http://youtu.be/aQtNrLUOMVg
Going out for breakfast this morning and came upon the California Highway Patrol doing their Motorcycle Safety Training. Took a quick video as we were going by. The most motorcycle cops I've ever seen in one place. Have some pictures that I will share as well. If someone came up to you and said "if money was no object and you could choose any 3 motorcycles to have in your garage, which ones would they be?" do you know what you would choose?
When my wife asked me that today I ended up with 5. I listed the Honda CRF250L (small dual sport that is fun to ride and reliable), Triumph Tiger 800 (for the smooth 3 cylinder, cruise all day comfort, smoking hot looks and throaty exhaust note), Triumph Scrambler (for the classic Steve McQueen style), BMW G650gs (there's just something about it that I like) and the Yamaha FZ6 (just because of those 2 rocket looking exhausts lying up there under the seat). Try as I may, I couldn't get down to 3. Ultimately I couldn't narrow it down because I've made my list not having ridden either one of these bikes. My list is based purely on the what I know from what I read and see online. I'd have to ride them first to know which ones put the biggest smile on my face. So, back to reality, how can you narrow down your choice to 1 motorcycle, especially if 1 motorcycle is the most you can own (for whatever reasons). The only way is to go and try to ride them. And even though you think you know what you like and what you want, how do you know if you will even like any of them? So, how do you get out of such a dilemma? There's only one solution. As many test rides as possible. Test ride them all. Have fun with it. Even if you see a motorcycle demo for something you may never think you would ride (like a Harley or dare I say scooter) try it out anyway. If nothing else you get a little more experience riding before you buy your own motorcycle. In the meantime, I saw one of these on the street recently. How can you not go test ride that???? This blog might be over before it started. It began with my intention to write about my experience buying a motorcycle. Well I just celebrated my 40th birthday and my 5 year old daughter surprised me with a brand new Adventure Motorcycle. Here it is: At first glance this looks like a good motorcycle. I've read a lot of arguments about the benefits of smaller adventure bikes like a 650cc and also that bigger is not necessarily better, but I'm itching to test out this 60000cc engine. A little worried about the MPG's though. It comes with some good looking aggressive knobby tires that should work well in the dirt and should last a long time as they don't seem to need to take any air. I am definitely going to have to make a few modifications to make this bike adventure worthy. I am now figuring out what all the people on the forums are saying, that you have to make your motorcycle your own by modifying it. That's the fun. So, first lets look at the ergonomics. Looks like standing on this won't be a problem. It's the seat that I'm worried about. Looks a little uncomfortable - might have to replace that but I haven't yet found a good after market seat that will fit and be comfortable. Will have to keep looking. At first I was a little concerned that maintenance might be difficult but as it turns out it is a very simple design. The entire body lifts on the frame in one go making for very easy access to the engine. Here is how it looks when stripped down. Doesn't look like a 60000 cc motor now does it. The only thing that concerns me about this design is if I drop it and break something, I essentially have to replace the whole bike. That could be expensive. At the moment this is not set up to take a top box, but it did come with one and a set of Panniers standard. All you have to do is remove the yellow/black stick (I think it might be a helmet holder, not sure though) and rear emergency light. There are actually 2 sets of luggage depending on your needs, the standard set shown below on the left and the extra large shown below on the right. After installing these I wasn't happy for two reasons. There are no tie downs and there is simply too much red. So, I managed to locate a better after market set of panniers. They have some really big tie downs and the black gives a more rugged look don't you think.
...doesn't exist. But the perfect motorcycle for me does. I just need to figure out what it is.
I did a search yesterday for "The Perfect "Motorcycle". Most results were similar to "10 best bikes" or "best beginner motorcycles". But there was one site that was a questionnaire that claimed to identify the perfect motorcycle to fit your personality. After 10 minutes of answering some random psychology questions mixed with one or two motorcycle specific questions I got my answer. Apparently the best motorcycle for me is a Harley Davidson 883 sportster. Funny, I just told my wife 2 days ago that I would never buy a Harley. I'm gonna have to hit a few bike shops in the next few days while I let that one stew for a bit then I'm gonna retake that test because I am sure there's a perfect adventure style bike somewhere that fits my personality isn't there? In the meantime, I have to wonder what would be the results of this riders test. Would it also be a Harley? And do those shoes come in black? So the site is nearly there. I have a lot of work to do but I think we can get started with the good stuff. So first a little background. Welcome to the blog section of my website. Over the next few days (which may turn into weeks....) I'll be trying to get everything up and running with some good and interesting information. Looking forward to keeping you entertained.
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