OT: First Ride Today!

[FrankS]

Warm sunny weather today, so I rode my motorcycle to work for the first time this year. Rangefinder link: I carried a Bessa R with collapsible I-22 50mm lens in the tank bag, but I kept the lens extended so the vibration wouldn't cause the end of the collapsed lens to vibrate into the camera innards. The bike is a 1976 BMW R90/6. I wouldn't trade it for a new one, just as I wouldn't trade my M3 for an M7.

 

[tedwhite]

I used to have an R-50 with Earls forks. Should've kept it. Now I'm down to a 1975 Hodaka Road Toad 2 stroke. But it's street-legal, has head and taillights, and boy, does it save on my gas bill. I've been afraid to put the Bessa R in the tank bag so I let it hang inside my jacket. When people ask what the bulge is I say a small tumor.

Great that you finally got the beast out of cold storage.

 

[FrankS]

Yeah, it feels great to ride while there are still patches of snow here and there. Cooler weather in the spring and summer is much more pleasant to ride in than the hot,hot days of summer. This morning was a chilly 4C but coming home it was 14C. Distance to my work is 40km/25miles so it takes 1/2 hour.

 

[BJ Bignell]

I'm so jealous! I'm waiting for parts and good weather before I can get on the road. It's been nice lately, but there's still some ice and snow laying around, and lots of gravel from the sanding trucks (makes those corners scary 😱 ). We need a couple of days of good, hard rain.

The bikes? 1983 Honda Nighthawk 650 & 1985 Honda Magna V-30.

I usually carry the camera gear in a backpack, or - in hot weather - in a bag strapped to the sissy bar with bungee cords. The Contessa made quite a few trips last year without issue, so I'm hoping the R will do as well...

 

[MCTuomey]

Do I detect a nascent "bessa and a bike" thread?

 

[tedwhite]

Darn, he's caught us out.

 

[BJ Bignell]

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I went out to the farm and started up the Magna yesterday, and took her for a little drive. Oooooo, baby! That felt good.

Another week, and I'll be ready to start producing "bike and a Bessa" pictures for y'all...

 

[tedwhite]

Hmmm. Won't the allegedly delicate Bessa R RF system get knocked out of whack bouncing about in a motorcycle tankbag or saddlebag?

Which is why I carry mine with the neckstrap around my neck and tucked inside a sturdy jacket. But then I'm usually riding down dirt roads, or worse, cowtrailing. So I stand up on the pegs alot with knees slightly bent...

 

[BJ Bignell]

I'm concerned about it too, but Frank says he uses the tank bag and doesn't seem to have any issues. I don't have a tank bag for either bike yet, so for the time being it'll be in a pocket, or on my back.

Frank: You have any issues with the RF alignment? Do you have some extra padding in your tank bag? What's your secret, man? Spill the beans! 😀