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Old 04-09-2015, 01:44 AM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,157,064 times
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In a nutshell I am a 67 year old man (on portable oxygen) health is not bad. I currently own a 2013 Ford Focus Titanium and am very happy with it.

My son-in-law is in the Navy stationed in San Diego along with my daughter and granddaughter.

My daughter has I believe a sport bike and my son-in-law bought a larger bike (sorry for my ignorance here).

OK, so I'm getting the itch to buy a motorcycle with the objective to drive to and from Las Vegas to San Diego and back to vegas.

The questions/concerns I have are:

~ Is what I'm thinking of doing realistic or has senility set in. I am on oxygen 24x7 And have spare batteries to last the trip.

~ What type of motorcycle would be a reasonable cost?

~ Saddlebags for the oxygen unit?

~ If I do get a motorcycle should I look up a club and ride with them to get experience?

Again, I apologize up front, this is an area I am clueless on but seems so cool....

Any links or articles you can point me towards I'll be indebted.

TIA ~peter
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Old 04-09-2015, 06:17 AM
 
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Gut reaction? Bad idea simply because you're on oxygen. It's not the fact that you need/use it, but that you will be tethered to something... even if it is a lightweight tube. I'm not sure how you'd use it while wearing a helmet (it's worth understanding that the Majority of crashes have the chin hitting the ground, so you'd be Very foolish to us anything less than a full-face helmet). I just shudder at the thought of the worst happening and your head being tethered to the motorcycle.

That said, you are the only one who can assess the risks and decide. Your best ways to mitigate the risks are to take a riding course (MSF or Harley Davidson RidersEdge), wear heat to toes riding gear, choose a motorcycle that's best suited to your fledgling skills (lightweight, on the lower end of the power range), and then lots of practice.

Personally, there is *nothing* worse that droning along on a highway/freeway with a motorcycle. It's so bad, I simply won't do it anymore. While 350-ish miles isn't terrible for an Experienced ride, that's most likely more than a newbie rider would be able to do comfortably, safely and within a single day. For reference, 400 miles days are grueling to me, and I've been doing this for ~25 years (but, again, I refuse to ride on freeways and avoid main highways).

If you really want to ride a motorcycle, I'd suggest starting off with something that's Best suited to riding around in town when you run errands. I think you'll quickly learn that you opt for the car because it's just so much faster/easier. I may be wrong though, everyone has different motivations... I know not many people have gone motorcycle-only, yet I did it for 8 years including 3 major moves (DC -> Phoenix -> Atlanta), not something I'd recommend, but obviously I had my motivations.
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Old 04-09-2015, 09:44 AM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,157,064 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian_M View Post
Gut reaction? Bad idea simply because you're on oxygen. It's not the fact that you need/use it, but that you will be tethered to something... even if it is a lightweight tube. I'm not sure how you'd use it while wearing a helmet (it's worth understanding that the Majority of crashes have the chin hitting the ground, so you'd be Very foolish to us anything less than a full-face helmet). I just shudder at the thought of the worst happening and your head being tethered to the motorcycle.
Thanks, this is something that never crossed my mind. I get mad enough around the house when I get yanked back because of my tubing...
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Old 04-09-2015, 10:09 AM
 
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gut reaction is if you haven't been into riding a motorcycle up until now, you need some practical riding experience and training before setting out on a longer freeway-speed ride for most of a day with a goal of get-there-itis. (I've driven San Diego - Las Vegas many times over the last 50 years, and it's a tedious drive at best even with the freeway system compared to the roads of years ago)

before buying any motorcycle, you might want to go through an MSF Rider Education course. You'll typically do this on a small displacement motorcycle to learn the basics of operation, handling, and safe riding concepts.

After a successful completion of the rider course, and if you're still interested in motorcycling ... then consider a middleweight bike. As Brian M suggests, get used to riding that and using it for real world commuting & errands. Get out in traffic and see if this becomes acceptable to you. If you aren't comfortable with Las Vegas local traffic, then you'll not be a good candidate for longer distance commuting. I'd try to get at least several thousand miles of local use, and some local day trips to places of interest around the region where you're on the bike at least 8-10 hours of actual riding per day. Again, you've got to be comfortable doing this, mentally and physically. You'll get to work out the logistics of your oxy equipment ... how you'll carry it on the bike, how you'll manage using it and wearing the helmet.

