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Robert M. Pirsig, passed at 88 on Monday.

dieselyoda

Active member
"Robert M. Pirsig, whose philosophical novel "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" became a million-selling classic and cultural touchstone after more than 100 publishers turned it down, died Monday at age 88."

I loved his work, more than just for the motorcycle trip.
 
Brilliant book by a towering intellect. I found it heavy reading, but read every page. 88 is a good long run. Thanks for the book Bob.
 
Ouch.
His departure hurts.
Bittersweet at best.
Thanks for all you have done.
Godspeed .

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
"Zen" is one of those books I keep so I can read portions of it again...even keep an extra copy to loan out.

RIP Mr Pirsig.

Sincere condolences to his family.
 
I read the book when it first came out and was impressed. I also found interesting the observations by Pirsig regarding his BMW riding buddy and his buddy's lack of willingness to do simple maintenance. The picture below always captivated my imagination and some while back I was able to purchase a 65 Honda 305 Superhawk (CB77) like the one Pirsig and son were riding. I didn't ride the bike much, but I liked looking at it in my garage and tinkering with it. I sold the bike last year to a friend. My friend said that the bike is parked in his living room; yes he is single; :)

It was a real challenge to find parts for that 65 Honda; no support from Honda for such an old bike. On the other hand it was very easy to obtain parts for my 71 R75/5. Perhaps in the long run my observation about maintaining these bikes offers some perspective regarding the notion of "quality" [or at least past quality!]
 

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Here is another Pirsig related image that I like. It is Pirsig's bike along with his son and a vintage BMW and riding companions. Elsewhere on the forum is a discussion about touring on small bikes. Thinking about that discussion and then looking at this picture makes me smile.
 

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I've read Zen at least three times, taking away something a little different each time.

Somehow, his discussion of frequent repairs and maintenance led me to imagine he rode a Triumph.
 
Perhaps you are thinking of Ted Simon's book "Jupiter's Travels" ; :)

No, I have not read that one yet. He was probably emphasizing the work he did to make a philosophical point about the nature of quality work, but it just sounded like too much work for a Honda. I did a fair amount of travel on a CB400T and and never touched a tool other than a can of chain lube.
 
I was thinking of Pirsig while painting a closet. Spackeling, sanding, painting... more than once I went back and redid something because of his "discussions" of quality.

For those who aren't aware of it, take a look at Zen and Now by Mark Richardson. The subtitle is On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Obviously the book is about retracing the route and talking about Pirsig. There's also something about Chris' murder.
 
I was thinking of Pirsig while painting a closet. Spackeling, sanding, painting... more than once I went back and redid something because of his "discussions" of quality.

For those who aren't aware of it, take a look at Zen and Now by Mark Richardson. The subtitle is On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Obviously the book is about retracing the route and talking about Pirsig. There's also something about Chris' murder.

Just 'cause, I read that book and because I don't read that much or I am dumber than a sack of wet hammers at times, it occurred to Mark Richardson just wrote a book that translates "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" so I read Pirsig's again and a ton more came to me from what he was trying to say.

Quality is an illusion, I think.
 
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