I'm here for the enthusiasts, not the snobbery

Must be excessive quarantine time. No other interests to invest their energy in.

Hi,
"for the enthusiasts, and those who suffer",
nicely put and not need to divide again.

I agree about the motorcycles, more fun to! 

I don’t care for either.
I would like a Rolls Royce, and a chauffeur.

I don’t like driving anymore.

I lived in a service truck for over 40 years.
I drove a million miles BACKWARDS.

Back into the jobsite when your fresh.
Drive off the jobsite when your finished, and tired..

I did listen to music, the whole time, usually classical.
It kept most people away from me.. It always helped me to think..

Just staying out of trouble... Kinda...

Regards

Motorcycles are real fun...until someone gets hurt. Or killed.

Motorcycles are real fun...until someone gets hurt. Or killed.

You can't claim to be engaged if you don't put skin in the game.

I had a Triumph 500 for a couple years, was happy to sell it. A death trap. Someone I know put his leg through the (spinning) spokes of a Honda 50 when a woman drove through a red light. You can’t stop what’s coming.

To add to roxy's and eric's posts ..... I will say as to the bugs that got caught in my teeth, none survived.

As an old Desert Sled rider (Triumph 650), we had a saying ... "If you're not falling off, you're not going fast enough."

https://silodrome.com/steve-mcqueen-triumph-bonneville-desert-sled/

Sadly astronaut Pete Conrad, test pilot, etc. died as a result of a fall off a motorcycle at slow speed. It can happen to anyone.

Stunt rider Indian Larry suffered a similar fate as well.

I worked with a guy that raced in the vintage class, Big BSA guy.
NO fancy suspension.. Oh Man... I think it was motocross, lots of knee action, I remember that...

He loved it. I’m walking, he’s hobbling.. He took good care of himself too. It did take its toll.
He wouldn’t drive on the street though..

Both knees and hips were in bad order at 50 or so, He’s 72 now...

Stunt rider Indian Larry suffered a similar fate as well. 
That was too bad, he was a good mechanic, too, Yup...

Regards

Couple of threads have shown up lately. "Should you be an audiophile if you..." either have a certain type of gear, have a certain amount of money, or don’t make your own.

I personally reject all of that. I’m here for the enthusiasts, and those who suffer. That is, people who are enthusiastic about listening to music via electronics and those who are suffering with problems who need a little help. That’s how I try to build a community.

+1. I've made a point of ignoring the threads you refer to in the first paragraph.

All Porsches are ugly. This is an indisputable fact ...

-1 :-)

My 2017 Macan S and 2014 Cayman S (both in the colors shown) get a lot of compliments on their appearance. Also, FWIW, my wife has a background in art among other things, and would dispute your indisputable fact :-)

Best regards,
-- Al
 

"You can't claim to be engaged if you don't put skin in the game."

Skull, too.

Once I asked a guy I was chatting with if I should buy a motorcycle just to try.

He said "Please do and please do not wear a helmet. I am saving for a new place."

He was a neurosurgeon.

I’d be more concerned about putting some skin on the asphalt. I once came upon a turned over motorcycle on the highway and wondered where the rider was. As it turned out he was about 100 yards up ahead, being attended to.

Well, it can get worse. Much worse.

The question with a motorcycle is not if, but when. Be careful and remember that accidents happen quickly.

There was a time when the Dynakit ST-70 was the gateway, but times change.

Al's wife's background in art helped influence her accepting proposal of marriage among other things, is Al's uncanny resemblance to Michelangelo's David, of which he is too humble to admit. 👍

