Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
And a moderately fast motorcycle is still faster than a lot of fast cars.
Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
And a moderately fast motorcycle is still faster than a lot of fast cars.
Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
Enough people drive either huge trucks/SUV's and/or have their eyes constantly glued to their phone ALREADY don't see my bright red BRZ.
I can't imagine getting back on a motorcycle again. I haven't riddent since right before the first iPhone came out.
Toyman! said:I'm 56 this year. I still enjoy cars and driving them. I enjoy tinkering with them. I enjoy the howl of a v8 or the scream of a high-strung 4-cylinder. But I think I have a problem.
I am sitting trackside at CMP for the weeked and I'm not particularly interested in what is happening on the track. I didn't want to buy the tires for the Mustang, so I'm only here to support my wife who is instruction the intermediate group, and to drive the RV so she doesn't have to stay 20 miles away at a hotel.
It's a good thing I didn't bring a car because I have zero urge to drive. I don't even particularly want to watch. I spent some time at the evening social last night. Everyone was talking about cars and tracks and I'm like meh. Not that I don't care but it's not something that is high on my list of things to talk about.
I have spent most of my time in the RV listening to music, reading, and beating on the computer. I think I'd rather be at home tinkering with the Falcon or the Bentley.
I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting old. Maybe it's time for a Classic Motorsports subscription.
Same. Just sold my race winning swapped rx7 champcar and trailer and all the stuff. I'm done.
I want to enjoy working on stuff and not be forced to.
I want to take a weekend off and go mountain biking.
I enjoy going to races and hanging out. I enjoy them more when the has a catastrophic failure and we just pack up and hang out.
I'm 13 years younger than you.
I think it's just racing burnout. I'm okay with that.
In the same boat here,was pretty prolific at building new cars or extensively modding the same car since the mid 90's.
The interest to drive is still mostly there but over the last couple yrs working on the car really feels like a 2nd job.
Took advantage of the housing market and cashed out,bought land 1400km away and currently building our next home(myself).
Not much in the way of a motorsports scene here on the Atlantic coast of Canada,so thats helping walk away.
At 55 now with a lifetime in construction I'm trying to mostly retire,racing means working to pay for it.
I currently have 7 motorcycles,will whittle that down to 3 in the spring,no more race cars or even a fun street car in the future.
Simply feels like the right time to move on,might do an occasional fly in and drive with my endurance team(they won the class championship without me this yr the buggers :) )
Too young to whittle a stick on the porch but not too old to ride the twisties like I did when much younger ;)
z31maniac said:Enough people drive either huge trucks/SUV's and/or have their eyes constantly glued to their phone ALREADY don't see my bright red BRZ.
I can't imagine getting back on a motorcycle again. I haven't riddent since right before the first iPhone came out.
You don't have to ride on the street. They make motorcycles for off road too.
I'm five years older. Through my 50s I did DEs at Hallett and seriously thought about getting into racing, but the commitment of time that it takes to make it worthwhile didn't fit with my life.
Rallycross has turned out to be a good fit for me. It can be serious competition or not. I can drive a cheap car and drive it as hard as I'm willing to. Consumables are scalable with the 10ths that I'm chasing, but really I rarely am concerned with my time. Mostly it's hanging out with people I like and driving a car on the edge of what I can get it to do.
ShawnG said:Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
And a moderately fast motorcycle is still faster than a lot of fast cars.
While true, most people can ride fast on a fast bike. Try "Class" racing where all the bikes are small bore and exactly the same. You learn quickly HOW to ride the most out of your under powered steed. And have some fun. =~ )
AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:the commitment of time that it takes to make it worthwhile didn't fit with my life.
This is why so many racers hit the burnout point.
Personally, racing isn't a ton of fun, unless I am trying to win (it is a competition after all). But in order to win, you are competing with the prep levels, practice, etc. of all the other guys out there. Naturally this requires a lot of time and energy (and often money as well). Being a 'casual' racer is pretty hard. I'm not even sure what that looks like - buy a seat in a Lemons car a couple times a year? Co-drive at an autox a few times a year? (probably hard to remain sharp doing the latter). Casual track day (not racing) participation requires either tracking your DD, or having a dedicated track tool which is also a pretty significant commitment.
It reminds me of road-biking with some guys at work. That was their life, so participating with them required a certain level of road biking fitness which kind of ruined it. While I do a variety of physical activities, every single workout those guys did was road biking training.
I was just talking about this with friends a few days ago. They have been doing Lemons for a while, but as someone outside the team, it seems like it's a slog getting the car ready, corralling teammates and getting them all on the same page, and I think some of the fun has gone out the door. Some team members have other things going on in their lives now (like having families) so it's difficult to get everyone at every race and wrench session.
So we talked about just doing cruises with all our project vehicles, wrenching days, and things like that to keep the flame burning. At the end of the day, for us, it's more about hanging out and doing stupid car things than being on-track competing. Don't get me wrong, competing is great, but there's nothing wrong with taking a break from it when it stops being fun.
