|
Subject: Re: Questions for the phanfaq
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998
15:50:00 -0800
From: "PhanFAQ"
<phanfaq@rcb.org>
To:
David <littleguy@goliath.com>
CC:
webmaster@rcb.org
Dear David:
Life is hard, and sometimes you gotta take what you
can get. Apparently you wanted serious answers
to you questions, but instead you get PhanFAQ answers. There's a lesson for you there, my
boy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear PhanFAQ;
I have a number of questions and it looks like you are the one I am supposed to ask.
|
Q: How do you decide what is the
right kind of jacket or riding suit to wear? Are leathers really better? |
|
Better than what? Better for what?
Lots of club members own leather riding gear; most of them also have jackets and/or pants
made of various trademarks (Cordura, Nylon, GoreTex, Kevlar -- you get the idea). I would
bet that 9 out of 10 of our active members, forced to select only one set of riding togs,
would select the synthetic outfits over leather. Why? 'Cause most of us are more or less
four-season, more or less touring riders. That means we ride when it's cold, when it's
hot, when it's wet (or when all of these happen in succession on the same trip). Leather
tends to lose on at least two of those fronts. Leather is wonderful stuff; it's perfect
for track racing (when comfort doesn't mean anything) and for rides on dry days in the
spring and fall, to say nothing of impressing [insert slang term for whatever you want to
impress]. |
|
Q: So how do you decide what
is the right kind of stuff to wear?
Your best bet is to talk to riders who do the kind of riding you want to do mostly. Come
to breakfast some time or a club ride and see what people
are wearing. If anybody is going to try to sell you on a type of clothing, I guarantee
he/she will be pushing something in the synthetic family. |
|
|
|
Q: I thought I was ready to buy a
BMW and then one guy said I really should get an airhead, then another said I was crazy to
buy an antique design and should go for the modern K bike 4 cylinder. Just about when I
was ready to plop my money down, another friend piped up that if I didn't go for an R1100
I was missing out. What should I do? How do you decide? I can only afford one bike. |
|
Ride them all; visualize what you are
really going to do with the machine; follow your heart; don't be swayed by people who feel
some kind of need to make you do what they did, and thus to justify themselves. If you are
a good wrench, you might get a lot of satisfaction from doing all your own work on an
Airhead. If you like the power, feel and road-handling engineering of an Oilhead (=R1100
etc.), go for that. If you like the K-bike performance and feel over the twins,
particularly if you are leaning toward luxo-touring, there you go. If anybody says you are
crazy to buy a particular type of machine, he/she is an ass, and your most intelligent
course of action is simply to walk away. (There is one exception to this world-class rule
of thumb: if somebody says you'd be crazy to buy what he/she has, find out exactly why;
the advice might be useful.) In the G/S crowd, I see some guys getting off on R1100 GS's
and then there is the R100GS crowd that apparently could well afford an upgrade, but don't
seem to do that. Why? |
|
If you like what you have, why jack
around? Alternately, you might genuinely prefer the simpler technology of the R100GS. You
might feel that the R11 GS is too goddamned heavy to be taken seriously offroad. Maybe
half your innumerable accessories wouldn't be compatible with the newer machine. You might
be able to afford an upgrade mainly by knowing better than to covet all the latest
gadgets. Some people actually believe in using it up before throwing it away (or even
before trading it in). |
|
|
|
Q: Why don't you guys sponsor a
Rally? You have to be the only club in the universe without one. Are your members
"Rally-challenged"? |
|
A: Why don't ***you*** sponsor a
Rally? It's a lot of work. The mission, charter and purpose of RCB is to enjoy riding, not
to prove organizational skills or flog its members' time and energy. And if we are the
only club in the universe without one, as you suggest, that is sufficient reason by
itself: it would be a pathetic little universe with so little variety as to be limited to
cookie-cutter club calendars. |
|
|
|
Q: This Ted Simon thing you are
pushing looks great. I'm working this weekend and will miss it much to my regret. Are
there more events like this planned? |
|
A: At this point, I don't think we
have anything planned like the Ted Simon event (which was a fine affair, as it turned
out-- sorry you missed it). Got any ideas? |
|
|
|
Q: I am really interested in
international travel, adventures by motorcycle...long trips etc. Are there any others in
the club that have that interest? Any trips planned? |
|
A: There are folks in the club who've
ridden in Mexico, Central America, New Zealand, and Europe; but there is no upcoming gig
actively in discussion at the moment. Some members have gobs of experience riding abroad,
thanks to military duty. Dozens of us will be going to Missoula this July for the National
Rally; that could be a jumping-off point for a thousand adventures anywhere in North
America, possibly with RCB members, possibly with others. Getting there from here ain't
too shabby, either. |
|
If I had to cook down this whole
response to one sentence, it would be as follows: Get involved with the club (any club) at
least enough to talk to a bunch of members about their experiences. Sounds like you need
to get out more and talk to more people with less attitude. |
|
See you around, buddy. |
|
The PhanFAQ |
|
One of these days I might be in your town ... |
|
|
|