Erik- If you like motorcycles, you should visit the Barber Museum in Birmingham, AL. Most of the bikes in the Guggenheim show came from his private collection and the building he commissioned to house it has an interior layout similar to the Guggenheim. While you are there, you can check out the track. It is used by Porsche as a test and training facility. It is a fabulous track (though I’m not much for racing tracks, I prefer long distance rallies). You might even be able to get a ride at speed. It could change your view of the aesthetics of the car, since being behind the wheel is where the fun is. (I don’t know if you can sign up for driver training without owning a car- I had a two day stint there when the CGT came out and Hurley Haywood was my coach). Humbling.
The metaphor or analogy does work to a degree. Fun in audio is where you find it; you can spend most of your time tweaking or driving; you don’t have to have uber gear to get thrills (there’s a pretty serious contingent of Miata drivers who are competitive). And to me, Bugatti stopped by WWII. The thing with that name today is just bling.
As for Rollers, Earl Heath was a neighbor when I was a kid. He had a pretty amazing collection. I find the old Bentleys more interesting, including the original W.O. cars and the "specials" which were essentially hot rods made from saloon cars. Sort of like our period hot rods in the States.
I’m basically agnostic on cars-- I love ’em all- from microcars to big finned Detroit iron. British requires a certain masochism, particularly vintage. Italian- god love ’em. The Germans are great engineers, though. One of my personal favorites, in terms of beauty, is the BMW 3.0 CS from the early ’70s. What a stunning car.

@almarg ,
I always pictured you as a 911 guy.
Bob

"...Al's uncanny resemblance to Michelangelo's David, of which he is too humble to admit. 👍"

Humble is his middle name. David is his first. You guessed it, Michelangelo is his last.

almarg has been uniformly considered The (only?) Gentleman here. Impossible to disagree with that.

"...you can spend most of your time tweaking or driving; you don’t have to have uber gear to get thrills..."

The most thrill I have ever had driving was a few years ago down the curvy goat-level steep narrow island roads in the 1970s Beetle convertible. No railguards, of course. The thrill was in virtually no braking power of that thing.

Yes, low-level gear can get you thrills, but I would have given my life for a brand new Bugatti at that moment. Not much of an exchange, though. I thought my life was about to be over anyway.

glubson, It take's one to know one ..... 😄

isochronism,

"glubson, It take’s one to know one ..... 😄"

Do not flatter yourself looking like David. geoffkait said two of you know each other from the Venus de Milo Impersonator Convention.

glubson, how about that down-hill road on a fixed-gear track bicycle and lose contact with ever increasing cadence of the pedals ..... 

Hopefully, that bicycle would have some breaks. If not, you deserve it.

In my case, to add insult to injury, I paid for that murderous thing. I rented it.

Track bikes have no brakes. The way to stop or at least slow is to back-pressure while pedaling. Fun! 😂

When I was kid, a neighborhood young man crashed his motorcycle. The gas tank ruptured, the gas flooding out and exploding into flames, melting the face shield of his helmet onto his face, badly burning it. The rest of his life had been determined in an instant. 

isochronism,

"Track bikes have no brakes."

I was imagining regular "fixie". The one young guys who are trying to prove they are special are using on city streets. They have a brake on the front wheel. I wonder how long do knees last with such a brake-less contraption.

Those young fixie guys are referred to as hipsters. (no offense) The trendy bikes do look cool and sleek, but many shortly realize brakes are good to have. Then some also realize that rear brakes serve an important addition. 

erik,

I have to agree with Almarg, well not on the Macan, but on the Cayman/718. If you want to say all 911's are ugly, I can definitely agree with you.

I gave up the motorcycle shortly after my first was born, trading that in several years later for the relative "safety" of amateur car racing even a bit of open-wheel, but was too expensive, and required a time commitment beyond what I was willing. Eventually gave that up to.

Then a few years ago, my friend got me hooked on high performance go-karts, and quickly had a 125cc shifter cart, and then a 250cc shifter cart. The 250cc was an impulse buy of someone who wanted to exit the sport. It is the most intense thing I have ever been behind the wheel of, and it is not even close. Sure any super-bike will out accelerate it, but that is the only place they could even come close to keeping up.

Thank you Erik!,,,

Taste, especially visual taste, is subjective. I might think Porches are beautiful and you are ugly. There are cars that are fun and motorcycles that are not. Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.

All Porches are ugly??

