3 ms·
The conclusion to one of my favourite sections: "In other words, any true German mechanic, with a half-century of mechanical finesse behind him, would have con
by vr46 10y ago
The conclusion to one of my favourite sections:
"In other words, any true German mechanic, with a half-century of mechanical finesse behind him, would have concluded that this
particular solution to this particular technical problem was perfect."
Anyone else remember that bit? I now ride a big BMW R1200RT. I wonder if this book influenced me to do that? RIP Mr Pirsig
- mikestew 10y agoIf anything, the book would have kept me away from the clueless, snooty BMW riders that don't have a clue about their bikes. Real riders like Pirsig ride Hondas, just like I did for most of my riding career. :-) -- Signed, Owner of a '14 R1200GSA
- jacquesm 10y agoIt took me a while to make sense of that. Apologies for the (corrected) downvote.
- mikestew 10y agoWhy would you downvote it in the first place? That's exactly how John in the book struck me. I'd even argue that it was kind of the point of the section that was quoted.
- pfd1986 10y agoI'm sad to say I'm a clueless Honda driver myself (shadow spirit 750). But his book inspired to get the manual and start working thru it. Hopefully by the summer I'm making my first adjustments.
- vr46 10y agoYes, me too - I dismissed BMWs as bikes for the middle-aged, which is why I bought one once I became middle-aged :)
- randcraw 10y agoPirsig's displeasure at John's disrespect for using a strip cut from an aluminum beer can as a handgrip spacer on John's lah-dee-dah BMW -- who can forget that? That vignette served as the main example of Pirsig's "quality" and how easily the rose-colored glasses of provincialism can distract us from seeing it.