First Lady Member ?

[GuildGirl]

Guildgirl again

hey guys,
by the way Kiwi, my Mum made up my name after an uncle named John..
who knew?

and for those inquiring minds: I ride a BMW R-bike or a Harley Springer, another insane obsession...no Brit bikes or Italian jobs for me, too fussy and likely to break down.....

now go play yer Guild and get off the computer!!!!

 

[Guildmark]

Right on, GuildGirl!

I rode an R100RT for 10 years. One of the ways I knew I had found the right woman was that she loved to ride with me. Our first anniversary gifts to each other were matching helmets. Something changed hormonally after our second child, though, and the road starting looking much harder to her - much more intimidating and frightening and she became afraid of the kids being orphans. So, I sold it (sigh). These days, she's starting to take long glances at touring bikes that we see on the freeways, though. There's hope!

Keep the rubber side down!

Guildmark

 

[Jeff]

no Brit bikes or Italian jobs for me, too fussy and likely to break down.....

Sad but true, I cut my motorcycle teeth on a 250 Triumph Cub and rode 650 Triumphs & BSA's when my buddies could keep them running, I have a real soft spot for the classic British bikes. As I recall they were cool machines with some character & mojo, but like the Austin Healy's & MG's of the day, as much a mechanical hobby as transportation.

I have a friend, an Austin Healy buff, has a couple around all the time.
His favorite line when discussing the reliability of British (Lucas) automotive electrics Is " LUCAS, The Prince of Darkness"

There's a Norton dealer close by with an inventory of new retro styled Norton motorcycles. One of his showroom models is a 750? with a military camo paint job and a side car. Looks right out of WWII.
8)

Like Guildmark, my lady would likely tolerate a street bike again & ride with from time to time, but Guitars are much safer. Lately guitars have been just about as expensive :evil:

 

[dklsplace]

as much a mechanical hobby as transportation

Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

 

[Mr. P ~]

as much a mechanical hobby as transportation

Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The most important book I every read outside of the Bible!

 

[john_kidder]

BSA 650 Firebird Scrambler for me - bought it in boxes from a guy who'd blown the oil pump and the crank, rebuilt and then messed it up thoroughly trying to exceed any realistic expectations for a "scrambler" working fast through the open grassland and woods in the interior of BC.

Should have waited till I was older and got a gentleperson's bike like a Beemer.

And I had a '53 MG TD for a while, with, of course, Lucas electrics. They're just great here in Vancouver where it's been known to be a bit damp. Trying to crank the top-of-windscreen wiper motors by hand while steering and shifting gears, with various sorts of sort-of lights sort of flickering in the monsoon rains - now that's motoring.

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

That ain't nothin'. I once had a '64 Rambler wagon. Aluminum block.

And if that isn't bad enough, how about my '63 Valiant with three on the dash? Then I progresed to a Renault with four on the dash.

 

[Guildmark]

Fond memories of a '63 Austin-Healey "Bugeye" Sprite I bought in 1972 from a starving Cal State Fullerton student for $100. Nicknamed it the Yellow Brick Roadster. Sold it to buy my first new car - a '74 MG Midget right off the showroom floor.

Excuse me for a while. I have to go change the oil in my minivan.

Guildmark

 

[Jeff]

GuildGirl's music

I really compose a lot of my own songs and am working on jazz progressions

We seem to have lost the lady. Not surprising, seems to happen often.

I am a sap for a lady that can play & sing, maybe if we talk nice she'll tell us a bit more about her music. Jazz progressions, hmm.

Calling Ms. GuildGirl,

Do you have any of your works on the net, myspace or something??

Jeff

 

[dreadnut]

Hat, I'll take all the 63 Valiants I could get my hands on. I drove a whole succession of Valiants beginning with a 59 with a 170CI slant 6. What a car. You couldn't kill that motor or that tranny, believe me, we tried.

My blue-eyed gal & I drove a 74 Valiant from Michigan out to the West coast & back on our honeymoon. A little over 7000 miles, 3 weeks & 5 days.

