I totally lack interest in other kinds of motorsports… Or even cars. But I do take an interest in railways.
Ultranomad wrote:
Here is my steed in the middle of a 4000 km trip from Prague to St. Petersburg and back.
This picture triggers a deja-vu … I am certain that I have seen it on this forum before 
And I guess that I have already shown a picture of mine as well (although it looks a bit different here it is exactly the same one):
That was about two years ago after doing ca. 120.000km with that thing. I had bought it new in 1994 or 1995 and done every single kilometer myself. The engine and gearbox started to get a little worn and was in need of an overhaul. But I found it much cheaper and easier and quicker to buy a low-time (30.000km) engine from a trusted person and just swap engines. The blue thing in the background is my car, a now very rare Italian coupé whose brand name starts with “F” but does not end with “errari” 
It will be 18 years old in a few weeks and has 360.000km on the clock, again all driven by me. It must last long enough for affordable electric cars to become available.
Generally I don’t like driving much, I rather consider it as a necessary nuisance. My personal limit for road travel is 100km, more than that and I will rather take the train. Especially I hate driving on our famous non-speed limited German motorways because you don’t have a quiet minute there. Either you take part in the rat race on the left lane, acellerating from 100 to 180 km/h and braking down again three times per kilometer or you get stuck between the trucks on the right lane at 80km/h. How wonderful driving is in Switzerland where you can actually engage your cruise control and drive at a constant 125km/h for an entire hour and still reach your destination faster.
Racing I don’t care the least about and never did.
@what_next, mine looked like your photo about 10 months ago, for exactly the same reason – the old engine started making loud noises (probably bearings), and it was cheaper and quicker to swap it than to overhaul.
Not sure I qualify for posting here but here goes…
Yamaha 200 1973
Yamaha 500 1975
Datsun 100A F II 1978
Ford XR3i 1983
Golf GTi 1987
Toyota Celica 1989
Toyota Soarer 2005
VW Scirocco 2012
Except for the Soarer (a Jap import) all purchased new and got run until they were worth very little. But apart from the two motorbikes, I never tinkered with any of them. The 1st bike was used as a test bed for voltage regulators and electronic ignition boxes I made in small quantities.
I don’t like driving much either – 1hr max and exceptionally 2hrs (the 2hr drive is once a year to the AME ). But British roads are really clogged with traffic most of the time.
I will drive any distance, and after many years and about two million km (edited) i still enjoy it. Besides my two planes i still own four cars today … offroad jeep, family SUV, classic US cruiser and a 400 hp sport sedan.
I did ride fast motorcycles for a while in my twenties (Kawasaki 1000RZ) but i quit when i started to believe it’s too dangerous. Flying i have more control over the risk, and i prefer that.
Not at all, except classic cars for their aesthetics (I’ve got a beautiful 60s convertible), not interested in the ‘motor’ aspect. Funnily, the same goes for air shows. I LOVE flying, but couldn’t care less about watching someone doing aerobatics.
172driver wrote:
…not interested in the ‘motor’ aspect. Funnily, the same goes for air shows. I LOVE flying, but couldn’t care less about watching someone doing aerobatics.
Same for me in both respects. Only because something has a motor doesn’t mean that I have much interest. I like sailing and windsurfing (although I did not have the time for either in years) but going on a motorboat? No, thanks – please not!
And the only things that really impressed me in the few airshows I ever visited were large airliners (mainly those made in Toulouse) flying at the edge of their envelope within the confined space of their display area. The Red Arrows might have impressed me a tiny little bit as well, possibly – the noise and the colored smoke …
And I still have my first motorbike (which hopefully will last until I don’t want to drive it any more) and only my third car ever. Which I have had for 18 years. It’s two predecessors also reached age 18 before falling to pieces (one Opel and one Citroen CX, one of the best cars ever built but sadly with zero corrosion proofing), but those I didn’t buy new.
Vladimir wrote:
Perfect addition, a thing I would include in the same bunch of hobbies/interests. Maybe a good idea for my next vacation: get a recreational license.
I often think cars are poor substitutes for boats for people living inland In Norway we are 5 million people, but I think we have a million recreation boats here (one million). I got 2 (more like 1 1/2 ), a boat and a canoe. Got to have a new boat this year. Something faster so my wife stop complaining it takes too long to get to places and smaller so I can bring it home during the winter and maintain it. I actually would like a sailboat, but too much work, way too slow, so my wife would hate it (I would just love sailing with no other purpose, but she needs to get “somewhere”, and in a sailboat that takes a looong time. She don’t like flying much, but we both like the sea. For me to have a plane, it also means I have to have a boat to keep the family peace )
Probably the most fun I have ever driven (on the ground) are snowmobiles. I have never owned one, only used some company owned ones to get to powerplants during the winter and similar things. The power and acceleration in those are incredible, and I have only driven the average “sedan variety”, not the hot 150+ two stroke hp ones. The sensation of speed going 100+ km/h in between brush and trees, jumping in the snow is really something extraordinary. Those things are mostly for young people IMO, unless of course you need it for everyday use or work or something.
Not interested in cars or Motorsport. Have owned a motorbike in past, have owned a car since 1960, but it’s just transport. Don’t mind driving for hours, but don’t get pleasure from it. Only worked on car in past to save money.
Not interested in aeroplanes, but enjoy flying. Gliding 1959 – 1964. PPL in 1964, couldn’t afford to fly, got it back 1987. Part owner of Jodel DR1050 since January 1990.
(Boat owner 1965 – 1986, sailing dinghy, then small sail cruiser, then 9 metre deisel fishing boat.)
Oh I’m a complete petrolhead…People have joked about buying me petrol for my birthday…
Since 1992 I have only driven Porsches. (Lucky, I know…I used to have my own business.) They were all news ones that I spec’d out myself except the current one which was an ex-demonstrator with 4,000 miles on the clock. They hold their price remarkably well and are very reliable wonderful machines being so well engineered. I gradually moved up the model list. The progression goes like this : 944 S2 Coupe (one of the very last off the line. Magnificent car.), Boxster S (Nov-99 – one of the very first off the line – I ordered it two years before the model was announced and later spoke at the Boxster convention in Las Vegas in 2000), 996 C4S, 997 C4S, 997 Turbo. They have all been truly wonderful beasts. The 944 and the Boxster overlapped for a few years – the 944 being the family car. I kept it for 11 years. I’d still have it now if I hadn’t had to sell it to pay legal fees in 2003 (long story). The current car is a 2008 model turbo, now with 65,000 miles on it and I intend to keep it until it or I stop running. (I can’t afford to buy a new or nearly new Porsche again whilst also flying.) I have taken a few of the cars to the track and had some racing lessons at Brands Hatch and Silverstone. They were good fun days, but racing properly involves having a dedicated race car (even a street car dedicated to weekend racing) and not just one’s normal road car which is what I have.
I also own and ride motorbikes but have only ever done one (Ducati 748) race day at a track. Bikes are such great value in terms of bang for the buck. I have had a good number of Italian bikes but I get repeatedly fed up seeing them taken away on a low loader by the AA (the last being a Moto Guzzi Griso that had been caught in the rain – Italian bikes are not waterproof!) so I often go back to more reliable bikes until I get the urge to get another fantastic-looking Italian beast. At the moment I run a BMW R NineT and before that an R1200RT. BMW bikes just work. Every time. Perfectly. They are also good fun to ride. I still lust after Ducatis though.
Howard
