and for that reason trikes are more popular for the older crowd...

http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Motorcycles/trike.html

problem solved...

Had a bunch, including an old three wheeler bought from the Air Force for $65.00 (that's a story for another time).

Currently have a Kikker 3/4 kit bike (cool-used to get snacks at car shows), a K-pipe (small pit bike), Sym City (90 MPH big Scooter-500 plus pounds...great for the interstate) and am looking at a new Honda Rebel...not shipped yet...500 cc twin slightly chopped.

Ist time out on the Sym scooter, my foot went to sleep. Dropped it and had to wear a boot for a month. Laughed my ass of as two truckers pulled it off me. Ironic that I have owned and ridden everything , including turbo powered bikes, but only got hurt by dropping a wimp ass scooter while standing still!


Russ

Real simple Don't do it.

Bikes definitely can be dangerous. Fortunately, this part of the country is a bit rural and less hectic driving.

Years ago, I traded my Goldwing for a horse trailer. My daughter and I each owned a horse in S DAK where we lived at the time. My daughter showed horses and did some rodeo. I rode horse as well and was the local rodeo announcer.

I remember a woman in our horse club said to me "Aren't you glad you got out of motorcycles...dangerous sport."

My response? I told her that I own both horses and motorcycles. In 25 years of riding bikes, over thousands of miles, I've never had an accident. But with a horse, and we had two of them, you are GUARANTEED a wreck...both my daughter and I had had wrecks with horses.

Yet most of the folks I knew at the time thought horses were safer than motorcycles...wrong!

Guess I'm one of those guys that lives life to the fullest.

By the way Gary...

We live in western MN, land of 10,000 beautiful, recreational lakes. I've owned a speedboat, kayaks(we still have 5) and canoes. A few years back, my wife overturned her kayak on the river that runs behind our house...she was lucky she didn't drown....years earlier, one of my brother's friends did drown.

Live life to the fullest? That means taking chances.

Beats dying in a wheelchair in a nursing home.

A friend's got one of these. Nice but much harder to control than a two wheeled cycle...also they run about $35k for a starter trike.

By the way, I do own a trike...ride it every day in the summer.

http://www.catrike.com/villager

I'm with the naysayers "Don't do it" not at 68 and after not riding one for years. I gave up dreams of a motorcycle when a friend let me use his, I dropped it and damaged the bike, but not myself. I thought that was a warning sign, then a couple of months later my college room mate fell after hitting a patch of sand he scraped himself up pretty bad and I saw the pain he went thru during his recovery.

Fast forward about 20 years later I witnessed a motorcycle accident the guys legs were bent behind his back like he was "Gumby" that was enough to convince me better not get one.

We winter in Florida and there are plenty of old timers riding all winter long I'm not sure who makes it back home and who doesn't.

P.S. In my late 30s to late 40s I was an amateur triathlete. When I look at some of the mountain roads I raced down in New Hampshire and Vermont at 40 miles per hour on a bicycle with skinny tires I wonder what was I thinking?

The only racing I did was with horses and hydroplanes. Both were pretty damned dangerous, and the only difference was the speed. With the quarter-horse I raced, Moon Mountain, a monster that stood about 6 feet at the shoulder blade, I didn't make the quarter mile before he bucked me off into a pond. I didn't think I was going to survive that incident.

With the hydroplanes, the boat was doing about 125 when it hit a snapping turtle in the Susquehanna River. The entire bottom blew out of the boat and it sunk in a matter of seconds. My second and last race.

Donny, trikes are neat looking, but not safer than a 2-wheel motorcycle. Falling over is the least of anyone's worries. The big problem is there is no seat belt, no shoulder belt, no air bag and you WILL be vaulted over those handlebars when you hit something. My daughter flew 40 feet through the air into an oncoming car's windshield and she was only doing about 30 MPH. The oncoming car, fortunately, saw it coming and was able to stop, otherwise she would have been killed instantly.

Gary

hey guys
A few years ago I sold my wonderful honda goldwing and guess what gary-
It did have an airbag what a great bike. I have been riding for many years but the goldwing was way to heavy for me so I sold it before I dropped it.I'm seventy four and I want a 600cc touring scooter just for
a little riding. easy to ride and low center of gravity. My body and my head told me when to stop riding. Just listen and you will be ok. Everything can put you in danger but using your head and a lot of caution
can minimise the danger and live your life the way you need too
Mel

Exactly! Up until about three years ago, I had four (4) bikes, six (6) if you count my Suzuki 650 Burgman and my Kymco 500. Towards the end I only rode the Burgie and then only on back country rides with my son on sunny Sunday afternoons. They are all gone now except for the Kymco (couldn't get a decent price for it) which is waiting for Russ to pick it up . My son still has four bikes of his own but is too busy to ride them very much ( which is ok with me). Anyone that thinks just wearing armor, using good judgement, and riding carefully and within your capabilities, will keep you safe is just deluding themselves. And anyone who tells you differently is doing you (and those that care about you) a great disservice. Motorcycling is a young man's sport. A young single man.

chas