My cycles

As I mentioned in the intro post, I'm a motorcyclist. Not as hardcore as some people, but I certainly enjoy my bikes. I started two years ago, taking the MSF course with Apex Cycle Education over the course of two days. (Their typical courses run three, but for the first weekend or two of the year, they don't have the morning class since it's a little chilly.) Shortly before taking the class, I bought a lightly used 2007 Suzuki SV650 from a vaguely local dealer for probably a bit more money than I should have.

 

Not my bike, obviously. It served me well, and I liked it quite a bit, but it wasn't quite what I wanted. So later that year, I got a brand new Suzuki DR-Z400SM. Buying new was, again, a stupid idea, but so it goes. I continue to pay for it now.

That said, I rather love the thing. It's not the fastest bike (hell, it's objectively slow as far as these things go), but it's light, handles like a dream, and can take a pothole like it's nothing. Oh, and insurance is dirt cheap. I wish I had just gotten one of these to start. Well, at any rate, fate would take the SV out of my hands. I had a bit of an incident involving another car making a left turn in front of me because they couldn't see me (or so the driver claimed). I didn't hit the car, just the ground, but I ended up with a slight fracture in my elbow, and a skinned knee. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. Insurance required a quote, of course, so I had it taken to the local dealer who appraised fixing it at more than I had paid for the thing (although had insurance not been involved, I would have done it myself as the damage was largely cosmetic). I got cut a check, and used it to buy a 1998 Honda VFR800FI, Honda's sport-oriented sport tourer (as opposed to its touring oriented ones).

It has some rather interesting features, such as a V4 engine, which is fairly uncommon, a single-sided swingarm, also uncommon, and a linked brake system (pulling the front lever actuates four of six brake pistons in front and one of three in the back while the rear level actuates two in front and two in back, making brake maintenance a lot harder than it normally would be). It's also pretty heavy, but it handles nicely and is incredibly comfortable to ride. And it's fast - I can easily cruise at highway speeds in third gear.

And that's where I am today. I'm thinking of getting rid of the VFR since most of my riding is in and around the city where the DRZ excels, but that remains to be seen.