I focus heavily on the Kawasaki W800 on this channel, which is a fantastic retro standard that captures the feelings, joy, and nostalgia of the terrific bikes of yesteryear with modern amenities and safety features!
Bikes in my stable: 2020 Kawasaki W800, 2011 BMW G650GS, 2003 BMW R1200CLC
YEAH, SEEN THIS COMING a FEW YEARS AGO. WHEN WE WERE CREATING these SOFT, WEAK , SI<<Y A>S WANNA BE MALES. WHO ONLY PLAY VIDEO GAMES and PLAY WITH their CELL PHONES ALL DAY, 24/7 . SCARED of their OWN SHADOWS. This is the NEW SOCIETY WE HAVE CREATED!!! NO HOT RODS , NO HARLEY'S. They MUST HAVE EVEN a SPECIAL DESIGNATED BIKE LANES TODAY, or NO RIDING BIKES EITHER. POOR BABIES. POINT IS, NO SURPRISE TO ME !
started riding in 07.barely ride anymore.in my area since 07 the attention paid to the roads & traffic in general has declined to a point where a sunday afternoon ride has come down to flipping a coin as to if you will ever make it home.to me personally, its just not worth my life anymore.
The older I get, the more it hurts, pain is my enemy, physical pain and recovery takes longer. Bikes aren't fun anymore because of uneducated drivers 4 wheel and higher, and frankly, I've done every rally, the fun to dollar benefit is close to zero now. We have "Newcomers" now, and the idiots on top of that allowed to drive because they have an automobile driver's license just too much. 2024, I'll be out of motorcycling. 40 years of riding, it was fun. Thanks for the vid.
Yes.. truth is, most people don't see us on the bike. When we are driving, our brain will filter a lot of things, to focus on whats important. The big problem is, for most of people, their brain will make bikes "invisible"!
@@blaireofhylia1572 winter is usually a good time to get the most affordable bikes... I thoroughly get your point tho. Thank you for watching and for commenting!
Here’s a crazy, unexpected development-it looks like we’re getting the new W230 in the US! It’s on the Kawasaki website now! MSRP is listed as $5,599. I’m shocked, I did not think we would see it here.
I agree with you in pretty much everything, except loud pipes saves lives… I been riding for about 4 years now, and I noticed how people react to sound, especially when they have their face glued to their phones… if you are not hauling ass and you are riding about the speed limit people will pay attention and will know your position just because of sound, yes it could be annoying but I prefer to have all the tools to keep people attention
@@davincho1111 I get how anecdotal evidence helps reinforce beliefs, I did include my sources in the description of the video including the studies on possible effects of loud exhaust on safety, may be worth reading. Than you for commenting!
@@bigbluemotorbikedog I know statistics can be a little deceiving… I’m talking about personal experience, also I’m in south FL probably one of the worst places to ride a motorcycle 😅… my bike is LOUD and I will never ride anything too quiet at least not here
I consider my life " hardly worth living " if I can't ride. Been riding for 53 years. Started at 8. Ya quit riding when ya quit breathing. What's left in life besides motorcycles. Nothing.
@@bigbluemotorbikedog No I mean take it to the track. Enduro, motocross, road racing, track days, stunting, flat track, drag racing, etc.. Very few see these as an option.
Being close to retirement age I’ve opted for a Spyder, those strange looking machines with 2 wheels in front and 1 in the back. My Spyder has attracted attention from all ages and hopefully will leave with the idea an alternative to conventional motorcycles is available.
I think CanAm has some great looking and performing platforms, I only wish they would do the lean thing too... Have you seen the new 'off roader' from CanAm?
It is all by design. Kids are eating the food that are poisonous to their bodies and wrecking their hormones especially the testosterone. Cultures focusing on feminism along side with gays, lesbians, and transgenderism. And economy that is so bad barely any young people can afford motorcycles. This trend is no natural occurrence but instead it is done by social engineering. I believe motorcycle riding will make a come back, but we got to get through this tough time first. This October is going to be a very hard one. It is going to be Biblical.
