper is stool and there is a guy on his knees trying to look under his tank or how a light had been mounted- he wouldn't value that someone was looking at what had been done, they'll never have that thrill. They'll never ride that bike with the amount of fear and joy that you do on a bike that you built.
Knowing that bike makes it an awesome terrifying ordeal.
So I say tolerate those people- for a small percentage will be just like we were when we started, some will see it through but need to learn the highs and lows
And some guys are just bellends- so don't worry about them
thanks for comments and perspectives
Well, I'd like to have a new bike- if they made one I wanted.
Luckily, I'm well-satisfied with the one I've got, a '92 FXRS nearing 190,000 miles on the clock and running and riding better than new. Right now, anyway.
As a vintage motorcycle mechanic for the last 7 years and "old shit" owner, I totally relate to major irritation with the "I'd own an old bike if I had the time" statements. Usually what gets me are people that bring me a bike they can't get running and say, I'd finish building it or fixing it if I had time, I'm just busy. Right dude.
I used to get fucking irate but now I tell myself its not me, its them. Same reason I try not to blow my top when someone is honking at me like a maniac or being a dick on the road for no reason; it's their problem, not mine. Fuck it! Some of the things I learned watching Easy Rider: you can sell some drugs, buy a bitchin' chopper, not fit in with the hippies or the rednecks and still manage to blow it. Thanks Max.
I like this! My girl wears Indian headdresses, but I can't get her on the back of my bike.
Tom Waits for no man.
Hey Max, recently I've been going through all the old blogs that older guys told me about over the years. I'm 24 and this has never been truer. It's even funnier reading this after the release of the bikeriders movie. The trendy aspect grows every single day. Everyone in chicago looks like a half cowboy half biker now. It's hard not to be cynical that I may not be able to afford a panhead one day because of the guys with money who decided to jump on the bandwagon; but maybe that's just how shit works. The bikes are getting older and harder to come by, and electric vehicles are on the horizon, and i should just be getting while the gettings good.
Post a Comment