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melancholic

10K views 34 replies 7 participants last post by  hell_devil 
#1 ·
Here i am sitting at my PC at 2.05 am on a saturday night looking over my shoulder at the years gone by.

Where are the days of racking up a few 100 posts in only a few hours, where is the late night (for me) chat gone to where we would sit and chatter away for hours laughing and joking and sometimes when needed, being serious and being there for eachother to share a tear and offering a shoulder to cry on.

I think we all had our share of laughs on this board like with the ducati-honda GIF.-wars back in 2001, the banter between the GRG and the spider monkeys etc etc

We all got our load of information and help from eachother in the manufaturer boards and sometimes invaded another brands section to trow arround poo eeeer i mean playfull and never purpously hurtfull banter.

We had laughs about some of the stupid things we did and we had sad moments when some of our group (forum members) past away , sportbikegirl77, purplefeet, cinmike, i never had the honor and chance to meet them but still through the posts, laughs and storry's we shared here you had the feeling you knew them and it hurted when we heard the news about their passing and yes i am not afraid to admit i shed real tears on this side of the monitor when i read the posts about their passing as they and many othors touched our lives as we touched the lives of many others through this comunity and damn i miss those days.


I know not many people will read this but sometimes, now less and less i come to this place and see that the last post that was made here is still the same one that was here when i visited the week before, and the week before that, and it makes me wonder if all the fun, jokes, tears and friendships that were made here were as fake as the promisses that politicians make?


Yes i know we all get older and we get other priorities in life besides motorcycles and motorcycle forums but am i the only one that thinks back and still frequently checks up on this board in the hope to see the old names pop up just to know everyone is still alive and doing well.


I truely hope everyone is doing well in life and wish each and everyone, even those i didnt see eye to eye with all the best and hope your days might be filled with happyness and joy and you may be spared from pain and missery.


Take care everyone ill check in later and hope to see some old names posting again, but i fear my hope is in vain :crazy


Kind regards

hell_devil AKA hell_and_devil aka Hans









Ps: if someone should care and wonder

No i am not depressed but i just turned 39 last saturday and am just wondering where the years have gone. I look back an see that most likely more then half my life has gone by and i wonder did i waste those years??

DAMN I FEEL OLD TODAY
 
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#2 ·
am i the only one that thinks back and still frequently checks up on this board in the hope to see the old names pop up just to know everyone is still alive and doing well
Yes. :wink

Just FYI, I'm another decade further up the road from you--and currently dealing with a little suspension damage--and don't feel particularly old, so I wouldn't sweat 39 so much. In my book, while one can certainly/always learn from the past, dwelling on it is about the one wasteful thing there is about it. What's done is done; however, what's next is wide open--that's where the fun comes in. :waytogo

Besides, no matter what happens, around here, you'll always have Zoey. :wink
 
#3 ·
I feel like one of the last Mahican's around here.

Thoughtful and touching post you wrote HD. You weren't the only one who shed a tear when the news of "family" members passed. I too never met them, but felt as if I knew them intimately.

It is hard not to dwell on the glory days, but it is what it is. Like South said, you'll always have me (Aren't you so lucky):smile
 
#4 ·
I can't remember the last time I posted, it has been awhile for sure. I still have eSportbike saved in my daily favorites folder so I do at least peruse the (lack of) posts from the main page feed.

My motorcycles have taken a backseat but I haven't shelved them completely. I actually worked on the Ducati a little bit this weekend and will probably turn my attention back to the Kawasaki in earnest to get it 100%. A great little machine that doesn't deserve to sit. I may have lightly fractured my wrist on my latest work trip adventures (sprained at the least, really tender when bearing weight) so I may be relegated to wrenching on the Kawasaki (a good thing).

I was just talking about Purplefeet the other day. I also found a spare decal from when they made the rounds via mail shortly after her passing. Mike and Cindy are thought of each time I even think about the bikes.

Good to see you all around still. South...are you 100% yet or "close enough"? Zoey, how goes that project car? ;) Hans...still doing the cabbie thing? Do they have rat cabs? LOL
 
#5 ·
Good to see you all around still. South...are you 100% yet or "close enough"?
Well, that depends--how big of a curve are we grading on? :smirk

Hey, Duc--my apologies for not responding to your last post in my crash thread in a timely manner; I updated it a bit ago, and/but as a brief update to the update: I have managed to get back on two (internal combustion engine powered) wheels--initially on my recently acquired Honda Elite 150D scooter and then on the little 250 Ninja. The hip is fine for the scooter; not so much for the bike quite yet, but I did/do it anyway :smirk. I'm eyeing the Buell ('00 Cyclone) for my next outing; I think the ergos may be a little more hip-friendly--some bikes in the stable are presently just out of the question.