Boomer View - Rode my first minibike at 10, and just sold my last (of 30) motorcycles at age 65. Why? Well, I can tell I've slowed down enough, mentally/physically, for it to start mattering. In addition, the population increased, roads got more congested, so the fun went down while the danger increased. People got dumber, less empathetic, and more distracted with cellphones, texting, and filming themselves doing stupid things while driving. Fast and Furious, Grand Theft Auto, and other negative influences, combined with teen-brain and much faster cars, increasing the danger. Law enforcement took a holiday, so the danger persists. I hardly ever see anyone pulled over, yet I see cars blow through every 4-way stop I come to. Nobody cares, so, unable to change things, I simply took myself out of the activity. Pack too many people into too small a space, and things go bad. On the financial front, I'd always had medical coverage without any form of deductible. If I got hurt (did not), then I was covered from dollar 1. Over the last 15 years or so, "high deductible" "healthcare" became my reality, so the first $5-10k in medical expense would come out of my pocket. While I always enjoyed riding, I can't think of a single ride that was worth $5k, to me, so why risk perhaps permanent physical/mental injury (recovery is longer at my age), and the costs to repair same, not to mention the astronomical increase in motorcycle parts prices to repair the bike? It's just not worth it, anymore. Kill the middle class, and you kill motorcycling. I rode to work most of my working life because I had to take roads, then a car ferry, then roads, and then park for the day. When I started that commute, the state (Washington) and businesses were all about encouraging motorcycling to help the environment by keeping cars off the road. The cost to register a motorcycle was $6 in 1997. Today, it's well over $100 (at one time, I had 8 motorcycles at once). On the commute, you could park at the departing side ferry landing for free and walk on the ferry, or you could ride your motorcycle onto the ferry at reduced cost. Even better, motorcycles could skip the car line and get their ticket quickly/easily, making sure they never missed a ferry. Once at work, my building allowed motorcycles to park for free. Life was good, and I enjoyed my commute at reasonable cost/convenience for many years. Suffice it to say that over time every one of those things changed for the worse, or was eliminated altogether, just so that more $$ could be made from me. Bye-Bye travel to office life, hello telecommuting, bye-bye multiple motorcycles. Greed kills motorcycling. Finally, I don't know how much it matters to others, but I loved the mechanical aspects of motorcycles, and did all my own work on the ones I owned. I grew up taking things apart, learning how they worked, cleaning/maintaining/improving them. I loved the minimal mechanical nature of a simple motorcycle. I don't see any love of things mechanical in today's younger people, they can't work on anything except the apps on their phones, have to call "the guy" for every little physical thing, and maybe that's part of the reason they don't want motorcycles. If I was confronted with taking with my bikes to a dealer/mechanic instead of doing it myself, I wonder if I'd have stayed with it so long. Mechanical ignorance might hurt motorcycling. I'm very glad I came up when I did and had the experiences I had. I'm also very glad I'm not leaving any kids behind to face what comes next. Thanks for the video.
Only one problem...Drunks gravitate to bright objects...especially at night...I know because I was almost hit by one while wearing a neon yellow vest...
@@guymontag1427 I was wearing bright red, my friends were wearing a brown jacket and a black jacket. I can give advice, but people will do what they want to do. Good question! Thank you for commenting!
Yes motorcycling is declining, mainly because the vast volume of carnage videos, which display bad behavior exemplified through complete disregard for the safety of ones self as well as the safety of others, especially by those possessing mediocre riding skills. There are few videos showing the vast benefits of riding motor cycles and scooters. Thus the perception is that they are inherently dangerous machines, which are the desire of the clinically insane. I have been riding motorcycles and scooters for over 40 years now, without major incidents. Most motorcycles will return far greater fuel economy than automobiles and when properly outfitted, they can carry all a commuters necessities for the day. They take up far less parking space than automobiles, while emitting less CO2 (if one worries about such things). Their benefits are immense if viewed properly. Its their historical perspective, which is dodgy. That however can be corrected.
