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New member, but some of you know me

5K views 36 replies 10 participants last post by  jjscsix 
#1 ·
Some remember me from the other forum. I had a 2011 Ninja 1000 for three years. The 2020 upgrades have me interested in another one. That conversation will continue in other threads.

For those that don't know me, I started riding in 1971, roadraced a few years in the early 80s. I'm into fast cars and motorcycles. Was into fast boats for a while until I realized I wasn't as rich as I acted.

Just turned 67 and cannot get past step one of the twelve step program. I don't think I have a problem with speed. I'm in denial! I retired the end of last year and am trying to prove everyone wrong who said "you can't ride every day". I think I'm at about 33,000 miles combined on the three bikes since the beginning of this year.
 
#2 ·
It made my day to see your name here. I'm glad you found the place! A few of us followed Jay here after rider forum banned him. This place took off, after that, and I cant even think of the last time I visited .

I also believe you covered at least 30k in all those years between 2011 and now....it wasnt as if this year was unique.
 
#3 ·
Good to see you too Roland. It took me a while to figure out what happened. The other forum suffered a slow, painful death!

Actually I was 20-22,000 miles the past few years. The other fun statistic is that I have never put less than 15,000 a year on a daily driver car. I can look it up, but think I'm around 4,000 miles on my car this year. I've gone entire calendar months without putting gas in it. And as you know, I'm a huge car lover too!
 
#4 ·
Welcome, nice to hear. What cars are in your garage currently?
 
#8 ·
Well, I have a nice car, but not terribly fun. I have a 2017 BMW540 M-Sport. It was/is more of just my commuter car. I sold my last fun car, a 2009 Z06 seven years ago because it was sitting in the garage most of the time while I was out riding.

I'm anxious to hear about the current motorcycle collection. Jim traded bikes like we trade shoes. That's not really true, though. Although the "time" portion might only be 1 year, the mile figures were always way up there. Last bikes I remember were the 2012 Panigale and the BMW 1600. The ninja was replaced with the s1000r.

Jay got into a harmless, verbal battle with "Victhing". I'm sure you remember him? I sent several pm's to the forum owners asking that they please not ban Jay. He was going through a lot and this rider forum ban would add to his misery....please dont, I pleaded. They had to be tough guys. Jay was banned, and was dead about 7 days later.

You wouldn't think banning one person would shut down a forum, but in this case, it did, This forum is great because I dont believe we have a moderator. We can have an argument, and be friends again three days later.
Roland, you are of course right. I had two 1600s that I put a total of 60,000 miles on. The day after I retired the end of last year I traded for a 2017 (leftover) FJR ES. I know I’m going to rack up a lot of miles on it so I went back to Japanese reliability. I had a 2006 FJR and I always loved them anyway.

Two years ago I traded the S1000R for a Superduke GT. I liked the idea of the performance but with saddlebags and general touring comfort to use it for 3-4 day trips to the Texas Hill country.

While I love the Superduke, I may trade it for the new Ninja 1000 for the same reason I bought the FJR. The Ninja is a pretty much bulletproof bike that I can rack up a lot of miles on. And it now has features that have come to be “must haves” for me.

The Panigale May go to my grave with me when I’m 100 years old. At this point it’s not worth much on a trade and I love the bike. Since I retired it’s not unusual for me to ride it a couple of times a week.
 

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#5 ·
Glad you found your way here. This is like the old Ninja forum was in it's early days. Looking forward to your insight from from a speedster's perspective.
 
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#6 ·
Welcome and congratulations on your retirement!! It's great to wake each day and spend it as you choose.
 
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#7 ·
I'm anxious to hear about the current motorcycle collection. Jim traded bikes like we trade shoes. That's not really true, though. Although the "time" portion might only be 1 year, the mile figures were always way up there. Last bikes I remember were the 2012 Panigale and the BMW 1600. The ninja was replaced with the s1000r.

Jay got into a harmless, verbal battle with "Victhing". I'm sure you remember him? I sent several pm's to the forum owners asking that they please not ban Jay. He was going through a lot and this rider forum ban would add to his misery....please dont, I pleaded. They had to be tough guys. Jay was banned, and was dead about 7 days later.

You wouldn't think banning one person would shut down a forum, but in this case, it did, This forum is great because I dont believe we have a moderator. We can have an argument, and be friends again three days later.
 
#10 ·
The superduke.....thats right. You traded the first 1600 because the later bikes had a better transmission.

So, if we go back to the Superduke, the only part we all questioned was its reliability. Anyway, how was yours? Any problems with it?

Rock made a similar switch, back in 2017. He had the s1000r, s1000xr, and the superduke, oh, and a 1200rs. Although he never liked any of them, and I dont mean to speak for him, but he ended up back on a Ninja. Not because it was better...well, it became better once reliability was factored in.

