When I think of philosophers I invariably get drawn to the philosophers featured in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. My face to face experience of meeting people studying philosophy at University has done little to dispel that image.

For those a little confused by the Guide look up Majikthise and Vroomfondel on this Wikipedia page.

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You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.

Funny I should read this whilst leafing through the spec tables of a Haynes manual. In dis-belief on the inaccuracies.

In this example, they state to add DOUBLE the amount of fork oil these DRZ forks that I'm working on. Which would surely overflow or blow the seals. Because they haven't bothered to note that the forks were changed for the later models.

So take it all with a pinch of salt.


I have to agree with "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance"

It starts well. Enjoyable. a story you can relate with. Then as the book progresses, it's almost as if he's being lobotomised whilst he's writing it. It degrades into chaotic ramblings of an angry man.

I really don't understand it's popularity. Maybe it just fit a time and place of which I do not belong.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I think the problem with ZAMM is that we read it from the wrong end. We see it as a bike trip story that drifts off into some kind of unintelligible psychobabble, whereas for him it was a considered investigation of a philosophical concept with the motorcycle riding simply there to lead you into his argument. No wonder people read the first bit and then throw it in the bin. I’m just surprised that his publisher didn’t see the dichotomy. Or maybe they did and were happy that the bike trip bit pushed sales out of the usual limited interest doldrums.

Things really were different when ZAMM was written - it was a long, long time ago (even if to some of us it seems like yesterday). In fact the gap back from now to 1974 is about the same as going back from then to the era of 20’s flappers and the Wall St crash. I can’t imagine planning a 70’s bike trip on advice found in Ulysses or any other 20’s stream of consciousness literature. I think Ted Simon is amazed that Jupiter’s Travels is still being read.

Yes, exactly. He didn't set out to write a travelogue, and that's not what he ended up with.

Rereading it last month I found myself impatient and disappointed--more so than when I originally read it in the seventies, long before I imagined myself learning to ride a motorbike and racking up scores of countries visited. Back then, I was struggling through stuff like this for pure pleasure (I remember Bertrand Russell's The History of Western Philosophy, among others), and Pirsig's book didn't seem in the least out of line. Now...well, I lack the motivation and the aptitude for it.

I wasn't born when ZaAMM was written. It is true I have no love of the 1970's, being able to remember the last couple of years (power cuts etc.) and the left overs (brown flairs, hideous brown and gold wall paper, an Austin Maxi the colour of dog poo, Angel Delight that looked like dog poo....).

I knew it was a philosophy book when I opened it. It was advertised as one of those books you have to have a go at to count yourself in any way civilised. This may be true, but while George Orwell made you think and both Lawrence's had shagging, ZaAMM was just tedious.

Andy

I agree, it *was* tedious.

I was a voracious reader when it came out and I wanted to read it, but it was tough going. Three tries and I finally finished it. The story should have been compelling, but instead it was just hard work to read it.

I tried reading it again a few years back and put it back on the shelf pretty quickly. There are just too many good books to read, to spend time grinding through Zen....

...............shu

Hello

Don't worry to much, you can go on a RTW even if you aren't able to change a crankshaft bearing by yourself in a strong sandstorm at night.

I can change the oil/filter but I did it only once on a trip (many years ago just for fun), the mess with the oil is just to much trouble, the cost compared to the overall cost of a RTW a joke.
So give some money to a local mechanic/shop.

If you can take off the wheels and change a tube, that's all you need, because then you can also change other things on the bike.
If you can't change the tube but take off the wheel, bring this with the bus to the mechanic.
If you can't take off the wheel take all the tool, maybe someone along the road can help you.

I touch only screws where I do not need a torque wrench, but understand what Nm means.
So if in the book it says on a small screw in an aluminum thread 9Nm, I know that I do not hold the long wrench at 40cm and give it all I can.
Simple rule with screws, after fix comes broken.

In short, the more you understand your bike and can fix it the better, learn what you can, and just go on your trip.
If it is your first trip, start with a shorter trip for several weeks or months, before you sell everything you have and start a multy years RTW.

sushi

P.S.
Could please a moderater put all that philosophical bullshit about ZAMM in a separate thread.

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My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

This is the hubb pub.

Not a technical section. Threads evolve, digress and flex.

Like any conversation in any pub.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

ZAMM was just insufferable from a short way in for me, so it just sits looking pretty on the shelf next to the ones I've actually read, lol. I enjoy a bit of light philosophy, but life's too short to feel weighed down by it rather than challenged.

The flipside was Lone Rider which was dry to begin with but a pleasure to read after the first couple of chapters, and at the end there's several things that might make one reflect on their own life in a bit more depth than one would expect.

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FreeBSD fan since before it was cool ...

Yay - not just me then. I was starting to feel a bit of a Philistine with my lack of interest in ZAMM. Lone Rider is a cracking read

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You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.