RIP Robert Pirsig, Author of Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

[triangleforge]

So it's a tossup whether to put this here or in NMC, because Pirsig himself said in the Author's Note that preceded his best-known book "However, it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."

Still, I was saddened to read that Robert M. Pirsig, who wrote Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and several other books on philosophy, passed away today at the age of 88. At it's heart, the book is the story of a motorcycle trip with his son, from Minnesota up over the Rockies in Montana (loaded & two up on the little 305 cc Honda CB77 Super Hawk pictured below  ) and to San Francisco.  It's a book I go back to every couple of years, and that tends to pop into my head when I'm faced with a particularly vexing mechanical question, as a way of thinking about possible solutions.

[koko64]

RIP.

[Charlie98]

I picked that book up out of the blue and read it when I was in high school, or just out of... I was mesmerized.  I'm not much of a deep thinker in the manner of the book, I read it for the face value story.

I tried to read his follow-up to Zen, Lila, and I think my brains were leaking out of my ears by the time I was half way through it.  I understood the gist of it, but it went on... and on...  and on...

Of course, I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in high school, which is also a motorcycle book...

[triangleforge]

Yeah, Lila is a pretty tough slog; I barely made it through. Maybe because it's centered around a sailboat instead of motorcycles, and those people go on and on about the most unimportant stuff. 

[Charlie98]

'78 XS650

I had one of those... traded a Toyota GT for it.  Fun bike, scary handling.  I think mine was a '78 as well.