This changes on a moment to moment basis, but in this moment, here is what I wish was looking back at me when I opened the door to the iron horse stable:
1) An outfit fit for my son and I: A Royal Enfield Bullet Classic with a Rocket Sidecar.
500cc Bullet Classic: $6350
Sportmax Rocket sidecar: $3500+~$1200 installation
The whole outfit would cost about ~$11,000 new... I found a used outfit for $8000, might find another for less.
2) A scooter for my wife: Vespa 946
It's a dream list so I'll go for the fantastically expensive Vespa, though Honda makes some mighty nice alternatives for one third the price.
The Vespa? $9999 for a year old new one (!?!)
(the similarly spec-ed Honda PCX150 comes in at $3899). I've found clean, used scooters for about $1000.
3) State of the art Hyper-bike:
This has always been a Hayabusa, though I'd chuck it all in for the new Ninja H2R.
Hayabusa: $14999
Ninja H2R: ???
4) A Light Weight, Swiss-Army Knife dual purpose bike:
The Suzuki DR-Z400S: $7299
Over 100lbs lighter than a KLR, a super capable, light weight enduro machine that can manage weight, still has good power, but follows the Austin Vince minimalist ethos: nimble, efficient, ultra-capable off road. Found a used one in good nick for about $4000.
5) A matching off-road bike for my son:
Not sure of the spec on this one. It would have to be the one he feels most comfortable on because he's a cautious fellow.
~$2-3000 new - there seem to be a lot of used ones about for ~$1000
I'd be looking at about $50,000 in new (dream) gear. On a budget I think I could pick up (used) the two dirt bikes for $5000, a hyperbike for $7000, a scooter for $1500 and an outfit for $3-5000. So $16-18500 for a more realistic dream stable...
Inclusivity is what I'm aiming for with this collection. We three could go for a putter on scooter and outfit. My son and I could go off roading together. Only the Hayabusa really smacks of selfishness.
Of course this will all change again next week, so I'm not holding my breath.
I picked up my sprockets & chains today from Two Wheel Motorsport. I then had a chat with Craig, who works there and was the head instructor on my motorcycle course at Conestoga College last year. He mentioned the used bikes upstairs (TWM goes on and on, be sure to wander around if you go there). I was interested in a Kawasaki Concours they had on sale because it's a sensible touring bike. Craig mentioned 'upstairs' when I was asking about used bikes. I didn't know they had an upstairs. After getting my parts I went up and found a couple of dozen bikes and no one around. Since I was looking for a sensible touring bike I immediately found this and took this:
I'm really bad at trying to be sensible. I ended up buying my current Ninja because of the way it made me feel rather than the sensible KLR I was going to get. When it comes to buying an appliance like a car I'll be sensible, but a motorbike isn't about being sensible and I don't want to waste my riding time on bland compromise.
I met John the salesman and we finally found the Concours out back. It's not as big as some other touring bikes, but my knees are still pretty bent on it. Short of getting some sky-scraper adventure bike I'm going to be bent legged on a motorbike, especially if it's as road-centric as I want it to be.
I suspect the answer still lies in not trying to find a bike for all things, they don't exist. Instead, a couple of really focused bikes that do different things would do the trick. Instead of trying to find an athletic road bike that two-ups my son easily, get a machine that caters to time with him and another for solo forays.
The other day a guy road by on a Triumph with a Rocket Sidecar. I've still got a thing for sidecars. Uralling or Royal Enfielding up would cover the vintage bike itch as well as the weird sidecar itch in addition to creating a very friendly shared riding experience with my son. The other bike could be some kind of bat-shit crazy single seater that focuses entirely on me alone on the road (or track). Or a café racer...
I'm glad that Concours made a big wet noise in my imagination when I saw it with its C.H.i.P.s style windshield and acres of plastic. A sudden, irrational urge to own it didn't follow. What it did do is clear up an important point: don't compromise on what you want a bike to do for you, you'll only end up disappointed.
John the salesman told me the story of a kid who missed the bike he fell in love with by twenty minutes and ended up with tears in his eyes over it. If I'm going to move on to another bike, it's got to be a tear jerker. I didn't get into motorcycling for sensible, I got into it for an emotional connection to my machine. Fortunately, that bonkers bike choice isn't crazy expensive. An '06 bike with only 2400kms on it costs less than $7000 from Two-Wheel.
For another $7k I could pick up an almost new Versys and go about getting it kitted out with a cool sidecar from Old Vintage Cranks. It'd be one of a kind on its way to being a multipurpose outfit that I could customize indefinitely. For $14k I'd be into one of the most powerful two wheelers ever made and a truly unique go-anywhere 3-wheeler.
I turn 45 today. I don't feel old, but that isn't stopping the math from bullying me. As I told a friend, the only way to battle this age thing is by acting as immaturely as possible. With that in mind, here are my top six motorcycle choices for a mid-life crisis:
#6 Off Road Opportunity
The chance to experience off-road riding with a focus on bike control would be awesome. It so happens that Yamaha offers just such a course a pretty hour and a half ride north of me. That would be a fantastic day in the dirt.
#5 Kawasaki Z1000
The anime dream machine. Twitchy, not as good as other naked bikes according to Bike, but it's one I got excited about throwing a leg over and I'd never get tired of looking at it, though it makes little sense and would be a handful. What's a mid-life crisis without making silly, emotional choices?
#4 Triumph Thruxton
The start of an ongoing cafe racer makeover. The basic bike is sufficiently hooliganish so it speaks loudly to that vanishing sense of immaturity. This bike begs for leathers and old school style. I'd ride it like a rocker to pub brawls. This Thruxton would turn into the bike I'd ride to Fight Club. It wouldn't be shiny for long, more like a rolling black eye.
