Sometimes it’s smarter NOT to ride on the back of a motorcycle.
I know this sounds strange coming from me.
I’ve done over a quarter of a million kilometers on the back of the hubby’s bike.
But riding pillion is not always a good idea.

It’s important to know when not to ride on the back of a motorcycle. There are several key questions you need to ask. For example: Are you wearing the right clothes? Is the rider experienced (and sober)? Has he ridden with passengers? The answers to these important questions will help you make the right decision.

An invitation to ride on the back of a motorcycle is usually a good thing, right?
After all, motorbikes are the most fun machines in the world!

But getting onto a bike is not something you do lightly.
Things can go very wrong very quickly.
That’s why you have to get on the right bike – with the right rider.

So how do you know when it’s OK to ride with someone?

That’s easy.
You simply gage the risk before you climb aboard.
When you know the danger signs, you can make safer decisions.

Let me show you what I mean…

Buying a motorcycle is a big decision.
It takes some pretty serious thought.
You can’t just fall in love with a beautiful machine, and rush out and buy it.
That’d be madness, right?
Let’s think this through like rational grown-ups (heh, heh, heh)…

You can’t just rush into buying a motorcycle. You have to think about it carefully. But it’s true that motorcycles can improve every aspect of your life: from your mental health to your work day. A bike can even add a spark to your relationship. And what else but a motorcycle can make you look cool without even trying?

There’s no doubt that motorcycles are highly desirable beasts.
So it’s tempting to make a buying decision with your heart, not your head.

That’s why we’re approaching this fiery topic completely calmly.
Here are some very sensible, perfectly sane reasons to help you decide whether you should add a bike to your garage.

When you ride a motorcycle, you already know what danger looks like.
But this coronavirus situation is a whole new ballgame.
Everyone’s scared, and people are dying all over the world.
Here in New Zealand, the whole country is on lockdown for at least 4 weeks.
We can leave the house to get groceries, medicine or fresh air.
And aside from that, we need to stay home.
If that’s what it takes to slow the spread of coronavirus, I’m all for it.
But that means no more motorcycle joy rides for now.
That’ll take some adjustment, believe me!
So I thought I’d share what my man Pat and I are doing instead of motorcycling.
If you’re a motorcyclist facing coronavirus lockdown, maybe this’ll help you, too.
We all need to stay sane, as well as healthy.

In many countries, the coronavirus outbreak means people have to stay home. This may save millions of lives. But lockdown means no more long motorcycle rides – at least for now. So while you try to stay healthy, how do you stay sane? The solution is to maintain important connections: to your friends, family, workplace – and your motorcycle.

This is how we’ve been doing just that…

Motorcycle fuel tanks are such works of art.

They might be sky blue, or British racing green.
Or they could be white, purple, orange, red, silver or gold.

And the sizes and shapes of motorcycle gas tanks are so creative, too.
Some are big and rounded; some boxy and tiny.

Then there are the tank decals and badges.
They can look like pieces of glittering silver jewellery.

It’s not often I get to see hundreds of Triumph motorcycle gas tanks all in one place…

Have you ever hung out with 250 classic motorcycles?

I can seriously recommend it!

We’ve just been on another pilgrimage to our favorite motorcycle museum at the bottom of New Zealand.

There we were, standing in a room packed with classic motorcycles, grinning like idiots.

It’s a summer morning, and shafts of bright sunlight fall through the windows.
The yellow light glints on the rows of chrome tanks, and the big silver fishtail pipes on classic Nortons, BSAs and Velocettes.

Beautiful, vintage motorcycles sit silently, proudly dripping oil, as they have for decades.
Every single one of these beauties begs you to come closer…