Not too long ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to be practical and save up enough money to buy a new bike outright.
A motorcycle that is good enough (a).
Well, actually, if I had the mechanical know-how to keep it running, I would think that Honda is OK. More than OK. But let’s hold that thought for a moment.
My point is that recently I have been warming to the idea of financing. With my current bike and the money I’ve saved up, I could put down a decent deposit on a number of really, really nice motorcycles. I don’t necessarily see myself doing this until after I get back from my European adventure, but my brain has already taken to the task of figuring out what bike I should get.
And from there, almost immediately my thoughts morphed again into the old question of what sort of “guy” I am.
I mentioned in my previous post that I have a long-standing desire to be a BMW guy. But if you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time you’ll know that I have also at various points expressed happiness in being (by default) a Honda guy, and a desire to be a Harley guy, a desire to be a Triumph guy, a desire to be a Victory guy, a desire to be an Indian guy, a desire to be a Moto Guzzi guy, a desire to be… well, you get the point.
Honestly, if there’s any brand of motorcycle that I haven’t expressed a desire to own, it is simply because I have not yet heard of that brand. And as soon as I do hear of the brand I will probably swoon for it, too (b).
Take that MZ TS250 I mentioned a few weeks ago. I had never heard of Motorradwerk Zschopau; now that I have, I would love to own one. As long as it weren’t the only bike I owned. Which takes me back to what I was saying about the Honda VF750S. Were I the money and space, I would gleefully take on all kinds of bikes. Of all ages, of all genres.
Because, y’all, motorcycles are awesome. I’m not any sort of a “guy,” apart from a motorcycle guy. I feel that at its core every motorcycle is more than OK. Yes, some bikes are better suited to certain real-world applications than others, but they are all inherently desirable.
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My Honda CBF600SA is pretty OK |
And perhaps the thing that gives me the most stress in thinking about financing a new bike is the thought of “marrying” myself to just one machine. I am afraid of committing to one style, one set of applications.
But that is a good attitude to have, I think. It helps me remember that all motorcycles are fun. Including the one I already own. It is going to take me some amazing places this summer and even though it’s not a Harley-Davidson Street Glide or a Triumph Trophy SE (two bikes I’ve been daydreaming about this week, despite the fact they are totally out of my price range), I am still going to have a whole hell of a lot of fun. So, there is no rush to get a new bike. I may want one — and that’s perfectly fine — but I don’t need a new bike. It’s not a race; there’s no deadline.
I can take my time to try to find the bike with which I connect the most.
Equally, when I consider owning a different bike I don’t need to get too worked up over such and such feature or specification. Whether I end up choosing a Royal Enfield Classic 500 (though, it’s unlikely I would) or a Kawasaki Z1000SX (equally unlikely), the odds are incredibly good that I’ll have fun on the thing. And regardless of whatever I end up with, it’s a given that everyone on everything else will still be getting an enthusiastic nod or wave from me as they pass.
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(a) “Good enough” is admittedly a nebulous concept here and speaks as much to my emotional reaction to a bike as its performance attributes.
(b) The only exception I can think of is Boss Hoss. No. Just, no.