We may have to make the 30th anniversary trip next year and retrace our steps. If so, we'll be hitting, among other places, Vancouver, BC, Seattle and 101 South all the way through Washington, Oregon, and Northern CA. down to Pescadero.

 

[Mr. P ~]

That slant 6 was nearly indistructable!! My cousins sure tried.

 

[coastie99]

Took a break from motor cycles in 1982 after a head-on smash that left Mrs Coastie with permanent physical and neurological injuries.
Returned in '87 on a BMW K75s - the nicest bike then in the K series.
Finally sprung for an Italian 'bike in '89: a Moto Guzzi Le Mans V. Loved it - a real challenge to ride, which, on one of your bad days, would make you look like a complete novice.
Never did own any kind of Ducati, which I'd lusted after since seeing early models in the early '70's
Sold it, and bid motorcycling adieu in '93. Always been (Virgo) over-fussy, but things were getting a little crazy in my life. Always angry, and flew into rages when my bike got dirty - had to have every square inch of it pristine.
Enter the big think, some medication and a very conscious and deeply pondered change in life's direction.
Now I live in a part of N.Z. which I know has the best m/c'ing roads in the country. I see heaps of bikes on the road, but I'm not tempted back.
But I do wish I'd kept my '77 Silver Jubilee Bonnie. Bought brand new in '78 for an outrageous sum of money, and picture-pretty. That made five bikes we had at the time. Didn't own a car 'til I was 32 (1982). and they've never really interested me as anything other than utensils.

BUT. I sure would like a pink Yank-tank with humungous tail fins, acres of chrome and white-wall tyres, that I could wobble around our fabulous West Coast roads in ! With an industrial-strength sound system pumping the blues, of course !

 

[West R Lee]

:lol: Man, Ducatis were something special. It was like they had fallen off the face of the Earth, until I went to Malaysia. Most everyone there drove the little sowing machine jobs and I did see a family of 5 on about a 90 cc number. Every now and then, you'd see these beautiful big bikes with a pretty tough sound.....Ducati.

In 1976, I bought a Kawasaki 750 Mach IV, then in 1977 a Z1 900. Most of you won't remember those, but since there are a lot a "Geezers" here, some of you may. The 750 was a 2 stroke and just too radical. That thing would gas the front end off the street in the first 3 gears. I used to rece the Z1 and once turned an 11.6 with it. Slow in todays terms, but like a damned rocket back then. I've been to the drag strip a couple of times in the last 5 or so years, and some of the Suzukis are turning 8's and low 9's. I feel very lucky to have survived all of that, and sometimes do get a hankering for a new Harley. Tough choice.....college for my son....or a Harley. Maybe in about 5 years!

West

 

[Squawk]

My first car was a '74 Dart with the upgraded V8 (getting your first car at age 24 in NYC is not unusual). The engine was too heavy for the rest of the car. My mechanic advised me to get rid of it after it shot through 2 sets of ball joints in less than 2 years.

I now proudly drive the car my younger daughter gave up when she moved to NYC - it's a '96 Corsica with leopard seat covers, punk stickers all over it, etc.

 

[coastie99]

Leopard seat covers

And fluffy dice ?

Ultimate chic ( or just plain bad-taste ) is a nodding dog on the back-shelf.

Is that a Daimler Dart you're referencing ? Probably not.

 

[coastie99]

Yeah West.

I fondly (????????) remember 'bikes with spaghetti-frames.
My recollection is that the Mach III was even more of a wild ride around corners.

 

[West R Lee]

Ah, the Mach III, the 500. I can remember when they were all the rage because they left the 750 Honda in the dust! Seems like they rode a bunch of those fine old fast bikes in a movie made by your Aussie neighbors......"Mad Max".

West

 

[coastie99]

Bloody Nora !!

Mel Gibson before he became MEL GIBSON !!

 

[West R Lee]

Yep, I think old Mel has done alright. No academy awards for best actor in that series though :shock: .

West

 

[coastie99]

I recall that there was a pretty cute little Oz-chick in that movie - that is, until she opened her gob and you got an earful of that dreadful Oz accent.

Jeez, they could drill for diamonds with it !!