How Do You Park

Yes, with motorcycles, it was easy to get a licence in those days. On my 16th birthday, I walked in, took a written test...got outside and drove my 65cc Honda penny farthing around the block (with nobody following) and had my licence that day. When I was 19 all I had to do was go a couple of blocks with the instructor and had my car licence. I wonder how things would be if they were that liberal today???

Why was that motorcycle called a "penny farthing?" Was one wheel larger in diameter than the other, like the old "Penny Farthing" bicycles that had the big front wheel and the small rear wheel? If so, I'll assume the larger wheel was in the rear.

Why was that motorcycle called a "penny farthing"?

No..I was just being a bit sarcastic about it's age. But...here's approximately what it looked like back in 1965. Nothing really was changed when they made the similar model except for some small mods. It started out as a 50cc, but mine was a 1965 Honda 65cc. My sister actually gave it to me because it was too powerful!!

http://powersports.honda.com/the_story/her...asp?Decade=1960

http://www.bohemianbrewery.com/scooters/honda.html

Why was that motorcycle called a "penny farthing"?

No..I was just being a bit sarcastic about it's age. But...here's approximately what it looked like back in 1965. Nothing really was changed when they made the similar model except for some small mods. It started out as a 50cc, but mine was a 1965 Honda 65cc. My sister actually gave it to me because it was too powerful!!

http://powersports.honda.com/the_story/her...asp?Decade=1960

http://www.bohemianbrewery.com/scooters/honda.html

We would call them "scooters" which are considered different than motorcycles.

My first one was a 400cc Kawasaki, three cylinder, two-stroke.

To get my motorcycle license at 17 (circa 1977), all I had was a written test. And I was good to ride a 750 if I wanted. Fortunately at that time, we all started on small bikes and gradually moved our way up the motorcycle food chain.

For my driver's license, at 18, a similar written test and a little drive in a borrowed Pontiac Laurentian in James Bay Quebec where I had landed a summer job while in college and needed my licence for the pick-ups and Suburbans I'd drive as a field inspector... Yep, the good times.

Parking.

-I avoid parallel parking in city streets like the plague.

-Our 2 car garage (basement level of a townhouse) is very tight for 2 small cars but it is mostly the 2 sharp right turns needed to get in our space. So backing in is out of the question.

-Otherwise, it depends on the lot. For shopping malls, I too don't bother walking the extra distance to save from imprudent and negligent drivers and parents. And at the far ends of these lots, I can usually pull in the free space just in front, so I can move forward as well when I leave.

-For my wife, she's generally a good "parker" but she's not constant. Either the sidewalks "dangerously threaten" her wheels or she's at 2 feet from the curb and at an angle to boot. Go figure.

My second motorcycle was a 750cc Suzuki.

I pull in front-first and must back out 99% of the time. Here are some general rules I try to adhere to while parking: http://www.xanga.com/AncienTree/388296829/...-parking--.html

I pull in front-first and must back out 99% of the time. Here are some general rules I try to adhere to while parking: http://www.xanga.com/AncienTree/388296829/...-parking--.html

It does not mention whether it is better to back in or pull in to the spot.