I go back to Greg's original VTR forum "runlevelzero" but after it died did not realize for a couple of years he created this forum. I'm also +65 and have been continuously riding (and used to road race) since I was 17. Consequently, I've seen a lot of great riders and bikes come and sadly go in the intervening years as well. Motorcycle technology has come so far since I swung a leg over my 1956 BSA Batman D3 Brightwell, which, with the Yamaha TD-2 screamers I raced, sold me forever on two smokes. I went through Kawasaki and Suzuki triples and twins, and still have my 77 RD400. Of course I now regret selling my Matchless, Triumph, Norton and AJS Brit bikes, my 73 H2 Mach IV and others but won't make that mistake with my VTR and RD.

I too have seen this forum dwindle from it's hayday but lurk if not participate each and every day. I too will hopefully be able to keep my bought new 98 VTR till I die. My saintly wife of 40 years says when I pass she'll embalm me in my ATGAT kit a cast me on top of my VTR in a block of acrylic and spot me in the living room for new suiters to see, though she vows she'll never remarry for obvious reasons. She's never complained about the receipts and what amounts literally to years I've left her alone with the kids while I wrenched, raced and rode.
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I've likewise done most that I can to and for my beloved VTR except for an USD fork, which I've resisted doing to maintain what I think are it's classic looks. However, after over 110,000 miles and thoroughly revamping the suspension on my 15 FJ-09 (bought new in 16 now with +35k miles and also extensively modded), I will start looking for a suitable front end for the FOR to better balance the ride with the Penske shock and fork massaging done 15+ years ago.

SUGGESTIONS AND COMPONENT OFFERS WILL BE WELCOMED!!!

So I look forward to at least another 21 years together with my VTR (and G-d willing, of course 40+ more with SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED), and hope this forum and it's long suffering members are here with me to share and care!

BTW, I have 2 spare engines, a frame and swing arm and piles of boxes with 4 more sets of carbs, electrical and other bits to hopefully keep us going for the duration.

 

I would love to see more people like you both, you guy's bring wisdom, experience and hope, may the rest of us get to ride to your age and may we all get to ride to 120 years of age! Sounds cheesy, but why the hell not.
I also think there are here less haters simply because most VTR riders are adult riders and not the snowflake millennial type you find typically on other social media outlets.

Cheers mates

 

Your very welcome
Sharing knowledge Ive won though work, mistakes (lots of mistakes) and on the back of others is one of the few things that brings positivity to my life these days.
I never set out to make stuff for the VTR or other bike models I do....I made something for myself, others asked and I made one for them and so on.
I never set out to be a source of information....but its there in my head, my notes, in my garage and on my computer so why not..its paid for.

I very much miss the busier times in the forums over the FB groups/pages I follow now. There is little historical info to find in a FB group... what was knowledge asked for and gleaned this morning in a short series of posts is gone in an hour off the screen....never to be looked at again, so the same questions and same few folks giving facts and helpful info are back at it again the next hour.

And the haters in the FB groups...... they are as sure of their tripe as they are wrong in their facts and "suggestions" even with basic hard to argue mechanical things..Some will just never listen, or find out more from any other source then what they think they know. It seemed on forums like this one most will take a step back......read why something has a different opinion on which way to turn a left hand thread nut and then go look for more info themselves to be sure the new idea they read is correct OR NOT.