I do not understand how I made it to my mid 30s without ever having had a motorcycle before. What the heck was I thinking? I mean, I've owned a scooter or two but it's not the same thing after all. Well, without going in to any further theatrics, I'm having a blast on it. I love it! It's a 2000 Yamaha Virago, and the guys riding Harleys that I pass won't even acknowledge my existence, let alone give me the friendly biker club wave. To hell with them.
It didn't take long for me to learn to ride it; maybe only 20 minutes or so before I lit out down River road. There were only about 68 miles on it when I got it on Saturday, and now there are around 270 miles on it. It started raining on Sunday and didn't really stop until Wednesday, so I wasn't even able to ride until then. But yesterday I rode out to Promised Land... that was a really great drive.
The main drawback is that it's a 250... Before I bought it I figured that would be a good starter bike because I didn't know what it felt like to drive one, and I didn't want to get carried away. But now that I'm a pro, I can already see where I'd want a more powerful engine. It has really great pick up and goes up to 70-75 mph, but that's going full throttle on route 80 and it's not good for any engine to go full tilt for any real length of time so, I won't be riding any major distances on the highway. Strictly minor state roads, for me! Maybe I'll trade up at some point over the winter.
The other thing about it is that the girl who had it before and who only put 65 miles on it apparently spent like $500 blinging it up. It's got stainless steel flame emblems on the gas tank sides, studs on the seat and rear fender, stainless steel covers for all the extremities, she covered over the Yamaha logo with a badly welded on eagle symbol which embarrasses me immensely, although not as much as the black leather tassels she had hanging off of the handle grips that I cut off immediately.
But other than that stuff, I really love it. My Mom used to have a picture of my Grandmother on a motorcycle, but I don't know what happened to it or I'd totally post it. To prove it runs in the family and all. My Uncle John used to ride one too, but I was too young at the time for my Mother not to have an embolism if he gave me a ride on it.
I don't think it looks girly. Nevertheless, I'm not sure one can define "starter bike" with "manly."
Posted by: Miss Luongo | Friday, August 24, 2007 at 11:18
Shut it, Luongo. You take that back!
Posted by: messiestobjects | Friday, August 24, 2007 at 11:24
"I do not understand how I made it to my mid 30s without ever having had a motorcycle before."
Not having a motorcycle might be WHY you made it to your mid 30's ;)
My brother has an 1100 - -you need something like that. That way you can cruise at 100 mph without even trying.
Posted by: Gary | Friday, August 24, 2007 at 12:56
Color me jealous.
I hope to get one in the next year or so, over my wife's strenuous objections. Good call on the tassels.
Posted by: Cousin Keith | Friday, August 24, 2007 at 14:35
Yeah... I think I'd be happy with a 750 or whatever in that range. I don't really need to go 100, I just need the engine to be capable of going 100 so that it's not at full throttle in the 65 to 75 range. I think I'll be more likely to survive to my 60s at those speeds, after all.
Hey Keith! You're going to ride a bike on the streets of Chicago? Yikes. I'd move to a place with some more open roads, first.
Posted by: messiestobjects | Friday, August 24, 2007 at 17:13
Awesome...I don't care if it is not a Harley. Looks good to me. I can't tell if it's a sissy bike or not. I will some day own my own bike. Maybe in my mid fifties. It's always been a dream of mine since I can remember. I quit smoking three years ago, because I just couldn't breathe anymore. I joke that I quit because there wouldn't be any room on my Harley for an oxygen tank.
Posted by: capricorn1966 | Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 11:08
Cap, get your Motorcycle permit now. It's the first and most important step. Once you have it, you're not going to let a little old thing like not having a motorcycle stop you... you'll keep your eyes open and get the first one that fits your style and price range.
I rode out to Easton yesterday... It was nice because I'd never do something like that in my car, just go for a ride out there for no reason. But having a bike makes the road fun again!
Oh, and I'm an ex-smoker too, although I quit because I was really sick and had nasty fluids coming out of every orifice in my body and couldn't smoke for like a week without feeling sicker. At the end of it, I just decided not to light up another one.
Posted by: messiestobjects | Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 12:38
Quitting smoking rules! Everyone should start just so they can quit.
Posted by: Gary | Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 13:21
Totally. I love the cheap high that nicotine withdrawal gives you.
Posted by: messiestobjects | Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 13:38
So, you gonna ride the PanAmerican highway now?
Posted by: Tim | Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 18:15
On a 250? Nah... I need to upgrade first. But eventually I'd like to do a good cross country tour. It's every boy's dream to do that!
Posted by: messiestobjects | Friday, August 31, 2007 at 00:55
If you ever do go for a long ride, I highly recommend checking out the Blue Ridge highway in Virginia and points south. Really beautiful scenery. A trip down there in the fall would be pretty cool.
Posted by: Gary | Sunday, September 02, 2007 at 15:12