Recent Toys

I can't very well trumpet the short-lived greatness of my first bike without a nod to the machine I just parted with. After all, I only had the ZX1000 in Germany for a couple weeks before the accident. I owned this '86 ZX900 for four years and put on a lot more miles -- most painfully, a four hundred mile (one way) road trip to Ohio. I had expected a minimum level of sustained comfort for a seven hour ride that the bike could not provide for longer than 45 minutes. Ouch.

Lesson learned. But carving up back roads or enlivening the morning commute was right up its alley. As much as I'm looking forward to a torquey American V-Twin, there's nothing quite like the smooth and wide power band of a Japanese in-line four cylinder. It's Formula 1 engineering at a Volkswagen price.

With that, I could almost talk myself out of a Harley except for one thing -- I've ridden one. Now I have to have one. Besides, it was like pulling teeth to get my wife -- who loves to ride -- on the back of the ZX. If it's even possible, it's more uncomfortable for the passenger than the driver. A nice saddle on a Harley is inviting enough for a day's worth of relaxed comfort.

So I am not only between motorcycles, but schools of thought as well regarding riding style. The next bike will be a Harley -- because I've wanted one for so long, even though I could surely get comparable quality and price with other American manufacturers like Indian and Victory.

Someday I will probably have another crotch rocket -- or at least a sport touring -- because every now and then I'll need my adrenaline fix and nothing beats the rice bikes for fast-acting, long-lasting, white-knuckled thrills.

But I've heard that sky diving comes close.