where is everyone

[wfrpalm]

Just thought I'd post something since there hasn't been any activity for awhile. I have a 2007 Bandit 1250S that I bought new and I think it is one of the best bikes I've ever owned.

[LowRyter]

glad you like the bike.  I'd like to ride it!

Perhaps we'd get a little more action if we combined some of the forums?

[CWO4GUNNER]

I still drive by the old Banit Alley ghost town once in a while just to see if any of the avatars have had the dust disturbed on them. Since my avatar is the same on all my BBS sites I consider myself alive and well but at-large LOL. I think the whole moto-boomer love affair is starting to finally subside as we die off, get crippled or too soft to keep up the speed-racer-easy-rider mantra. I wonder why I keep my bikes as I haven't ridden them seriously in a year. I have been riding street and dirt bikes since I was 13 and now that my joints are staring to get temperamental at age 53 and my last bike injury 3 years ago still leaves me with a fat ankle I ponder the balance between the thrill of victoriously riding with the wind in my hair or the agony of a looming crash and burn defeat finally make the decision for me. Do I keep my late model bikes that I now ride about as often as I mail holiday greening cards, letting them devalue to the point of a few hundred bucks just to say to myself "you still own them so you must be cool" or do I face facts that "the thrill is finally gone" and get some value out of them before its too late? that is the question.

I found this music video that kind of sums up how I feel after logging well over 80,000 miles on street motorcycles and 40,000 miles on dirt without a major crash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDp4kyHqbcQ

[Sven]

Over the past several years, this place has lost a lot of the camraderie it once had.  In addition to all the questions about maintenance and modifications, there used to be a lot of joking between members, ride summaries, and jokes posted.  Now it seems a lot of the posts are someone selling thier Bandit, and the occasional B1250 owner looking to join the conversation.

I don't blame anyone for these changes, but BA has become a dull place to hang out.  My best guess is that many of the long-term Bandit owners have moved on to another bike, and the Bandit brand just doens't get as much press as it once did.  The B1200S was generally reviewed in all the major mags each year, despite the bike never being all that popular in the US (like in England!).  But the 1250 version was reviewed once when it first came out, and rarely since then.

I kept my B1200S when I bought my FJR this summer.  Even though things are quiet here, I prefer the "personality" of this board over that of the FJR Forum.  Those guys discourage conversation by criticizing anyone who asks a question that has been asked before.  The tone of the conversation is "hey jerk, why haven't you read the FAQa like you agreed to do when you signed up?"  Heck, half the conversation at this type of board is going to be people raising an issue that has been raised before.  There are only so many different questions that can be raised about a specific bike, or any other physical object.  And sometimes the opinions about that topic will have changed.  Every year, I'm sure football BBS ask whether player X still has what it takes to lead his team to the playoffs and beyond...what's the harm in generating conversation?  The fact that the search function on every BBS I have been on totally sucks makes it hard to check previous dialog before asking the quesiton.  So I don't bother.  Besides, the fairing on the FJR is inscrutable, so it's hard to do minor maintenance for yourself when you can't figure what hidden screw is still holding that piece of fragile plastic on.

So I miss the old comraderie here, and I have not felt any comraderie at FJR Forum, so I end up not posting stuff at either board.

Sorry to sort of turn this into a rant about another BBS, but I guess seeing the difference in tone between one and the other makes me miss the Bandit Alley of five years ago even more.

[LowRyter]

I love riding my Bandit as well as my Moto Guzzi.....The Guzzi (Luap's) board has just one forum and that really gets the ball rolling for all kinds of yack.  Agree that Bandits haven't been in the forefront of new design; however, with limited budgets and recession, riders aren't buying new bikes.  Considering the cafe racer and street fighter craze, I'd think we can get some renewed action with guys keeping those Bandits running and mod'd.

I think we'd get more conversation going it 1) we consolidated to a single forum, 2) archive the technical info & FAQs for reference, 3) arrange a few more rides and meet-ups even if done in conjunction with other rallies or bike brands or motorcycle boards, 4) get Pete & Fast Larry out of mothballs and shake thing up.

