Experienced Rider Motorcycle Training Course

I had my learner's permit, but that meant I couldn't take anyone for a ride or ride after dark. Instead of just taking the usual auto driving test to get my license, I elected the free PennDOT Motorcycle Safety Training Course. I qualified for the "Experienced Rider" course rather than the Beginner course since I have a few years of riding under my belt, albeit a long time ago.

I spent 6 hours on a very hot Saturday morning in August with Harley and sport bike (aka "crotch rocket") riders. Out of a dozen students, I had the only "scooter". Kind of intimidating. Interestingly, three of the other men were "middle-aged" like me and had a similar story - kids in college, time to have a bit of fun! One was an obvious hot-dogger sport bike adrenaline junky and bragged about doing 120 mph on the expressway coming to the class.

You can see my Piaggo above in the right-side of the left-hand frame. Two bikes needed to be pushed to start because their batteries died because of all the low-speed maneuvers.

A couple of riders said they take the course every couple of years to keep up their skills. A wonderful free service. Learn more at http://www.livefreeridealive.com/.

Picked up my Piaggio!

The dealer finally uncrated my Piaggio MP3 500 and prepared it for me to pick up today!

Mid-life Cycle Ordered

Now it was time to make the move again. My daughter is in college and would be less likely to pester me to buy her a bike.

I think another stimulus was the odd periodic pain and other miscellaneous infirmity one develops as a 60+ y.o. Will I get macular degeneration? My father had it and my sister has it as well. It also might have had something to do with the fact that my cousin, one year younger, just died from esophageal cancer.

If I wasn't going to return to one of my passions now and have some fun, when would I?

I ordered my Piaggio MP3 500 from Crossroad Powersports in Upper Darby - less than 2 miles from my house. None in stock, so they have to order it from Georgia, so it would take about two weeks.

Piaggio Dreaming

I don't know where I first saw it, but I was intrigued by the strange 3-wheel scooter/motorcycle. Back in 2008, Piaggio started to import their MP3 series of maxi-scooters to the US. I read about 70-year-old retirees Bob Chase and Bernard "Buddy" Rosenbaum who tackled all 3,400-miles of the country's first coast-to-coast road - the historic Lincoln Highway - from San Francisco to NYC:

"They've enlisted the unique talents of the Piaggio MP3 scooter, an automatic twist n' go 500cc machine, because it's as stable as a car, leans into the curves like a sports bike, has a top speed of 92 mph and sips fuel at the rate of 53 to 55 mpg."

These 70 y.o. adventurers challenged the notion that chronological age and the freedom and fun of riding are mutually exclusive.

If they could traverse the country, I certainly could ride around Pennsylvania! Time to do some research. Where could I see one of these cool machines?

Learn more about the Piaggio Lincoln Highway Ride.

Recumbent Detour (2003)

Ok, it's not a motorcycle or even motor bike or scooter, but it's different. Looking for an easy way to keep up with my wife and daughter on those long bike rides, I researched recumbent bikes and settled on this beauty, a Sun EZ-1 Sport.  

Rod on the EZ-1 in 2003

I know... there is something wrong with this picture. Either I need a bigger bike or need to lose a lot of weight. I got a bigger bike!

Actually, I promised myself I'd loose 10 pounds before I got a motorcycle - and I did - eight years later!

Graduate Cycle (ca 1977)

Rod's Suzuki 500
(anyone know the model number?)

The last time I rode a motorcycle I was a pharmacology graduate student at Temple University Medical School circa 1977. I owned a used Suzuki 500cc 2-stroke twin which I bought from a fellow grad student, Len Jacob.

I can't believe I never took riding lessons or read a book on motorcycling. I did have a helmet though. I commuted to grad school and my adjunct instructor job at Drexel University.

Early Cycles (ca 1967)

Rod, Guy Irwin & Terry Hersh

Rod on the Jawa

Even before driving age, my friends and I somehow found a rusted old Czech Jawa WW-II era motorcycle. Having no real mechanical skill we could never get it to start up, but we had fun pretending.

I saved all my grass cutting money until I had ~$400 to buy a brand new Yamaha 80cc 2-stroke when I was 15. You could ride MCs back then with a learners permit - no lessons required. And my parents ALLOWED me. How crazy is that?

Rod on his new Yamaha 80 (1966 YG-1). Where's the Helmet?

I rode it to high school and commuted to my summer job at Fabri-Tek in Ft. Washington, PA. I eventually bought a helmet.