65yrs thinking of getting back on a bike am I nuts?

[mark0554]

Hi looking for advice. I last rode a motorcycle 45 years ago when I was 20. I now live in very rural France and am thinking of getting back on. Nothing too powerful max 125cc. Advice from anyone welcome. I am looking at one of the Bullit 125 models as they are probably more suited to my age and not looking for speed. My wife says it's all Henry Cole's fault.
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Mark0554

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Go for it, a lot of the guys I ride with are retired and in their 60s.
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200), CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom

[stinkwheel]

French made some cool 50cc motorbikes in the 60's and 70's. You occasionally see them on stalls at flea markets. A lot of them go like shit off a shovel.

If I lived in France, I'd have a shed full of silly small capacity bikes and autocycles.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[BigTim]

You only live once
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MZ S50B, Suzuki GP100, Honda CBF1000, Honda Blackbird (I like my Blackbird)

[Britabroad]

[pepperami]

[jeffyjeff]

Do it! You won't regret it. I'm a little older than you; 2 years ago bought a Yamaha YBR 125 for tooling around the rural roads in northern Morocco. The 125 is mighty for bombing around country lanes. You'll have the time of your life.

PS. Those Bullit bikes are stylish. Nice.
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History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men - BOC

[GettinBetter]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[JustinW]

You'll appreciate a 125 bike with max allowable HP. Not for speed, but for getting up hills. Underpowered and revving the nuts off a bike to make progress becomes tedious. But do go for it, you know it makes sense.
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Currently Honda CB500x
Previously: Yamaha WR125x, BSA Bantam D1

[WD Forte]

If you want to do it, do it
Some considerations

what part of France?
Nowt wrong with plodding about on a 125 but
if its near the Pyrenees or Massive Central and hilly
a 125 may be working its ass off just to plod about.
Your own weight and height is a factor in choosing a bike too.

If its pretty hilly where you live and you have a full licence from years back a bigger bike
might be worth considering.
They only go as fast as you tell them to and mistakes on a 125 can hurt just as much as
mistakes on a 500+

125s are lighter of course so easier to pick up when you drop them ( and you will, we all do at times)
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1979 CX500 - Zanussi Wd12: - LG Combi Multiwave - Swan 4 slice toaster with removable crumb tray

[RhynoCZ]

Do it, get a bike.

My neihgbour started riding motorcycles at about your age. Nowadays, when the weather is alright, we do group rides every saturday at exactly 1:00pm. It's 3 to 4 people including him, and he's not a slow rider, he rides that Ninja of his and talks about bikes like he was a young lad. I hope I'll be as vital and enjoying life as he is, when I get 65+.
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'87 Honda XBR 500 - '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1 (sold) - '90 Honda CB-1 (sold) - '88 Kawasaki GPz550 (sold)
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI; At my disposal: MZ 150 ETZ, not anymore.

[GettinBetter]

TBH, I only started last year, and haven't touched a bike since I was a teenager.

It opens up a whole new life style, plus you get to go and see places you'd never see in a car.

I'm gonna love this year...

Just do your test shit stuff, it's really important, for both confidence, recap, and a whole lot of shit you've forgotten or didn't know.
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History teaches us that history doesn't teach us.
Honda VT125 Shadow

[doggone]

[jeffyjeff]