Question for the old guys

Moto forums are full of people bragging about peg scraping, hooligan riding and speed. How many of you guys talking this subject have crashed @ 60mph or greater and taken that ambulance ride past the age of 55? Young men need not answer. I just want to know how many old guys have had that old body hit the pavement and still talk this shit?

Thread closed.

I haven't quite hit that age yet, and I have yet to ride in an ambulance or be admitted to a hospital for any reason, but I'm going to reply anyway.

As I get older I find myself riding a more conservatively and I now own much less powerful bikes than I used to. However, I still like to have fun on curvy roads. More importantly I have not turned into a crotchety old geezer who has forgotten what it was like to be young. There are some people out there who I wonder if they ever knew what it what like to be young.

Furthermore I have ridden with many people over the age of 55 who have had serious crashes and still ride fast.

I will be 55 soon.
I used to be very wild in my younger days, VERY wild.
Been down 2 X on the street, 35 years ago, in the rain, and very drunk.
I got a little rash both times. Well, a lot of rash the 2nd time.

I push it to about 80% at times, and have dragged pegs on everything I ever owned, but since I do not wear gear, will not push it past 80%.
That is part of my protection, wear a polo shirt and you really think twice before pushing past 80%.
Full gear and I would be fearless, and likely crash often.
That shit belongs on the track.

63 three years old, been riding for 30 years, never had an accident. Touch wood.

I think you will find that riding motorcycles in some ways is a lot like kids climbing trees...

It's obviously dangerous and scary, so only those who aren't intimidated will do it and go very high. If you are good at it, you don't fall. If you do fall and it doesn't kill you, you will either quit doing it or you start doing it more carefully so you don't fall again. Like I mentioned in the hanging off thread, my 70 year old friend who hauls ass on his Harley Deuce doesn't think that HE is going that fast. Hell, I don't even try to keep up with him!

There are old bikers and there are bold bikers... and if you're gonna be dumb, ya gotta be tuff!

Approaching 71 this summer. I like to think that my accident days are over, no more falling down. Which is why I'm
seeking a VFR to complement my airhead R 100. I hope the Universe agrees with me.

Only 59, three years ago, my fault, nailed a car in WVA. Ambulance took me to the helicopter, kinda walked out of the ER later that evening with a fractured pelvis. Wasn't so bad that they would put my ass in a sling, tho. Four weeks later did a 1500 mile weekend ride on my '76 /6 BMW to work the Louisville Ironman. Along the way I learned a lot about people and how I must have touched them, because of all the help I received.

At 58, I hope to never make a meaningful contribution to this thread.

As a much younger man, I rode a CB750 to the hospital after a tumble and a broken collarbone. Then, a couple of years later, rode in an ambulance to the hospital when I tumbled and broke the other one...

NFE

Barman's story is testament to the point that a person with a head injury should not be making decisions regarding is health care.

Had those broken ribs punctured a lung, things could have gone down hill very quickly.

Thanks for posting.

NFE

PS: Me riding the CB750 to the krankenhaus wasn't a real good idea, either.

Took my first ambulance ride when I had my first wreck a few years ago, 55 at the time. Broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The bike was totaled and I was out of work for a month. Could have gone back after two weeks but the disability was good and the doc wanted me to stay home. Nice break actually. It wasn't my fault, seriously, I mean it. I was riding the speed limit on a straight secondary road. Some college kid pulled out of a parking lot making a left. Thought I'd be able to get around behind his car...until I saw the big ass cargo trailer he was towing. No where to go, I splatted myself onto the side of the trailer.

If you had only been on a BMW with ABS... well, you know. :huh

I still roadrace at 59, hanging off and all the stuff a helluva lot faster than the poseurs on the street (see no point in race riding on the street, nor in looking like I'm doing it).

Last racing crash - the first bad one in 33 years - I broke a collarbone, wrist, and 3 fingers, dislocated a hip and dislocated a shoulder (highside at 125 mph). Couldn't walk unassisted for a week.

Let me tell you, it bloody hurt. You don't bounce the same as when you're younger.

+1 on that bouncing thing... I just don't bounce like I used to at all.

Now it's just that bad "thump" sound, like a sand bag falling off the truck! And then the cursing... lots of cursing.

Yeah, the highside I just mentioned went like this:

WOW sky sky sky hey this flying's quite neat but I'm gonna know all about it when I land BANG THUMP ouch ouch sky sky sky BANG THUMP ouch sky sky THUMP OUCH sky THUMP THUMP THUMP OUCH OUCH OUCH FUCK OOOOOOHHHH FUUUUUCCCCKKKKK.

It's nearly 2,000,000 kilometers since I crashed on the street, but I still cannot recall anyone passing me on a corner. Yup, one of my bikes is a modern sportsbike, but I never push it by my standards.

At 56 I know that I don't bounce so well any more.

Years ago, in my mid 20's, I did a couple years of amateur roadracing- modprod. And had more than a couple offs. Those hurt like hell back then.

Now I road ride and do some track days.

But I still ride and race a mountain bike tandem and we have had some good pile-ups. Feels really great the next day or two :huh

I'll leave the peg scraping (or the alleged peg scraping) to the squids.

Also if I'm not in my office on Monday, zero income.

Tandem mountain bike racing?

I'll take "weird and crazy sports" for a hundred Alex!

I'm 63 and have not had anything but a tipover in many years. However, I was fairly aggressive in 2010 during the Alcan 5000 on two particular roads. One was a dirt track called the Canol's and the other was a dirt road named the Denali Highway.

Myself and two friends from high school entered as sort of a reunion ride. On the Denali, we kept going faster and faster until there were just two of us haling ass and riding really loose. I hit a babyhead at about 60 exiting a bend and almost lost it, but the front tire skipped a bit and caught just in a nick. Then I did it again!

After that ride I have given up being a houligan. So stupid to ride over your head like that. I have a KTM690R coming, though, so I'll have to test her out some.

I scraped a peg at Loudon in 2002. It was an Aprilia RS250 2 stroke twin race bike. Turn two every lap. I didn't try and get my knee down, though. :eek1

Both of my sons road raced at the pro level for a few years. I raced MX until I was 31. We all rode the meatwagon occasionally and had extensive rehab following. On the street you hit things...

Can't dig up an action shot so this'll have to do. And it really is a shitload of fun. We can ride just about anything that a single mtn bike can. We won the tandem division of EFTA 3 different years, against several other teams.