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I remember taking lessons but we never did this. Our instructors would have frowned on the lack of protective equipment. A
helmet alone is not enough but this looks like a lot of fun if you're good and provided you don't wipe out.
The bike I owned was an on-off road bike, a single cylinder 500cc compression release dual purpose Yamaha XT500. It was a lot of fun riding and way better on gas than a car. I owned this bike from the mid-1980s until the early 90s. It was third-hand and had some issues when I first bought it, like a leaky gasket. When it was worked on to replace the gasket, we found string wrapped around the gearshift to stem the flow of oil. That and another gasket issue had to be worked on. Later I added signal lights for on road riding.
During days off I would ride from London, Ontario where I lived at the time to places like Waterloo and Barrie and back, all in one day. One trip with a friend took us up to Georgian Bay, up into the Bruce Peninsula and then back to London over a couple of days. I could do the London to Waterloo trip on 5 dollars of a gas at the time. You couldn't do that with a car and still can't. Just starting the car and pulling out of the driveway would cost you as much.
I even rode late in the year but getting on it after being parked all day in a frozen parking lot was like sitting on a block of ice. The leather-covered foam seat was hard as ice and just as cold too but warmed up soon enough. The brake and clutch had to thaw out too. The warmth of the engine soon took care of that. At work I would put the bike in a heated building and so the seat was real comfortable going home in the morning. In such cold conditions don't forget to lower your visor after stopping at a light. I learned the hard way after forgetting to lower it and the condensation was frozen in place. I had to ride the remaining mile or so home with the visor up (couldn't see otherwise!) and the ice cold air streaming across my face. As long as there wasn't too much snow on the road, I kept riding late into the season. An accumulation of snow and ice on the road brought an end to riding for the year. The latest I rode was into December but that was a rather short, mild winter. The usual was into October before the season ended. It was fun and I may even get another one.
I hope you had an awesome weekend, guys!!! - V
Back in the 1980s I used to have a motorbike, a Yamaha XT500, a single cylinder engine with a compression release. I was in my 30s by that point and even remember in the beginning getting so frustrated with the thing in trying to get it started that one day in the north end of town I gunned it and did a wheelie down the road for a stretch. A guy walking toward me on the sidewalk thought it was hilarious! I haven't done one before or since, but then, I no longer have a bike!
This is a photo of me taken in the mid-1980s when I was in my early 30s age-wise. By the time I sold the house in 2005 the Hoopsi Blue Spruce in the background was considerably taller and wider but at the time this was taken the home belonged to my parents. The bike shown is a Yamaha XT500 single cylinder, dual purpose bike with a compression release. I went on bike rides of a hundred or more miles on about 5 dollars of gas at the time. You couldn't get very far with a car on that then and still can't now. Then there is the freedom but that's another story. I especially posted this for Brad to see. Enjoy the photo, guys! - V
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Just to continue on from the previous post, if I were to ride nude or even half-naked on a motorbike, I'd choose a stretch of land that has lots of sand, like a beach or sand dunes. There are places that have miles and miles of sand. I can think of a few! Wiping out on gravel isn't a pretty sight. I've done that wearing a t-shirt and shorts on a bicycle and had to clean myself up after wiping out! I did ride my motorbike on gravel years ago, when taking a country road east of London that turned to gravel. Its definitely a different feel than riding with four wheels. Anyway, enjoy what's left of summer and be safe!!! - V
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I remember taking lessons but we never did this. Our instructors would have frowned on the lack of protective equipment. A helmet alone is not enough but this looks like a lot of fun if you're good and provided you don't wipe out. 
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