   Interesting.....Funny how just the mention of a word or two (motorcycles/cars) can take a post into an entirely different direction, not that it's a bad thing. Personal attacks and criticism are something left to other sites. The concept of this site as being one of a "community" is a good one. Everyone has their own personal opinions and whether they are constructive or not, that's up to the readers.
   Audio to some is a hobby. To others it's just something to enjoy. And, to others, it's both. Some think their audio setup is entirely adequate and don't like to hear what more may be out there. They probably shouldn't be involved in this site. But, most are curious. Always looking for ways to improve. That's my way of thinking.
   While many read about megabuck equipment and haven't the financial means to purchase such, they look for advice here. Here's an example...A friend, who loves performance from his cars, bought a new car a couple of years ago. He couldn't afford the next model up with more performance so he bought the one he could afford. After two years of performance equipment and tweaks his car had equal performance to the model he originally wanted. In the end he ended up with a car that was equal to the higher model. Just didn't have the means two years back. Many here approach audio in the same manner.
  Just one of my, perhaps, stupid opinions.

"All Porches are ugly??"

Not at all. Only those not owned by me.

For four years of my life all I had was a motorcycle. Rain or shine, for work and for pleasure. Been down a few times and once went over the handlebars. Always wanted to get a T-shirt that read, "Speed Kills...Try It."

That was when I was younger and seemed to bounce back with only some of my skin missing and waking up in bed having to slowly peel myself away from the bedsheets.

You couldn't pay me enough to ride now, at my age. Things break too easily and don't mend the same anymore. 👍

Al, congrats on the Macan. It's the best all rounder extant giving one speed, practicality and performance. I believe it's Porsche's best seller.

All the best,
Nonoise

I'm sorry but, I knew a guy that didn't smoke cause he didn't want to get lung cancer. One day he was in the crosswalk and a tobacco truck ran over his clean lungs and killed him. 
Point is, you pick your poison. Probably safe if you stay in bed all day. But, what's the pleasure in that?  Clint said it best and it's always what I've lived by, "a man's got to know his   limitations."

  Interesting.....Funny how just the mention of a word or two (motorcycles/cars) can take a post into an entirely different direction,

Hence my evil laugh. :)

I hope your hearing is better than your eyesight, Porsche’s are anything but ugly

This is a funny topic and oddly related to audiophile culture.

Porsche's...really...911s are a study in slow and steady evolution. It's beautiful in that way. In the broad scheme of things, there are so many better looking cars...but so few have developed and evolved like that particular Porsche.

I think cars are generally ugly these days. Mostly because designers don't draw enough (I'm generalizing here)...and rely on computer modeling and rendering. Scale is way off.  From behind, my '68 Mustang...next to a late model Corolla/Civic...looks tiny.  That's the 'scale' issue.  It's also why we have McMansions. Scale is something Michelangelo knew something about and kids today don't. That's why most late (post 90's) cars look really awful to me. 

I also think the trend in audio is to make the sound full and big. Think Macs, Primaluna.  I think the more I listen, I like the music to sound real to scale and honest...more like when I hear Audio Research.
 

@whart omg thanks for posting, I miss YOU ma hope this finds you and yours well

Eric:

” strong like Bull ( Lamborghini ), Smart
like Tractor ( Porsche )...
gets me thru the confusing parts of the day...

but there was that day I quit the two wheel gig: R-90 versus Blue Haired lady in a slant 6 Dodge Dart...,

now there is a fuguly.... car

My nickname for the 996 X50 running insane boost: “ The soulless German Appliance”.....

My wife called it “ Tire Dealers Wet Dream “only racing eclipsed that tire budget....

erik_squires

Agreed. About the tone some of this. On the internet it’s everywhere. 

"backyard self-electrocuting iconoclasts "....Damn, I like that! *LOL*

Finally, some intials I could place after my name....

"J.L.H., BYS-EI" (eieio)....

Where'd ya go to school for That?!

"HKU...  Hard Knocks Unversity.  They kick your aze out the door when you know more than they do...."

As I am neither a bike or car fanatic and I have no interest in comparing things either, I’ll move to the next post. 🇦🇺