I'm wondering when it's time to sell the bike for most bikers? I'm decades away from doing that but recently saw a rider in his late 80's riding a knucklehead (kick only). That's impressive as I'm guessing riders in their sixties often develop health issues. You sometimes see ads "selling due to health..." So when do you guys plan to park it?
Too old to ride?
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Sabex
Well-known member
sid_for_speed
Well-known member
Some people stop when they can't get a leg over....
I'll be 60 this month.A few months ago i watched "Fifty Years of Kicks" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_T41kJm-PE and decided to sell my Hypermotard and get back into trials competition after 30 years away from it.Gonna be fun!
When one of these stops functioning: eyes, wrists, knees, back.
Scooters, then trikes, THEN wheelchairs.
Great little documentary, Wingboy. Makes me want a dualsport even more (though those KTMs are proper offroad bikes).
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I'm 65 and still riding twelve months of the year - 9 in Canada and 3 in Australia.
Must admit I did not think I'd be riding a KLR650 off road tho and taking a few falls on muddy hills.
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...9-Down-Under-on-a-KLR-650-second-season/page4
One of the regulars up at the Forks was still riding a big BMW Airhead when he was 75 and looked to go forever tho a heart attack put an end to a career that started in England at age 14.
Rider on a another forum is hanging it up at 81 mostly because of where he lives. He's getting a bit old for bashing around in the dirt and tired of riding the same two lane black tops.
There is another rider on a forum still legal and riding at 91.
There are some studies showing riding motorcycles keeps you more alert as you age.
Certainly I was glad to get back into it after a layoff while the kids were smaller. Then my son wanted to ride and now we ride together.
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Flywheel
The KLR650 is a lot cheaper than the KTM and KLRs have gone EVERYWHERE on the planet.
Always marvel at being out in the middle of nowhere and the KLR just goes. Even with a busted clutch lever it was not a big deal to ride it out of the bush - get it fixed and head back out in the rough.
Parts easy to get and tons of riders to draw on.
Must admit I did not think I'd be riding a KLR650 off road tho and taking a few falls on muddy hills.
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforu...9-Down-Under-on-a-KLR-650-second-season/page4
One of the regulars up at the Forks was still riding a big BMW Airhead when he was 75 and looked to go forever tho a heart attack put an end to a career that started in England at age 14.
Rider on a another forum is hanging it up at 81 mostly because of where he lives. He's getting a bit old for bashing around in the dirt and tired of riding the same two lane black tops.
There is another rider on a forum still legal and riding at 91.
There are some studies showing riding motorcycles keeps you more alert as you age.
Certainly I was glad to get back into it after a layoff while the kids were smaller. Then my son wanted to ride and now we ride together.
•••
Flywheel
The KLR650 is a lot cheaper than the KTM and KLRs have gone EVERYWHERE on the planet.
Always marvel at being out in the middle of nowhere and the KLR just goes. Even with a busted clutch lever it was not a big deal to ride it out of the bush - get it fixed and head back out in the rough.
Parts easy to get and tons of riders to draw on.
I don't think anyone is to old to ride. Most people get the "health issues" form poor lifestyle choices and lack of excise. 20 years of riding 3 blocks to a Tim's for a double, double is not the same as 20 years of riding open roads and logging 1000's of km's. I started riding late in life and turning 40 this year, while it does limit what I choose to do or not do, I alwats ride within my means. I don't ride for today, I ride for tomorrow.
wonderings
Well-known member
There is no "to old" age to ride, it comes down to the person and their health and how quickly they can react. You can be 20 and health hits you and you are no longer able to ride, though obviously more issues come with old age. I have no number in mind when it comes to giving it up, the dream is to not give it up.
Old folks can be much tougher than most people realize if they knock off the bad habits. The specialist mechanic I hired for press servicing finally retired last year. One of his last jobs was moving and installing a 6000 lb diecutter without a forklift/crane. By himself, while suffering mild pneumonia. At 78. Did I mention the serious arthritis? Tough might not be the word!
I'm pretty sure I've met the Airhead fellow before, though he was riding his K1200 (?) at the time. He's part of the same vintage club as the fellow with that great 1947 (?) Nimbus, who I met at the Tobermory ferry terminal a few years ago. He was about the same age as his bike and riding twice as far as I was!
I've read every scrap I can find on KLRs, XR650Ls and DR650s, so I know they have some chops. A good thing too, since I can only afford cheaper right now and that rules out KTMs. Especially trailered ones.
Slightly related Youtube find on aging riders going offroad is probably more my speed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCQiMeHHaMo&list=UUKCd-s8kyMsikIQHwmrROmA&index=6
Not as dramatic as the senior expert riders but it really illustrates the issues of bike weight, ground clearance, tires, suspension and physical stamina. The DR650 acquits itself fairly well against the BMWs.
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Griffin
Well-known member
I know a guy in his 70's that rides an S1000RR.
