Living with rheumatoid arthritis I have come to somewhat accept my physical limitations. I'm 63, and yet I don't feel like a senior citizen. In my mind, I’m definitely still a child inside. The reality is that my body is the one that's giving away.
Last night during a random search, I found a 1995 Kawasaki KX-500 on Craigslist not far from me, and for the right price. Most good deals are usually too far. This is a great project to keep me busy in the garage. The problem is that this type of vintage dirt bike does not come with a electric starter, it has to be kick started. Team Green still relies on boot power to get its big motocross bikes running.
Therein lies the problem, for the past three weeks I've been experiencing inflammation and pain on my right ankle, and have to use ankle support. Do you think I am going to try to consider kickstarting a KX-500? As much as I would love to own this bike, I'll have to pass.
So the search continues.
The pictures included in this post were taken 6 years ago at Kawasaki Race of Champions in Raceway Park Motocross, Englishtown, New Jersey.
You make a good point. We all struggle with physical limitations as we age.
ReplyDeleteI'm about the same age as you (61) and beginning to feel the appearance of these things. I fear their future effect on my activities like hiking and riding. Making adjustments (like electronic-starter v. kickstarter) is sensible.
For me it all went downhill after turning 50. And I didn't even mention not being able to ride my bike at night due to my poor eyesight. Those are the joys of getting older.
DeleteKickstarting a big single was always a challenge - more than once I ended up with my chin imprinted on my knee (or vice versa). And my 850 Norton was no slouch either. So I'm happy to have electric start, although I still worry about reliability compared to a kick start.
ReplyDeleteIn the 70's a friend broke his ankle kickstarting a Yamaha XT-500. My old Yamaha Dt-360 had a decompression valve operated by the kickstarter so it was easier to handle.
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