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How old is to old to ride a superbike?

11K views 80 replies 60 participants last post by  Desimoto 
#1 ·
I have a 748 and wonder how much longer I can realistically ride it. I just turned 40 so I think I’m good for a while but when is it time to find something more comfortable and easier to get on and off?

Not some super freak human who rides one daily at 90...the average person!
 
#5 ·
40? You are way too old. Sell it now and get a Cadillac. :laugh:

There is no one answer. It all depends on you and your personal body. If you can ride in reasonable comfort, for you.
Ride on! :wink2:
 
#6 ·
That's entirely about your body shape, and your physical fitness (especially core strength).
I'm 55, and I have a Monster, not a superbike.
But I just strapped on some baggage and rode it 1500 miles in 3 days, to get from NH to Kansas City.
If you keep fit and in practice, you can ride for a long time.
I have known several people into their 70's or 80's who continued to ride whatever they wanted to.

PhilB
 
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#7 ·
I'm mid 40's and I expect to keep riding all of my superbikes for another 30 years. Stay fit and active and I can't understand how it would be an issue.
 
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#27 ·
Exactly... I turn 58 tomorrow. I swim competitively, sail competitively (foredeck), and ice climb in the winter... @Sherpa23F 's comment is the rule, not the exception. Stay in shape, and relatively injury free, and there is no reason for age to keep you off of a superbike.
 
#13 ·
I don't know about all this fitness stuff, I smoke and drink, no exercise, 53 and very comfortable on my 916. The trick is to make your legs and torso do all the work (stomp grip on the tank helps) loose bent arms with loose hands, you can ride all day. To quote Keith Code from California Superbike School. The handlebars are for steering not supporting your weight.

I did his school at 45 and expected to be the oldest there, i was probably average age, lots of guys in their 50s doing it.
 
#15 ·
40? As long as you can still fold yourself up enough to fit on one, and still actually want to ride one, the new V4 should be a classic before that time comes.
 
#16 ·
Depends on how your health goes. I've got friends in their 70s who still do 500+ mile days on sportbikes with clip ons. I've got other friends in their 60s who are done with sportbikes for anything longer than 100 miles because they've been weakened or impacted by things like cancer and strokes. Personally, I'm 59 and I can see my sportbike days ending. Used to regularly do 500-600 mile days on sportbikes, but a bulging disc in my neck is starting to make this harder to do without ending up with neck problems and persistent tingling in my left shoulder and arm after these rides.
 
#17 ·
I’m in good shape and at only 40 am 100% time! I’m more asking since I’m thinking of adding a 848 or another M900. The Monster was the bike that stole my heart with a ducati and will always hold a very special place. The 848 dark is just gorgeous. I do have a career that requires me to wear an extra 35 pounds around my waist daily so my back is aged a bit over 40 but still strong! Lol
 
#21 · (Edited)
... or get both. The 848 is very much a sportbike, but you should be able to handle that for many more years yet unless you have infirmities.

The M900 is a standard, and quite comfortable one-up. That's what I've got now. After my trusty 1993 M900 got crunched last year, I bought my ex-wife's 1995 M900 from her, to ride until I decide what to get next. But it's perfectly serviceable. I just last week bungeed enough stuff on it to travel to another city and live and work there for 6 months, and rode it 1500 miles in 3 days from NH to Kansas City. I'm 55, and in decent shape, but not any sort of fitness fanatic.

PhilB
 

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#18 ·
Before he passed away late last year, my Grandfather was the oldest insured motorcycle rider in WI at the tender age of 88 years old :)

Granted he didn't put on too many miles, but at least 2x a year in his 80's he would take his old Suzuki out for a 5-10 mile ride. Before that he would typically ride 4-5k miles a year.
 
#20 ·
I don’t think it’s the age as much as the miles. I’m 66 but my body has been beat up so many times over the decades that I can’t ride the Superbikes and more. Breaking vertebra in my neck twice is the real show stopper. But my friend is 79 and he can handle the ergonomics better than I can.


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#24 ·
Birthday last month

Last month was the 70th birthday and 54 years owning motorcycles, the last 20 years owning the current 916.

Really can't imagine not owning and riding some motorcycle. It's more difficult to do 200-300 mile rides through Glendora Mountain Road or Palomar from where I live now in Irvine, yet on occasion I still manage it.

Stay as fit as possible and never give up what you love to do until it's all over!
 

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#29 ·
It is not just about body strength and stamina, there is eyesight and reflexes (and probably some other shit) to consider too, just because one is able to do 30 on a superbike going down the interstate does not mean one should.

I'm 50 and quit riding moto x bikes on the track a few months back, my reasoning, if one gets to the point thinking how it's gonna hurt if you get it wrong every time you approach the camelback......, well then it's time to quit.

The next superbike/sportbike that I buy (2020GSXR750??) will probably be my last, I'm getting slow, the bikes are getting scary fast, I've reached the peak of what I can comfortably handle 20 years ago with 140hp. I can not see myself riding sportbikes beyond 60.
 
#30 ·
I really have no interest in riding a Harley style cruiser, or a Goldwing land yacht, or a three wheeler. It will be sportbikes or nakeds until my skills decline (vision, reflexes, balance) to where I don't feel safe and then on to four wheels and the gardening club.

Had a MX bike for a short time a couple of years ago and realized it was only a matter of time before I was hurt on it. Possibly already too old (45) for that thing.
 
#31 ·
I consider my Monster to be a sport bike, same as the Tuono V twins I had before.
They will go as fast as you like and then some. No need to get stupid and drag knee on the street.
They are just not race replica bikes, or superbikes, but close enough.
The monkey humping football riding position is good for the track.
Anywhere else, it sucks. Tilt your head way back just to look forward. Uh huh. My neck hurts. Chengala. :rolleyes:
 
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