As for the non-hip (I was tempted to go for "un-hip" there :smile) aspects of riding, from the very outset, it felt like I'd never been off the bike, like I'd just been riding the day before, rather than more than a year ago. It's actually rather entertaining to observe the (mental and physical) "muscle memory" that comes into play, and how much of a sense of getting back to being one's (full) self that engenders--even just getting geared up: boots, gloves, jacket, helmet dusted off after sitting a full year plus, yet all donned/zipped/buckled/strapped without a conscious thought, except afterwards, when the reflective memory comes back, "Oh yeah...this is what I do..." :smile

Anyway, I don't want all this positivity jacking up HD's "melancoly" thread :wink, so, the upshot is, still a considerable ways to go, but I'm chipping away at it as best/fast as I can.
 
#6 ·
Curve? Eh...not worried about pin point accuracy...collateral damage is acceptable. ;)

Good to hear you are slowly working your way back into the fold. A race tuck will come in due time and there is nothing wrong with sticking to the scooter until that time. Are you going hi-viz to avoid a repeat occurrence? :tongue

 
#7 ·
Not that I'm so inclined, but hi-viz doesn't help when they don't even look in the first place :smirk. So, no hi-viz; my Vanson Challenger came through with only a few minor scuffs, which Vanson cleaned up a bit, so that's back in the wardrobe along with my other gear, plus a brand new "replacement" Vanson Challenger jacket (Vanson couldn't restore the original Challenger to "like new" condition as per my request/our agreement, and instead suggested I live with the touched-up scuffs, since, they claimed, a lot of customers like crash rash/scuffs as some sort of momento/badge of honor. Once I explained that I've got enough scars of my own to serve as "souvenirs", and what I wanted is an undamaged jacket, they were great: returned my touched-up original, and credited the repair costs towards the new replacement.)

As for getting back on motorcycles, it's really somewhat ironic: while I'm OK while actually doing it, sitting in a car seat for even a few minutes causes me significant discomfort once I get out of the car; however, sitting on a bicycle or motorcycle doesn't trouble me at all--so the irony is, the injuries suffered while riding a motorcycle have rendered me (at present) better suited to motorcycle travel than conveyance by (ostensibly safer) car :smirk.

And, to your comment about race tucks, I have a strong suspicion that the best ergos for my present condition may actually be the 600RR--I'm virtually convinced the riding position would be the most hip-friendly, I'm just not sure I can (repeatedly/easily) get my foot off the ground and onto the high-*ss footpeg, and I don't care to risk (just yet) the bodywork to find out. :smirk

As for the scooter, I just happened into the thing; my GF has the same one, so I went to look at this one on Craigslist (low mile (6K) and clean, but not running) as a cheap ($200) source of spare parts--especially nice original bodywork. Short story shorter: the thing was just too nice for a "parts bike", only took a few minutes to fix the clogged/stuck petcock to get it running, so I decided to keep it. It's a scooter, so it's fun and convenient; it's a (Honda) liquid cooled 150cc, so it's fast (65 mph) enough to get around anywhere in town; and it doesn't bother my hip, so all that together makes it a great alternative to running errands in the car. Plus, now there's the his-and-hers thing for joint rides, etc. :smirk

That said, it ain't the same as a motorcycle, so I most certainly will be trying out the Buell--if not the CBR or replacement VFR--here in the next week or so; temps in the low 80s, just some rains passing through.
 
#8 ·
Zoey, how goes that project car?
Meh....It's been stalled for a few months, and I feel bad for both me and my blog readers. Working on it is akin to banging my head on the garage floor, and I'm finding it really hard to muster up the motivation to get back at it. Thanks for asking though!

How's the family doing, John?
 
#9 ·
Call up Keith Code and get some of those outriggers for the 600RR, just in case. ;)

I never saw you in the hi-viz crowd but it's an interesting visual nonetheless. Our drivers are getting worse and worse every year. My niece just got her learner's permit and I've been asked to take her out on the road. My curriculum is going to revolve around the "don't be that asshole" mantra. ;)

You did good to find that replacement VFR. Was glad to see that happen.

Zoey, I here you on stalled projects. The 6R needs attention badly at home, hopefully this weekend. Kids are turning 12 and 9 this (late) summer. Time flies!
 
