I don't remember an exact date or time of when I started falling in love with motorcycles but I do remember vividly those first "baby steps" of learning to ride and the eagerness to grow that knowledge and increase my abilities exponentially. Those first few years were about devotion to be better and know more. I studied everything from motorcycle technique to advances in technology to details in riding gear. I probably had a better understanding of new products and innovations in the 2-wheel industry than many insiders. In short, it was about total submersion for me. I simply couldn't get enough.
Circa 2004 I had made friends with a couple of guys (full-time airline pilots, part-time amateur road racers) who took the bold leap into trying their hands at turning their part-time passion into a career. They opened a retail store/motorcycle shop dedicated to repair, gear & accessory sales and road racer support. I spent a lot of time at that shop but I knew from the beginning that the business was doomed. I don't think it would have taken most people much outside perspective to see these guys, although really good guys, had any clue what it took to run a successful business. I remember hanging out there just to absorb as much of their knowledge as I could. I think we all have this idea in the back of our heads that somehow being physically around motorcycles we learn more about them through some sort of osmosis. I still subscribe to this theory even if it ever would be disproven.
These 2 gentlemen lacked one important element to their business model; their information was old and dated. They had made the transition from street rider to road racer years prior and completely lost touch with what was happening in the industry outside of the racetrack. They couldn't speak to their customers about new products on the market or current trends. At the time I didn't understand how a person can be passionate and knowledgeable about motorcycling and not pay attention to the latest in gear, technology, models, etc. For me it was part of the whole. Isn't the most exciting stuff the new stuff? Ten years later, I am starting to better understand it.
Teaching new riders I get a snapshot of the eagerness that I had early in my riding days. They have that hunger for knowledge and are still in the total submersion phase of their new found passion. Compared to them I sometimes feel that I am now in the "out of touch" phase that my road racer friends where in 10 years prior. It's okay, I sometimes get the opportunity to learn through my students about new innovations and what the latest gear is. If anything it sparks some really good discussion in the class. So what has changed with me? Well, two things have changed; time and interest.
My life has progressed to the point that I simply don't have the time for total submersion any more. Spending the bulk of my time in online forums, at bike nights, roaming dealership sales floors, subscribing to every relevant periodical I can find and seeking out new instructional classes and techniques isn't an option for me. Don't be confused here, I still do all of these things but I have to do it on a much smaller scale these days. When you have less time to dedicate to a task you start prioritizing which means you pick what you identify as the most relevant or important and concentrate on that first. I don't need to know everything, I need to know the important things like; what will increase my skills, what will keep me safer while riding, what are the new technologies as a whole and how is it relevant to motorcycling today. Example; I realized that there are a myriad of motorcycling periodicals out there that pretty much say the same things about the same things so I pick the ones that I trust or seem to be more accurate and stick with those. Instead of reading a dozen or so magazines, now I read about 3-4 regularly.
As I have explored various avenues of riding and motorcycles over the years I now focus on a couple of key categories that interest me the most. Admittedly, I spy on other stuff just to keep a finger on the pulse of what is going on but I don't put too much effort into it. For example, I know that Triumph currently makes about 3 variations of adventure bikes but I couldn't tell you any of their specs, capabilities or how they rank with their competition. I concentrate more on improving my street riding skills now versus my road racing skills because that's where I spend more of my time. I have opinions on most brands of riding gear but I will tell you my opinion is largely based on information that I collected in the past and may not necessarily hold true now. I skim the magazines and read the articles that spark my interest but I will almost certainly look over the review of the new dirt bike because I don't ride off road. My interests direct my attention now whereas early on everything had my attention.
My experiences may not hold true to some of the "brand centric" motorcyclists out there. In some cases we fall in love with the brand moreso than the actual bike. However, if you are anything like me and eh hem, "geek out" on anything with two wheels than you likely know exactly where I'm coming from. It doesn't mean I like or dislike riding or motorcycles any more or less than before. I think of it as this; I am now more focused on what is important at this stage of the game. Because of that focus I can concentrate on the key areas that will improve my skills and abilities where I need it most.