914Driver said:ShawnG said:Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
And a moderately fast motorcycle is still faster than a lot of fast cars.
While true, most people can ride fast on a fast bike. Try "Class" racing where all the bikes are small bore and exactly the same. You learn quickly HOW to ride the most out of your under powered steed. And have some fun. =~ )
My friend does this and I've seriously thought about it.
Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
I looked at a BMW GS1100 the other day but traffic around here is so bad I would never be able to ride it without fear of instant death.
While I was sitting at the track, I did some thinking about what I've done for fun over the years. I think it's time to head back to the dirt. That's where I grew up. My wife and I completed the South Carolina Adventure Route last year and really enjoyed it. I've wanted to drive the Trans American Trail for years. Plus there are several other trails I'd like to run like the Smokey Mountain 1000, the GA Traverse, and the Kentucky Adventure Tour. Maybe it's time to make some of those happen.
I still have the Samurai but it's pretty small for a fat guy. I sold the XJ to my middle son. It was decent but not outstanding and not something you would want to drive any distance. So I think it's time for another off-road rig that can be towed behind the RV.
With that in mind, this should be delivered today. 09 H3T Adventure with all the off-road goodies like locking front and rear diffs, 4:1 transfer case gears, and 4:11 diff gears, and 33" tires. I would have liked the Alpha with the 5.3 V8 but those are through the roof expensive so I settled for the 3.7 I5. This one only has 90k on it so it won't be a worn-out beater that I spend more time working on than I do driving it. The H3 Adventure is supposed to be very capable once you leave the pavement so it should do what I need it to do without it turning into another project.
914Driver said:ShawnG said:Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
And a moderately fast motorcycle is still faster than a lot of fast cars.
While true, most people can ride fast on a fast bike. Try "Class" racing where all the bikes are small bore and exactly the same. You learn quickly HOW to ride the most out of your under powered steed. And have some fun. =~ )
I'm 6'2 and 350 pounds. I'd look pretty funny with a small bore motorcycle stuck up my ass. Fat people break easier too.
914Driver said:ShawnG said:Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
And a moderately fast motorcycle is still faster than a lot of fast cars.
While true, most people can ride fast on a fast bike. Try "Class" racing where all the bikes are small bore and exactly the same. You learn quickly HOW to ride the most out of your under powered steed. And have some fun. =~ )
Try racing a 125 in a gate of 350 and 450 4 strokes.
I love racing but I normally do well and I put a lot of pressure on myself to win every race. The pressure to perform, and the pressure to win every single time eventually wears on me. Clearly the problem is me, and not the racing, but I've never been able to do anything about it. Hopefully this time around I can take it a little easier.
One person's problem is another's opportunity. I did autocross for a number of years, until thoughts of standing in the sun for the day overtook the enjoyment. I then moved to trackday events, something I greatly enjoyed. Over the years, the enjoyment waned due to a gradual shift in both the people attending and the cars they drove. Before, nearly all were beaters that everyone worked on themselves, so it was a fairly close "family." Later, with crazy-fast cars available straight off the showroom floor, it changed into people only hanging out with others having the same car, and having no idea how to fix anything. Combined with autocross and trackday locations gradually becoming further away, it tempered my interest. The last straw was the gradual increase in street traffic, sucking away what little enjoyment I still had left for driving.
When I see someone in a high end sports car, stuck in traffic along with everyone else, or parking it far from other cars, or being all upset about a door ding, I understand. Been there done that. Now retired, I spend my time in the garage building tools (CNC router being the latest) and don't miss sitting in traffic one bit. Embrace the change and move on. As the saying goes, if this is your biggest problem, you're doing well.
Peabody said:z31maniac said:Enough people drive either huge trucks/SUV's and/or have their eyes constantly glued to their phone ALREADY don't see my bright red BRZ.
I can't imagine getting back on a motorcycle again. I haven't riddent since right before the first iPhone came out.
You don't have to ride on the street. They make motorcycles for off road too.
Yeah, but those never really interested me for a variety of reasons. I can't just walk into the garage and hop on and ride. Now I need a vehicle that can get it somewhere that I can ride, etc, etc.
I think with anything in life is good not to over do it. You need time off to miss it. Too much of anything is bad.
Toyman! said:914Driver said:ShawnG said:Appleseed said:Motorcycle is your answer.
And a moderately fast motorcycle is still faster than a lot of fast cars.
While true, most people can ride fast on a fast bike. Try "Class" racing where all the bikes are small bore and exactly the same. You learn quickly HOW to ride the most out of your under powered steed. And have some fun. =~ )
I'm 6'2 and 350 pounds. I'd look pretty funny with a small bore motorcycle stuck up my ass. Fat people break easier too.
We once put my 6' 275lbs on my 125 road racer................the shocks no longer had any bump travel.