Im at the same point with my c14 and my Ninja. Money wise, I couldn't trade both in and leave on a Ninja 650 and not owe money.

Just as you sold your Ninja, Ivan released the "E6" flash for the 11-13. Its probably at least 10x better than what we had with the butterflies removed and the power commander flash. Did you ever get to try that exact flash? That stopped any and all thoughts about selling or trading mine. About the time I was done with my c14, he released a flash for that. The c14 flash is even better than the ninja flash, so there goes the idea of selling it.
 
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#14 · (Edited)
My Superduke, which now has somewhere around 24,000 miles on it has had one problem. Many times when starting it would make a screeching noise and the starter would slow down and sometimes even stop. I always got it started in one two tries and it was an intermittent problem.

They just recently dug into it and first replaced the starter (per KTMs instructions). That did not fix it. They then replaced the starter “torque limiter”, I think some call it a spague clutch. That is what I suspected based upon what I had read. But when he put it back together he discovered that there were two washers (spacer?) on the shaft where there should have only been one. He contacted KTM who confirmed it should not have had two. So He put it back together with just the one. I’ve ridden over 1000 miles now and it appears fixed, which I feel certain it is.

I’ve never had a vehicle that was perfect, and never will. I’m very picky. But I love the bike. Ride-ability below 4,000 is not great. A big high performance twin usually isn’t. That is my biggest complaint. The fix is obviously to ride in a low enough gear to stay above 4000 rpm. The bike is fast, has enormous mid range torque and handles welll. It is also loaded with features which I like. I had to put a Sargent seat on it, but that has become the norm for me on any bike.

When I traded the Ninja 1000 it was for two reasons. One is that is just what I do! Second is that I wanted certain features. Cruise control is now a must have. Other things like electronic suspension and tire pressure monitoring are nice to have but not required on all of my bikes. Remember too that my Ninja was not even an ABS model, much less all the new ride modes, traction control etc.
 
#11 ·
And I just keep on ridin' the same ol' Ninjas...2011, 2014 and now a new 2018 sits in the garage waiting for my first ride...but I am still getting in 20k miles of riding a year.
 
#12 ·
You, sir, are an inspiration!!
 
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#13 ·
I’m glad to help however I can. The guy I ride with every week, year around for 14 years now, is 70. He has a Superduke R, H2 SX and FJR. He rides as hard as I do. He also just ordered a 617 HP BMW M8 Gran Coupe.
 
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#15 ·
Just turned 67 and cannot get past step one of the twelve step program. I don't think I have a problem with speed. I'm in denial! I retired the end of last year and am trying to prove everyone wrong who said "you can't ride every day". I think I'm at about 33,000 miles combined on the three bikes since the beginning of this year.
I must admit, now long into retirement, I look out at a cold rainy day and decide to do indoor projects. When I first retired there was a period of high mileage years and it was all fun miles. Not half of them from being a daily commuter. It's getting harder to plan the big trips since my riding buddies' health (and occasionally my own) seem to interfere somewhat. Still, retirement is great. When a day or few of nice weather pops up there's no asking for vacation, it's just go!
 
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#16 ·
Hey JJ as you know I traded my super duke GT in on a 2018 Ninja. I'm glad I did. It got rid of allot of headaches though the KTM was a bit more comfortable for me.
I guess you're all healed up by now? I just got most of my weight back and can now bench press again but it still hurts my sternum.
Glad you're well.
 
#17 ·
Wow, good to see you here! Glad you are doing well.

Yes, I’m doing great. I’m still down 25 lbs from what I had been for many years. I had my one year follow up not long ago and got perfect marks from my doctor.

For those who don’t know, I had quintuple bypass surgery in August last year.
 
#20 ·
Jim, I'm not sure I can even count to quintuple. My dad had a massive heart attack and several bypasses. He only lived another 32 years after surgery and zero of those years would have been been considered "healthy". I hope you guys the same 32 years. That's not fair for me to say. My dad did give up salting his food.....he kept up with the cigarettes and alcohol.

No h2sx? If I sold Kawasakis, I believe I would have driven one of those to your house for a test drive.
 
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#25 ·
No, no H2SX I have ridden my friends a couple of times and put around 80 miles on it. Nice bike. He is actually considering trading it for a Ninja 1000. He just likes lighter bikes. I've actually thought seriously about buying his. I doubt if I will, but never say never.
 
#21 ·
I am so gob smacked by you guys. I only wish that I can be like you guys when I get to that age. Here's wishing you guys a long road ahead with more safe and enjoyable riding!! Kudos and respect.
 
