Till What Age Do We Ride ?

[Houtman_imp]

After meeting Amos , Ken and Paul and his two friends for lunch on Thursday last week I went back on Friday on my bike to catch up with my riding buddies on Friday at the Pisgah Inn Country Store.
Soon the conversation went into " till what age do we expect to ride" as most of my friends are into the seventies. After thinking this over on my ride to Mount Mitchell yesterday and today to Lake Lure I came to the conclusion that at 75 my riding days will be over , I will be 70 in September 2020 . My trips are shorter now because of bath room stops after my prostate removal and also my eyesight and reactions are not getting better. I still ride 3 to 4 times a week but do I need 3 bikes ???
I am thinking of perhaps selling the 2017 this summer.
Getting old sucks but I am too old to die young !

 

[the Ferret]

Well as you know, my goal for years was to ride until I was 70, which I turned last May. That gives me 55 years of nearly daily riding. Knock on wood, only one time on the ground when I hit a left turner in 1969 on my 305 Honda Scrambler. I've set a new goal of 72 to give me something to work towards. Would like to say 75 but a few medical issues have crept up which also keep me from doing the long hauls anymore, so like you, more shorter local rides. Yes reaction times, hearing, vision all decline with age and skills will decline with them if you don't keep them up. I ride every day and the area where I live is conducive to relative safety as far as the perils of motorcycling go. I am out in the country, there is not a lot of traffic or intersections. Out here I can probably ride longer than someone in a city who is dodging traffic everyday, as long as I can avoid the deer. I don't do much night riding anymore. I thought I might have to cut back on my riding due to age and medical issues, but due to doctoring and drugs ironically I've ridden more days so far this year than any year I can recall, having only missed 4 days (all in January). There is the potential to ride 361 out of 365 days this year. Wouldn't that be something at 70 years old. I'm not going to quit riding unless I feel I am no longer safe for me or others.

I'm basically down to 2 bikes (there is a 3rd in the garage I ride occasionally) but I love both my CB 1100 and my FJR 1300. They will probably last the rest of my riding career as long as I can continue to hold them up. Like to run both to 100,000 miles. I'm at 51K on the CB and 30K on the FJR. Don't really want to go to a smaller bike.

 

[peterbaron]

John, I wish you to stay healthy, in good shape and riding condition.

Sometimes, I ask myself the same question and my answer is: as long as possible while I safely enjoy riding and handling of my bike. This also means that at one point, I may switch to a lighter motorcycle??

 

[clearviewx]

I'd be glad to make it age 70. You are guys are doing great..

 

[tinboatcapt_imp]

I have quite a high bar to meet. At 72 I feel pretty good on my CB, but the ST is getting a sidecar. The bar I need to meet is my wife's uncle who rode until he turned 94. Admittedly the past 10, or 12 years was on a trike. And he was no longer crossing the continent. A left turner ended his riding. He always wore ATGAT so no significant injuries but he chose not to buy a new trike.

So, my goal is 95. Just so I can beat his record. Maybe I'll make it. Maybe not. But a guy has to have goals.
Jim

 

[michael1954]

Hi guys, I hit 66 this September and now feel like a babe with you all. I had open heart surgery 4 years ago, with a pacemaker, and I still ride as much as I can in this heat. We hit 107 F heat index today, and I will ride at about 7pm. I no longer ride at night because I have yet to add extra headlights on any of my bikes like I had on bikes 15 years ago! I do not want to quit, love riding since I was 14. But I do not want to be a liability either. Sure wish I could meet with you guys in person. I feel like in a void here in South Texas. Rode to San Antonio and back last month, 330 mile round trip in 7 hours to visit my cardiologist! Not bad for our age! :clap:

 

[misterprofessionality]

I really don't think there's an age for me to stop. I'll probably stop waking up in the morning before I stop riding, quite frankly. That might be the hubris of a 30-something talking, but the truth is that by the time i start creeping up into my 70s it's a strong possibility that most bikes will be fully electric and will all have self-balancing gyros and auto-assist riding modes. a paraplegic could ride something like that. when I think of it like that, it's really hard to think that anything will stop me, barring going fully blind and there being no bionic eyes available to correct the issue.

 

[pdedse]

My wife from Costa Rica is strongly looking forward to retiring there so that she can be around her sisters--we've spent 30 years here in the U.S. Likely 9-10 months out of the year will be there. So both logistics and age will likely move me from CB1100 to CG125...which, I hope I can handle till whenever.

I don't think I'll ever take the CB1100 to CR... way too much bike for down there.

 

[the Ferret]

I have quite a high bar to meet. At 72 I feel pretty good on my CB, but the ST is getting a sidecar. The bar I need to meet is my wife's uncle who rode until he turned 94. Admittedly the past 10, or 12 years was on a trike. And he was no longer crossing the continent. A left turner ended his riding. He always wore ATGAT so no significant injuries but he chose not to buy a new trike.