#10 ·
Zoey, speaking as someone with an absurd number of pending projects, I think the answer to your situation is that you need more projects :smirk. I find that one reaches a tipping point--a "sink or swim" moment--when the utter conviction sets in that *some* kind of progress *somewhere* has to be made, and once things start rolling, it just picks up speed from there. Or, you can just say screw it, and go take a dive trip somewhere fun. :smile

Duc--fortunately, my regular bicycling rehab has reacquainted me with the idiots of the road :smirk. Even though the majority of my pedalling is done on paved bike trails (converted from disused rail tracks), I've found contending with road traffic to be even more fraught on a bicycle than on a motorcycle, so getting back on a motorcycle will actually be an improvement in that area. :smirk

And, yes, while I do miss the yellow, the replacement VFR--at roughly half the miles and 2/3rds the payout for the totalled one--worked out well. I've actually just started--in and amongst a number of other projects, of course :smirk--the process of kitting up the replacement with all the mods/upgrades (I removed) from the "original"--plus a few further goodies I justified via the (positive) price difference between payout on the original and purchase price of the replacement. And because I wanted to. :smile
 
#12 ·
I think the answer to your situation is that you need more projects
Oh, I've got a ton of projects. It's finding the motivation to do said projects that's the problem.

A few weeks ago I was diving in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Notably, I dove the Lembeh Straights. Excellent weather, wonderful people, gorgeous topography, and killer muck diving. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Also spent some time in Singapore. I have never, ever seen such a clean city in my entire life. I guess there are significant punishments dolled out if you litter, and I *think* the same can be said for breaking the law. Singapore is all about entertainment. The airport is out of this world! It's not just a place to catch a flight or transfer, it's like a destination in itself. They had things like (all free): calf massages, movie theater, botanical and butterfly gardens... Tons and tons of shopping, reasonably priced on-site hotel rooms, and the food there didn't cost an arm and a leg like every other airport I've been to (a fiver will get you a full meal).

Took 30 hours to get there, and 58.5 hours to get home.
 
#14 ·
I think the punishment for littering (and all other civil infractions) in Singapore is caning: a practice I find less and less objectionable as I move ever further into the "hey you kids, get off my lawn!" phase of my life :smirk--and now I can even supply the cane. :smirk

I don't see diving anytime soon, but once the water temps move closer to the "bathtub" range, I really should make time to get out to the beach for some water rehab (I don't do pools).

Duc--I'm going to have to alter/dress up the stock red bodywork on the VFR a tad; my brother eschewed the yellow '00 models and bought a (red) '01 to avoid a case of a "his-and-his"/nonfamilial "bros" type situation with my (custom yellow painted) '01, so now that we're in that boat with my red '98, I'm going to have to add some custom graphics or something. :smile
 
#16 ·
Yep John, all dive trips. Why else would you go on holiday?:smile

On the way home we flew from Manado Indonesia to Singapore, where we had a 16 hour layover. We arrived late, so we didn't get to putz around as much as we would have liked. From there, we flew to Tokyo (no layover), then to Los Angeles, and finally home. Took like 58.5 hours door to door.

Whatever the punishments in Singapore are, they work, and I wouldn't object to adopting some of them Stateside.

 
#17 · (Edited)
I know you have more than that...do we need to create...ANOTHER THREAD!? :shock

I find myself on vacation once a year, we never travel too far from home, but work sends me out enough where I try to find something fun to do. Was in Maui a few weeks ago and got a nice hike in along with a good trip up to the top of the Volcano (10,023'). :wtg





Hans threw this party, where'd he go?

Hans >>> :hide
 
#18 ·
Whoah there, John. Just hang on a doggone minute! :shocked Now, don't go all talking crazy like that. I know you are excited that there has been more than zero replies to threads lately, but that's no reason to go jumping straight into the deep end.

Baby steps before we start another thread, John. Baby steps...

Man, you haven't aged a bit. Aside from rocking a beard, you look exactly as you did when I first started lurking around here.

Really nice photos, especially the panoramics. Were you sent there "for work" (emphasizing the air quotes)?

Here's a photo I took whilst in Singapore. Almost looks CGI doesn't it?
 
#22 ·
And how many fries will it earn. ;)

South...no doubt! :lol

Zoey, that looks straight up like something from my PS4. Very cool!

The trips are for work and I find ways to squeeze in some fun where I can. In January I was up in the hills of Oahu looking at a WWII pillbox, later standing under a Banyan tree alone at night in a creepy expanse of forest by the ocean, followed by walking around San Francisco a week later with people everywhere. :smirk

Next trip will be Hollywood in mid May. I'll make sure to put up a daily Spiderman shot for you. The bigger the bulge the better right? ;) :crackup
 
#25 ·
I never understood the mentality of those who have an aversion to exploring. It's like the people who go to stay at an all-inclusive resort in a foreign country, but never leave the front gate.

It's a big beautiful world out there with plenty to see and experience, but for whatever reason, Americans on the whole just don't partake.
 
#30 ·
NFLPA. ;) We are the union that represents/defends the players and their rights; we also have a for-profit arm which handles the licensing and revenue based side (think Madden, toys, apparel, etc.). Based in DC (close enough, but far enough, from the NFL in NYC). 15 years come October.
 
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