Time to part with the Nomad

[warrbucks222]

Don't do it, don't get old. Get to the gym, workout & keep riding. I did. Worth it. Probably added 10 years to life & still ride.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[redbrd]

If you're not comfortable on the bike it takes the fun out of it, find something that suits your needs and keep riding. I was on that ride to Salmon arm, mine was the blue and silver bike , it was my first ride and everyone made me feel welcome a great bunch of guys and some fantastic roads.

[Navigator]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions my friends. Neither a trike or the twin front wheel modification is for me though. I investigated hacking the Nomad, and while DMC Sidecars in Enumclaw WA will do it, it is just not a good candidate for a number of reasons.

I tell younger people all of the time not to get old. Regretfully the last two years have not been kind to me with a very active life catching up. 35 years in the Navy, running on steel flight decks to keep in shape, plus a tour with the Marines, took an appalling toll on my knees. Now less than a year away from 70, the Cortisone shots that kept me mobile simply no longer work. I had a blood clot in a lung last March and it took a lot out of me. Not complaining but darn I do hate getting old. I know an 80 year old that still rides though.

My wife of 46 years, who used to ride with me when we were young, made an interesting comment a couple of days ago. "Don't be in such a hurry to sell it" she said. She suggested that I keep it for when my Army son visits from Maryland. He has my stupidly powerful 2007 Rocket 3 that I gave him a few years ago and he loves the Nomad, riding it out to the coast with me during his last visit. So it sits in a chock in my garage looking pretty as I wait for my hearing and eyesight to improve and for me get younger. Hmmm. Fat chance.

redbrd, I do very much remember your beautiful machine. I in fact took a picture of it that first evening. I still much regret that my Castlegar friend and I got turned around following his useless Gold Wing GPS and missed the rest of the ride. I still owe Canuck Rider a beer.

[sg67]

Hello Mike,
Therefore no more project to come to Europe surely? I hope that at nearly 70 years like you, I can still do the motorcycle, but with already the few creaking of bones I have, not certain :).
I wish you the best health anyway, and look after you well
Serge

[biscuitsngravy]

I agree that getting old is no darn fun. I'll be 72 in November and do not do well during hot weather any more. I still have my 2006 Nomad but it is attached to a sidecar since 2014. It is fun in parades, but I don't take long trips in it any more. Last month I got a 2007 Goldwing 1800 that has turned out to be very comfortable and steers without hardly any effort. So it will keep me going a few more years..... maybe. You do what you got to do as long as you do it. My best to my biker friends everywhere.

[Navigator]

Serge, Thank you for your very kind words,

I just sent a note to a friend in UK, a retired Bobbie, cancelling my scheduled August trip to ride England, Scotland and Wales. I told him I'm putting it off for a year. I would very much like to tour also visit France and there is no reason I couldn't do it on a side car rig. It just costs a bit more to do so. I'm not dead yet, just a little beat up.

Dave, I'd very much like it if we could talk about your hack rig. I might be all wet about the Nomad not being a good candidate. I'll PM you.

[Wizard42]

I know why I love this site, I no longer feel like the "oldest" guy at 63 ;)

One thought Mike should consider is that since he knows his machine so well, turning it into a trike would still give him confidence of the condition of the ride and when sitting on the trike it is easy to forget you have the two wheels behind you :)

I rode/ride a Dyna Wide Glide, but due to medical reasons I can no longer take a passenger, which did not go over well with my wife!

I searched for 13 months and was lucky enough to find this dream 3 blocks away pop up for sale.

Hannigan has been in the business 42 years and that make a beautiful (IMHO) trike kit for the 2007 Nomad (and others).

[Bud2rat]

Getting old does have it's disadvantages. I have a 2013 Voyager that I have decided to add a trike kit to. I'm looking at the bolt-on type. www.mtcvoyager.com makes a nice looking kit that far less cost than the permanent ones. I use the Voyager for riding 2 up and pulling a Leesure lite camper. So hopefully this will keep me riding for several years.

[Navigator]

Hmmm. I keep saying I don't want a trike but that Hannigan sure looks good.

I was at a local place the other day for a 30 year (High Tide Tavern) in business birthday. I parked my hack next to a Harley trike and hunted down the owner to tell him if I was crowding him that I'd move. What a great guy he was. He told me back in about 2004 or so he was riding back from Sturgis with his buddies when a car crossed the lane and plowed into all of them, killing his wife of 39 years and several others. He was not expected to live or if he did walk again but he did both. He's 72. Another plus is that I finally recalled where we had met previously. It kicked in when he told me he plays locally and it dawned on me that we played at an open mic together about two years ago. I was doing some songs on my old Gibson guitar and he picked up his base and accompanied me.