In reply to Olemiss540 :
Agree. I'm in the top group in the PCA events and am quick enough to grid in the middle of the pack. I'll usually catch a few people ahead of me and the really fast guys won't catch me before the session ends. But for me to progress just seems very risky to myself and the car.
However I don't track nearly often enough to warrant a fully caged race car, plus a trailer, plus pay storage fees, insurance, etc, etc. So I don't really know what the answer is...
As far as moto's, I love my dual sport, it's a lot of fun. However I don't find myself jumping on it and wandering around solo too much. I prefer to go on a multi day ride with friends instead. I hope to do the western part of the TAT and the western BDR's once I've retired.
If I've got a free morning/afternoon and the weather's nice I go for a mtn bike ride, or if there's a garage project I really want to do, I'll do that instead.
A week ago I left the Datsun at home and drove to the track simply to instruct because I wanted a break.
Over the last 38 years of racing I've over booked myself and it quickly sucks the fun out of it. I stupidly did this about 20 years ago. I was SCCA clubs racing (4 races a year), doing 3-4 track days, running our rally-X program as well as our stage rally.
My typical year consist of 2 vintage race weekends, 4 track days (I only do Saturdays) and roughly 5-6 autocrosses but no more than 8 autocrosses.
I will not do back to back weekends.
I drive that slow ass Datsun because other than a fresh set of tires it gets an oil change once a year. The F500 is also low maintenance.
You've all heard me talk about my D-sports racer ad nauseam; it's a car that started to suck the fun out of racing............it had to go.
This hobby, whether it's a fun car, autocross car, rally-x or a road race car is supposed to be fun and relaxing.................turning it into a 2nd job defeats the purpose. I'd rather finish dead last and have fun than run myself ragged trying to be the front runner..........it's a hobby.
ProDarwin said:AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:the commitment of time that it takes to make it worthwhile didn't fit with my life.
This is why so many racers hit the burnout point.
Personally, racing isn't a ton of fun, unless I am trying to win (it is a competition after all). But in order to win, you are competing with the prep levels, practice, etc. of all the other guys out there. Naturally this requires a lot of time and energy (and often money as well). Being a 'casual' racer is pretty hard. I'm not even sure what that looks like - buy a seat in a Lemons car a couple times a year? Co-drive at an autox a few times a year? (probably hard to remain sharp doing the latter). Casual track day (not racing) participation requires either tracking your DD, or having a dedicated track tool which is also a pretty significant commitment.It reminds me of road-biking with some guys at work. That was their life, so participating with them required a certain level of road biking fitness which kind of ruined it. While I do a variety of physical activities, every single workout those guys did was road biking training.
This post vibes with me so much. I started doing track days, went all-in and treated it like a second job, did well but got burnt out (mentally, financially) and then the pandemic hit and sidelined me because I got busy with work and also didn't want to die/endanger people. Fast forward 2-3 years and I'm living a more "balanced" life (got married, bought a house, travel etc) and I've just been autocrossing with the occasional track day(s) in between. I really do miss racing sometimes but I'll never forget the kind of effort/commitment it takes to truly compete.
I've never been able to follow any competitive sports. I don't really care about racing outside of the Challenge, and even then I'm mostly interested in the wild projects.
I used to be interested in modifying my own stuff to be faster, but these days much less. I'm 35 so I don't think it's "getting old".
Just more interested in creative or explorative building. Uniqueness over competition. Idk. I think I'd like to build something competitive but for a given rule set that usually just means spending the most money.
Give me some creative fabrication, an oddball power train, or I don't know. Passion for the car vs passion for the trophy.
In junior high I'd order the latest copy of the Guinness Book of Records at school. These guys were the heaviest twins and always in the book. (Figure 1975)
GRM and Classic Motorsports just represent two different ways to enjoy cars. GRM is more hands-on and more about competition. Classic Motorsports is a bit more about the experience.
As far as I’m concerned, no wrong answer. (We work pretty closely with the Classic Motorsports crew, and they’re not so bad.)
How we had fun with cars this past weekend: went for a drive with another couple to breakfast. It was 45+ minutes there and maybe 30 back since we took the quicker way.
We’ve done this a few times and have more planned. We meet up and drive somewhere for breakfast. It’s just that simple. What’d we discuss at the table this Sunday? Not cars, to be honest.
It’s fun, it’s social and it gets the cars (and us) out of the house.
And maybe there’s some inspiration in this little piece from the Classic Motorsports site: When you have good friends, you can do fun car stuff anywhere.
Datsun240ZGuy said:In junior high I'd order the latest copy of the Guinness Book of Records at school. These guys were the heaviest twins and always in the book. (Figure 1975)
And for many years I thought hot rodder Jim Lytle's 4 Allison engine powered Fiat Topolino was called "Quad A1" instead of "Quad Al" thanks to the misprint the GBOWW never bothered to correct. It was under "worlds most powerful car" for decades.
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