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(07-24-2021, 01:52 PM)michael1954_imp Wrote: Hi Forum Folks..I could not find where to make this post, but after reading several of the replies, I think this was the best place.....
I just returned to work last week! After being an educator for 34 years, Covid scared me out last year and I retired... Got both vaccinations this Spring, and my doctor said I looked like I needed to go back to work. The kids in our nation got a terrible year of so-called teaching and learning last year with the distance learning, packets and not much else.
Got a call two weeks ago from a larger High School with a good reputation for college-prep. They called me up, woke me up, and asked if I would be willing to go back and help kids. I had this feeling for a week already I was missing something. Working on the DLX and GS1100 has been a little slower than I planned, but the heat has been horrendous in South Texas.
I thought about it for about 30 seconds, and said yes.
Then the man said there was a $7500 sign on Bonus too! I am so glad I did not know about the Bonus because I know it was not a factor, but hey, who is going to turn down money.
So all of you guys say a prayer for me and the kids that we stay healthy and have a successful and normal school year so they can go to college with an excellent background in Chemistry that I am going to try my best to give them this year!
Good for you! I've been teaching languages since 1992. After nearly 30 years, I still love what I do, but that abrupt, "you have two weeks" covid induced switch from a traditional format to entirely on-line using zoom did take a toll. Zoom is an amazing tool, but I do think the experience for many students is lessened. We partially return to the classroom in September. Of the four classes I teach, three will remain competely on-line, and one will be back in the classroom--the latter has the highest enrollment so far, double the numbers of the on-line courses.
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Well, I'll chime in. I'll be 73 this summer. Started riding in 1969, got married in 1977, mostly stopped riding when the kids came along. Got into sailing and had several boats, then my sister remarried, and her new husband rode. We were talking, and he asked me if I'd like to take a ride on one of his bikes. He had a really sweet Yamaha 400 thumper, and I said Yeah, I would. Before long, a neighbor was selling his H-D Sportster. The kids were pretty much grown, and on a whim I bought it, and it took off from there. I've had the CB for, oh, four years now, and recently bought a Suzi V-Strom 1000. It had some miles and I got it cheap, had a mech go thru it and do some long-deferred maintenance. It runs great. You don't stop riding 'cause you get old....you know the rest!
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(07-29-2021, 10:03 AM)Charlie Bravo_imp Wrote: Well, I'll chime in. I'll be 73 this summer. Started riding in 1969, got married in 1977, mostly stopped riding when the kids came along. Got into sailing and had several boats, then my sister remarried, and her new husband rode. We were talking, and he asked me if I'd like to take a ride on one of his bikes. He had a really sweet Yamaha 400 thumper, and I said Yeah, I would. Before long, a neighbor was selling his H-D Sportster. The kids were pretty much grown, and on a whim I bought it, and it took off from there. I've had the CB for, oh, four years now, and recently bought a Suzi V-Strom 1000. It had some miles and I got it cheap, had a mech go thru it and do some long-deferred maintenance. It runs great. You don't stop riding 'cause you get old....you know the rest!
I'm 37....did i get that backwards?
I took up motorcycling as a permanent solution to the problem of the american roadway and left four-wheeled vehicles behind forever. One day when that age is flipped around backwards like yours I will still be riding. If my hips fail me I will buy warp-coil-powered self-balancing HoverBike and ride that instead. When I'm dead they'll have to bury me with my CB, but they better change the oil first because i'm still gonna be putting miles on it.
I"ll be danged if i ever take out one of them Can-am thingies though. 
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(07-29-2021, 10:23 AM)misterprofessionality_imp Wrote: (07-29-2021, 10:03 AM)Charlie Bravo_imp Wrote: Well, I'll chime in. I'll be 73 this summer. Started riding in 1969, got married in 1977, mostly stopped riding when the kids came along. Got into sailing and had several boats, then my sister remarried, and her new husband rode. We were talking, and he asked me if I'd like to take a ride on one of his bikes. He had a really sweet Yamaha 400 thumper, and I said Yeah, I would. Before long, a neighbor was selling his H-D Sportster. The kids were pretty much grown, and on a whim I bought it, and it took off from there. I've had the CB for, oh, four years now, and recently bought a Suzi V-Strom 1000. It had some miles and I got it cheap, had a mech go thru it and do some long-deferred maintenance. It runs great. You don't stop riding 'cause you get old....you know the rest!
I'm 37....did i get that backwards?
I took up motorcycling as a permanent solution to the problem of the american roadway and left four-wheeled vehicles behind forever. One day when that age is flipped around backwards like yours I will still be riding. If my hips fail me I will buy warp-coil-powered self-balancing HoverBike and ride that instead. When I'm dead they'll have to bury me with my CB, but they better change the oil first because i'm still gonna be putting miles on it.
I"ll be danged if i ever take out one of them Can-am thingies though.