So, my goal is 95. Just so I can beat his record. Maybe I'll make it. Maybe not. But a guy has to have goals.
Jim

95? :worship: Rooting for ya Jim.

 

[decarmine_imp]

I always expect the age I stop riding will be five years from whatever age I am now.

I'll be 76 tomorrow and have been riding for fifty years so I guess eighty-one will be the end.

Like some of you above, I no longer ride at night and my rides have gotten shorter -- it's been four years since the Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 and I don't expect to do that again,

As long as I can still hold up the bike -- now it's a Harley since I traded the Hondas -- I'll continue to ride. Not looking forward to trading for a trike, but if that's what it takes to keep riding then that's what I'll do...

 

[the Ferret]

I'm not sure I could go the trike route. I could see getting another scooter. It's got to lean for me.

 

[SportsterDoc]

A few months ago, 3 wheels was not under consideration.
But the advent of the Can-Am Ryker changed that for me.
The Ryker is to Can-Am what the Sportster is to H-D.

When the option is not riding or riding on a Y configuration 3 wheeler...

Fuel economy (33 MPG) is poor, but wind in the face is worth it.

I did 467 miles on the Extraterrestrial Highway last Monday.

Maybe I will ride it until age 77 (3 1/2 years away)?

 

[the Ferret]

Doc why is the Stryker ok for you to ride and not a regular motorcycle. It was a vision problem you had wasn't it? Not a strength or stability problem, right?

 

[dave]

It's very encouraging to hear most of us continue riding as long as we can. At 61 I hope I have MANY years to go - my plan is to continue to ride as long as I can do so safely. (My wife asked me to add that she rides with me on the CB1100 - we still go for our Sunday afternoon rides at least twice a month). I still have a 250cc MX bike, but I don't get to the track very often any more (only twice this year). My coworker just sold his BMW adventure bike at age 80 because it was too heavy for him, but he still occasionally rides his BMW 650 (the dual-sport model).

 

[Bheezy27403_imp]

I'm currently 47. Been on the street since '91. The thought at which age to hang it up hasn't really crossed my mind yet. I did, however, give it some thought when I had my son a couple years back. My girl told me she wouldn't want me to stop riding as she knows how it positively affects my life. I have a daughter coming in 3 days and the thought crept up again but only in passing. I hope to be able to be on the road for many years to come. When i get a few more miles in one day I suppose it will be something I need to ponder but as of now I can't really put a number on it.

 

[Rocky_imp]

I think it's a wise person who knows when it's time to quit.
That decision should be made on the basis of physical and mental capacity rather than an age number.
I'm sliding down to age 83 and still have a keen mind and good physical health and strength. I have no plans to quit anytime soon, but that day will come and I'm sure I'll know that when I realize the bike is getting too heavy, lack of strength, stamina, etc.
When it starts to no longer be fun and an effort to enjoy yourself, then you may soon become a danger to yourself and others.
That's when you need to ask yourself the hard questions.

 

[alprider]

i have my lightweight bikes already for my old(er) days..........hope they are still in function in 17 years...if is 70 a magic border

 

[Gone in 60]

I feel like a youngster at 52 here. I can't see an end to riding any time soon, of course. I think about the future, like anyone does, and have a neighbor who's 70 and can't swing a leg over any more, and recently went to a Harley trike. A short time back, I was admiring a new Ducati Monster in a parking lot, and a woman walked up to it. She said she just turned 72, and had to "trade down" from a fast bike because she's getting older.

So, guess it's just relative. Hope I'm still deciding on what kind of bike I want when I'm 72.

 

[rboe]

66, went dirt (mostly dual sport, but we hit some knarly back "roads" in the desert east of San Carlos on the way to 191) riding with two buddies. 83 & 81 respectively. Age really is just a number, it's the mileage that can kill you. And bad genes. A lot of the Guzzi riders I know are "old" and still riding like they were in their 30's or 40's. Last weekend I joined a younger buddy to take the 650L (he was on his DR350) up to Mnt Humbolt - age is just not a factor. Your health is. I find that too many folks simply don't take care of themselves, and when they were younger their bodies could handle the abuse. But it adds up.

Remember the old saying, "If I knew I'd live this long I woulda taken better care of myself!" - really starts to ring true now.

 

[Inhouse Bob]

Some y'all met my friend Jim at the last rally. He is 85 now and is still riding his KTM 1290 Adventure. I have to say that I wish he would retire that bike, though. It is fine when under way, but slow maneuvers are getting hard. I have suggested several times that I think he needs to downsize but he is happy, so what is one to do? He doesn't ride it much without my company so I think he is moving toward the tough decision. It's sad, but on the other hand he has a thousand great stories of past glories. He drag raced bikes in the early 60s and has ridden all over the world. So I don't think he will have any regrets when he's done. I just don't want to see him hurt before then.