Update: Photo added and Driver’s license obtained.
With the rising prices of gas – and because I hang out with John King and John Merlin-Williams a lot – and because I have a credit for some riding gear at www.ridersdiscount.com – I decided to get a motorcycle.
I took driver’s training Saturday at Alpha Training (http://www.alphatrainingcenter.com/) and got a perfect on the driving test and perfect on the written test. Jerry taught the class and he was *excellent* I rented a Suzuki GZ 250 from them since I do not own a bike – I loved the bike and it probably would get 70 miles per gallon.
So right after training I went to full Throttle Motorsports (http://www.fullthrottlemotorsports.com/) and they had a GZ 250 *in stock* – it lists for $3200 but all included would be over $4000 – and with a windshield, bags, etc – I figured it would take 400 trips to work and back to make it worth my while. So I did not have a “buy” case in hand.
I looked on Ebay and all over for online used bikes for sale – generally I found nothing – kind of because I did not know what I was looking for. So in desperation I grabbed the Sunday paper and read through the classified ads – I found a bike for $1300 and called – turns out the guy lives about two miles from my house.
So I went over and took a test drive – this is an older bike but it is a Honda and Michael (the owner) was meticulous about its maintenance. After a test drive I liked it a lot. It is a Honda 450 twin so it can handle freeway driving in bits – unlike a 250 single cylinder. Also it already had a windshield and box for my gear driving to work. It was all figured out and debugged. It has a lot of miles on it – that is my only worry.
Now my payback is 120 trips to and from work – and when I want to buy that new bike – I can probably sell this for almost what I paid for it as long as I keep it in good shape.
So I now own a bike – this morning I will get my insurance and cycle permit. For the first time in my life I will be legally riding a road bike – it is a good feeling. I might be off line for an hour or so just to get the feel of the open road.
This is *not* even close to a crotch-rocket – it looks like a grandpa bike – with a windshield and bags – its cool factor is about zero. And when you see my bright-yellow jacket – the cool factor continues to drop down. But its comfort factor and safety factor should be pretty good – a tradeoff I am willing to make.
Insurance was pretty cheap – AAA did it for $220 per year – the bike was below the 750CC limit where they need a picture to prove it is not a crotch-rocket before they will insure it. Being old-school has its atvantages sometimes.
I went to the Secretary of State – passed their written – with two wrong – one was a dumb question and the other had two equally correct answers. I sprung for the extra $35.00 and got the vanity license plate “csev”.
Too bad I don’t have to go down to Ann Arbor until Thursday!
Now I need to buy all my protective gear – no need to get scratched up in an accident – off to John Merlin Williams for some advice.
Initially it will cost me gas money because I will be looking for any excuse to drive around. I put 20 miles on it just for yucks – some back road driving and some highway driving – it is amazing how much the training helps me to think properly on the bike. Oh yeah and even though I have not been on a street bike in close to 30 years – fellow bikers still wave to each other as they pass by. Some things should never change.