YOU MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE ON A BIKE, TRIKE OR SIDECAR RIG.

Edit: Just found this. And that's my bike.

http://www.hannigantrikes.com/produc...ke-conversion/

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by Navigator

Hmmm. I keep saying I don't want a trike but that Hannigan sure looks good.

I was at a local place the other day for a 30 year (High Tide Tavern) in business birthday. I parked my hack next to a Harley trike and hunted down the owner to tell him if I was crowding him that I'd move. What a great guy he was. He told me back in about 2004 or so he was riding back from Sturgis with his buddies when a car crossed the lane and plowed into all of them, killing his wife of 39 years and several others. He was not expected to live or if he did walk again but he did both. He's 72. Another plus is that I finally recalled where we had met previously. It kicked in when he told me he plays locally and it dawned on me that we played at an open mic together about two years ago. I was doing some songs on my old Gibson guitar and he picked up his base and accompanied me.

YOU MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE ON A BIKE, TRIKE OR SIDECAR RIG.

Edit: Just found this. And that's my bike.

http://www.hannigantrikes.com/produc...ke-conversion/

Hannigan builds some nice trikes! I love the trike setups, don't much care for the training wheel trike setup....but thats just me. If it keeps someone riding, I'm all for it, even if I don't personally like it.

[hammer]

Yup, Navigator, I am pondering that now. Just got back from a 3,800 mile ride over 15 days (with Duffy) and I may be looking for something lighter or more nimble. Hey maybe a Versys like I watched Duffy riding. Like Duffy said, old age isn't for wussies.

[BudMan]

My wife has a Hannigan trike (Kawasaki). Very nice machine.
She loves it.

[duffy]

Originally Posted by Bud2rat

Getting old does have it's disadvantages. I have a 2013 Voyager that I have decided to add a trike kit to. I'm looking at the bolt-on type. www.mtcvoyager.com makes a nice looking kit that far less cost than the permanent ones. I use the Voyager for riding 2 up and pulling a Leesure lite camper. So hopefully this will keep me riding for several years.

I had one of those on my 1500 Classic........for about 9 months. It is not a real good trike.......they ride funny to say the least. The bike is not "solidly" attached to the kit which allows the bike to lean inside the kit in the opposite direction. Kind of spooky at first. When you get used to the kit and start pushing the corners hard you will pull up the inside wheel (you still have three wheels on the ground). Although not too bad for the rider or passenger you will scare the crap out of any biker riding behind. They think you're going over. Try to find one to ride or get a used one cheap. I found a used one for $500 and just had to buy a new mount kit (it came off a HD and went on the Vulcan).

[Navigator]

It is interesting to see that this thread is still living. I've been doing a lot of investigation into sidecar options and recently almost purchased a British Watsonian car for the Nomad. They are classic, beautiful sidecars that have some unique issues though.

I've been corresponding with a gent in North Carolina though who did a beautiful job of attaching an extremely good looking car to a 1600 but when I asked about the steering he admitted that it is extremely heavy and required a front fork mod, as I did on my VStrom DL650 hack. There are a number of options with none costing under $1500 and $3000 being the most probable.

One of my local riding friends has a beautiful low mileage 1500 Kawasaki Vulcan Classic that he wants to sell because he is giving up riding.
I sat on it and it is very much lighter off the kickstand. I love my Nomad but it is just so MASSIVE. George's Classic has a beautiful custom paint job and is an absolute peach. It has side pipes with detachable leather bags and an aftermarket exhaust that sounds great. I'm thinking that I'll buy it but of course none of you gents will ever talk to me again should I do so. :)

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by Navigator

One of my local riding friends has a beautiful low mileage 1500 Kawasaki Vulcan Classic that he wants to sell because he is giving up riding.
I sat on it and it is very much lighter off the kickstand. I love my Nomad but it is just so MASSIVE. George's Classic has a beautiful custom paint job and is an absolute peach. It has side pipes with detachable leather bags and an aftermarket exhaust that sounds great. I'm thinking that I'll buy it but of course none of you gents will ever talk to me again should I do so. :)

If the Nomad is to big for you get rid of it before you hurt yourself.
At least your still looking at a Kawasaki, I went to Victory and some of the so called friends I have on here still talk to me, well, they harass me but that is still talking