Reflections on past ABR and now.........and life in general

[Tramp]

Well as my ccm644 has been in bits but with help from new found friends ive put humpty back together but at a cost ...ive been in a reflective mood.

Uk biking is dying due to folks changing and havin less money and time ..thats normal folks like working class which is where im from , when Abr forum started up it was a kinda wildwest place allsorts of folks joining from all walks of life and the meets where great places to go for a weekend what you rode didnt matter ...it was nice to see the new and old bikes which in general reflectide folks way of life ...

Stories of where they had travelled both uk and in Europe was always left a nice feeling in the heart come bedtime..some folks could only afford the odd weekend away others months but there was never any malice....how things have changed ...

I miss the folks who had little money and time doing the weekend trips and posting on the forum what they had been up to ...even the old ABR magazine with its tour europe on a shoe string ..cheap panniers and borrowed equipment to enable folks to travel and see and experience what others had...

motorcyling has become a expensive hobby with folks becoming obsessed with trailriding and doing the hardest stuff traveling far and wide ...whatever happened to folks finishing work on a friday night with tent and basic stuff heading off to explore somewhere new and arriving home sunday night feeling refreshed and alive. Non of this lets all meet up and get pissed talk shit ...ride this years modified model .

Sorry but i now find that boring and a waste of my time.....im more happy just bimbling along any road i discover at my own pace with no real idea where i am heading...

The cost of new and second hand bikes is crazy they have moved on from commuter transport to become toys of the cash rich older generation ...im rich but in places ive traveled and memories i have ...

So please feel free to comment......I dont expect much from old forum members .

[sprintster]

I can't say I've seen much difference.There has always been people who must have the best of everything to do any hobby,not just biking.Then there are people like me who don't care about any brand image and just go out and do their hobbies on a shoestring.I was on a Facebook hillwalking page last week showing off my new £85 3000HH tent when someone told me a tent would have to be at least 10,000HH to cope with Scottish rain.I didn't realise I'd been doing it wrong all these years!
I'm not usually one for inspirational quotes but one I read recently that struck a chord with me was:The happiest people don't have the best of everything but make the best of everything.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Happens with any male-dominated hobby...it becomes trendy, then it turns into a load of overgrown boys showing their equipment to each other.

Just look at cycling. Mountain biking was once a cheap fun hobby, and road-riding was for a weird sub-species of masochist. Now look at it...particularly in London with a load of Go-Pro haveago hero road warrior types wobbling round on bikes worth £1000s seeing who can make the most hair-raising video of an encounter with a tipper truck. An embarrassment to everyone except themselves, because of their complete lack of self-awareness.

My advice. Fix your bike and ride it. Don't get into willy-waving conversations with folk who have acquired some fabulous new toy on the never-never just because they think it makes them look good.

I'm reminded of a brief conversation I had some years ago when I was at BVM in Stroud, which was a BMW dealer and a trials bike dealer (polar opposites). I was there to buy some bits for my Gas Gas, but riding my 950 KTM.

My sleeve was grabbed by some Herbert, wearing the complete BMW corporate riding kit, all brand-new. He launched into some rant about did I realise what an opportunity KTM had missed by turning down the chance to sponsor Ewan-know-who and Charley-the-obscure on their holiday...he was jabbering away as if I was the marketing director for KTM and he was pitching for the advertising account.

"Look at how many bikes BMW have sold as a result of it," he concluded, waving his arm at a long-lineup of barely used BMW GS11something-or-others awaiting new owners.

"Hmm...looks like the people who bought them couldn't ride them either," I replied, and rode off.

[captinktm]

I hear what you are saying boss. I have no idea how someone can spend 16k on a motorbike. But I would argue that there are still plenty of bargains out there still. A KTM 950 can still be had for less than 4 k and that's plenty of bike to do anything on. Nice Suzuki SV 650 for less than 2k another fantastic bike. But yes I do understand that the rich and mostly talent less have hijacked our hobby. But I guess the motorcycle industry had to find somewhere or something for these guys to spend their money on, when sports bikes became too fast for the congested uk roads. Life was better when TBM was printed on toilet paper, and MCN had news in it.

I almost fell into the trap on my last trip of continuously taking photos "to upload" when I got back. Then realize that as long as I have seen it that is all that matters.

[captinktm]

Happens with any male-dominated hobby...it becomes trendy, then it turns into a load of overgrown boys showing their equipment to each other.

Just look at cycling. Mountain biking was once a cheap fun hobby, and road-riding was for a weird sub-species of masochist. Now look at it...particularly in London with a load of Go-Pro haveago hero road warrior types wobbling round on bikes worth £1000s seeing who can make the most hair-raising video of an encounter with a tipper truck. An embarrassment to everyone except themselves, because of their complete lack of self-awareness.

My advice. Fix your bike and ride it. Don't get into willy-waving conversations with folk who have acquired some fabulous new toy on the never-never just because they think it makes them look good.

I'm reminded of a brief conversation I had some years ago when I was at BVM in Stroud, which was a BMW dealer and a trials bike dealer (polar opposites). I was there to buy some bits for my Gas Gas, but riding my 950 KTM.

My sleeve was grabbed by some Herbert, wearing the complete BMW corporate riding kit, all brand-new. He launched into some rant about did I realise what an opportunity KTM had missed by turning down the chance to sponsor Ewan-know-who and Charley-the-obscure on their holiday...he was jabbering away as if I was the marketing director for KTM and he was pitching for the advertising account.