[CWO4GUNNER]

Alright rant posters . I don't really see that much difference between this BBS and the once mega-members-only bike forums where most members joined, I mean their postings are way down as well and size wise affected just as much by the obvious overshadowing issue of a nation in serious decline. I mean who would think that the space shuttle program would be abandoned and now NASA team mission count-downs would be televised live at the Russian space agency who we now rely on, all with our leaders approval and best wishes. Yup bike forums are not the only place we are losing the thrill. Now Im beginning to truly understand why they called it the "great depression" and were not even their yet still teetering on the slippery slop.

As far as bike disappointments the Kaw Connie was suppose to be my next bike 3 years ago, a bike that will go down in history as the most popular bike with record manufacturer defects and recalls in history. You gotta hand it to Kaw they really ran an outstanding pre-production campaign, just like this last election so many still believe in spite of the failings. While the few salty, experienced, and wise can clearly see the iceberg dead ahead sounding the alarm, this time the majority of the ship's crew pretends to party on, going through the motions, and pulling down the shades.

[wfrpalm]

I see both of you guys have 1200's. I have a 1100 Katana that has a earlier version of that motor in it. It is also a nice bike but my Bandit has a more relaxed riding position.

[LowRyter]

why I am posting in OH forum when I live in OK?

[pmackie]

All Right...real, live, Bandit Banter 

Like Sven, I also tried out another forum...for the new Triumph, but similar to his experience, it's not the same as this forum has traditionally been. I've still got my B6, and I even rode it once this year, but it was suppossed to be sold...so I'm not doing anything with it really.

But, there is still lots of opportunity for ride reports, general technical data exchange, etc...but without a new Bandit, it IS hard for me to bring much relevant to the forum.

On another note...I just picked up a new "desktop replacement" lugable...A Toshiba P500, c/w I7-740QM processor, 2x500 gig hard drives, GeForce GT 330M, 4 Gig DD3, 18.4" screen.

Pretty slick for a laptop, almost silly except I use it as my primary computer at work. This will be my first Windows 7 system...so a new learning curve for MS Office.

Anybody else got something new?

[LowRyter]

new?

My B12 has 70K miles on it.\\

Going to ride it to Seaba Station tomorrow.

http://www.seabastation.com/gpage4.html

[Sven]

On another note...I just picked up a new "desktop replacement" lugable...A Toshiba P500, c/w I7-740QM processor, 2x500 gig hard drives, GeForce GT 330M, 4 Gig DD3, 18.4" screen.  Pretty slick for a laptop, almost silly except I use it as my primary computer at work. This will be my first Windows 7 system...so a new learning curve for MS Office.

Been using Office with the "ribbon" interface for two versions now.  Have yet to warm up to it...I actually like test menus, I guess.  I was one of the few who liked Win Vista, so Win 7 has not been a problem for me.  I laugh at your use of "luggable"...my home PC is an HP with a 17+" screen, and it's heavy, but it never goes anywhere.  Back in the mid-to-late 1980s, we shared deskstop computers in the office, and if you wanted to take one home to work on the weekend, you could check out a Zenith "luggable"...not a notebook or even a laptop, but a heavy thing not much smaller than the system box on a regular PC.  Can't even find a pic online!

So there...we've started a conversation, although nowhere near what this BBS is supposed to cover!

[Sven]

Going to ride it to Seaba Station tomorrow.

Seaba is a new one on me.  I am going to the Wolf Howl Preserve in Holly Springs MS for "wolf week".

[LowRyter]

Sven.....we should hook up with GT Bandit (Craig) and plan an Ark ride. 

[Sven]

Sven.....we should hook up with GT Bandit (Craig) and plan an Ark ride.

Yeah, and it's not like we will ever see winter or rain ever ever again, so we have time.  (It has not rained at my house in two months.  Not one drop.)

[LowRyter]

it might be a little late this year, perhaps next spring?

The last one was back on 05 or 06 at Bull Shoals.  That was quite a crowd.  One guy rode in from Maryland.