Motorcycling provides Physical and Mental Benefits

From Roadracingworld.com this study confirms what you and I already knew.
www.roadracingworld.com/news/harley-davi...and-mental-benefits/
Bill

I wound up in the hospital 5/19/11 with bleeding in my gut. My daughter and granddaughter were in Oregon 900 miles away, I was depressed and drinking too much and almost died. My blood count was 3.5 where 13/14 would be normal. The doc said I was dead but didn't know it. That's when I decided to get my bike back on the road no matter what it cost. Started taking off parts, cleaning them, painting, the frame etc. As long as I had a goal I didn't feel the need to drown myself in booze so I kept working on it. Didn't have a lot of money but worked when I could and spent a little on the bike when I had it to spare.

By the end of 2012 I had it running but it needed major engine work.

The tranny in my car took a dump so I had to decide if I was to spend $1000 on a used tranny or put that money in the bike. The bike won. I got it on the road and a year later my daughter moved back to California and I had the money to finish the bike and visit her.

My moral came up and I didn't need the booze anymore.

The bike saved my life.

Every day I look forward to a ride even if it's just to the store and back.
Steve

Nice reflection Steve.

I used to have a Harley and stress...but I still have my Kawasaki.

Good word, Swest.

daveo wrote: Nice reflection Steve.

I used to have a Harley and stress...but I still have my Kawasaki.

I know the feeling! That last Harley I had was nothing but BIG PITA. I don't remember riding it even once without something breaking, falling off or just plain quit running. Granted, it was the victim of a whole lotta idiot owners, and had been "rigged" all over the place. I started fixing things on it only for another thing to go south the same day. Starting with the NEW and IMPROVED headlight fell freakin off the bike when I pulled up with my bike trailer on my way home with it. Easily the biggest POS I've owned in a long time. It was no stress reliever, because every ride caused even more stress from the constant breakdowns.



Check out this drain plug. It must be another "upgrade". :woohoo: I had it on it's side because I was in the process of tapping the hole to 18 mm (spark plug tap) and install a REAL drain plug. I had to clean / vacuum the shavings out of the primary case.

Jekyll86 wrote: Good word, Swest.

Yep! I forget all about the nasty stuff about the time the front wheel comes up. Ye, freakin HA! LOL

I wonder about the quick open drain plugs. I could see nothing but disaster with them. :ohmy: Every HD owner I knew was working on the bike, waiting on the shop and not riding more that a "Putt" down the street.
Steve

I was a serious runner for about 20 years. There is a phenomenon called runners high, where after a certain point your body begins to release endorphins, which are natural opioids that affect how you feel. When I ride a motorcycle I get the same kind of high. It feels great!

hardrockminer wrote: I was a serious runner for about 20 years. There is a phenomenon called runners high, where after a certain point your body begins to release endorphins, which are natural opioids that affect how you feel. When I ride a motorcycle I get the same kind of high. It feels great!

I've had hayfever since I was a kid, not so much lately as I've aged, but when I was in high school and college I knew that the best, most natural, way to control my sneezing and sniffling was to get on the bike and let the adrenalin take care of it.
Bill

hardrockminer wrote: I was a serious runner for about 20 years. There is a phenomenon called runners high, where after a certain point your body begins to release endorphins, which are natural opioids that affect how you feel. When I ride a motorcycle I get the same kind of high. It feels great!

Although I don't have any experience with morphine / opiates highs, I can relate to the motorcycle high. This is a very real referred to as "runner high". A ton of info pops on a google search.
science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-th...ions/endorphins2.htm

Sooo , with the last harley I owned, I SHOULD have gotten a "buzz" from pushing and working on that POS, when in actuality, all I saw was red. (STRESSED).. and then finally, JOY when I was able to recoup part of the money it cost me while watching another unsuspecting sucker take off on that POS. LOL :woohoo:

One thing I never did get from riding it, when it did run, was speeding tickets. (I think rated ~48 hp) . It had approximately half the HP that my old kaw has. 70 mph on the interstate was a stretch for that pig.

This pic was after numerous repairs. Put stock headlight and gauges on it after fixing the butchered wiring harness at the neck. What wire is this vern? I dunnknow, just cut it! All stock stuff must be destroyed! lol






I used this pic to sell it.

SWest wrote: I wonder about the quick open drain plugs. I could see nothing but disaster with them. :ohmy: Every HD owner I knew was working on the bike, waiting on the shop and not riding more that a "Putt" down the street.
Steve

You don't think the quick open drain plugs are a good idea? What could possibly go wrong? LOL

ezoildrainvalve.com/index.html

I bought a brand NEW harley off of the showroom floor in 1974. After ~200 miles the rear piston wrist pin had come out and eaten up the rear jug to the point that it huffed oil all the way from Iowa to Colorado springs and back THEN, sat broke down while I was deployed overseas. I had a project waiting on me when I got home. It was easier for me to fix it myself, than for it to sit at a overworked dealer for another year.

All my different brand motorcycles give me stress relief. My Harleys Included
Used the Kaw for blasting around home , and my Electraglide for long trips.
Honda and Yamaha for playing in the dirt.
All Good
Dave