Discussion of old American motorcycles

[Sarge]

La muerte y la vida tienen sus citas específicas; riqueza y honores vienen después de la muerte!.

Best Russ

Translation: "Death and life have specific appointments, riches and honors come after death!"

So, according to that, "work yourself to death in this life, and hope for glad satisfaction in the hereafter?"

Aww, we all have to make our priorities. Life is all made up of choices, and they change as you progress through life. Some choices we make are good and some reveal themselves to be bad. Some people end up making only bad choices and never find happiness.

We can only hope that our good choices outweigh our bad ones. We hear every day from our "news" sources about people who made bad choices and ruined the remainders of their lives through crime, violence, drugs, or imagined ways to "get rich quick." There's no shortcut through hard work.

I beat myself up physically and mentally for forty+ years, honestly earning retirement; I choose now to try to enjoy the time I have left, trying to conserve what I have. I found a terrific woman to make my life with, after a couple of false starts, and have off-spring to be proud of with no "bad apples" among them. I give thanks every day from the time I wake up.

[Greybeard Bob]

Myself, I come here to read & learn about old motorcycles. I simply don't post much after my first few attempts because I found out very quickly that my old put together, mis- matched '61 Pan will never live up the expectations of some of the crowd that hangs here. I realize that there is a huge difference in my motorcycle & theirs, but it really doesn't matter to me. When I found my bike a few years ago I made a pact with her that I would get her running & back in the wind & that is exactly what I did. Couldn't be prouder riding down the road either. Just don't need all the disparaging remarks about all the stuff on my motorcycle that is not correct. I truly admire the folks that have the resources to buy & maintain the fine old machines shown here however I will never be one of them unless I happen to win the lottery. That's my story & I'm stickin' to it.
Timmy V

Well said, TimmyV!! Its the way I feel too. My old pieces and parts shovel is loved by nobody but me and thats the way I like it. To some of the members here, anything less that a 100 point show bike is junk (or so it seems by some of the comments), I just don't get that sentiment. Our machines were made to ride and provide enjoyment and thats what they should be be doing. JMHO, YMMV, etc.

Bob

[axeric]

Bob, I think correctness is just part of the game and most people here don't live or die by accuracy. For many, this motorcycle thing is a lifetime deal and the longer you are in it, the more you learn, and the more you want to learn. Harley-Davidsons are generally very well documented, with over 100 years of data to attempt to understand. The research, and history end is incredibly interesting and downright addictive to many of us. I've restored quite a few bikes and I'm always learning something new. For me this hobby is as fresh today as it was 40 years ago. I've had plenty of bikes that were riders, but I've always had it in mind to make them better, and more correct. I think it makes owning an old motorcycle even more fun to study it's history, find out what parts are correct, and going to swap meets, and scanning ebay for the right parts. By the same token, it's also fun to build a bike just for yourself and to hell with what's correct.

[flatsider]

Translation: "Death and life have specific appointments, riches and honors come after death!"

So, according to that, "work yourself to death in this life, and hope for glad satisfaction in the hereafter?"

Aww, we all have to make our priorities. Life is all made up of choices, and they change as you progress through life. Some choices we make are good and some reveal themselves to be bad. Some people end up making only bad choices and never find happiness.

We can only hope that our good choices outweigh our bad ones. We hear every day from our "news" sources about people who made bad choices and ruined the remainders of their lives through crime, violence, drugs, or imagined ways to "get rich quick." There's no shortcut through hard work.

I beat myself up physically and mentally for forty+ years, honestly earning retirement; I choose now to try to enjoy the time I have left, trying to conserve what I have. I found a terrific woman to make my life with, after a couple of false starts, and have off-spring to be proud of with no "bad apples" among them. I give thanks every day from the time I wake up.

Life is good Sarge, just too damn short! Its like puting a large deluxe pizza in front of a guy, letting him sample ONE peperoni!

All I am saying in a nutshell is..........don't ever give up hope / don't look at death as the absolute end! Hence my sig........Not trying to push my faith on anybody, take it or leave it.

Back to Bikes Dude! best Russ

[HDpanman]

I like the forum pretty much as it is. Other than the consistant whining from a few about prices to which we have no control I think this forum beats any other forum on the net. We have our own resident expert with factory documentation and untold hundreds of factory photos, Mr Chris Haynes. We have experts in technical such as Robbie and Eric and some others that if they can't help you get that bike, no matter what brand, back on the road no one can. We get advice in almost minutes after asking the question. We are able to discuss everything from our last ride, family, friends, weather,share pictures, politics, (careful there), pretty much anything as long as we keep it relatively civil. Yes, this forum is about old bikes but it is also much more, as life is. I have made a few friends here, (I believe), and altho I have not met them face to face that time hopefully will come. If you want to see where people get out of control go on some of the handgun forums. I do frequent them and they can be pretty ugly. I pretty much won't comment on them. I have gotten unbiased information here free of charge that has helped me tremendously in pursuit of my hobby. I mean where else can we talk to people anywhere in the WORLD who also shares our passion? There may be other sites but I think this has great diversity and is more than just about old bikes. Jimmy V, Any bike is a good bike when you putt down the road with that smile on your face. Enjoy it. Don't be concerned with what anyone says. Screw them. And Flatsider go to F.A. ( Forum annonomus??) and come back after your addiction is in control. LOL. I think this forum would be quite boring if it was just old bikes. I enjoy the pictures Skyrider puts up and I would love the see more like Bnsons put up a few posts ago. I am going to get some pics scanned from Daytona in the early to mid 70s to put up in a few weeks if I can figure it out. So there is my rant on the merits of this forum and I'm sticking to it.

[t-jacobs]

The recent post by Sarge on coils is what we need more of.

[Ar Amytas]

The recent post by Sarge on coils is what we need more of.

I definetly agree with that !