Yes, 120 years of brand, but I am a Velocette man, a Norton man, a Matchless man, a BSA man and a Triumph man. Looks are everything. Riding a fake Triumph does not turn me on. BMW yikes that's another story . The latest BMW1800 is toooo ugly to describe.
@@michaelbrett3749 hehehe . Thank you for commenting. Definitely made me laugh today. There's a video on the W series by creator Marlon. "An honest review of the Kawasaki W800" something tells me you will like that one.
@@michaelbrett3749 hahaha, it looks like an AJS (what the W1 was based on after Kawasaki bought Maguro. ) The Japanese engineering and build quality, along with that gorgeous bevel drive with a true parallel twin engine is why. Triumph doesn't have any of those things. But they are both pretty bikes.
@@bigbluemotorbikedog Pretty is everything. The Kawasaki is copying the Triumph's looks but not as pretty. Way too many bits of tubing and the ugly bevel drive cam. The Kawasaki has 46 HP about the same as a 650cc Triumph from the 60's and yet the engine is 800cc. No sorry, get yourself a Triumph and be the man
@@michaelbrett3749 No thanks. Dig your passionate brand loyalty tho. You may enjoy this video as well. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rd2roqVyh5Q.htmlsi=ZbbWXE5qYNjMXaud
I'm not sure what the answers are, but I'm hopeful that motorcycling won't go the way of watercraft, where the wealthy are the only ones who can afford it.
I quit riding for several reasons,well I almost got run over 3 times iñ one day! Took the muffler off ,put on a pipe & installed a fuel module,so everyone can hear me now a couple miles off, still people can't see but they can hear me,still people don't pay attention sad to say ,traded my bike in after one last ride!
Pretty sure Millennials and Gen Z statistically show a much lessened interest in obtaining driver's licenses in general, preferring to spend money on the latest phone technology over a car.
Riding 61 years. Still riding. No. 1 bit of wisdom to pass along. NEVER assume that just because you have the right of way, that the other person will not suddenly appear in your path. When you approach a traffic light, ALWAYS observe it and have a plan to stop in a damned hurry. Ride to Live!
From watching the motorcycle crash videos I'd say that most of the crashes the riders are driving recklessly, too fast for conditions, or simply riding too fast. That won't stop people from pulling out in front of you but it will improve your chance of being able to stop. (I was on a rural road with complete visibility for both parties when a lady came out of her driveway without even stopping. She was able to stop half way out into the road directly in front of me by the time she saw me. I was able to stop before hitting her fortunately.) Always assume that the car is going to pull out in front of you. That's not going to stop someone from rear ending you and I'd love to hear the explanation of how you were rear ended at 30mph by an auto doing 60mph. What were they doing? DUI?
Cool story. I really want one, but I’m finding that my bad back doesn’t handle short travel suspension well. They are pretty awesome to look at though.
@@bigbluemotorbikedog I’ll stand for the big ones, but I’m finding it’s the culmination of all the small bumps that get me. After a long ride I feel it. And the roads are generally pretty decent where I live. I’ve recently started looking at dual sports and other midsized adv’s as a way to keep from destroying my spine. I never had any issues until I ditched my Klr to try out a few modern classics.
I'm 70, lifelong rider, currently with 10 motorcycles. An assortment of Triumph, Honda, Harley, Norton, Yamaha, Whizzer, MotoGuzzi, most from the 60's and 70's. Sometimes I wonder if I hung onto them too long. Who wants them anymore? It seems young people have moved on to other things. I didn't think I'd end up with a bunch of stuff nobody wants!
My best friend inherited his late uncles motorcycle. Learned to ride, got licensed, built it to a Bobber. It looks like a lot of fun, but I can't afford the entry cost. Its been 2 years, I have $500 saved up. I guess I can buy a jacket and be a poser 😂