#3 Royal Enfield Bullet Classic
For those moments when I want to feel like Indiana Jones outrunning Nazis. The classic Bullet is an old school thumper that would take me back. It's the next best thing to being there because it'll start every time. Seeing if I could ton-up on it would be a long term goal. Old people like me like things that remind them of their pre-war childhoods.
#2 Leather pants... or worse!
I went all modern textile with my first round of motorcycle gear, but nothing says mid-life crisis like leather pants!
In my year of riding I've come to appreciate leather riding gear for the level of protection it gives. I've also come to realize how much more effective leather is at keeping you warm in less than comfortable Canadian riding conditions.
All that aside, leather looks cool! If not the pants, then a full race suit and some track days to wear it in on.
#1 Suzuki Hayabusa or Kawasaki ZX-14R
I got all glassy eyed when I sat on a 'Busa at a show, it feels really special. It's a big, beautiful bike that will go faster than light speed. I've always had a soft spot for Suzuki and the Hayabusa is about the most beautiful thing they've ever made. The other super bike that took me by surprise was the super Ninja ZX-14R. Either one would scratch that mid-life crisis itch (really quickly).
Oddly enough, the whole adventure bike thing doesn't seem to tickle the mid-life crisis itch, though perhaps it's because adventure riding is so far away from normal life while a road bike is a daily opportunity. To make the list the adventure bike deal would have to get all Ted Simons (I'm reading Jupiter's Travels at the moment) and involve a long term opportunity to travel too. I get the sense that another post is forming around this.
My cousin-in-law posted this on Facebook. Funny how the proliferation of bikes is a common theme. Few people are happy with just one, probably because one bike can't do it all and if you love to ride you probably want to ride in as many different circumstances as possible.
I've posted several times on bikes that have caught my eye and after realizing that there is math to support this I'm going to do it again!
Based on the bikes I've sat on at various shows over the winter these are the ones that felt special or stood out for me. Given a chance I'd love to test ride them.
A big, naked Kawasaki Z1000
I wanted to love the Triumph Street Triple, or the Suzuki Gladius, but they felt on the small side. I was also keen to try the Yamaha FZ-09, and while it fit ok it didn't offer much in the way of an emotional charge.
As far as naked bikes go there was only one that felt special, and that was the Kawasaki Z1000. The big, newly re-engineered Kawasaki has a kind of bonkers ode-to-Japanese-anime look that really gets to me. That it also fit me nicely and offered an astounding openness (the dash all but disappears into the fairing), made it a love at first sight experience. I'm still a few years away from a litre bike, but when I'm ready, this one is on the short list.
A need for speed
I went to shows this winter thinking I'm all about the adventure bike, but they aren't what got me going. Sure, sitting on the big Ewan McGregor adventure BMW felt grand, but it didn't really get me excited. I've always been a sports car goof, I guess I'm the same way about bikes.
What surprised me was sitting on the Suzuki Hayabusa. This was another big bike that felt like it was proportioned right for me (6'3" 230lbs). The mystical reputation of this speed machine as well as its visual presence surprised me. It isn't a rational response (the BMW was much more sensible, which is saying something), but sitting on the 'Busa felt special.
That sport bike appeal rocked me again when I sat on the Kawasaki ZX-14R. With Testarosa strakes over the air intakes and the way you fall into the bike, it quickened my pulse. Once again, not a rational decision, but the emotion couldn't be denied.
I still want to expand my riding repertoire beyond sports bikes, but as the weather starts to warm up and the Ninja looks at me from the garage, I find myself not wanting to give it up for some blatting adventure bike that feels like it's on stilts. I intend to find my way to a day or two of off-road training because it's a good way to better understand the physics of riding, but that feels like a rational choice, what I want to do is get some track time in.
In the future I may have a couple of three bikes in the garage. I hope I'll love each one in a different way, but it looks like the sport bike may have a special place in my heart. I guess I'm going to have to come to terms with being a big guy with a sports bike addiction.
I just found out I get to spend a glorious weekend at the end of May in Victoria BC. I've been out that way before, and after the worst winter in years in Ontario I've already started thinking about how I'm going to spend a day in something other than a frigid deep-freeze.
Cycle BC rentals and tours offers bikes out of Victoria for a variety of uses. I immediately began fantasizing about a glorious day tour through southern Vancouver Island on two wheels. With choices of a Suzuki V-Strom 650, Kawasaki KLR-650 (which I'm already on the verge of buying) and other smaller bikes, the Vancouver Island bike choices are ideal!
The KLR would be nice, but the V-Strom is a whole other bike by a whole other manufacturer, and I've always been Suzuki smitten. The GSX-R 750 has been on my wish list since I was a teen. The Hayabusa has a special kind of charm (especially after sitting on it). The chance to ride a Suzi through the Pacific Northwest would be a dream come true.
After having a look over the options, I think the Port Renfrew-Cowichan Motorcycle Route is what I'm looking for. 272 kilometres of wild, North Western Pacific seaside, a winding route through the mountains and then back down the other side into Victoria again.
After such a long, cold winter, the thought of riding around Southern Vancouver Island in late spring is a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
http://www.cyclebc.ca/routes
http://www.cyclebc.ca/motorcycles
It's booked! A BMW F800ST this Friday, pictures to follow! - May 27
1) An outfit fit for my son and I: A Royal Enfield Bullet Classic with a Rocket Sidecar.