There is no "too old". There is a "no longer fit" but that can hit at any age.
Yup - I find out that every time I have to push either the ST1100 or the KLR around in the gravel driveway here ....puff puff...
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Flywheel - yeah that was Barry. One of the other guys - Ron - Japanese I think is retired and he's been to Alaska and all over.
This is the group - was caught by GoogleMap car outside the Shed
These two are not spring chickens either.
and looping the continent.
We met them part way up The James Bay Road.
I did better on the 1,000 km days than younger buddy
( I was surprised how beat he was even tho very fit )
Had a caribou running beside me in the bush not much further up than this
The nice thing with the KLR is you can find them wonderfully kitted out for cheap compared to anything else and pre 2008 there was no model change for 20 years so tons of farkles available.
This is my second one and I'd certainly trust it out in the bush here over almost any other machine. Lighter than all but the dedicated off road - enough grunt to tractor but will run all day at 90-100 kph and a huge stock tank - 25 ltr.
Oil can on stilts.
Biggest headache - it's tall and heavy for off road but no where near some of the others in weight. 35" seat height - I provide plenty of sag
so with boots on i can flatfoot it - just getting the leg over with boot lugs that get caught in the luggage rack is a chore - I've got a 30" inseam.
My dad was still driving and active at 95 - walked himself to ambulance and gone 2 days later.
Mum also made it to 95- total basketcase - you do have to push a bit to stay engaged.
••••
Flywheel - yeah that was Barry. One of the other guys - Ron - Japanese I think is retired and he's been to Alaska and all over.
This is the group - was caught by GoogleMap car outside the Shed
These two are not spring chickens either.
and looping the continent.
We met them part way up The James Bay Road.
I did better on the 1,000 km days than younger buddy
( I was surprised how beat he was even tho very fit )Had a caribou running beside me in the bush not much further up than this
The nice thing with the KLR is you can find them wonderfully kitted out for cheap compared to anything else and pre 2008 there was no model change for 20 years so tons of farkles available.
This is my second one and I'd certainly trust it out in the bush here over almost any other machine. Lighter than all but the dedicated off road - enough grunt to tractor but will run all day at 90-100 kph and a huge stock tank - 25 ltr.
Oil can on stilts.
Biggest headache - it's tall and heavy for off road but no where near some of the others in weight. 35" seat height - I provide plenty of sag
so with boots on i can flatfoot it - just getting the leg over with boot lugs that get caught in the luggage rack is a chore - I've got a 30" inseam.My dad was still driving and active at 95 - walked himself to ambulance and gone 2 days later.
Mum also made it to 95- total basketcase - you do have to push a bit to stay engaged.
BeastieGirl
Well-known member
Funny how we look at age differently as we age 
When I was in my forties my peers told me just wait until you hit 50 and everything goes downhill - instead I took up rollerblading, bicycling, ice skating and most importantly - motorcycling. Then they told me - sure its all good now but wait until you hit 55 - so I add weight training to my cardio workouts, strapped my tent to the back of my bike and did back to back trips to the southwest. Now people tell me just wait until I hit 60 - well I'm tired of other people trying to define me by the numbers.
So I keep working out, watch what I eat - and can't wait until I retire so I can take those trips I don't have time to do now - like Alaska. It keeps me motivated and on track because since I hit my fifities I've been having the time of my life and can't think of any good reason why my sixties shouldn't be the same.
We all age and sometimes health problems are unavoidable - but a lot of what people perceive as aging is the result of not taking care of yourself. If you decide you are "too old" and sit on the couch living life vicariously through the boob tube - its a self fulfilling prophecy. Use it or loose it is true for both physcial and cognitive functions and people have a lot more control over how they age than they think.
Although I might switch back to a scooter when I hit 70.
When I was in my forties my peers told me just wait until you hit 50 and everything goes downhill - instead I took up rollerblading, bicycling, ice skating and most importantly - motorcycling. Then they told me - sure its all good now but wait until you hit 55 - so I add weight training to my cardio workouts, strapped my tent to the back of my bike and did back to back trips to the southwest. Now people tell me just wait until I hit 60 - well I'm tired of other people trying to define me by the numbers.
So I keep working out, watch what I eat - and can't wait until I retire so I can take those trips I don't have time to do now - like Alaska. It keeps me motivated and on track because since I hit my fifities I've been having the time of my life and can't think of any good reason why my sixties shouldn't be the same.
We all age and sometimes health problems are unavoidable - but a lot of what people perceive as aging is the result of not taking care of yourself. If you decide you are "too old" and sit on the couch living life vicariously through the boob tube - its a self fulfilling prophecy. Use it or loose it is true for both physcial and cognitive functions and people have a lot more control over how they age than they think.
Although I might switch back to a scooter when I hit 70.
GentlemanRacer
Well-known member
Stop while your grandkids go through early childhood, but you might as well start again by the time they reach 11. It's just 20 years of disappointment after that.
