Help! What to do about dear old Dad?

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You are so lucky! As previously stated by others, who cares what kind of bike he rides. I miss my father terribly. I never got the opportunity to ride with him. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to ride with him.

 
He just bought a Harley. It's a 2004 Road King IIRC. I don't know what to do; I'm at a complete loss. What should I do? Should I buy him stocks in loctite, or get him coupons for the local tattoo parlor or something? Chrome polish perhaps? Roadside assistance for when it shakes itself apart? He's going bald so I don't think there's much of a chance of a ponytail.
Please, any suggestions will do. Many thanks,

-- A concerned son.
Tenchi ,,, I wouldn't worry about it... As we get older we slow down ,, We don't have to chase corners ,,

we probably don't need a bike that is smooth, fast, handles great, and can travel long distances..

So , I think the Harley will be fine... I even figure one of these days ,, when I can't hike my leg up

enough to throw it over a sport touring bike ,,, I might even get a cruiser .... :blink:

Of course it could be the early signs of being senile or having dementia :dribble: ,,so keep a close watch on him ,,,

Or maybe he's in his second child hood and always wanted to be a pirate :rolleyes:

 
You are so lucky! As previously stated by others, who cares what kind of bike he rides. I miss my father terribly. I never got the opportunity to ride with him. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to ride with him.

+1....... The take-away here is that he is here....you can do something together...and learn from each other....and be positive ambassadors for bike ownership...regardless of the brand. I hope you and your dad share many a mile, and create many a memory, together! :rolleyes:

 
Hah, be careful Mr. Tenchi, you'll find yourself longing for that big bad hog.. next thing you know the Feejer will be sitting unused, draining its battery and returning to Japanese muddle. Harley's rock!

 
You are so lucky! As previously stated by others, who cares what kind of bike he rides. I miss my father terribly. I never got the opportunity to ride with him. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to ride with him.

+1....... The take-away here is that he is here....you can do something together...and learn from each other....and be positive ambassadors for bike ownership...regardless of the brand. I hope you and your dad share many a mile, and create many a memory, together! :rolleyes:
I still get a big grin on my face when I think back about a year ago when I was riding with my son... I was passing a car and had moved into the left lane to pass on my FJR and he went by me on his R-1 doing a wheelie... Be thankful you have your dad to ride with... I wish I had that chance! Rich

 
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It could be worse

3 years back, while I was visiting my folks in Ontario, I took my 72 year old mom for her FIRST ever MC ride... a nice slow cruise on my goldwing in the countryside north of Oshawa. Big mistake.

2 days later, I'm back home in Montreal and my brother/sister/father are all taking turns tearing strips out of me. Mom decided to take a rider's course and she already selected a sportster from the Oshawa HD dealership (which actually weighs more than an FJR). We tried to talk her down but nothing doing... she ended up buying a Suzuki Bergman 400 step-through, which is 'better' I suppose.

I rode from Montreal back to my parents (to a not-so-warm reception by everyone else) to help her take delivery and ride blocker for her on my goldwing while she cuts her teeth. Dropped it twice the first day and we were all convinced 'there goes mom'

But I digest....

point is: if your dad actually has ridden before, you should at least be thankful that your 'problem' is his taste in rides - not whether you should medicate & restrain him. (we let her out for some exercise twice a day)

 
You are so lucky! As previously stated by others, who cares what kind of bike he rides. I miss my father terribly. I never got the opportunity to ride with him. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to ride with him.
My fondest memories prior to leaving the country are of riding with him, but alas that is difficult to do when you're half way around the world.

I hope I get to do it when I go back, that's for sure.

 
PS - Maybe your Dad will be more successful keeping his bike upright? (5 times?) :rolleyes:
Ouch!! I very much doubt he'll be taking the ol' Chromed up beast off road in the same way I do :p . 4 of those were in the dirt and muck off road thank you very much :p

 
He's going bald so I don't think there's much of a chance of a ponytail.
Please, any suggestions will do. Many thanks,

-- A concerned son.
https://www.e4hats.com/_e/dept/35-066/Ponyt...Baseball_Cap.ht Always a fun gag gift

As others have said, enjoy riding with him- my parents hated motorcycles (was that what attracted me to them?); no one but me in my family rides. Just let him go first so he won't wreck trying to keep up with your FJR.

 
Your Dad's alright ! On the other hand, you do know that FJR is gonna get your butt kicked if you go bar hopping with him, right ? :lol:

 
:rolleyes: I bought an 09 ultra loaded and the FJR stayes in the garage most of the time. It's only better from 80 to 150 anyway and you got to many jackboots in Lousyana to go that fast. Not a whole lot of curves either. The harley shakes like Elvis at idle but it is actually smother at eighty than the FJR. Not that the FJR is a vibrator I consider it a very smooth ride. More important my wife likes riding the Harley better than my FJR. That's the main reason I have it. We also know Yamahas have their problems. I've had a couple of them. My FJR has been flawless for over 16000 miles. Can't complain about it. It tends to make me want to go too fast. The Harley don't.
 
You didn't say how experienced he was. Lot of first time riders getting Harleys, then getting off them at the most inopportune moments. If you're worried about that, I'd suggest a MSF class, and you can go with him, for a little bonding.

 
At bike week there's usually a vendor selling dorags with Willy Nelson ponytails.

And they're NHDOT certified...

 
Tenchi, I would get your dad a supply of Viagra, cause after he's ridden around a while, he may get some ideas about his new found virility.

Seriously, good for you that your dad wants to ride. And equally seriously, get him tickets to an advanced riding course. You'd be amazed at the statistics about how many harley crashes there are.

 

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