I'm 37....did i get that backwards?
I took up motorcycling as a permanent solution to the problem of the american roadway and left four-wheeled vehicles behind forever. One day when that age is flipped around backwards like yours I will still be riding. If my hips fail me I will buy warp-coil-powered self-balancing HoverBike and ride that instead. When I'm dead they'll have to bury me with my CB, but they better change the oil first because i'm still gonna be putting miles on it.
I"ll be danged if i ever take out one of them Can-am thingies though.
Be grateful that yer jusha 'bout 'alfway dare, ... shunny.
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Get a job in the space yard and Capt. Kirk might give you a bike!
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Very enjoyable thread. We love our motorcycles.
I bought my CB about 5 months ago, and I'll be 72 in three months with about 53 years of riding experience.
The CB, to me, is a bike to enjoy after a lifetime of riding everything else. It's extremely well designed and executed, and it's a joy to own and ride. My airheads were a joy to ride, like the CB, but required tons more maintenance to stay that way.
I still work part time as a carpenter, after retiring from a career in Nursing, and I can testify that these bodies were designed for movement.
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(07-29-2021, 10:03 AM)Charlie Bravo_imp Wrote: Well, I'll chime in. I'll be 73 this summer. Started riding in 1969, got married in 1977, mostly stopped riding when the kids came along. Got into sailing and had several boats, then my sister remarried, and her new husband rode. We were talking, and he asked me if I'd like to take a ride on one of his bikes. He had a really sweet Yamaha 400 thumper, and I said Yeah, I would. Before long, a neighbor was selling his H-D Sportster. The kids were pretty much grown, and on a whim I bought it, and it took off from there. I've had the CB for, oh, four years now, and recently bought a Suzi V-Strom 1000. It had some miles and I got it cheap, had a mech go thru it and do some long-deferred maintenance. It runs great. You don't stop riding 'cause you get old....you know the rest! Funny, I started riding in 69' as well when I turned 15 that September.....Never have looked back.
(07-24-2021, 10:44 PM)tod.branko_imp Wrote: All the best Michael, I wish I had teachers who were so enthusiastic and determined
'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed
Thank you! And thanks to all of you!
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I'll toss my getting older guy story into the mix:
I turned 67 this year.
At the end of last year I got an inkling that things ain't what they used to be when I dropped my Harley Softail on the front lawn (thank goodness it wasn't on to concrete !). To my dismay I found that I could not pick it up by myself and had to enlist the help of a neighbor to get it back upright. I knew it was time to say goodbye to my beloved prize after that. I ended up selling it to a young former co-worker and riding buddy for a 'give away' price. Earlier this year, it became clear that my pristine ZX14R was getting to be a bit much for me to push around. At 600 lbs it was 100 lbs less than the Softail but was still getting a bit unsettling for me to manage. It was time for it to go and I sold it to that same ex-coworker for a 'give away' price. I was happy that the 'King and Queen' of my garage are now his to enjoy.
I got my trusty CB1100 out of mothballs and am having a great time riding it and just parking it and gazing at it. I'll miss the thrill of the ZX14R which was like riding a firecracker that one could put a match to in any gear at any rpm and feel a tremendous surge, but the CB1100 more than makes up for the difference with it's 70s-80s inspired character packaged in a modern bike.
At some point I imagine that my Blue Honda Fury (where the furious_blue handle comes from) will be next to go but I hope that day is a ways off. My trusty CBR250R will someday probably be the last bike that I have because it's the most manageable. In way it's fitting because it's like a modern version of my first bike, a '73 CB350. Someone around here had a purple 1973 CB350 that was the spitting image of my first bike. It was tempting, very tempting but then I remembered what the brakes, suspension and vibration were like and knew that some things are probably better left as fond memories. :-)
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Hey guys, been at my new job about 4 weeks now, and I am glad I went back. The number or Covid cases is rising sharply here in Corpus Christi, but we are still teaching. I am vaccinated and wear an N-95 mask most of the time anyway. I have been riding either the Z900RS or 2017 EX CB on most days it is not raining.. It is only a 25 mile round trip, but the bike makes it seem nicer. I rode the Kawasaki a week then the Honda. Wow! Did I noticed the weight difference when I backed the Honda out of the garage. I turn 67 in September, and have yet to notice the weight of the CB. But after backing the Z900RS out, I did felt the difference. With the stock exhaust system gone, the Kawi weighs a whole lot less that the EX. I even had to watch how I rode the Honda, as the Kawasaki can be tossed side to side and cornered much steeper. Maybe it is my age, but I found my self riding the Z900RS much faster, but felt safer at speed. The brakes are good on both bikes, but the Honda stops quicker. So, I am going to ride the Honda for a couple weeks to get my comfort zone back, and then switch back to the Kawasaki. Funny, how I had not really noticed such a sharp comparison before.....Makes you think.......
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