"Look at how many bikes BMW have sold as a result of it," he concluded, waving his arm at a long-lineup of barely used BMW GS11something-or-others awaiting new owners.

"Hmm...looks like the people who bought them couldn't ride them either," I replied, and rode off.

Very good I enjoyed that. Of course before I'd got to the 4th line I had predicted you rode a KTM You should write a book

[frenchy3]

Well,where do i start. Motorcycling has become an expensive hobby. I know we don,t have to buy the latest bikes and the best kit but the fact is if we can afford it we seem to believe that it is all required. I never even used to have a GPS and although it was often frustrating opening a well worn map in the wind at nearly every road junction,it gave you a chance to take off your helmet and chat to your mates about the last difficult lane and have a laugh and a sip of water etc. With a pre-programmed route on a GPS you can literally ride for 30-40 miles without stopping to have a chat or take a photo. Green laning is still alive in this country but it has always been frowned upon by certain sections of society. There are less and less routes to ride as RUPP,s have been downgraded to restricted byways and there are TRO,s on many Byways. It is great to travel abroad where biking isn,t frowned upon and as long as you respect peoples land and livestock nearly anything goes. We can rarely travel abroad and dur to the nature of our piss poor weather many people have their expensive toys sat in the garages longing for the summer to take them out. I know there are many that don,t care about the weather and will ride all year round but i am not one of them. The most fun on bikes since i was a teenager has been with my very low tech cheap Harley MT350 and wild camping with my hammock kit. You can see there seems to be less members on the ABR forum and significantly less posts. I know motorcycles have become more reliable but they have become more complex and difficult to fix if you ever need to. With this comes a great increase in weight and as i get older and less able i could never pick up half of these off road monsters if i ever dropped them. When my grandad started biking it was a working mans transport as very few could afford cars and as a consequence there were many more bikes. I am 56 years old and possibly jaded as although i could not bear to be without a bike in my garage it often takes much of my willpower to get togged up and get out on it in inclement weather when there is a car sat on the drive. I was thinking of leaving this forum shortly as i don,t have the enjoyment of reading and writing the posts as much as i did.
Don,t wish to end on a downer and would love to get back some of the joy,simplicity and freedom it all used to bring me.

[captinktm]

Well,where do i start. Motorcycling has become an expensive hobby. I know we don,t have to buy the latest bikes and the best kit but the fact is if we can afford it we seem to believe that it is all required. I never even used to have a GPS and although it was often frustrating opening a well worn map in the wind at nearly every road junction,it gave you a chance to take off your helmet and chat to your mates about the last difficult lane and have a laugh and a sip of water etc. With a pre-programmed route on a GPS you can literally ride for 30-40 miles without stopping to have a chat or take a photo. Green laning is still alive in this country but it has always been frowned upon by certain sections of society. There are less and less routes to ride as RUPP,s have been downgraded to restricted byways and there are TRO,s on many Byways. It is great to travel abroad where biking isn,t frowned upon and as long as you respect peoples land and livestock nearly anything goes. We can rarely travel abroad and dur to the nature of our piss poor weather many people have their expensive toys sat in the garages longing for the summer to take them out. I know there are many that don,t care about the weather and will ride all year round but i am not one of them. The most fun on bikes since i was a teenager has been with my very low tech cheap Harley MT350 and wild camping with my hammock kit. You can see there seems to be less members on the ABR forum and significantly less posts. I know motorcycles have become more reliable but they have become more complex and difficult to fix if you ever need to. With this comes a great increase in weight and as i get older and less able i could never pick up half of these off road monsters if i ever dropped them. When my grandad started biking it was a working mans transport as very few could afford cars and as a consequence there were many more bikes. I am 56 years old and possibly jaded as although i could not bear to be without a bike in my garage it often takes much of my willpower to get togged up and get out on it in inclement weather when there is a car sat on the drive. I was thinking of leaving this forum shortly as i don,t have the enjoyment of reading and writing the posts as much as i did.
Don,t wish to end on a downer and would love to get back some of the joy,simplicity and freedom it all used to bring me.

Christ you need to call the Samaritans mate! Cheer up. You need to get your sad ass out here to Bulgaria and ride some new trails.

[captinktm]

Here a story about the old times.

I was racing MX and enduro's with the odd supermotard race chucked in on one bike and got sick of the paddock racers with there brand new gear and bikes and massive trucks and vans. So I decided to wind back the clock one weekend and rode my Husky 610 to the meeting which was about a 100 miles form home, with my gear and mx tyres strapped on. I remember it was bloody cold starting out and death o'clock. Anyway I arrives and changed the tyres, guys were laughing saying I must be mad. I won 3 races that day and then rode home.

[frenchy3]

Bye everyone and thanks for your help and advice in the past. Ride safe and have a happy Christmas

[SteveW]

Put aside the inverted snobbery and ride what you want, whether it costs 2K or 20K, whether it sits in your garage until a Sunny Sunday or hacks you to work dally........
If you ride a motorbike you'll do for me.
Its a British thing.....ripping the piss out of the guys who don't see the world our way
Me.....I'm just selling a business, so from 1st January I'm on a fixed income....the hours are great, but the money's not so good......the days of swapping and changing bikes are over!