"club rides" can vary greatly in the intent and riding styles of a given group. The only way you'll know if it's a pleasant experience for you is to ride with them and find compatible riders. There's more to it than simply putting on miles and stopping at places, there's the rider dynamics in play. Some folk will fall into line with your abilities/style/skills and earn your trust as to their riding style, placement in the road, when/how they pass traffic, when they've had enough for awhile and it's time to take a break, etc. Some folk will simply want to grind out as many miles as quickly as they possibly can and may make choices on the road which aren't within your skill or comfort level. What you can and will do in your beginning riding compared to developed skillset later on may vary by quite a bit. It may work out that you'll find a group at the outset that will support you very well and yield great times ... or maybe not.

I've known a couple of riders with oxy gear. Some worked it out with saddlebags and a full face helmet that had the lower front "flip" portion so they could get set up and then put the lower front helmet into position. For them, it didn't seem to be a problem. One fellow gave up on two-wheel bikes and went over to a Can-Am three-wheeler ... but these strike me as being more like riding an ATV all day than a motorcycle. Still, there were advantages for him and the convenience of the three-wheeler luggage and riding positions.

If you really get bitten by the motorcycling "bug" and all seems comfortable for you, then it might be time to look for a larger displacement touring bike. Many to choose from from a lot of good manufacturers, you need to sit on them, test ride them ... get familiar with the ergonomics and the heavier weight along with the increased performance.

Do not expect that the bike will deliver full-time pleasant riding, especially in inclement conditions or on windy/gusty days.
There are times it may become a chore to complete your trip, and considering a motel stay to wait for better conditions may be advisable. Overall, you'll likely not save any money over your car for this San Diego trip you're planning. The real value will be in your enjoyment of the ride. If you do find it enjoyable, so be it and good for you. Otherwise, it may not be a good choice ... even if your possible intent is to do some riding with your Daughter/SIL while in San Diego, you've got to be prepared and looking forward to the riding or it's not gonna' work out.

Late model used bikes suitable for your initial purposes will typically cost several thousand dollars to 5-figures. Go for the newest late model middleweight bike you can afford and you'll have something to learn on, get comfortable with, and retain value for a trade-in if you keep in maintained and looking nice; perhaps a few thou at a dealer. Likely best for you as a newbie to get a relationship going with a dealer to support you rather than trying to by a bike from a private party. If you reach the touring bike stage of your riding, then you'll realistically spend mid 4-figures to low 5-figures for a decent bike with a good service life ahead for your needs. There are, of course, far more expensive bikes ... especially if you want to buy new with a warranty.

Don't forget that you'll need to spend a good chunk of money on appropriate safety riding apparel. Clothing, gloves, footwear, and helmet are all important and not inexpensive for good stuff ... it's all part of the overall expense. You cannot just look only at a possible mid-50 mpg ride cost as the main expense for your cycling habit.

PS: for us older riders, the limitations of aging reflexes, joints & muscles, vision, cognitive skills ... can all come in to play. From a practical standpoint, it's unlikely that you'll be able to ride for a lot of hours each day with the awareness and physical abilities at their peaks that enable your optimal motorcycling skills/safety. Consider that you're probably not able to drive for as many hours per day as you did years ago. Keep in mind that a distance motorcycle ride, even on a comfortable touring bike ... will be more fatiguing than driving a car and you need to be assertive and vigilant in your riding all the time you're on that bike compared to being in the safety-engineered cage. Yes, there are some older riders who can still put in high mileage "iron butt" days ... but most of them didn't start riding recently, either.

Last edited by sunsprit; 04-09-2015 at 10:56 AM..
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Old 04-09-2015, 11:50 PM
 
Location: Spots Wyoming
18,700 posts, read 41,965,616 times
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Two things.

1) Have you considered something like a Can Am spider?

2) With a full faced helmet, instead of looping your ears, can you simply tuck you O tube into each side so that if you unintentionnally exit the bike, it just yanks the tubing straight out the front?
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:42 PM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,157,064 times
Reputation: 7693
Thanks for the responses, I also asked family members about this and they were a lot harsher in their criticism of my idea than ya'll...

Like: "you're nuts" -- "you're retarded" -- "Insanely retarded idea" -- "What kind of hallucinogenic drugs are u taking?" And the kindest from my brother "You could no more handle a motorcycle than I could fly the Dreamliner"

The suggestion(s) about me finding the MSF Rider Education course, I'll take ya'll up on that...

I see that here in Las Vegas Harley has a beginners course, will check it out. And the full face helmet, good one, didn't think about that either

Thanks again

~peter
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