#22 ·
Agru, I'm not of retirement age. My condition occured due to bad dental work if you can believe it. A botched root canal festered until it abssesed badly and I needed two dental implants smply to get the jaw bone scraped out sufficiently. That process released a mountian of bacteria that attacked the valve. The kicker was the denstist was my friend. WAS my friend. I complained for years that it hurt to eat on that side and that there must have been some problem with the tooth he capped. He said I was being a baby and never took it seriously. Shockingly enough he won't answer my calls :grin:
 
#23 ·
There's hope for us all...

I'm not surprised by folks living long and fruitful lives after bypass surgery. My father had a bypass at 60 (quintuple = 5) and then lived 29 more healthy productive years. He was a big meat eating farmer who stagnated in a factory job but didn't stop eating. After surgery he kept his weight under control and lived well, doing everything he wanted to do right until the last month of his life. He was an avid deer hunter and was in the upper peninsula woods in November with his sons as we'd done since the early 80's and passed the next March, 2010. The next November we sprinkled his ashes around his favorite hunting spot.

My best riding buddy had bypass surgery at 66. He had it in March and in June that same year we took our annual 2k mile 3 day 2 night Seattle-Jasper, AB-Waterton Parks, AB. Now he's 78 and still rides nearly every day. We usually take 4-5 days for our trips now, however.

2 years ago a lady we know told us she was totally pissed off at her father. Her Mom had passed away several years ago and he had a new girlfriend (she was nice) but he'd just upgraded to a new Harley Electra Glide because he wanted to take his new girl to Daytona week that spring. They lived in Las Vegas. A couple months later she told us he was finally back and had had a great time. She was relieved but still steamed at him because "an 84 year old man shouldn't be riding a motorcycle halfway across the country!"

I wanna go meet this guy! Instant inspiration.
 
#24 ·
Very interesting. My dad was 61 when he had quintuple bypass. He died at 90. He was active and well up until five days before he died, and it was not heart related. BTW, my mom is 94, still living by herself in their house on a golf course, still reads three books a week, still drives and just took a week cruise with the family (as we do every year). She even went on the bumper cars with us on the cruise. We (me and my siblings) tried to protect her, but she said she got "hit" three times. She took it all in stride as she does everything.

My mom and dad lived by the adage - keep doing what you have always done - hopefully that means stay active.
 
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#27 ·
I'm about 15+ years away from retirement. I'm pretty healthy right now and can ride just about anything. But I'll be honest, I dread getting near retirement age thinking I'll be "old" and won't be able to do all the things I can do today. Like ride and have sex like rabbits. God forbid I lose my hairline! Then I read some of these posts and feel good that if/when I reach retirement age, I CAN still ride a sport bike! Just have to stay healthy I guess. I don't think I can sit indoors for long periods and do gardening, play golf, take long walks in the park, go fishing....so boring. I can't see myself waking up in the morning and thinking....I think I'm going to dig a hole and plant that Rose bush.
 
#28 ·
I have mentioned the one guy I ride with, but I actually have a few other friends who are retired, all in their 60's who own fast bikes and still are outstanding riders. It's not a pipe dream. Most people who grow old don't have hobbies. Those of us who do just get older.

BTW, my sex life hasn't changed at all. But I'd like to hear more about sex with rabbits :nerd:
 
#32 ·
Just noticed you made it to this forums recently as well. I've lurked here for quite a while and just recently signed on after buying a leftover '18. Did not know you had an '11 Ninja 1000, but given your current bikes, it makes perfect sense. The 2020 is indeed a significant upgrade compared to the first gen Ninja 1000. I can understand wanting a bullet-proof bike vs. the KTM. I like my 250 XCF-W. The performance is obviously above and beyond the KLX250S, which I also have, but after the fuel pump went dead on the KTM with barely any miles on it, I'm not so sure I'd ever buy another KTM ever again. As long as the performance gap isn't too wide, I'd take reliability... any day of the week. And the Ninja 1000 is no slouch compared to the Superduke GT.
 
#36 ·
Jim, you may know this already, but these next 2 weekends Kawi will have their demo tour stops in San Antonio. https://www.kawasaki.com/Experience/events so if you are looking at test riding the 2020, that'll be a perfect opportunity. I'm gonna try to make one of them. 2020 N1k is on the roster.

I went to the one at Mainland Cycle Center back in Nov, but they did not have the 2020 N1k there. I did pick up my Kawi Kash cert there, which whacked $500 off my '18. Well worth it even if you make it only for that purpose, if you are at all considering buying new.
 
#37 ·
Mainland is my dealer and I know them very well. That is where I took the pics I posted. I will be down there this week. I really don’t feel much need to ride one, and it’s very likely the guy I ride with will buy one before I do. Once his is broken in I’ll get a really good test ride on one :angel:
 
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