1991-1994: My first bike was a Suzuki GS 550, 1982 model year I believe. I got this bike in 1991, while still in the Navy.
This bike taught me the most valuable lesson when I first got on it… humility. I had never ridden a bike before, but was sure I could do it – how hard could it be, right? So, I hopped on and took off. Well, within about 5 minutes, I was laying on the ground, bike on top of me, jacket torn up, hand bleeding. I drove home in my car, shaking, swearing I would never ride one again and would buy a dryer instead.
I went back the next day, and bought the bike. I had a friend, (she taught motorcycle safety courses) ride it home for me. I took the safety course, and got my license, and then spent about 3 weeks riding around in 2nd gear to get used to it.
I rode all over the place in Norfolk on that bike. It had a little mechanical quirk in the jetting that would make it stall if you went above 60mph for 10 seconds. I remember pushing it down the interstate in the hot sun for several miles in engineer boots. Not fun.
Hard to believe that was almost 14 years ago…
1995-1999: I got this bike in Charleston, SC, on my birthday in 1995. A cold December day, I can still remember freezing on the way home. But I was riding again after a couple years with no bike, so that was all that mattered.
This bike was actually an 82 model, I believe. It had some quirky problems – a busted engine casing around the generator that took some creative engineering to patch, and it would be hard to start after a run, unless you let it cool for an hour. Either a weak starter or running too hot, or both. It also had weak brakes.
I never rode it very far, because of the mechanical issues. But I did enjoy it when I could, and it kept me in the wind for a few years.
2001-2002: I recently owned a Suzuki GZ-250, and though I’ve ridden bikes two and almost three times the displacement, I wouldn’t trade up. This bike seems very popular in Europe and Asia, and I can see why. Considering cost, gas mileage, ease of maintenance, and just fun riding, this is the best bike I’ve owned.
These days, guys seem to want larger and larger displacement bikes. People are riding bikes with a more displacement than a small car. I’ve gotten several comments on the fact that a guy actually chooses to ride a small displacement bike, most positive actually. Some guys are intimidated by the larger higher torque vehicles – with good reason.
At 5′ 11″ and 220+ lbs, this bike provides plenty of acceleration and travels just fine at the speeds I go on the back roads. If I travelled on the interstate, I’d want a bigger bike just for stability. The GZ-250 gets great mileage (about 60mpg), goes plenty fast, and is very manueverable – which is real important on the rides I go on, where I’m turning this way and that looking for odd things in South Jersey. I’ve added a few accessories, and some extra chrome around the edges. It’s a great ride.
2002-2004: After about a year, the GZ-250 started feeling just a bit too small. Plus, I was getting more adventurous in wanting ride farther on the Interstate. I got the V-Star on July 4th weekend of 2002.
It didn’t take long for me to know I was going into debt again – about 5 minutes test riding one of these was all it took. It’s still probably considered small by today’s standards, but it’s a great bike for me.
I’ve added a few accessories, and one of the things I like about this bike is the availability of lots of stuff to go on it. The headlight visor was the hardest thing to install, as that required some soldering to keep it from vibrating out of place.
This bike should do fine until I get really crazy and go for that Goldwing…
2004-Present: Well, after a lot of research and looking at many bikes, I decided to try something new. I really wanted to explore the vast areas of sand and dirt roads that I would see as I rode through the pine barrens.
So, I found a bike that is used by serious adventure riders – not that I am one, but who knows… maybe someday I’ll be cruising the outback or something. Anyway, just got this bike so I will write more after I have some miles under my belt. The first few miles were really fun, but very cold. Can’t wait for spring!
2004-2005:I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and then one day I was taking a long lunch, and found the Nomad I wanted sitting at the dealership. What could I do? I had to buy it. A few hours later, I was missing a V-star and riding home on my new 1500CC Blue and Silver beauty. The V-star was not happy. On the way there, the speedometer cable fell out on the interstate. Go figure. Bikes are like women – they hate to be dumped. Only after getting on the Nomad did I realize what a lame handling bike the V-star was. I feel so much more confident on this bike, and it seems much more maneuverable, despite being a bigger bike. And another nice thing, there isn’t much you need to add to the bike – so you can concentrate on riding. So far in 2004, I’ve ridden about 4,700 miles on this bike, and it has been an incredible ride. The stock seat is great. The only add on’s have been highway pegs, aux driving lights (I used the stock light bar and drilled some holes), and a few minor electrical doo dads like a gerbing plug and CB antenna. I get lots of “wow, nice bike” wherever I go.
2005-Present:The Honda VTX-1800. If you have the means, I highly recommend you go now and buy one. With this bike, all manner of people talk to me – at stop lights. A motorcycle cop, a man wanting to buy his first bike, and others all seem to feel that they must speak to the rider of such a machine. Riding it is a pleasure. Just going around a tight curve can bring a smile to my face. And it has a smoother, tighter ride than any bike I’ve been on. And the acceleration… 60 mph in 2nd gear…
I’d write more, but I’d rather be off riding…