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Motorcycle Quotes / Wise Words to Pass On

SlowNsteady

SlowNsteady

New member
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Location
Hayward, CA
Moto(s)
2018 CB1000R
Name
Mike
Hi Barfers,

In light of all the recent RIP threads and a large portion of the community aging as a whole, I thought it would be good for everyone to post motorcycle specific quotes, one liners, or life lessons learned from fellow motorcyclists over the years.

When I started riding, BARF was an invaluable resource when it came to wrenching, track days, travel tips, etc. Help make it a little richer by imparting your best motorcycle wisdom on the community.

Mine is from a close friend who would always push me to buy the best and skip the "deals" of the used motorcycle market. His words to me were, "Lo barato te sale caro." Or in English, "What is cheap, is expensive."

My favorite motorcycle quote from the outside world is: "Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive." -Robert M Pirsig

I look forward to what you all have to share.
 
"When you begin motorcycling, you start with a full bag of luck, and an empty bag of skills. Your job is to fill up the bag of skills before the bag of luck runs out." -Unknown
 
Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to ride a motorcycle and he'll ride 200 mi for fish and chips.
 
When in doubt lean it more. (refering to going to fast in a corner)


cheez said:
"When you begin motorcycling, you start with a full bag of luck, and an empty bag of skills. Your job is to fill up the bag of skills before the bag of luck runs out." -Unknown
Click to expand...

That is a good one. :thumbup


dravnx said:
Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to ride a motorcycle and he'll ride 200 mi for fish and chips.
Click to expand...

:laughing
 
Sweat washes off; road rash doesn’t.

The worst day on a motorcycle is better than the best day on Muni. (Too SF-specific?)
 
“Slow is fast”. I’ve tried to teach my boys this approach - smooth, controlled inputs as opposed to jerky, panicked ones are a good idea in a LOT of situations. Basically remaining calm and focused when things go sideways will help FAR more than target fixation or scrambling.
 
Not from motorcycling, but from auto racing, and it applies very well to motorcycling. A reporter interviewing Stirling Moss (look him up) asked him why he didn't late brake like many of his competitors. The response, "Better to go in slow and come out fast than to go in fast and come out dead."
 
All those fuckers out there, they are all trying to kill you. Pay attention. Anticipate.

Live to ride another day
 
Mr. Brown, my college welding instructor when evaluating our practice welds would often respond with the following question... "if that weld was on a motorcycle, would you ride the motorcycle as fast as it would go?". I can now positively say that I would... and I have!
 
Ride like your invisible to 90 percent of the people in cars. The other 10 percent is actually trying to kill youi.
 
Keep your feet on the pegs and the throttle is your friend.

Hunter S. Thompson said it best. "Love is the feeling you get when you like something as much as your motorcycle."
 
flying_hun said:
Not from motorcycling, but from auto racing, and it applies very well to motorcycling. A reporter interviewing Stirling Moss (look him up) asked him why he didn't late brake like many of his competitors. The response, "Better to go in slow and come out fast than to go in fast and come out dead."
Click to expand...

So true, and yet, I find it pretty frustrating when following a total Point 'n Shoot guy, especially if he's on like a Hayabusa -- you aren't going to get around him without taking chances -- which is what Stirling Moss (yes, I remember him) meant. I believe that was Kenny Roberts style initially as well.

So yes, ride to live another day, but, Sterling Moss and KR had a really different idea of "go in slow" I think. No... I know. :laughing
 
Look at where you want to go, not at what you want to avoid.

For slow speed tight maneuvers:

-Head and eyes (look where you want to go)
-Front wheel placement (use all your real estate)
-Stay in the friction zone, 5-8 MPH
-Lock bars (or close to lock), lean
-Counter balance on the high side
-A tap on the rear brake can help stabilize

Practicing the above techniques will allow one to make U-turns with ease from a left turn lane into the adjacent # 1 lane in the opposite direction without duck walking or running wide into the # 2 lane, shoulder, or even off road.
 
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Notice the barbed wire on all these bitchin' twisty back roads...
 
I've always liked this one

There are three kinds of riders.
1 Those that have gone down
2. Those that are going down..
3. Those that are going down... AGAIN

Mad
 
1. Read "The Pace"

2. Ride like the following axioms are simultaneously true at all times:
  • Everyone on the road is actively trying to kill you
  • You are completely invisible and nobody knows you exist
 
You can be right, but still be dead.
 
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